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Too many options, not enough reviews...

S

sonnybobiche

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 1, 2006
Messages
155
I have something on the order of $750 to spend on speakers and a receiver. I would like to listen to FLAC audio and play my guitar through the x-fi. I'd also like to be able to watch movies in a small to medium size room (possibly a dorm room) but I definitely don't want surround or a sub yet. Just looking for 2.0 right now.

I say on the order of $750 because I really have ~$2000 to spend but I've budgeted over half of that to computer upgrades, including the x-fi, 2 gigs of corsair (making it 3 gigs total), a 7900GT, 2x250GB SATA drives, a tv tuner card, and a 20.1 inch widescreen flatpanel, among other things.
I'd probably be willing to drop one of the harddrives or some RAM or something if I felt the sound system needed it.

Anyway these are the things I've been looking at:

I would prefer really big speakers because my manhood is under question.

JBL E100 (x2=$540):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000E6S0X/104-6259602-2339161?v=glance&n=172282

Ascend CBM-170 ($350):
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cbm170/cbm170.html

Ascend CMT-340 ($570):
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/cmt340m/cmt340m.html

From the receiver I'd like superior audio quality, but I'd also like scalability for the future when I get some kind of fancy plasma TV or something in a few years time.

I've been looking at these:

Pioneer VSX-1015 ($430):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...coding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance&n=172282

Pioneer VSX-516 ($170):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...coding=UTF8&m=AHF4SYKP09WBH&v=glance&n=172282

Sony STR-DG500 ($170):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...9602-2339161?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=172282

Harman Kardon AVR240 ($330):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...9602-2339161?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=172282

Yamaha HTR-5930 ($180):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...9602-2339161?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=172282

I need suggestions please!
 
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I heard A LOT of good things about Ascend, not so much about JBL. I would go with Ascend 340s, even though they are smaller. Are you going for compensation or correlation? :D
EDIT: The JBLs have dual 10-inch woofers, which means you would not suffer from lack of a sub as much. They would be a royal pain to move to/from college (since you mentioned dorm room), though. For music only, Ascends would suffice. Explosions in movies would probably be handled better by the JBLs.

As for the receiver, don't get caught in "future-proofness", especially since you plan on getting a fancy TV later on. Get a good stereo receiver now and get a better surround one later, when the whole HDMI craze settles down and everything becomes a bit more standardized. Just MO.
 
I have a nice NAD 320BEE integrated amp that is highly regarded by audio magazines. I believe it was $400 or so. It doesn't have the bells and whistles of the receivers below but it does stereo well and I think it would work for you.
 
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