Thread: Decent 5.1 / 7.1 system    

I'm looking to get myself a christmas present of a decent 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system for my TV.

Dont really want to go spending more than £200 ($370~) which i know is extremely restricting, but i can't really justify it otherwise. I know this generally rules out 7.1, but i'm not really sure.

Any suggestgions would be good.

Thanks!

Is there a reason you need to buy it all at once? IMO, buy a good receiver and a decent pair of speakers to start with, add more as you can afford.

At the very least, I would put aside purchasing a subwoofer quite yet. If you get moderately sized bookshelf speakers or larger, they should be able to output sufficient bass (depending on design, ported speakers tend to go deeper, but will max out sooner).

You'll get more out of your money by going used as well.

Looking at the sort of prices on Amazon UK (granted, it's far less robust as the US version), you may need to go with a home theater in a box setup to stay within your budget and get 5.1. For the -dollar- amount you could probably get a lower end ($150 or lower) reciever, and then try to get some $50-60/pair speakers, a center...maybe squeeze it in.
There are probably better retailers, but I last live in England in, like, '91...so... I wouldn't know =P

Still, I'd look at used stuff, and again, building it over time as well, if you're lookin' for quality.

z5500s.

might be pushing your price range though, but im sure you can find them cheaper

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/sp...s/224&cl=us,en

they're pc speakers, but im 200% sure you can plug your tv in, you might need a reciever though, idk

tip:

if your on a budget go with a good 5.1 system over an average 7.1 system. There isn't a significant difference in your system by going with those extra two speakers.

I have the Z-5500s that I use in a spare entertainment room with some older AV equipment, and it suits my needs perfectly. What I really like about it is that you can actually connect up to 6 components to it without need of an external receiver. I have connected to it a cable box via coax, PS2 via optical, and Gamecube/Dreamcast/PS1 all connected via RCA.

There's a switch on the back of the control unit that allows the 3 analog speaker inputs to act as independent 3.5mm sterero inputs. That switch, coupled with these is what allows me to hook up those 3 older consoles to it.

On a budget, these will get the job done for you. They sound very good, but not great. Though, unless you're an audiophile, you probably won't notice any difference. They work exactly as I hoped they would for that spare room of mine though, and I don't have any complaints with them.

z5500s are pretty top of the line mid level stuff, if you go better you're getting into the lower end of audiophile

Originally Posted by Killgannon

z5500s are pretty top of the line mid level stuff, if you go better you're getting into the lower end of audiophile

Not to say they're crap or anything, but I wouldn't label anything in that price/performance range as mid level. It's low end. Certainly a lot better than a number of other things in the segment, but still, low end.

You're effectively looking at/competing with HTIB with those - in both performance and price.

I mean, I'm sure people would "divide up" home theater/audio systems different ways, but to me, sub-$1k is still budget territory for a full 5.1 system. Which, again, isn't to say it's bad, just that given the full scope of the market, that's where it falls. Kind of like building a $400 PC or something. You may be able to go lower, but there's a lot more room to go up.