surround sound systems (need advice)
 

So I'm in college, and that always equals little money....I think Einstein even had the equation S=0(M)....but yea anyways, I just moved into a pretty kickass place, and me and my roomie decided to go halvsies on a surround sound system for our living room - great for games, video games, movies and whatnot.

So here's the deal - my knowledge on surround sound is pretty limited....basically non-existent. Without breaking the bank, we'd like to get something that would satisfy the typical consumer (surround sound, a decent amount of bass etc). Could anyone explain a few things to me such as the difference between 5.1 and other options, and which brands are best stayed away from, and which ones will suit us well?

Trust me, if I had the money I'd get something like Bose (I have their satillite speakers for my computer and they're insane). Any help would be greatly appreciated, and as a figure to the consumer maybe try and keep it below 300? - though I can assume that quality might be hard to find in the price range

thanks for your time and consideration :)

I have a Panasonic system- rated at 800watts or something- it works fine for me- picked up at BJ's for around $300. 5.1- DVD changer etc..

Just wait for Arch to chime in- he knows the stuff pretty good-

yeah i was gonna say arch. But thats a good price what you got Joe.

Yah Arch should chime in here...

I've got a 5.1 Bose system... but its also outdated, and about 3 years old, cost me 2 grand at the time I think? lol. But that was for two towers, to rears, two 25" subs, and a center, with 5 disc cd player / tuner and some other ****.

Sony makes a decent entry level setup that includes A receiver, powerd sub, suround, main, and center speakers for just under $300 you can get the system at walmart, target, best buy, rent-a-center ect. got mine awile back and it even included a DVD player.

alright, am I getting this right that all 5.1 means is that there are 5 speakers for high frequency sounds (center, front left, front right, rear left, rear right) and the .1 is the low frequency (subwoofer)?

Sounds good to me :lolsign:

Correcto- You pick up pretty quick-

6.1 and 7.1 are also out there, but for your first place- I would just get a 5.1. More than likely the room you put it in won't be that aucostically sound to appreciate a larger system like the 6.1 and 7.1- leave those for the audio nerds.

I would check Crutchfield as well- they often run clearances on some of their older models- perfect for what you are looking for. I can speak highly for them- they have been very helpful everytime I have ordered from them.

would this be said system? http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000EOF30E

anyone have any comments on it?

as it turns out, my roomate and I got our full security deposit back from the last place we lived at, so with 400 a piece to spend we're probably going to get the surround sound, and since we have a second living room that is empty as of now, we're going to probably get a ping pong table that can double as a table for flippy cup/beer pong.....god I love college :D

That may be what it looks like now. I cant give you any comments on that setup because mine is totaly different.

the sony "dream" system is one of the worst pieces of garbage out there, the panasonic one is good, philips also has a good one for low priced, anything under $600 is going to be the bottom end stuff. Try and get one with a real receiver or at least amp that you can hook different speakers to (most use an rca plug and will burn up if you add a real speaker to it) don't bother comparing wattage since there is no standard yet (unless they say cea compliant they can pull the numbers out of thin air) the pioneer at wal-mart is ok for beginner, but the reliability hasn't been the best

thanks arch....just goes to show you cant always trust a company on different products.

I realize that I wont be getting anything spectacular for a first system (I really cannot afford something in the 600+ range), but I will do some shopping now before I purchase

sony only makes crt tv's (the old picture tube type) everything else with their name on it pretty much is made by someone else (that stereo is the $199 rca one they sell at radio shack internally)

interesting.....


one last question - would I, or should I trust ebay? Just browsing alone I found alot of ads that are ridicuosly cheap...though most say guaranteed not DOA...but Im wondering if I should just steer clear...