Is this a good system?

[Bruins81]

Hi
I have a small budget to spend on a surrond sound system. I was wondering if this was any good for a starter?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3594900&SID=

I have a 47 inch panasonic plasma and a panasonic blu ray player.

Thanks

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by Bruins81

Hi
I have a small budget to spend on a surrond sound system. I was wondering if this was any good for a starter?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3594900&SID=

I have a 47 inch panasonic plasma and a panasonic blu ray player.

Thanks

Do you have a receiver in mind to add to those speaker ?

[Bruins81]

I was gonna try to find a cheap one.

though I did see this system:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882120182

[crazyBLUE]

Originally Posted by Bruins81

I was gonna try to find a cheap one.

For starting out they are not bad but remember you get what you pay for. It is not a bad idea to get a receiver that will give you what you want & maybe some good front speakers. Then add a center & sub next & then some surrounds when you can. You will be much happier in the long run. And you will be replacing / Upgrading less things as well

[Bruins81]

Thanks!

[HAMP]

Originally Posted by Bruins81

Hi
I have a small budget to spend on a surrond sound system. I was wondering if this was any good for a starter?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3594900&SID=

I have a 47 inch panasonic plasma and a panasonic blu ray player.

Thanks

If you could swing it, for a good starter system, You can get the set of speakers you have listed in your first post

and this receiver to go with it

http://www.accessories4less.com/make...eceiver/1.html

The Receiver is $189.99 and you get two free HDMI cables with it

[Blu-ray Fanatic]

Originally Posted by Bruins81

I was gonna try to find a cheap one.

though I did see this system:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882120182

I have the Onkyo HT-S3300. Its a pretty good system for what its worth. If you hook it up in an upstairs bedroom (if applicable), the bass will rumble the floor and the walls. There's always a downside to it though. From what I know, you won't be able to hook up other speaker brands to the receiver because its designed for the speakers that was included in the box.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by crazyBLUE

For starting out they are not bad but remember you get what you pay for. It is not a bad idea to get a receiver that will give you what you want & maybe some good front speakers. Then add a center & sub next & then some surrounds when you can. You will be much happier in the long run. And you will be replacing / Upgrading less things as well

+1

What is your budget?

Buy cheap. Buy twice! (Even though many people here buy expensive gear, and then buy again, and again, and again; just cannot stop upgrading).

I'd start with an amp, like the one in Hamp's post above. And then get a pair of speakers. I'd rather have 2 great speakers than 5, and a sub, so-so speakers. I'd try to buy a speaker that you can keep for 10-20 years. For $200-300, I'm sure you can get some nice bookshelf speakers.

*WARNING: Ramblings about my speakers.

[Show spoiler]Mine are ten years old and still going strong. I paid about $300 per pair for the bookshelf speakers (B&W Series 3 DM600) way back when. First trip to the store, I also got an AVR, DVD player and a sub, was just planning to get the AVR and front speakers, but.... Also my then girlfriend bought me the DVD player for my birthday gift, so take along a loved one when you go shopping.

I planned to use the DM600's as fronts; then move them to the back when I had the cash for much bigger towers.

Well, they sounded so awesome, I was really impressed with the little guys, that I decided they were big enough for my apartment, and detailed and clear enough for me.

Since I didn't need to save as much money or the towers (never been a fan of saving money), I went back to the store a few weeks later and got another pair of DM600's and a center. My plan was solid; buy piece by piece, as I could afford it, slowly over time to get a system that could stay with me for many years. Of course, instead of spreading it out over a few months, it happened in a few weeks.

Just watched Papillon, and earlier today listened to the Dark Side of the Moon SACD, on the same DVD player I got 10 years ago, also with the same speakers and sub. AVR changed because my BD player couldn't send lossless audio to it (if the BD player would have had 6 analog outs, I'd still have old AVR), and I really just wanted a new toy. I still have old amp, and it still works like a charm.

I use my HT almost every day. The noise that comes from it, still makes me smile. Money well sent IMO.

BTW, sorry, I don't know if the speakers in your 1st post are worth it or not.

[LetoAtreides82]

Originally Posted by Blu-ray Fanatic

I have the Onkyo HT-S3300. Its a pretty good system for what its worth. If you hook it up in an upstairs bedroom (if applicable), the bass will rumble the floor and the walls. There's always a downside to it though. From what I know, you won't be able to hook up other speaker brands to the receiver because its designed for the speakers that was included in the box.

I think you could use other brands but their power rating would have to be within the receiver's range. The S3400 puts out 110 watts per channel at 6 ohms. You could get speakers that are 110w or below. Because that receiver lacks preouts for the speakers you can't use an external amplifier, so you can't upgrade beyond 110w.

Also the subwoofer for that system is passive and cannot be upgraded.

For around $100 more the S5400 (http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S5400...6634991&sr=8-1 ) adds two more speakers, and puts out 130w per channel at 6 ohms. Also the subwoofer is self-powered, so you could upgrade the subwoofer if you wish. Has a front usb port so you can connect your ipod or usb drive. It's also 3d ready so if you ever decide to upgrade to a 3d hdtv this receiver supports it.

I received my S5400 today and the subwoofer is so powerful I had to turn down its dial to around 1/4th and lowered the bass tone to -10db and the subwoofer level to -6db (with these settings the subwoofer can still shake the floor in my room), I unfortunately live on the 3rd floor but fortunately the people downstairs love loud music so I at least have some wiggle room with the bass. The sound quality of this system blows away my old system, a lossy Samsung C550 5.1 system, everything sounds real.

As for Bruins81 it's up to you on how much you want to spend on your audio experience. You said you have a small budget but small can mean many things. Are you willing to spend over $1000 on your audio system? If so I'd recommend not going with the S3400 or the S5400 or any HTiB (home theater packages) and follow the advice of the others, get a good receiver and an amplifier and then start adding quality speakers one by one.

The receiver that HAMP suggested, the Onkyo SR508, is okay but beware that it doesn't have preouts for the speakers, just the sub. The Onkyo 600s adds a second sub preout, and the 700s have pre-outs for every speaker.

This Onkyo receiver (http://www.accessories4less.com/make...eceiver/1.html ) for around $500 is good, has pre-outs for every channel so you can upgrade every speaker by connecting the pre-outs to an amplifier. Has a front usb port so you can connect your ipod or usb drive. It's also 3d ready so if you ever decide to upgrade to a 3d hdtv this receiver supports it.