hi all. i am considering buying my husband a new surround sound for our anniversary next month. ours now is an $80 wal-mart model that he got when we were 17. it's on its last leg. what i'm wondering is how much money do i need to spend to get a decent surround sound system? it doesn't need to be top of the line. just pretty good. is there any special attributes that one must have when buying surround sound?

~<:) traci

Well, I'm no Bill Catherall when it comes to sound systems.... :p

However, I bought a nice Kenwood system at Fry's Electronics about 3 months ago for just under $300 and it's wonderful! It has 5.1 Dolby Digital and a kickin' subwoofer. (Since I already have a DVD player, I bought a system that came without one. Most home theatre systems these days include the DVD player.)

Makes the floors and walls really shake when a big special effects scene comes on. And isn't that *really* the point?? :D

So, I'd just make sure it's got 5.1 Dolby Digital as the main selling point. And try to listen to the system in the store.

But it is possible to not have to spend a ton of money to get something good. :)

HTH,
Sheila

think powered sub woofer....

actually there are several good package deal available out there. I personally like Sony. but I still hold that Bose has the best speakers. and their surround packages sound GREAT. but they tend to cost a lot.

May I suggest a few things?

[list=1]
Make sure it is a Progressive Scan DVD system if you get one w/DVD.
Go for 5.1 Dolby Digital
Get one with Optical in and out.
Get one where each individual speaker plugs into the reciever, not the subwoofer
Get a powered subwoofer
Get one with Mutiple I/O ports
Get one that uses regular speaker cable, not the cheep 1/4 in stuff
If you have a compatiable TV, get one that outputs in DVI
[/list=1]

Basically, I suggest buying seperate speakers, reciver, and DVD player. Pricier, but you get better features.

PS: Don't forget to but Component Cables and Optical Cables if you get a reciver & DVD player cabible of that!

I tend to have a preference for Pioneer receivers, although there are certainly other good brands as well. I would tend to recommend avoiding Sony for receivers, though, as their audio products tend to be lower quality than their video products. I did have a Sony Dolby Digital receiver for a few years and was never extremely happy with it.

When picking out a receiver, the first thing you should look for is that it supports both Dolby Digital and DTS sound. If possible, you should look for one that supports Dolby Digital EX and DTS ES, which are the newer 6.1 channel surround modes. Both systems are becoming more common and receivers that support them are coming down in price. If you are considering a 6.1 channel receiver, do look closely to see whether or not it requires an external amplifier for the center surround channel. That was common with earlier 6.1 channel receivers, although I think it is less common today.

You should also make sure that all 5 channels are equally powered. I wouldn't go for lower than 80 watts/channel and would tend to recommend looking for one that is 90-100 watts/channel or more. You will find some receivers that have lower power for the surround channels, but those are not typically going to sound as good. With discrete surround now being the standard, though, you are more apt to find receivers that provide equal power to all 5 speakers, but will generate more power in 2-channel stereo. The one I have actually generates 90 watts/channel in surround mode or 100 watts/channel in stereo.

I went pretty high-end with my speakers and subwoofer (all are NHT brand), but you can certainly get decent performance out of less expensive ones as well. If you aren't excessively demanding, there are some packages out there that do provide pretty decent sound. The main guidelines I would give are to have all 5 speakers be as closely matched as possible. Since the majority of sound from movies comes from the center channel, it is worth considering getting a slightly better speaker for that. If you do go that route, it is generally best to stick with the same brand as the other speakers and simply go with the next model up for the center.

A subwoofer is very important if you are going to get the most out of a surround system. For best performance, look for a powered subwoofer, using an external amplifier. You should also look for a subwoofer that will take a direct connection from the receiver instead of being connected between the receiver and the speakers.

Finally, I would really recommend doing some research online at some of the sites that are dedicated to home theater equipment. The two best forums to visit for this topic are The Home Theater Forum (http://www.hometheaterforum.com) and AVS Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/).

-Jeff

One note on that optical cable thing. There's no proof that they sound better than coax and they generally run at a higher price. I usually recommend coax just for price alone.

Now for my recommendations (in addition to the sound (pun intended) advice you received above):

Personally, I don't like Bose. I think they sound like crap, they're way overpriced for what you get, and as for speaker design they're behind the times. On the other hand, their electronics are very good. That's what they put all of their design into. They need it too. It's the only way to get as much out of those little itty bitty speakers. That's what people are usually most impressed about Bose. That sound you get out of those speakers. However, make the speakers a bit bigger and you get better sound, yet somehow it's not as amazing. :rolleyes: For those who need very very small speakers and want something that's super easy to set up (and have money to burn) then Bose isn't that bad of a choice.

If you do your homework you can find something better though.

You can find some solutions known as a home theater in a box (HTIB) where you get your receiver, 5 speakers, and a subwoofer all in one package. There are some good ones out there that can be had for less than $500.

How much were you looking to spend?

I ask this because the answer is often, "Oh, I don't know. How much will it cost?" To which I ask again, "Well, how much do you want to spend?" You can spend as little as $200 or as much as $20,000. When it comes to a sound system you really should have an idea of how much you want to spend before you go shopping.

Do you want large speakers or mini speakers?

By large I'm only talking about 4 feet tall. You can get really good ones that are only 2-3 feet tall too. Some people prefer mini speakers called "satellite" or "bookshelf" speakers. So you'll need to know this before shopping as well. It's harder to get full rich sound out of mini speakers, but there are some good ones out there.

I like Sheila's suggestion to listen to the speakers. I hate making speaker recommendations because speakers are like steak. Everyone's taste is different and everyone has their own likes and dislikes. But if you're doing your shopping at Walmart they don't have a good setup for demonstrating speakers. Even stores like Best Buy or Circuit City aren't set up quite right. Their rooms will sound different than your rooms. The best bet is to go to a high end audio store who has good demo rooms. But they might only have speakers that are out of your price range. So what's a person to do?

You could read online reviews. This would help narrow down the choices at least. Then take the speakers home and demo them at home yourself. Make sure the store has a good return policy so you can get your money back if you don't like them. This is one reason I don't recommend HTIB systems. You can't return just the speakers if it's the speakers you don't like.

As for receivers, the more power the better. In fact, if a receiver has low power you're more likely to blow out a speaker when playing it loud. That's right. A 50W per channel receiver will be more likely to blow out your speakers at high volume than a 100W per channel receiver. 100-150 Watts per channel is pretty decent.

Once you narrow things down to a few choices, post on here. That way I'll get an idea of what you're looking at and I could help you more.

thanks everyone. very helpful.

bill, in answer to your questions, i am mostly guessing. michael is the techie in the family. i am generally clueless about this stuff.

price: it would be nice to spend about $300. if i need to spend $500 to get something lightyears better, than i can just save up for a few more weeks. if the quality is comparable then i would rather spend the lower price. right now we have a seven year old $90 wal-mart version, so pretty much anything will sound better.

speakers: it isn't too important that they are small. we have satellite speakers right now, but larger would be ok. how about wireless? are those really expensive?

i feel like a guy in a women's shoe store looking for a pair of black shoes and saying, "well they're all black aren't they?"

i will be purchasing said sound system at fry's electronics. i think they have most every brand. does this information help at all? i'm trying to decide between this and motorcycle gear. maybe i should just get the motorcycle gear. except that i want the surround sound too. ;) why are guys so hard to shop for?

Forget wireless speakers. There's really no such thing as a truly wireless speaker. You still have to plug the things into a wall for power.

My recommendation is to keep the speakers you have and upgrade the receiver. Then, when you've saved up the money, upgrade the speakers. You can get a good receiver for around $300-$400.

If you want to spend $500 you can get an Outlaw 1050 receiver (http://www.outlawaudio.com//products/1050.html) that features the new 6.1 audio surround sound. I've heard many good things about this receiver but haven't listened to it myself. You can only buy directly from their website though, but that makes them a bit cheaper than the equivalent in the competition.

Upgrading just the receiver will significantly improve your surround sound now and you can make it even better later when you upgrade the speakers. I'd plan on spending no less than $1000 on speaker upgrades.

Does your husband like to build things? Is he good at working with wood? He could build his own speakers. This could involve doing his own cabinet and cross over design, which is really fun for some geeky types. ;) Or he could use a kit that comes with everything but the wood and gives you plans for the cabinets. All you do is follow instructions. Many people like DIY speakers because of the fun in assembly and the money you save on hardware. If you do a good job at building them then you typically get better performance than other prefab speakers that cost the same. If this is something you think he'd like then I can point you to a few resources on the web.

Originally posted by Bill Catherall

Does your husband like to build things? Is he good at working with wood? He could build his own speakers. This could involve doing his own cabinet and cross over design, which is really fun for some geeky types. ;) Or he could use a kit that comes with everything but the wood and gives you plans for the cabinets. All you do is follow instructions. Many people like DIY speakers because of the fun in assembly and the money you save on hardware. If you do a good job at building them then you typically get better performance than other prefab speakers that cost the same. If this is something you think he'd like then I can point you to a few resources on the web.

yeah, he's really good at building things. and as soon as i can pry him away from linux i'm sure he'd get right to building those speakers. after building the entertainment armoire that i've been asking for, or pruning the trees out front. but he's got loads of time to network another computer into our bedroom! :rolleyes: (why do we need a computer in our bedroom!?) :rolleyes:

thanks for the advice, though. $1500 seems like a lot to spend on a sound system. how long do these things last before we would need a new one? what kind of quality would we get if i just got one that comes with everything in one box?

:) traci

The speakers are the backbone of your sound system and you should really look into spending most of the money on those. Receivers, amplifiers, processors...those all come and go with changes in technology or newer and better gadgets. But speaker technology doesn't change that fast. Somebody that bought a good set of speakers in 1970 could still be using them today with no reason to upgrade. So if you spend a lot of money on speakers now there's no reason to be changing them again in the next 20 to 30 years.

With "all-in-one" type systems you can get some good quality. But you're looking to upgrade, aren't you? The speakers you have now are probably no worse or no better than the ones you'll get in an all-in-one package. So you'll basically be spending money on something that's equal to or just slightly better (possibly even worse). What's the point in that?

See, when a company markets an all-in-one set (HTIB) they tend to put most of their effort into one of the components and go cheap on another. There's very little effort involved in balancing things out. So they might have good electronics with cheap speakers, or good speakers with cheap electronics. Either way, you usually get a raw deal. Not all of them are this way though. There are a few out there who have quality in both areas. Finding them is hard though. You really need to do your research. These are usually the kind that have receivers made by one company with speakers from another.

Well the ones we use for the home theater are Denons, I think they are a canadian company, they have a good quality. I forget how much the reciever and speakers cost but I remember we spent several hundred on the wires alone.

Wow, no shortage of opinions here. :) Here's my take:

- While Fry's may have a good selection, don't rule out discount clubs like Sam's and Costco. They often have very good deals on good quality stuff from last year. You save big by buying last year's brand-name model.

- Example: I bought a Kenwood 100 watt per channel receiver with Dolby 5.1 and DTS for $150 at Sam's Club. It was the previous year's model. Kenwood isn't the best, but it's certainly decent.

- Sam's also had a Cerwin Vega surround speaker set with powered sub woofer, 4 bookshelf speakers, and a large center channel speaker. I initially paid $325. Two weeks later they had dropped the price by $150. I politely requested a refund of the difference and the manager politely gave me $150 back. Again, Cerwin Vega isn't the best, but they are decent.

- I agree with Bill about Bose as well as optical input.

- You can save big by avoiding expensive "Monster Cable" speaker cable. Go to your local home store and buy a big roll of copper electrical lamp cord. The insulation can be brown, white, or clear; it doesn't matter. Get whatever will match your walls or carpet. You'd have to buy extremely high-end speaker cable to improve on generic lamp cord. Just be sure to mark the connections for positive and negative (use masking tape) and connect them appropriately. If the system you buy comes with speaker cable, I don't recommend using it (it's typically very thin). Save it for something else and use the lamp cord.

- If your TV has a "component" input, use it. I consists of 3 connections for picture (red, green, blue). This will give you the best possible picture from the DVD player. Next best would be using an "S-video" connection. Buying mid-range cables should be fine. Again, you don't need to pony up big bucks for "Monster Cable".

We have a Dennon Dolby Digital 5.1 & DTS sound system which I love and I have to disagree with Bill on the optical cables. We used to have a monster audio cable for sound and it did sound pretty darn good. I then went out and purchased a THX certified Optical cable and it's like night and day with certain DVD movies (Blade for instance) think it ran about 80bucks.

On speakers we have Energy Take 2 speaker system they are a little bigger then Bose and we paid 1100.00 for them. They are worth every penny. We also purchased an Energy sub woofer which ran about 450.00. The whole system has lasted us about 2 years now and I’m sure for many more years to come.


Good Luck!!

Disguy - Did you do a blind test with that optical cable? Sometimes just spending a little more money on something can make us think it sounds better. ;)

About that lamp cord - Home Depot or Lowes (or pretty much any home store) carries speaker wire in big rolls. It's not very expensive at all. Get it in 14 AWG (gage). It's already marked to identify positive/negative.

Originally posted by Bill Catherall
Disguy - Did you do a blind test with that optical cable? Sometimes just spending a little more money on something can make us think it sounds better. ;)


I've done a blind test, and yes, there is a difference. Also, it is the only way for us to get surround, as the player we have only has optical and sterio :geek:

Originally posted by DisneyFan25863
Also, it is the only way for us to get surround, as the player we have only has optical and sterio :geek: Well then yeah, there's your difference. You can't compare digital optical 5.1 to analog stereo and try to determine a difference in cables. You're listen to 2 different audio formats. Try digital optical 5.1 vs. digital coax 5.1 next time. And have someone else switch the cables for you so you don't know which cable you're listening to. That's a blind test.