New HT System *budget $500

[luciano24]

Ok i have a budget of about $500. I am wanting a 7.1 Surround sound system. I am wanting to build it on my own. Piece by piece. Any suggestions?

[lifevicarious]

Originally Posted by luciano24

Ok i have a budget of about $500. I am wanting a 7.1 Surround sound system. I am wanting to build it on my own. Piece by piece. Any suggestions?

If you are plannign on getting all 7.1 speakers and a receiver for $500, I think your only choice would be a HTiB. Unfortunately, $500 doesn't get you much these days.

If you are planning on getting a piece or two at a time, you certainly have more options.

[HAMP]

Originally Posted by luciano24

Ok i have a budget of about $500. I am wanting a 7.1 Surround sound system. I am wanting to build it on my own. Piece by piece. Any suggestions?

You may just be in luck, contact FORS* he just upgraded his set and I know he is selling his Polks which he has not had long. I know he is selling them for a fantastic price.

At the price you won't to start off at, this is a nice opportunity for you. I do know if I wasn't already setup I would be getting them from him.

If you check out his gallery, I believe he may still have pics of them up.

[langn08]

Originally Posted by luciano24

Ok i have a budget of about $500. I am wanting a 7.1 Surround sound system. I am wanting to build it on my own. Piece by piece. Any suggestions?

Do you have anything so far? Receiver? If not that is where you want to start

[vveksuvarna]

unless you want a crappy setup made up of computer speakers, $500 unfortunately cant bring you the quality expected of a custom home theatre.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by vveksuvarna

unless you want a crappy setup made up of computer speakers, $500 unfortunately cant bring you the quality expected of a custom home theatre.

That's kind of a harsh way to put it. In reality, the OP has said he is open to putting it together piece-by-piece. Rather than dismissing his budget, we should be making suggestions to him like:

Start out with a decent 5.1 receiver (preferably one that is at least able to to accept PCM over HDMI)

THIS receiver is popular and is a good starting point

If the budget is tight, consider getting a couple of decent bookshelf speakers to start with. You can convert these to surround speakers down the road, and you can upgrade the fronts and add a decent center speaker when the budget is a little more friendly. Also, Hamp had a great suggestion about PMing Fors* and making him an offer on his Polk speakers; I've seen his pics and he appears to take good care of his stuff.

A good sub will set you back a couple hundred dollars. Personally, I would rather spend a little extra on a better sub than to deal with all the shortcomings of a lesser sub.

Good luck! It may take time piece-by-piece, but try to get gear than can be upgraded or changed out without replacing everything. This is why many people have learned to stay away from the typical HTiB. In many cases you can't swap out speakers, or they don't have HDMI decoding, etc, etc.

[808leo]

for $500 OP i would start off with a 2.1 setup, Vans used to have great deals on polk if that is what you like..

[luciano24]

Thanks guys. Just got back to the forum to check it out as I have been covered up in work the past couple of days.

I have the Sony SS360, while i love it i am looking to build a theater room within the next year and looking to add great selection to my audio chooses. For the Blu-ray I have a PS3 slim 120gb and a Sony Blu-Ray BDP-s360. I was looking for ideas.

I will contact FORS* about his polks and look at the Yamaha that you posted up.

Any suggestions on building a great theater room with great picture and audio.

Thanks all

[citizen]

you might be able to get a refurbished harman kardon 7.1 receiver from their ebay auction site for about 200-250, would be cheaper than the yamaha. the new onkyo 508 will be 7.1, it might retail for about the same as that yamaha

[victorvondoom88]

Here you go http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

It's not top of the line but it is a whole 7.1 system with speakers, while not great ones by any means. 436.00 with free shipping! Leaves you enough cash to pic up the cables you may need from monoprice. It does have HDMI switching but no TrueHD or DTS-HD MA decoding. Audessey with mic.

It is a good starting point and you can then upgrade piece by piece as funds allow. You will just need a source, like a dvd player or PS3.
In my book this type of thing beats the pants off of a HTiB. Since you'll already have a receiver you can upgrade speakers first. They are the weak point in the package for sure.

[HAMP]

Originally Posted by victorvondoom88

Here you go http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it..._c=site_search

It's not top of the line but it is a whole 7.1 system with speakers, while not great ones by any means. 436.00 with free shipping! Leaves you enough cash to pic up the cables you may need from monoprice. It does have HDMI switching but no TrueHD or DTS-HD MA decoding. Audessey with mic.

It is a good starting point and you can then upgrade piece by piece as funds allow. You will just need a source, like a dvd player or PS3.
In my book this type of thing beats the pants off of a HTiB. Since you'll already have a receiver you can upgrade speakers first. They are the weak point in the package for sure.

If he was to go this route, he might as well get the Onkyo 6200 which has TrueHD and DTS-HD which is a little over $50 more.

I think his best over all is to contact Fors* for the Polks he has and then get a receiver

[callas01]

I agree check with Fors about his polks. He takes care of his stuff, so you should be fine.

For a receiver look at the marantz 4003 on accessories4less.com, they run about $299 and would be better then anything else you will find in the same price range.

[victorvondoom88]

Originally Posted by HAMP

If he was to go this route, he might as well get the Onkyo 6200 which has TrueHD and DTS-HD which is a little over $50 more.

I think his best over all is to contact Fors* for the Polks he has and then get a receiver

Nice find didn't see that one.