Budget Home Theater

CABilly

CABilly

Splitter
I have a JBL 2.1 soundbar/sub combo that recently shit itself where the sub won't pair with the soundbar. It's only 13 months old, no warranty and no help from customer support. Googling solutions is so far fruitless. I think I paid around $200 for it and clearly bottom rung stuff gets you bottom rung performance and longevity.


So I am looking at stepping up a bit. These speakers look nice and have good reviews. I was thinking a pair of these and a decent receiver and center channel would be a better setup.

So without breaking the bank, what's a decent receiver to go with these? Or what's a good setup that will sound nice? It doesn't have to be audiophile quality - my hearing is damaged enough so it really doesn't matter on the superfine edges of the spectrum. Also 3.1 is good enough for me. I don't like having to set up rear channels they never look good.

I liked the soundbar I had when it worked. I just don't want to buy a new one every year. Catching up on the entire Marvel Comics Universe is killing me with no subwoofer.
 
2legs2wheels

2legs2wheels

Well-known member
You said home theater, never mind. Most newer receivers these days are pretty good. You may want to plug in a chromecast or fire stick instead of buying a receiver with all the cast / bluetooth features. Cheaper to replace these hdmi sticks than upgrade receiver when a new standard comes up.

Pay a bit for your center channel speaker else the spoken word part will not be very clear. Otherwise the tower speaker you pointed out plus any of the cheaper speakers for other channels will work. You can get a 9.1 receiver and just connect side, central, plus sub to start with.
 
ScarySpikes

ScarySpikes

tastes like burning
CABilly said:
I have a JBL 2.1 soundbar/sub combo that recently shit itself where the sub won't pair with the soundbar. It's only 13 months old, no warranty and no help from customer support. Googling solutions is so far fruitless. I think I paid around $200 for it and clearly bottom rung stuff gets you bottom rung performance and longevity.


So I am looking at stepping up a bit. These speakers look nice and have good reviews. I was thinking a pair of these and a decent receiver and center channel would be a better setup.

So without breaking the bank, what's a decent receiver to go with these? Or what's a good setup that will sound nice? It doesn't have to be audiophile quality - my hearing is damaged enough so it really doesn't matter on the superfine edges of the spectrum. Also 3.1 is good enough for me. I don't like having to set up rear channels they never look good.

I liked the soundbar I had when it worked. I just don't want to buy a new one every year. Catching up on the entire Marvel Comics Universe is killing me with no subwoofer.
Click to expand...

The nice thing about component based home theater is you can pick up and add parts as you feel you need, you don't need to start with everything. If you went all in, all at once you would probably end up spending maybe $1000 all in. Personally I would start with those two speakers, and a receiver like this: https://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR494-Receiver-Ultra-Dolby/dp/B07SX61VNT?ref_=ast_sto_dp

See how well that works for you, and if you feel it's missing base, add a sub. If you feel it's missing vocal clarity, add a center channel.

It would put you at about $650-700 after tax starting out. Still steep, but better than the $1000 (plus tax) you would be at otherwise.
 
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NorCalAthlete

NorCalAthlete

O_o
Agreed on don’t worry too much about a “smart” receiver for all the casting and streaming.

Regardless of what brand you get make sure you have a matched center channel with the other front speakers.
 
295566

295566

Numbers McGee
A receiver with HDMI ARC is a godsend. Controlling the audio volume with the TV remote, instead of having to have one remote for the TV and a separate one for the receiver is amazing. Especially using my Roku TV, which has a stupidly simple/minimalistic remote... it's great.
 
mikev

mikev

»»───knee───►
295566 said:
A receiver with HDMI ARC is a godsend. Controlling the audio volume with the TV remote, instead of having to have one remote for the TV and a separate one for the receiver is amazing. Especially using my Roku TV, which has a stupidly simple/minimalistic remote... it's great.
Click to expand...

Logitech Harmony FTW
 
Archimedes

Archimedes

Fire Watcher
I have a single Sonos soundbar attached to our plasma in the family room and it's awesome. Highly recommend.
 
gnahc79

gnahc79

Fear me!
I have the Yamaha RX-V679BL that I got several years ago and it's great. The recent model seems to be the V683BL for about $420. The 5.1 receiver will work fine too at $329, Yamaha RX-V485BL.

Denon makes good entry level receivers too. I had one before the Yamaha.
 
R3DS!X

R3DS!X

Whatever that means
Okay well if I were gonna start my sound system from scratch on a budget I would probably start with something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Cinema-6...d=1577988439&sprefix=5.1+speqk,aps,197&sr=8-9

plus:

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V3...1577988890&sprefix=home+thater,aps,221&sr=8-3

None of those speakers are great but the cool thing is that sound systems are modular so you can later upgrade components when you feel like it. this will probably sound loads better than the soundbar and the receiver will have some neat features that your soundbar didn't.

I know you said you don't need 5.1 but I highly recommend trying to make it work. The rear satellite speakers don't need to be very big and for movies and other things made for surround sound it makes a huge difference in immersion.

a receiver is gonna depend on your needs and is the component that will age the least well. technology keeps advancing so if you buy a receiver that only has 1080p pass through and you end up getting a 8k hdr tv you're gonna be stuck using arc and relying on however many HDMI ports your tv has. So if i'm throwing good money at a component it's gonna be the speakers. It's like buying a good lens for your camera. Look on craigslist for good deals on speakers.
 
GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
CABilly said:
I have a JBL 2.1 soundbar/sub combo that recently shit itself where the sub won't pair with the soundbar. It's only 13 months old, no warranty and no help from customer support. Googling solutions is so far fruitless. I think I paid around $200 for it and clearly bottom rung stuff gets you bottom rung performance and longevity.


So I am looking at stepping up a bit. These speakers look nice and have good reviews. I was thinking a pair of these and a decent receiver and center channel would be a better setup.

So without breaking the bank, what's a decent receiver to go with these? Or what's a good setup that will sound nice? It doesn't have to be audiophile quality - my hearing is damaged enough so it really doesn't matter on the superfine edges of the spectrum. Also 3.1 is good enough for me. I don't like having to set up rear channels they never look good.

I liked the soundbar I had when it worked. I just don't want to buy a new one every year. Catching up on the entire Marvel Comics Universe is killing me with no subwoofer.
Click to expand...

Those are good speakers at a very fair price but, truth be told, you don't need towers if your goal is to replace a soundbar.

Crutchfield lets you keep a pair of stand mount speakers for 60 days and only charges a flat $10/box flat return shipping fee.

There are many great options available but this one offers excellent value from a company that has been making speakers for decades.

$180/pair for the stand mount speakers:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_336CR42BK/Wharfedale-Crystal-4-2-Blackwood.html?tp=186

$65/pair for stands unless you will be placing them on a bookshelf, (stands are preferred with at least a foot of space behind and to the side).

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_051BF31B/Sanus-BF31B-Speaker-Stands.html

$150 for the center speaker with the preferred raised tweeter design for a 2 way center.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_336CR4CBK/Wharfedale-Crystal-4-C-Blackwood.html

$279 for a quality receiver, (my sister in law has one), that is super easy to setup and unlike more expensive receiver, doesn't lead you down a rabbit hole of layer upon layer of confusing menus which often lead people astray.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_033AVS540B/Denon-AVR-S540BT.html

If you don't mind buying factory renewed, (which often means just cleaning and reboxing a returned unit), you can save a decent amount.

https://www.amazon.com/Denon-Receiv...ocphy=9032097&hvtargid=pla-553948888704&psc=1

1 year warranty on factory renewed and in my experience if a receiver doesn't break down in the first year, (only happened once to me), it will last at least 15 years.

http://assets.denon.com/DocumentMas...32.507221335.1577988315-1409244747.1577988315

Now for perhaps the most important speaker, (other than the center), which is the subwoofer.

This is an absolute steal at $190 at the moment based on AVS Forum member feedback but don't wait; free returns if not happy.

https://www.jbl.com/studio-5-series/SUB+550P.html

If you are willing to spend $500 you can do better on the sub.

So about $900 all in assuming you buy all new and with easy returns from all vendors.

It should be a significant improvement over what you have now.

If that is too much money there are other options.

If you don't mind renewed here is a cheaper system; though the excellent speakers are brand new take note that they are from a very well known company that has recently closed its doors so no warranty service though if speakers work, they work and last for decades.

Also, A4L's return policy is not good so you'll have to take a leap of faith that these are good choices, (google reviews of course). They will honor free handling of defective units though.

Speaker pair: $135 as it is buy one get the second for 1/2 price.

https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...way-bookshelf-speaker-gloss-black-each/1.html

$180 for the center UNLESS you can use one of the bookshelves I listed above vertically as a center channel.

https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...25c-2-way-center-channel-speaker-black/1.html

The $190 refurb receiver I linked from Amazon plus this little sub that actually reaches 28hz as advertised.

My main sub has an msrp of $4500 but I have two of these in my secondary room and they work just fine. I bought one new from Amazon and one refurb from these guys and it works just fine. $99, (JBL is better though, but much much larger).

https://www.accessories4less.com/ma...100-watt-powered-subwoofer-black/1.html#!more

So that's about $700 with the speaker stands from the first setup.
 
Climber

Climber

Well-known member
The part I don't get is how you can get a 5.1 system from a soundbar+subwoofer as some of these soundbar's claim.
 
ScarySpikes

ScarySpikes

tastes like burning
Climber said:
The part I don't get is how you can get a 5.1 system from a soundbar+subwoofer as some of these soundbar's claim.
Click to expand...

They simulate side/rear channels by bouncing sound off of the walls using sensors and software trickery. It's not close to perfect but it's usually good enough for most people. The thing is, side and rear channel fidelity usually doesn't matter too much. Your ears are designed to be good at understanding fine detail of what is in front of you, but what is behind you often just becomes 'noise' so as long as it's give or take the right pitch and volume.
 
GAJ

GAJ

Well-known member
Climber said:
The part I don't get is how you can get a 5.1 system from a soundbar+subwoofer as some of these soundbar's claim.
Click to expand...

You really can't unless they have rear speakers.

But most soundbars, even inexpensive ones, do indeed sound a whole lot better than just TV speakers.

As TVs have gotten thinner and thinner the built in speakers have suffered a great deal vs older larger sets, so, at the very least, a soundbar should be added for decent sound.
 
Climber

Climber

Well-known member
GAJ said:
You really can't unless they have rear speakers.

But most soundbars, even inexpensive ones, do indeed sound a whole lot better than just TV speakers.

As TVs have gotten thinner and thinner the built in speakers have suffered a great deal vs older larger sets, so, at the very least, a soundbar should be added for decent sound.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I get that about the new TV's having crappy sound. Our 55 inch 4k tv says it only uses 18 Watts (IIRC), which is great from a power usage standpoint, but doesn't leave much for sound. :laughing
 
HappyHighwayman

HappyHighwayman

Warning: Do Not Engage
I've had some Axiom Audio speakers for like 20 years and I just move them to a new receiver every now and then. The center and surrounds are wall mounted. I got a Yamaha $200 5.1 a few years ago and for the money it's ridiculously good. Only 70 watts per channel though I think my speakers can handle 120.
 
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