New to Home Audio $500 budget

[TreyE 10+ year member]

Hello well recently i got into a lot of trouble and had to sell my car. So now that im out of the car audio business im moving on to the home audio business cause i need something to keep me occupied and something for my money to go to instead of weed.

Well after selling my amplifier today ill have around $500 to spend on a home theater system. I like bass and i listen to a shit load of music. I will later have another $100-200 to throw at it. I want to just piece my system together one by one as i have money. Where is a good place to start off? Suggestions?

Also i cannot build them myself as im in college and have to place to go to build the boxes etc. Thanks

Trey

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[TreyE 10+ year member]

thinking about Polk Rti8's. heard they sound better than the 10s also cheaper and i plan on including a subwoofer in my HT setup

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Is this home theater or 2 channel?

 

[TreyE 10+ year member]

Is this home theater or 2 channel?

home theater eventually but i want to start out as a 2 channel then move up as i get more money to invest into it. Think those polks are good to start with? I might be able to get a Sony receiver from my parents house cause he doesnt know how to use it. Not sure on the model number but i can get it in a couple weeks. It powers 5 speakers plus two more outside. Sorry for throwing all this info im not sure all what you need to know about it.

Trey

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Denon makes nice receivers... You might want to start there. Not sure how much you want to spend in the end, but I would put a decent amount into a 5.1 or 7.1 channel one.

Klipsch and Boston Acoustics make VERY nice speakers.. Right now in my living room we have a couple of Klipsch tower speakers, and the SQ is just amazing... They are pretty expensive though you would be looking at 400$+ per speaker.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Denon-AVR-588-7-1-Channel-Home-Theater-Receiver-AVR588/sem/rpsm/oid/191643/catOid/-12851/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Thats pretty nice for not spending a fortune.

Or if you want something REALLY nice you could spend about 700$+ on an Onkyo THX certified receiver...

 

[Echo42987 10+ year member]

abt.com and check out audio recievers.

-Nick-

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

$500 is a lonely place for quality equipment and no DIY for multichannel.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Yeah it sucks doesn't it? I bought a 1000$ Denon/ BA system, and I was no impressed... So I returned it and bout car audio.

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

Go with better quality 2.1 rather than a 5.1 or 7.1. Good stereo imaging is much more pleasant than decent surround sound. There's not too much good stuff for sale at $500 (DIY would be a good option here), but I've heard good things about the BIC subs and also about Axiom audio's lower priced stuff.