What speakers should I buy $1000 budget

[nick12321]

Thanks for any help I am really clueless when it comes to audio

I'm looking to get a surround sound system for my dorm room which is relatively small, probably 15x12 feet or something like that.

My budget is $1000 but I could be persuaded to go as high as 1500 I suppose.

I want them primarily for watching movies and video games off my ps3, but will also be listening to music a fair amount. Thank you!

[Dagger]

Is your budget with or without a receiver?

For just speakers (surround) you can consider:

http://www.av123.com/products_catego...akers&brand=55

Read good reviews on these for budget speakers.


At your price range though I would consider getting the best quality 2.1 (two mains and a subwoofer). You can build out the center and surrounds later.

I have 3.1 set-up with Paradigm Monitor 7s/CC-290 with a Velodyne Sub Woofer DLS-4000R and I love the set up. I bargain hunted and came out to $1200 or so for everything. I have an Onkyo 705 to power them.


Klipsch, Infinity and Polk are speaker companies that keep coming up as good quality for people that don't have $50k to spend. Fry's has some Polk mains on sale for $199 each that retail for twice as much.

If you are serious though you should go to some hi-fi shops and audition speakers.

[Kaldaim]

The infinity beta line is excellent

[sowecrazy]

try aperionaudio.com there awsum speakers they also have free shipping both ways and a 30 day trial

[nick12321]

Here are the speakers I'm looking at now, what do you guys think about these speakers:

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...iews/501999644

Is 7.1 overkill for a smallish room like mine?

Considering my room is about 12x15 feet and the speakers will be concentrated in about half this space does 7.1 add anything to the experience? How much will 7.1 add over 5.1? I will probably want 7.1 in the future but maybe stick to 5 for now?

What do you think about wireless compared to wired for the speakers? I think I would prefer wireless and probably smaller speakers in general if possible.

Also, I was wondering what kind of improvements in quality you get in sound experience as you move up the ladder into more expensive equipment, are there obvious "jumps" in quality at certain price ranges, like you need to spend >X to have a super duper system etc? How much more would I have to pay to get to the "next level" of sound quality, if you know what I mean. Or maybe some general ranges e.g. 100-300, 500-1000 etc?

It never really occurred to me to spend more on the speakers than the TV lol but if there are some phenomenal speakers that will blow me away for 3Kish I might go for that.

Thank you for your help




Sorry for the dual thread but my posts keep getting deleted in my other thread...

[Vlad44]

Originally Posted by nick12321

My budget is $1000...

sure JBL HOME CINEMA SOUND:

1. front n rear - JBL CST55, $340 per pair
2. center - JBL CSC55, $155 delivered on amazon
3. while HCS sub is only 10'' personaly I prefer JBL SUB 12 from JBL VENUE series, $200 at amazon.

totaling $ slightly higher 1000.
Ive just got all that stuff and... waiting for receiver!
Thats my 2 cents...

[Kratos3]

I have the Klipsch Quintet III and Sub-10 and am happy with it(got it for xmas..my GF rocks!). Also you could piece together some Klipsch speakers for an even better setup. I think you could get a DefTech Promonitor 800 system for around that price and would be very happy with that(I love DefTech), and it has gotten awesome reviews(Sound and Vision Mag named it an Editor's Choice for last year). Mirage also makes a nice setup with the Omnisat systems. There really are too many options to name, but I would say get the DefTech Promonitor 800 system. Especially for such a small room.

[dobyblue]

Fronts and rears - 4 @ Axiom M3 v2 - http://www.axiomaudio.com/m3ti_mainb.html
US$600

Center - 1 @ Axiom VP100 v2 - http://axiomaudio.com/vp100_main.html
US$255

Sub - 1 @ Hsu VTF-2 MK3 - http://hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-2-mk3.html
US$499

That's US$1354


Good luck!

[Snowgod]

You should check out HSU Research. They have some great systems that'll blow you away for their price. I think that the enthusiast 1 system will fit your price range.

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/enthusiast1.html

[kingofgrills]

For $1000 budget, I would recommend checking out:

Paradigm Atom Monitors - Paradigm is well known for making fantastic monitor speakers, and these absolutely shine for both music and movies. They have outstanding clarity, bass, and create a tremendous soundstage. Plus, they only cost around $200 a pair. Here's a link to Paradigm's Atom page:

http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/...4-1-1.paradigm

Here's a link to reviews on the Atom. They are serious giant killers, and sound much better than many speakers costing thousands more.

http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/...w-2-4.paradigm

You can create a fantastic surround system with these and really stretch your $1000.

[nick12321]

Thanks for the links, I have a few more questions:

My room is pretty small (12x15 or something) and the speakers will be occupying about half this space. Is this too small for 7.1, should I just go for 5.1? I'll probably be in a bigger place next year, should I just get 5 for now and add more later if neccessary?

Also, I'm wondering how much more it would take to get to a "jump" in quality, like how much more would I have to pay to kick it up a notch