Putting together a 5.1 HT system

Hi, I'm hoping to get some recommendations from the people who know what theyre talking about with stereo equipment. I want to put together a good quality 5.1 HT system on a budget of about ~$400. I prefer name brand electronics and if you are going to give links, good retailers. I'm also willing to spend more than that if it is really worth it, but $400 is ideal. Thanks for the help, let's see what you come up with.

zabomb had a good system layout that included a JBL 5.1 reciever, 2 pairs of HK bookshelf speakers and a Sony subwoofer. I think it cost around 400 dollars and IMO would work great for that price. Hopefully he will see this message.

well the harmon kardon ebay store is a great place to start. But i dont think that it will be easy to keep it under 400, but definitly 600.

oh by the way here's the link
http://stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio

here's what i would pick

Harman Kardon AVR-125 or AVR-135
2 sets of HKB6's
Infinity Entra dual 4" Center Channel Speaker

and this is a great subwoofer get it from here
http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=velcht10&rpc=4120&catid=4203&store=

enjoy!

Seems a lot of people like those Harman Kardon HKB6 speakers for use satellites. So I'm leaning toward those unless someone has a better suggestion.

Really need some more recommendations for the receiver and the sub.

I really dont mind spending more than $400 also, as long as I'm getting what I pay for. $600 is fine as long as its not overpriced and there is hardly a difference.

Thanks again.

well ask around here about the sub, pretty much everyone will agree that the Velodyne ROCKS!!!!

on the reciever get one that will do all the funtions that you need, and that it has plenty of power for how loud you want it. some good companies

Yamaha
Denon
Harman Kardon
Pioneer
Onkyo
JVC

and ask around here also for other ones, these are the ones that i have had personal expriance with.

shard said:

well the harmon kardon ebay store is a great place to start. But i dont think that it will be easy to keep it under 400, but definitly 600.

oh by the way here's the link
http://stores.ebay.com/Harman-Audio

here's what i would pick

Harman Kardon AVR-125 or AVR-135
2 sets of HKB6's
Infinity Entra dual 4" Center Channel Speaker

and this is a great subwoofer get it from here
http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=velcht10&rpc=4120&catid=4203&store=

enjoy!

Click to expand...

this is the setup i have but sub the 5 1/4 version of the center channel instead of the 4" and using the AVR-125.

my total for everything shipped was right at $650 however consider 120 of that was shipping, so product cost was really only 530.

sounds great

if you have the tools and the inclination you can build a really nice sub cheap... if you want specific parts and stuff just let me know.

just thought I would plug a little DIY here

Sony SA-WM500 150 Watt Active Subwoofer (12" driver) 164$ shipped
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=64613&item=5708778994&rd=1

JBL DCR600II 5.1 Home Theater Receiver ~140$ shipped
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39794&item=5701747710

Harman Kardon HK B 6 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers (2 sets) ~150$ shipped
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14991&item=5702630188


454$ shipped. (I apolygise for going over the budget. originally when i did the 400$ system the JBL receiver cost 20$ less.)

an alternate solution for the subwoofer would be purchasing a plate amp and driver from partsexpress to build your own subwoofer. this solution would cost more but yield a much better subwoofer than anything you get buy (within limits)

thanks Zabomb4163 for agreeing with me, All i have are were some infinity Primus's and a Denon( cant think of the model #) but when i heard those HKB6's I was like HOLY S***!!

But thats good that we have an expert opinion on this matter!

Thanks for the responses. Zabomb you really like that Sony sub or you just using it to fit the price? I'm not a fan of Sony myself and since I'm going over that budget anyway there anything else you like?

I'm definately getting those HKB6 speakers for satellites, as everyone agrees on those. Just got 1 pair off ebay.

As for the receiver I'm still clueless. What kind of features make them worthy to buy? I'm thinking I want a good high amp per channel for these speakers.

well you want to be able to have and optical input(if not what the HELL?) and then you want a good amount of power, a reputable brand for integrity wise and durability, you want different types of surround sound modes, good THDs (I think i know what i am talking about LOL!) and then something that is pleasing to the eye would be a good idea.

So here are some good companies

Harman kardon namely the AVR-125 or AVR135
Dennon is realy good
Yamaha is great!
JBL Is also AWSOME!
Onkyo is decent
Pioneer is great too!

now on model numbers i dont know, but i were you i would go with Zabomb's suggestion on the reciever, but on the sony sub, i wouldnt go with it, for about 70 dollars more you can get the velodyne and get top of the line!

(oh and Maxvla I got to hear that sub at a friends place and HOLY S***!!!!! that sucker could do better at cpr than me LOL!)

Stay away from kenwood, I realy dont like them

i just recomended the sony subwoofer because its priced well and has a 12" driver, which in most cases will beat a 10" driver.

Well I've looked around everywhere for that JBL receiver and have not found anything. Is it discontinued or something?

What about this?
http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=yamhtr5730sl&store=&catid=4118

Seems to me to have a lot of watts/channel, but I dont really know much about this stuff. And what about all these features like:
# Quad-Field and Tri-Field CINEMA DSP
# Dolby Digital Matrix 6.1 and DTS-ES Matrix 6.1
# Dolby Pro Logic II Decoding
is this as good as it gets or are there features it doesnt have that most others do?

The receiver is still the part I'm having trouble getting now. Thanks again.

Pretty much anything from yamaha, H/K, or denon will be good. I try to stay away from KLH, sony (other than ES), pioneer (other than elite), JVC, Onkyo, Kenwood, etc. I'm not saying any of those receivers will be bad but I like the way the H/K's, denons, and yamahas sound. Plus those three companys tend to have pretty good build quality on their equipment. Just my opinion though.



Ryan

Rocko that Reciever is perfect for what you want! go ahead and get it if you want it!

The best deals for recievers I've found are at ecost. I picked up a refurbed onkyo HTR510 and it's great.

There is a denon there for $134 too as well. The refurbs come in great condition (mine still had the plastic protection on the display) and come with a 1 year warranty.

For subs, I'd check out some of the cheaper stuff from athena as well. Sony are ewwwwww.. and I think that velodynes are really overpriced for what you get. If you are handy, I'd recommend building your own tube sub. They are easier to build than box subs and in general need less of a powerful amp to get the same SPL.

Watts/channel is NOT something you should go by when buying a reciever. Ideally, if you could, I'd listen to different recievers/speakers and see which ones you like. The better audio shops will let you switch until you've found one that you are happy with.

Do NOT go by how speakers sound in the store (especially in somewhere like bestbuy).. they are far from optimal.

If you hunt around on ebay, a dahlquist orbit set can be had for about $200-300. It's a great little 5.1 system, but has few upgrade paths.

Another thing you might want to do is buy a 2.0 system now and slowly add stuff as your budget allows.

Well I already got the HK6s for the satellites, and the Yamaha receiver. Waiting for one of the centers I want to pop up on ebay. As for the sub I'm still deciding on what to buy but also considering building my own...

Anyone have any speaker wire suggestions? I am definately not getting Monster cable cause the price is ridiculous for what you get. Though I dont want to get the stranded crap thats $5 for 100' either. I'll need around 100' total. Thanks.

DaFonz said:

If you are handy, I'd recommend building your own tube sub. They are easier to build than box subs and in general need less of a powerful amp to get the same SPL.

Click to expand...

I disagree. The only sonotube based subwoofer I built was MUCH harder to make than a typical box sub. And if i didnt have a router with a circle jig, it would have been even harder.

And as for a tube sub needing less power than a box sub, there is no reason that they wouldnt require the same amount, unless you are also implying that the tube sub is automatically larger than a box sub in internal volume.

Rocko[DPC] said:

Well I already got the HK6s for the satellites, and the Yamaha receiver. Waiting for one of the centers I want to pop up on ebay. As for the sub I'm still deciding on what to buy but also considering building my own...

Anyone have any speaker wire suggestions? I am definately not getting Monster cable cause the price is ridiculous for what you get. Though I dont want to get the stranded crap thats $5 for 100' either. I'll need around 100' total. Thanks.

Click to expand...

For the speaker cable, I would reccomend http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-144
Ive used both the 12 and 16 awg versions, and it is very flexible, has a high strand count, is quite resistant to oxidation and looks quite nice too IMO.

If that link doesnt work go to www.partsexpress.com and type in part number 100-144