Small Home Audio Setup Help

Fission_Mailed

So I'm thinking of buying a home theater in a box to setup in my bedroom to replace my shitty TV speakers. The problem is, I have no idea what I should be looking for, or what is considered good in the home theater department. I'm no audiophile so I don't need something with earth-shattering quality, and its only a bedroom setup so I don't need something super powerful.
My budget is only around $200, possibly $300 if its just an outrageously good deal. I know this will only get me shit from what I've read about budget home theater systems, but I'm just looking for an upgrade from the crappy TV speakers and the $20 computer speakers I play my Zune through.
I've had my eye on this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5532247&CatId=4585 and it seems like a pretty good deal.
Oh, and if someone could give me a bit of advice on hiding wires I'd appreciate it. I have wood floors so I can't run the cable under (atleast I don't think), and I'd rather not have to run the cables up through the attic (cause I have no idea how), but I'm not totally against it. I wish I had the money for a wireless system, but oh well.

wonderpug

Every time I've looked into budget home audio options I've seen people recommend getting two good speakers and the best receiver you can afford rather than getting substandard theater-in-a-box equipment, so that you have room to add equipment down the line to work your way up to a quality full 5.1 surround setup.

Scrublet

That link you put on there seems to be pretty much exactly what you're looking for in that budget. In that price range you won't see much disparity in quality between brands or models. As far as hiding wires, it looks to me like you have two options: lay down an attractive rug and run them under there, or tuck them into the corner joint between the wall and floor where they'll be least visible.

Fission_Mailed

wonderpug wrote: »

Every time I've looked into budget home audio options I've seen people recommend getting two good speakers and the best receiver you can afford rather than getting substandard theater-in-a-box equipment, so that you have room to add equipment down the line to work your way up to a quality full 5.1 surround setup.

I was also thinking about doing this. Any suggestions as to what would be a good two speaker/receiver set I could get for $200-300?

PennyUnwise

Fission_Mailed wrote: »

good two speaker/receiver set I could get for $200-300?

I'm afraid you might be out of luck when it comes to new receivers, unless you run into a serious discount. Putting that aside, are you sure you're looking for a 5.1 system? If you're willing to stick to a two speaker setup you could get a solid, used, amp for a lot less than a new crappy 5.1 receiver. Edit: after checking amazon.com it seems that used 5.1 amps can be found in the US quite cheaply as well. Still, you probably won't have the budget for a full 5 speakers + sub.

For a long time I had a Yamaha from the 70's amplifying the sound from my computer, with sound quality that would still put most ready home cinema sets to shame. While I don't advocate trying to find anything that old(the amp eventually did break, after I had it for some 8 years), I do believe you should be able to get much, much better sound through finding a used stereo amp and directing more cash at the speakers.

As to hiding the cables, do you have those thin wooden things that run along the bottoms of the walls? You might be able to run the cables inside them, depending on the structure of the side facing the wall.

Improvolone

People sell old HTIB's fairly regularly on craigslist when they upgrade to a better system.

Fission_Mailed

PennyUnwise wrote: »

Fission_Mailed wrote: »

good two speaker/receiver set I could get for $200-300?

I'm afraid you might be out of luck when it comes to new receivers, unless you run into a serious discount. Putting that aside, are you sure you're looking for a 5.1 system? If you're willing to stick to a two speaker setup you could get a solid, used, amp for a lot less than a new crappy 5.1 receiver. Edit: after checking amazon.com it seems that used 5.1 amps can be found in the US quite cheaply as well. Still, you probably won't have the budget for a full 5 speakers + sub.

For a long time I had a Yamaha from the 70's amplifying the sound from my computer, with sound quality that would still put most ready home cinema sets to shame. While I don't advocate trying to find anything that old(the amp eventually did break, after I had it for some 8 years), I do believe you should be able to get much, much better sound through finding a used stereo amp and directing more cash at the speakers.

As to hiding the cables, do you have those thin wooden things that run along the bottoms of the walls? You might be able to run the cables inside them, depending on the structure of the side facing the wall.

This may sound like a dumb question, but do all speakers typically work with all receivers, or are they selective? Should I try to at least stay within the same brand and the receiver or does it not matter at all?

I think I'm pretty much going to go the upgrade slowly route since I don't exactly need full surround sound right now, and I'd rather not have to replace everything in two years.

People sell old HTIB's fairly regularly on craigslist when they upgrade to a better system.

For some reason I forgot about craigslist entirely. Thank you for reminding me, I will now beging scouring the the surrounding areas for deals.

prfntbtr

You certainly do not have to match the brand of speakers to the brand of receiver. The only real problem you might run into is if you buy speakers that have a higher impedence than your receiver can handle. With the small amount of knowledge I have on this subject, as far as I know, most speakers in your budget should be fairly standard stuff that won't require anything fancy to drive them.

If you do grab an HTiB, Onkyo is generally considered to be the best in that realm.

Scrublet

If you are going to go the slow upgrade route you definitely don't want a HTIB setup. Those have limited inputs, oftentimes don't work with other speakers, etc. The only real upgrade for an HTIB is replacement. If you do go the receiver + 2 speakers route, it is more important to spend money on the speakers than the receiver. The speakers aren't going to change over time, but the receiver very well could (for instance, people without HDMI on their receivers are out of luck if they want HD sound now).

Improvolone

Scrublet wrote: »

If you are going to go the slow upgrade route you definitely don't want a HTIB setup. Those have limited inputs, oftentimes don't work with other speakers, etc. The only real upgrade for an HTIB is replacement. If you do go the receiver + 2 speakers route, it is more important to spend money on the speakers than the receiver. The speakers aren't going to change over time, but the receiver very well could (for instance, people without HDMI on their receivers are out of luck if they want HD sound now).

You're talking about all-in-ones. HTiBs includes packages of a receiver and 5 or 7 speakers.
All-in-ones are trash.

Scrublet

Improvolone wrote: »

Scrublet wrote: »

If you are going to go the slow upgrade route you definitely don't want a HTIB setup. Those have limited inputs, oftentimes don't work with other speakers, etc. The only real upgrade for an HTIB is replacement. If you do go the receiver + 2 speakers route, it is more important to spend money on the speakers than the receiver. The speakers aren't going to change over time, but the receiver very well could (for instance, people without HDMI on their receivers are out of luck if they want HD sound now).

You're talking about all-in-ones. HTiBs includes packages of a receiver and 5 or 7 speakers.
All-in-ones are trash.

This is not a distinction you will see made in stores very often. And since HTiB has pretty much become a dirty word for sound quality, many retailers and manufacturers are wrapping HTIB and your so-called "all-in-ones" under the generic term "Home Theater System".

ToyD

For the price range you have, I'd go with a HTiB with all the quality problems known up front. You're not going to get 2 speakers and a good receiver for that price either. and it's in your bedroom. So go for the HTiB, it'll get you what you want for the price you want it at. Stop worrying about quality until you're ready to throw budget at it. You can spend that $200 on one speaker pretty durned easy.

Just understand that later, when you really want something quality, you need to be prepared to take the appropriate budget and buy good components.

Improvolone

Scrublet wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

Scrublet wrote: »

If you are going to go the slow upgrade route you definitely don't want a HTIB setup. Those have limited inputs, oftentimes don't work with other speakers, etc. The only real upgrade for an HTIB is replacement. If you do go the receiver + 2 speakers route, it is more important to spend money on the speakers than the receiver. The speakers aren't going to change over time, but the receiver very well could (for instance, people without HDMI on their receivers are out of luck if they want HD sound now).

You're talking about all-in-ones. HTiBs includes packages of a receiver and 5 or 7 speakers.
All-in-ones are trash.

This is not a distinction you will see made in stores very often. And since HTiB has pretty much become a dirty word for sound quality, many retailers and manufacturers are wrapping HTIB and your so-called "all-in-ones" under the generic term "Home Theater System".

You are correct; this is a distinction that I am making since both are sold under the same name.