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Audio Advice - Upgrade?

K

KomraD

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 4, 2003
Messages
87
Basicly In short -
I'm looking to replace these car audio
parts i've been useing in my dorm room:
JL XR650-CSi speakers
JL W3v2 subwoofer
JL 300.4 amplifier
Alpine CDA-7894 headunit

With a comperable audio setup that I can feed from my computer.
This is for a 12x12 room and I listen to pretty much every kind of music out there,
I have a very extensive music library and listen to everything from rock to rap, and classical to techno.

Also my budget is about $500-$600.

edit - I'd like to keep the number of speakers realistic
for the size of my room, 2.1 or perhaps 5.1 at most.

Also, I already have a pair of decent headphones, Bose Tri-ports
that I picked up insanely cheap. I'm only looking for speaker options

Thanks in advance!

-KomraD
 
You will need some type of receiver or intergrated amplifier (or preamp and an amp), but the receiver is the logical choice for your budget.

You can get a nice one for 230$ - 270$ from Denon. Other's around this forum also like Harmon Kardon, but I'm not to crazy about the exterior build quality in the front.

http://www.6ave.com/cat_detail.jsp?a=audio&st=search&d=86&s=Surround Sound
6ave is an offical Denon provider. The Denon AVR485s is a very nice entry level receiver for the price! more info here.

From your computer you will need eaither optical or digital coaxial cable which can be had for about 16$ if you don't already have one.

600$ - 250$ = about 350$.

For this price, I would recommend you listen to the B&W 600 S3 bookshelf speakers. They are about 300$us a pair. Or if you can afford it, the B&W 601 S3 bookshelf at about 380$us a pair.
I noticed you said a "2.1" setup, and not a "2.0". Listen to these first before you decide if you want a sub.

Throw in some speaker wire. Some nice ones can be had for 35$us for a pair of 10' speaker wire with banana plugs and sleeving.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=181-600

That's about your budget, and will sound very very good from what you previously had!

I practically have the same setup, and love it! Great speakers for the price. I personally have the Denon AVR685s, but its very similar to the 485s. You can see my little setup here.

~Hope this helps
 
I have some STRONG suggestions. If you picked up the Bose Triports insanely cheap... then SELL THEM!! I have a set of $20 closed headphones that sound much better than the bose triports, and I demoed the two side by side.

Doing that, and replacing the Triports with some cheaper and better headphones should also let you have some money left over.

What I would do is buy a Dolby Digital Live sound card, and these:

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=42.1

That gives you a great home theater system that you can use for 5.1 in games, dvd's, and also sounds great with music, as well as a nice reciever, which is always good to have. Plus, all ya need is one digital cable running from your PC to the reciever.
 
I have never heard the speakers Gavin linked too, but those might also be an option if you are looking into 5.1 for movies and games. Like he said, with the DDL card, one digital cable is all that is needed for true 5.1

Oh, also, just to throw this into the open. Fluance has a set of speakers for about 200$. Which include 5 speakers http://www.fluance.com/fluanceavhtb.html
I haven't heard these eaither, but that's another thing to look into.
200$ speakers, 225$ receiver, and a sub.... with a few cables, and you still in your budget.

~Hope this helps
 
I could've suggested bigger speakers, but I didn't, because he mentioned this room is going to be fairly small, and I also wanted to try and conserve desk space and such... gotta fit the speakers to the room! :)
 
Thanks for all your input thus far! I'll know my budget for sure in about a week, so keep the suggestions coming!

The fluance speakers seem like a pretty good deal, but Gavin's right, I gotta keep in mind that it's a small room that 2 people gotta live in (my roommate and I).

For what it's worth, I'm planning on just useing my built in SoundStorm audio on my NF7-S motherboard. I'm not really aware of it's capabilities and/or shortcomings so any advice in that area would be welcome.
 
I would strongly suggest upgrading your sound card to a real sound card, like the one I suggested, as well as upgrading your headphones.

If you sold your headphones, and whatever current speaker system you had, would you be willing to spend your budget on a combination of sound card, speakers (maybe even a reciever) and headphones? Also, do you have a DVD player? I know a place to get an INSANE deal on a dvd player for your budget... it'd do DVD-A and SACD too...
 
well, just go to the av123.com homepage, and you'll find it. ;) you'll have to do a bit of clicking to get to it, and there are about 27 sets left...
 
guess i'm not a good clicker... i don't see any sacd/dvd-a units on their website...

link?
 
"AV123 will be closed August 10, 11 and 12. Why? The 2nd Annual Colorado GTG is here!. Click HERE for just-added show specials!"

that help?
 
towert7 said:
I have never heard the speakers Gavin linked too,
Click to expand...
I've never heard the rocket tykes either but i've seen them mentioned favorably dozens of times, can't recall any complaints whatsoever. AV123 occasionally carries the b-stock for about $100 less but they've become pretty rare.

Too bad there isn't a way of listening to them without ordering them first.
 
SJetski71 said:
I've never heard the rocket tykes either but i've seen them mentioned favorably dozens of times, can't recall any complaints whatsoever. AV123 occasionally carries the b-stock for about $100 less but they've become pretty rare.

Too bad there isn't a way of listening to them without ordering them first.
Click to expand...

Well, thats part of the double-edged sword of getting internet direct. since its internet direct, you can get a lot more bang for the buck... but since its internet direct, you also have to rely a lot more on people willing to open their homes to auditions and word of mouth.
 
I just found out today that my brother totalled my car. Which is rather unfortunate... so I'm going to need to drasticly reduce me budget to contribute to my new used car fund. While I won't have immediate use for a car during the school year, spending this kinda of money on speakers for my room no longer seems quite as justifiable.

Though on a more optimistic note, I now have two 10" MbQuart Subwoofers I can stick in my room instead of my car with an amp from parts express.

I also see gavin's point about selling the headphones, which i could prolly get a decent chunk of change for, and could possibly put towards a pair of those Swan m200's, or Rocket ELT LRSse Satellite(from gavin's site, would this require a power source such as a receiver or amp?).

How does this sound?
 
ccotenj said:
yes, the rockets would require something to drive them...
Click to expand...

Which, if you CALL av123.com, you can pretty much ask, "hey, I want an ELT system with a reciever to go with it. Can you put something together for me?"

And they will probably hook you up with a nice combo with some of the recievers they no doubt have lying around. even the ones they can't mention having on their webpage. :)
 
Sorry to bring back a thread from the grave, but I just noticed something that might be up your alley.

I noticed at my local sears that they had Denon speakers.............. which was a shock to me. After doing a little research, I found out denon makes "HTIB" (home thearter in a box) systems.

It comes with their Denon AVR485s, DVD555, and a 6.1 speaker setup.

I have never heard these, but for about 480$us they might be something to look into.
The receiver alone costs 230$us, so your getting 6 speaker, a sub, and a dvd player for 250$.

More info can be found here http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/pdfs/DHT485DV.pdf
Pic here http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/photos/DHT-485DV.jpg

Who knows, this might be a very nice little setup for people who need a small HT setup, but want a little more then just computer speakers. They might also be nice for near field listening.

~Hope this helps
 
I can tell you that Denon speakers wont hold a CANDLE to any speakers that av123.com sells for the same rough price and usage needs...
 
^^^

You mean those Tykes?

That would be an interesting shootout, but I wouldnt say it couldnt hold a candle next to it. That is quite a statement.
 
Yea, that would be a very good comparison. Both about the same price, with about the same type of things included.

Ide really like to see that!
 
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