Please Help Me With Home Theater Audio!!!

[czeluff]

Hello to all,

I know next to NOTHING about home theater audio. I just bought a LN46A650 LCD for my condo, and I need to get a speaker system. The condo is not large, so a 5.1/7.1 sound system, I think, would be overkill.

Instead, i'd rather get an AMAZING 2.1 setup. (Also, i'd like to spend under $800, and get the best bang for buck).

Alot of people have pointed me towards some of the following Tower Speakers:

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-777-3-Way-Reflex-Speaker/dp/B0000W4U2C

--or--

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002Z241Q/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

First of all, should these *only* be used in a 5.1/7.1 setup? Or would they be really good speakers for a 2.1 setup?

Also, I know NOTHING about receivers, and would like to find something adequate to drive them. Alot of people point me in the direction of good receivers, but they're VERY expensive because they're designed for 7.1 home theaters.

Wrap-up:

Essentially, please point me in the direction of a good Tower Speaker 2.1 setup, a good receiver, and subwoofer, for around $800.

Thanks everyone!

Chad Zeluff

 

[adk]

Congrats on not falling for the surround sound gimmick. Those two speakers in back make a peep every 10 minutes and that's about it! Two nice, stereo speakers are the way to go. As far as speakers, it's really a matter of preference. Either of those speakers you linked to would produce a nice, large sound. Polks and Yamahas sound very different, though, so I'd recommend having a listen before buying them off of amazon. With tower speakers, you probably won't even need a subwoofer unless you REALLY love bass (and pissing of whoever you share a wall with). I'd strongly recommend looking for a quality receiver from the mid 90s on Craigslist. Receiver technology hasn't really gotten any better lately, they've just added more inputs.

 

[czeluff]

thanks!

thanks so much for your help man.

Can anyone give me the model names of receives I should look into? Also, what specifications I need to look for in receivers: wattage, ohm's, etc.

Thanks so much!

Chad Z

 

[Killyp]

Okay, you'll be better off going for a good pair of bookshelf speakers and a good little amplifier for this price.

My standard recommendation is a B&W and Rotel combination. Rotel only offers the RA-1062 in the USA, which is $700 alone. Shame they don't distribute the RA04, which is an amazing little amp and costs hardly anything in comparison to the sound it produces. It's maybe worth seeing if you can get one off ebay or something?

B&W's new 68X series is frankly jaw-dropping for the price. The 686s are absolutely fantastic little speakers, and while you're never going to get earth-shattering bass out of them, you can always add on a subwoofer later (the Rotel amps have pre-outs to help with this).

Rotel RA04 = £249 here in the UK
B&W 686 = $480

The reason I suggest standmounts is that at this price, you get much more bang for your buck than with floorstanders. Especially with B&W's new series which is absolutely brilliant. If you want to add in a subwoofer, there are plenty of good offerings on the market which won't leave a nasty hole in your wallet...

 

[wvuwhat]

thanks so much for your help man.

Can anyone give me the model names of receives I should look into? Also, what specifications I need to look for in receivers: wattage, ohm's, etc.

Thanks so much!

Chad Z

Love my Harmon Kardon receiver with Polk towers. Highly recommend!

 

[Cave Man]

Congrats on not falling for the surround sound gimmick. Those two speakers in back make a peep every 10 minutes and that's about it!...Receiver technology hasn't really gotten any better lately, they've just added more inputs.

Can't disagree more with these statements. The ability to do Dolby Digital and DTS in your movies is tops. Going from a two-speaker set-up to a 5.1 system has dramatically improved the home theater experience.

 

[Killyp]

Class D amps have also come a long way in the last few years, and now regularly outperform their Class A and Class A/B counterparts.

However, I still agree that the OP would be better off going for a good stereo setup.

Surround sound doesn't mean better sound, it just means more sound...

 

[adk]

C Going from a two-speaker set-up to a 5.1 system has dramatically improved the home theater experience.

How is occasionally hearing a helicopter fly by behind you or a gunshot from the rear left corner of your living room a dramatic change and not just a gimmick?

 

[Cave Man]

Try the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith. We have 3.1 (40" Samsung LCD) and 5.1 (projector-based home theater) and the 5.1 is always a nicer experience.