Building a 2.1 System under $250

The headphone connector on the ipods sounds eh compared to if you get the connector that attaches to the bottom/dock portion.
 
I'm not so sure about the reciever I got. From all of the reviews, it seems like it isn't very good. Should I just wait til a better deal comes around, or just keep the one I got?
 
montypythizzle said:
Wait, WUT? The Dayton 10 was 100 shipped I believe. While they may be a LITTLE bit bigger, but that is usually what you expect when you get better speakers. You can't put a 10" sub in a 1" deep box. (hmm, wonder what it would sound like though :p)
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I meant, the footprint of the entire system. You're paying double the amount of a computer system and you're buying seperate components, so it damn well better sound better. ;)

montypythizzle said:
Also, speaker wire for 40 dollars? Are we running 0 guage to them???!!? I just recommended some 16awg to a guy above for these for around or less than 10 dollars I believe.
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Sure, you can get cheap 16awg wire, in the same way you can get sound out of your speakers if you run zip-cord out of the receiver, doesn't mean it'll be good. The cheapest decent speaker cable is Canare 4S11 and at $1.50 a foot you'd be looking at about $40 for a set. Remember for speaker cable, the runs need to be the same length or you'll have channel imbalance problems so even in my small bedroom I need 20ft total of wire, $30 without shipping. If you want banana plugs or spades and sheathing, you're looking closer to $60 with shipping, more if you're bi-wiring like I am.

montypythizzle said:
Also, you can upgrade many of times with that receiever, including new sources, such as a computer, a DVD player etc. You have 3 digital inputs PLUS a 5.1 analog hookup, I think the Kilpsch's have stereo analog input.
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Sure you could possibly do this but to be frank, if you're going to buy speakers worth more than $50, you're not going to want to run them out of a cheap Pioneer receiver.

@Danothemano

Do you really need a receiver? I know you would like to run the optical out of your Macbook Pro into your receiver but the DAC on that receiver isn't going to be much better than the internal DAC on your Macbook's soundcard. If you don't need the video switching, I would look into something like a Pioneer A-35R or an NAD C320BEE. Both can be picked up for relatively little used and both will outperform that Pioneer receiver. Don't be fooled by the BB guys claiming massive power outputs, take a look at the specs for the watts per channel output and half it and you get what cheap receivers are actually capable of outputting, if even that. If you really need a receiver, look into the Panny and JVC digital receivers. They both offer stellar performance for the price. The Outlaw receivers are also great bargains but they're a little more expensive.

What it really comes down to though, is what sounds good to you. If you can take it back opened, I would just try plug everything in and see if it sounds good to you. If it does, well then you're golden, ignore everything I just said. If it doesn't sound good to you, well...that's a much deeper hole. :)
 
@Danothemano

Do you really need a receiver? I know you would like to run the optical out of your Macbook Pro into your receiver but the DAC on that receiver isn't going to be much better than the internal DAC on your Macbook's soundcard. If you don't need the video switching, I would look into something like a Pioneer A-35R or an NAD C320BEE. Both can be picked up for relatively little used and both will outperform that Pioneer receiver. Don't be fooled by the BB guys claiming massive power outputs, take a look at the specs for the watts per channel output and half it and you get what cheap receivers are actually capable of outputting, if even that. If you really need a receiver, look into the Panny and JVC digital receivers. They both offer stellar performance for the price. The Outlaw receivers are also great bargains but they're a little more expensive.

What it really comes down to though, is what sounds good to you. If you can take it back opened, I would just try plug everything in and see if it sounds good to you. If it does, well then you're golden, ignore everything I just said. If it doesn't sound good to you, well...that's a much deeper hole. :)
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I'm not the one with the Macbook. But I think I will take it back. It's not opened or anything. I think I'm going to really try to get a better one this coming Friday.
 
skyline889 said:
Sure, you can get cheap 16awg wire, in the same way you can get sound out of your speakers if you run zip-cord out of the receiver, doesn't mean it'll be good. The cheapest decent speaker cable is Canare 4S11 and at $1.50 a foot you'd be looking at about $40 for a set. Remember for speaker cable, the runs need to be the same length or you'll have channel imbalance problems so even in my small bedroom I need 20ft total of wire, $30 without shipping. If you want banana plugs or spades and sheathing, you're looking closer to $60 with shipping, more if you're bi-wiring like I am.
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Why would you need to get better quality wire than the 16AWG (especially at ~5-15 feet)? I mean there is almost zero to no resistance, and for the small voltage that they would be using it would be stupid to get anything else.
 
Danothemano said:
I'm not the one with the Macbook. But I think I will take it back. It's not opened or anything. I think I'm going to really try to get a better one this coming Friday.
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You're listening to those slick deal trolls too much. Those dude's are the one's who will spend any amount, and I wouldn't bother taking their advice. I get my speakers tomorrow. Hopefully I can grab some speaker wire and hook em up. I will let you know how it works out.
 
RyanGrob said:
You're listening to those slick deal trolls too much. Those dude's are the one's who will spend any amount, and I wouldn't bother taking their advice. I get my speakers tomorrow. Hopefully I can grab some speaker wire and hook em up. I will let you know how it works out.
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Cool, that would be awesome. Is it just speakers you are hooking up, or is it Speakers and a Sub?
 
Danothemano said:
Cool, that would be awesome. Is it just speakers you are hooking up, or is it Speakers and a Sub?
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Just speakers for now. I will be ordering the sub hopefully next week. I have to figure out where to put these things. They just came :)
 
I got the R150's. They sound pretty good to me. I hooked em up and am playing a DVD through the receiver. No complaints here!
 
hey danothemano - I just ordered my r150's too if you want to wait a couple of days for mine to come in. No sub for me right now either.
 
montypythizzle said:
Why would you need to get better quality wire than the 16AWG (especially at ~5-15 feet)? I mean there is almost zero to no resistance, and for the small voltage that they would be using it would be stupid to get anything else.
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This tells me all I need to know, thanks. Enjoy your $50 Polks.
 
skyline889 said:
This tells me all I need to know, thanks. Enjoy your $50 Polks.
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skyline you are an idiot. This is a help thread to help a guy build an inexpensive system. You coming in here and stating that 40$ cable is the only thing you are happy with does not help someone whose budget is now 200 because you think 40$ cable is the bare minimum. Then you proceed to crap all over some speakers and the only thing I have heard you say is that they are bad because they are 50$.

The two models of amps you mentioned a quick price search shows prices of over 150$.

Everyone that has owned a piece of electronics knows that if you spend more you up the quality and parts used always but at some point we need to consider our own budgets and needs.

If you feel that strongly that the parts people recommended are not worth it then post something that is a worthwhile alternative instead of just saying spend more, spend more, spend more. By your recommendations the guy only as an integrated amp and speaker wire and he is already close to his 250$ budget. Then you tell him that he needs to spend more than 50$ on speakers, putting his total well over 300 and even 350$.

I am sure monty is enjoying his polks as I hope to be too. His answers to some of the questions here helped me find these budget speakers for my setup.

Monty and a couple of others, thank you for pimping these speakers or else I would not have known to even look at them.




edit:
danothemano - if a receiver with what you want is hard to fit into your budget why don't you check out garage sales and such. I haven't paid for most of my systems as I end up getting handed down older tech which is usually hotter and older than a new system but sounds every bit as good. See if you can find any old receivers and such that you could buy for less than or around 50$.
 
blendingnoise said:
skyline you are an idiot. This is a help thread to help a guy build an inexpensive system. You coming in here and stating that 40$ cable is the only thing you are happy with does not help someone whose budget is now 200 because you think 40$ cable is the bare minimum. Then you proceed to crap all over some speakers and the only thing I have heard you say is that they are bad because they are 50$.

The two models of amps you mentioned a quick price search shows prices of over 150$.

Everyone that has owned a piece of electronics knows that if you spend more you up the quality and parts used always but at some point we need to consider our own budgets and needs.

If you feel that strongly that the parts people recommended are not worth it then post something that is a worthwhile alternative instead of just saying spend more, spend more, spend more. By your recommendations the guy only as an integrated amp and speaker wire and he is already close to his 250$ budget. Then you tell him that he needs to spend more than 50$ on speakers, putting his total well over 300 and even 350$.

I am sure monty is enjoying his polks as I hope to be too. His answers to some of the questions here helped me find these budget speakers for my setup.

Monty and a couple of others, thank you for pimping these speakers or else I would not have known to even look at them.




edit:
danothemano - if a receiver with what you want is hard to fit into your budget why don't you check out garage sales and such. I haven't paid for most of my systems as I end up getting handed down older tech which is usually hotter and older than a new system but sounds every bit as good. See if you can find any old receivers and such that you could buy for less than or around 50$.
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If he's patient, I've seen good condition used A35s go for $100 shipped, cheaper than the receiver he plans on returning. I've also heard the Insignias and while I'm not a big fan of them, they sound more refined than the Polks albeit with a slightly looser mid-bass, I've seen them being sold locally for $40 in mint condition, less than the Polks. I was just trying to help him get the best bang for his buck rather than being lured in by this month's FOTM which I certainly have been before and I fail to see how I'm being an idiot but you're of course entitled to your own opinion about me.

About the speaker cables, $40 isn't exactly dirt cheap but decent speaker cable for $1.50/ft isn't anything to snuff your nose at and by audio standards, $1.50/ft is dirt cheap as even the cheap bulk copper wire most buy from BB or CC will run you 2-3 times that much and you'll get lesser performing cable. If you do a Google search, you'll find that Canare Starquad offers the best bang for your buck and is loved by DIYers because it is so reasonably priced for what you get. I build cables as a Hobby and as a PT business and because of this I've worked with pretty much every kind of wire from the cheap Navships $.10/ft SPC to $15/ft 99.999% pure silver and I don't really see how you can get decent speaker cable for under $10 if you're not using zip-cord and you're using the same length for both channels but if you can, more power to you.
 
skyline889 said:
This tells me all I need to know, thanks. Enjoy your $50 Polks.
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TBH, the Polk's probably aren't even accurate enough to hear the difference in cable so your argument is null. That is why cabling and interconnects are usually THE LAST items in building an audio rig to upgrade.
 
my response were more based upon you not adding anything to the thread. You will see that this is for his mom and he has a budget. His mom is not the audiophile you are most likely and probably just wants better than TV speakers which is primarily what this system is being used for.

From what I have read it seems that if you use a decent gauge then length does not play much of a factor if they are not equal, especially with runs under 10' .
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10239&cs_id=1023902&p_id=2748&seq=1&format=2
50ft, 14 gauge = 10$ which will suit the guy fine. He does not need DIY preferred wires I would say based on what he has stated.

It may be a flavour of the month but hey you know that is how forums go.

I called you an idiot because you give your opinion, don't read the OP's needs and throw in a snide comment about 50$ speakers.
 
That polk is on sale at Amazon for 101 shipped free.

I ordered the 12" Dayton 150w sub for $139. Should be here by tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out :)
 
RyanGrob said:
That polk is on sale at Amazon for 101 shipped free.

I ordered the 12" Dayton 150w sub for $139. Should be here by tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out :)
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The Dayton is a great sub for the $$. Good choice there.
 
Danothemano said:
Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I need:

  • Sub
  • Speakers
  • Reciever
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This is pretty much what I am building now. You should stretch the budget to $500 for the speakers & receiver. I wouldn't recommend buying the sub now, you might want to warm up with the speakers and then decide if you need the sub. I bought X-LS from av123 and X55 receiver. For entry level, its not a bad setup. I might get another pair of speekers later.
 
Danothemano - just buy the speakers and a good receiver right now. I have been running the r150s for a couple of hours now since I got them in the mail and they get really loud with my old receiver. The bass is not lacking either. I doubt your mom would miss the sub even. Listening to some drum n bass and house the lows sound better than what I was expecting. Nothing distorts much. I prefer to turn the treble down a bit if I am pumping the speakers as that is when you miss the sub the most. The bass port is on the back if you are placing these speakers into a cabinet or wall mounting them. I am very happy with these for the 60$ I spent. 2 more of these or the 70$ r30s for the front seems like a good budget setup for me.
 
Got the dayton 12" sub in and holy moly, this was a lot bigger than I expected. I'll have the rest of my cables tomorrow so I should be able to give a good review of this system. Can't wait!
 
Please do write up your impressions, it looks like I'll be getting almost the same system for my birthday soon, except with the 10" Dayton instead of the 12" and a Harman Kardon AVR 146 receiver.
 
Well, speaker wire FINALLY came today (UPS Ground has got to be the slowest from CA to MI). Got them all set up with the banana plugs and WOAH, this shit is so much better than my shitty logitech setup's I've had (Z-2300 and Z-5300e). The Polk's can go pretty loud just for being bookshelf's but the hugest surprise is the Dayton. It has a LOT of boom. If you don't like boom, you can always adjust the gain, but damn all the way up, it started making shit fall off on my walls and in my closet. This setup is surprisingly good for a budget system, and I'm overly thrilled. Not a great writeup but I'm too busy enjoying music, sorry!
 
Man, that 12 would be NICE!! I think my 10" that just came with the Onkyo HTIB is a little overkill for my room, but I know there is more :p
 
montypythizzle said:
Man, that 12 would be NICE!! I think my 10" that just came with the Onkyo HTIB is a little overkill for my room, but I know there is more :p
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Haha yes, it is overkill for my room also. But I know come May when I move, my room will be larger.. As of now, things in my closet fall and stuff on my dressers don't stay on for long :)
 
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