Recommendations for budget receiver + remote and speaker setup?

J

J87X

Limp Gawd
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Dec 7, 2006
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My new tv has a fixed analog audio output, so I need something with a remote. Going for a budget 2.1 system for living room. I'm thinking about thespeakercompany for bookshelves, I don't need anything great or really powerful, just something to replace the integrated tv speakers. I really don't know what to look for in a receiver, I just know I need one with a remote. I'm not sure how expensive a good receiver needs to be, but I'd like to keep it under $300 for everything.

Also is it uncommon to have 3 speakers in the front (3.1?), for example if I bought this , and put one in the center? Or is this only for people who want to set up 5.1?

Thanks!
 
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Oh man, it feels good to be back. 1 Month without Internet was a pain!:(

Anyways, as far as Receivers, check this Onkyo HT-R667 ($259 + Shipping). That's suppose to be the equivalent of the TX-SR606, but the HT-R667 is normally sold as a package with speakers. I have the TX-SR606 myself, and It's a very good receivers. It has plenty of connectors, enough power, and sound extremely good when you manage to get Audyssey right, which is very tricky.
BTW, you can trust Accessories4Less, I have done purchases from them before. They sell Factory reconditioned units, meaning they are Open-Box, but the factory checks them, so you won't be ripped off.

As far as Speakers, I suggest you drop those, and get P6-PR 6.5" ($89.97 + Shipping). You were correct, 3 speakers is for people that are going for 5.1. If you ever want that, just get those later on, but for now, you will be more happy with 2x 6.5" instead of 3x 5.25". The frequency response will be better, and you won't have to deal with upmixing to fill that center channel.

I have the P6-PR 6.5" myself, and they are good, considering the price. They extend to about 100hz nicely, but you can still hear them at about 80hz if you have them at decent volume (not loud). After that, it drops almost instantly, so the 60hz they claim is overstated. You can add a subwoofer later on if you so desire. You probably won't notice you are missing much when listening to pop music or TV shows, but you definitely will if you listen to rock music or watch action movies.
The mid-range are nice, and probably the best part of the speakers. If you pair it with a nice DAC, like the one the receiver above, or something even better from your computer, it can sound really nice. No real complains here.
The problem with this speakers however, is the Highs, which are clearly missing. Things like breaking glass, metal, or piano, sound considerably weak when you compared it to the other frequencies. I mean, is not horrible, It just left me wanting more. Somehow it feels like the speakers on my old Z-5500 speaker had better highs, but I'm not totally sure. However, the P6-PR kick the crap out of the Logitechs in everything else.

So there you have it, something to start you. Anything else, let me know.
Good luck.
 
Thanks for the reply. That receiver is kind of pricey for now, are there any decent ones under $100, or any powered monitors that have remotes?
 
Go check out partsexpress. They have receivers under $100 and decent cheap speakers. Good company.
 
How about the Speakers I said before, but downgrade the receiver to something like this: Pioneer VSX-519V-K. That way, you can have free shipping in both, and that will keep you below the $300 you said.

I mean, you can go cheaper, with a simple stereo amp, but you have to be absolutely sure you will never upgrade from 2.0. If you ever consider adding anything, like a subwoofer, more speakers, or need additional inputs, then a regular receiver is the best way. You don't want to spend even extra money when the time comes, do you?
 
Look at eBay for Harmon Kardon AVR-254. Harmon Kardon is having a clearance sale for these units through their Direct Sales on eBay. Awesome unit that handles HDMI video as well.
 
Alai said:
Look at eBay for Harmon Kardon AVR-254. Harmon Kardon is having a clearance sale for these units through their Direct Sales on eBay. Awesome unit that handles HDMI video as well.
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He's looking at $300 for everything. The refurb AVR-254 seems to be nearly $300 all by itself. :(
 
rickyz said:
If you look at the Completed listings, the range is $240 shipped plus. I think it's a better gauge on the average going price.
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You have a point, but you're missing the fact that they have multiple AVR-254 ending their auctions within a few hours of each other. I doubt ALL of them are going to go for a price above $200. There will be some stragglers, for sure.
 
Alai said:
You have a point, but you're missing the fact that they have multiple AVR-254 ending their auctions within a few hours of each other. I doubt ALL of them are going to go for a price above $200. There will be some stragglers, for sure.
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I've been watching the 254 auctions for a good 2 months so far because I was interested in getting one. Last month when harman was offering the receiver for 280 buy it now or make an offer, you were able to get the receiver for $220 shipped. They sold a few dozen at that price. They don't do that anymore and just have around a dozen auctions going on at a time and one buy it now. Shipped prices go from $230-$270 now.

In the end, I picked up a b-stock yamaha htr-6140 for ~$154 shipped (unit was brand new with a b-stock sticker on the box) because the avr-254 seems to suffer from quality issues according to the very long problems and issues thread on avsforum.
 
Odin75 said:
You were correct, 3 speakers is for people that are going for 5.1.
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No, it's also for people that are going for 3.1. And there's no upmixing involved if you're watching 5.1 channel movies/television, so I'm not sure why you mentioned that.

There's just as much reason to have a center channel with a 3.1 system as there is with a 5.1 system. If you don't have the room or inclination to go for a complete 5.1 system but would still like to have properly anchored sound/dialogue for movies and television 3.1 is a great way to go.

A center is necessary if you're going to be watching TV/Movies while not sitting directly in front of the television. If it's only going to be you or you plus one other person and you're always going to be sitting straight in front of the TV then there's not a real compelling reason to get a center, but if that's not the case, then I'd say definitely get a center.
 
J87X said:
I'm guessing a sub wouldn't work either? I have no plans to ever add surround, but I may want to add a sub eventually.

BTW, are there any other bookshelves better for the value than thespeakercompany at around same price?
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The Sherwood Receiver does not have a dedicated subwoofer output, but there are two ways to get that to a sub:
1) You'll have to route some of the speaker wires to the sub (assuming the sub. would have a 'speaker in' option) or
2) The reciever seems to have some 'output' connections. You could plug you tv into say VCR or TAPE on the Sherwood, and use the outputs to connect to the subwoofer. (which also means you'd have to use the subwoofers crossover knob, which is perfectly fine, but is analog)

As for different speakers:
Athena LS-100
Energy C-100
Energy C-200

:Note that I do not own any of those speakers, but if i didn't own any now, i wouldn't mind putting those at the top of my list because they are pretty well known name brands.

:Also note that the speakers i have linked all seem to have the 'bass ports' located at the rear instead of the front like the tSc P6-PR. So i would not recomment the three i listed if you plan to place the bookshelves against a wall. If you plan to place them on stands/away from wall, then it should work well
 
Frankie said:
No, it's also for people that are going for 3.1. And there's no upmixing involved if you're watching 5.1 channel movies/television, so I'm not sure why you mentioned that.

There's just as much reason to have a center channel with a 3.1 system as there is with a 5.1 system. If you don't have the room or inclination to go for a complete 5.1 system but would still like to have properly anchored sound/dialogue for movies and television 3.1 is a great way to go.

A center is necessary if you're going to be watching TV/Movies while not sitting directly in front of the television. If it's only going to be you or you plus one other person and you're always going to be sitting straight in front of the TV then there's not a real compelling reason to get a center, but if that's not the case, then I'd say definitely get a center.
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Don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on 3.1. We actually have a 3.1 setup in the living room now from my old Z-5500 setup, because we can't find a place to put the surrounds, and nobody watches movies there anyways. We have one of those converter boxes for our CRT TV that has Optical Out, so I use ProLogic II to upmix the Stereo PCM. However, I find 2.1 sounds better than 3.1 when listening to music.

I have not tried watching a movie YET, but I can't help but wonder where those surround ambient sounds will go in a 3.1 setup. I mean, the Z-5500 doesn't have a feature to downmix to 3.1, only to 2.1.

What I'm saying here is, I'm sure you enjoy 3.1, and I respect that, but I like 2.1 better. I'm sure you can get 3.1 to sound good, but I'm not sure he will have to apropiate upmixing and downmixing technologies considering his budget,
 
Very well put. Then again, with current music players and receiver technology, you can just set the thing up to play 2.1 for music and 3.1 for movies. Not a big deal.
 
Wouldl it make a difference if I just get a cheap stereo receiver with no inputs, and plug everything into the TV then plug the receiver into the audio out, rather than hooking hdmi, etc directly to the receiver? Would there be a noticeable loss in sound quality or anything?

Also would 3.1 work with a stereo receiver?
 
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J87X said:
Wouldl it make a difference if I just get a cheap stereo receiver with no inputs, and plug everything into the TV then plug the receiver into the audio out, rather than hooking hdmi, etc directly to the receiver? Would there be a noticeable loss in sound quality or anything?
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That's looks like a good idea, if you have a TV with plenty of inputs and has audio output as well. Mine doesn't, so you are lucky.
The TV itself will be doing the D-A conversion, since you probably will be using analog, but that's OK. The fact that you will be using separate speakers will increase the quality by a lot, to worry about who's doing the conversion or whatnot, you would only consider that on slightly higher budget upgrades.

J87X said:
Also would 3.1 work with a stereo receiver?
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No, It won't work, since there won't even be a place to plug that center channel to. Like said before, you can perhaps add a subwoofer later on by splitting the signal and turn it from 2.0 to 2.1, but that's about it.
 
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