What must I absolutely upgrade?

[staquinas]

Here is my set-up:

Sony Grand Wega-
http://reviews.cnet.com/projection-t...-31453800.html

Sony STR-DE685 Receiver-
http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers...-20016428.html

And I use a PS3 as my Blue-ray player.

I also have poopy, old pioneer HTiB speakers from my college days (90's, lol). But I do have a pretty sweet and pwerful Sony Subwoofer.

I know all of it is outdated, but I would really like to get by with minimal expense. The wife and I want good movies and good music, but our "Home Theatre" system is just in our living room. I am a teacher so money IS an issue, lol. Basically I just want to know if I can get by with everything except maybe the speakers. Or in other words, if could only spend a little dough, what would you do??

Is a HTiB out of the question for me, even though I don't have a legit "Home Theatre" set up?

[staquinas]

Here is my set-up:

Sony Grand Wega-
http://reviews.cnet.com/projection-t...-31453800.html

Sony STR-DE685 Receiver-
http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers...-20016428.html

And I use a PS3 as my Blue-ray player.

I also have poopy, old pioneer HTiB speakers from my college days (90's, lol). But I do have a pretty sweet and pwerful Sony Subwoofer.

I know all of it is outdated, but I would really like to get by with minimal expense. The wife and I want good movies and good music, but our "Home Theatre" system is just in our living room. I am a teacher so money IS an issue, lol. Basically I just want to know if I can get by with everything except maybe the speakers. Or in other words, if could only spend a little dough, what would you do??

Is a HTiB out of the question for me, even though I don't have a legit "Home Theatre" set up?

[VinnAY]

Your links are dead.

Casually I'd say pickup a 5.1 speaker system from someone like JBL (my fave), or Polk...few hundred bucks will make a difference. I'd start there. Or just buy a new HTIB for ~$500 with 5.1 and and an AVR with HDMI connectivity, for later.

[kpkelley]

I'd start by looking at speakers and receivers(preferably capable of accepting hdmi audio). If you provide an estimated budget we could perhaps give you a better idea of how we could best spend your money.

[staquinas]

Originally Posted by kpkelley

I'd start by looking at speakers and receivers(preferably capable of accepting hdmi audio). If you provide an estimated budget we could perhaps give you a better idea of how we could best spend your money.

LOL

All good advice. Well, I am talking really low budget. If I could do something for 200 bones or so I would pull the trigger, but if I had to spend a lot more than that to really see any difference at this point, I am just going to have to wait. I know my receiver doesn't have HDMI, so that sucks, but I also know my speakers are really old and might be upgradeable and noticible for cheap. Actually I don't know that- that's why I'm here.

Also, my sub has a couple of dials on the back and when I get home I will list them. Do you think someone here could help me make sure I have those set up correctly?

And lastly, lol, are there any receiver experts here? Someone I could show my receiver user guide to and have them help me make sure I have everything set up correctly in terms of audio? That may be a bit much, lol...

[Fors*]

I'd say just save your money until you have enough that will allow you to purchase a quality 5.1 receiver and speakers. I'm not going to suggest what manufacturers, we we all know where that road goes ....but I say save your money and keep reading the threads and stickys in that time, you'll educuate yourself as to what manufacturers are best suited for your needs and at what price point you're willing to "jump" in. Good luck!

[Disky76]

Originally Posted by staquinas

Here is my set-up:

Sony Grand Wega-
http://reviews.cnet.com/projection-t...-31453800.html

Sony STR-DE685 Receiver-
http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers...-20016428.html

And I use a PS3 as my Blue-ray player.

I also have poopy, old pioneer HTiB speakers from my college days (90's, lol). But I do have a pretty sweet and pwerful Sony Subwoofer.

I know all of it is outdated, but I would really like to get by with minimal expense. The wife and I want good movies and good music, but our "Home Theatre" system is just in our living room. I am a teacher so money IS an issue, lol. Basically I just want to know if I can get by with everything except maybe the speakers. Or in other words, if could only spend a little dough, what would you do??

Is a HTiB out of the question for me, even though I don't have a legit "Home Theatre" set up?

If I were in your shoes, I would probably go for the speakers. Upgraded speakers can make a world of difference. I would go to a store where you can audition (listen to) the speakers of your choice that fit your budget to see how they sound.

Try to select a store with a customer service focus, because you will need to request they connect the speakers to the same (or similar) model receiver that you have at home so you can get a good idea of what they will sound like.

HTiB has done me well in the past. While not "audiophile" quality, there are some very reasonably priced and very respectable HTiB systems (Yamaha and Onkyo and Sony all make good systems). While one can aspire to Polk speakers, it's out of a lot of people's price range, and one could argue what the real benefit is of having expensive speakers - unless you are an audiophile with a well trained ear, or have a setup that costs thousands anyway. And the HTiB systems can provide a very good experience as well for a fraction of the cost.

With HTiB, I would recommend upgrading the speaker cables. Most of the little wires that come with them don't pack much punch. I did that with my old system - upgraded to 16 guage and it was a WORLD of difference.

Good luck with the upgrade!

[StimpsonJCat]

I agree with the others that speakers will give you the most bang for the buck in an upgrade at this point.

I started with a cheaper 5.1 speaker set and upgraded it piece by piece. I upgraded the fronts from satellites to monitors and moved the old fronts to the surrounds. Then upgraded the center. Next, I upgraded the fronts again from monitors to towers and moved the monitors to the back. Last I upgraded the sub (this made a huge difference in my HT sound).

Each time I sold the old speakers that I no longer used on ebay to help with the cost of the new ones.

A few things to look out for when upgrading piece by piece:

1. Make sure you get the same type speakers in the fronts & center so it is timbre matched and will give you a good front sound stage. You don't need to worry about matching the surrounds unless multi-channel audio (SACD, DVD-A, etc..) is important to you.

2. If you want to listen to music as well I wouldn't go with anything but towers. Even with a decent sub I wouldn't go with smaller fronts.

3. Spend the money for a decent subwoofer. Your HT will really come alive.

[Driver_King]

Budget for speakers and receiver, please? Put around $100 aside for all the cabling...

[Driver_King]

How do you have your PS3 connected to your receiver? Are you using an optical cable or are you using the red and white analog stereo cables? Also, how do you have your PS3 connected to your TV? Is it HD or SD?

[staquinas]

Originally Posted by Driver_King

How do you have your PS3 connected to your receiver? Are you using an optical cable or are you using the red and white analog stereo cables? Also, how do you have your PS3 connected to your TV? Is it HD or SD?

HDTV--->PS3 via HDMI
PS3--->Receiver via Optical digital Cable

And now since I only have those connected, I have lost my ability to hear my surround sound through my TV, lol. Please don't laugh, I am a total noobie...


And if anyone feels like taking on the challenge, I can post my user guide link for my receiver and let someone give me some tips on how to optimize it, lol.

[staquinas]

And thanks to everyone for all the help. basically I just want to make sure I am at least optimizing what I DO have.

[Digital-Man]

Best Buy sells Polk T15 bookshelf speakers for $99.98/pair. 4 new surrounds could be had under $200.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Go have a look at Audiogon for some used speakers. Buy yourself 2 fronts for the $200 and call it a day for now, until you have more money.

John