Help me buy surround sound

[El Gallo]

We went HD a couple years ago, but are still living with the base sound (yes, there are people without surround sound IN AMERICA! A travesty I tell you).  Anyway, we've been talking about getting surround sound since we got the TV, but now that the TV's speakers are getting a bit crackly, I think we'll really do it. I went to avsforum and my eyes glazed over.  So I ask my f13 brethren and sistren for help.

Here's what I think you need to know (if you need to know something else, ask):

1-We're obviously not audiophiles (or we wouldn't have lived with the TV's innate speakers for so long). This means I don't know shit.

2-Our TV room is small. Like 15x10 or so. This means:
--a--We don't need MONSTER VOLUME (but I wouldn't decline the option!)
--b----We really, really don't want OMG HUGE speakers. The smaller the better.

3-We use a PS3 to play movies.

4-We have digital cable (and connect both the digital cable and PS3 to the TV via HDMI cables)

5-I don't want to spend over $1k. I'd rather spend half that unless I'm going to get something way better for the extra money.

6-I don't care if it's a "home theater in a box" or a bunch of components as long as its not too much of a pain in the ass.

What should I buy?

[murdoc]

Whatever you get, don't let anyone convince you to get Bose.

Personally, for a small speaker set-up, I quite like KEF KHT series speakers, but they may be out of your price range.

My parents got this Harmon Kardon HTiB set that actually sounds quite nice in a small room.

I have all Energy speakers for my set-up, and absolutely love them, but they do needed to be paired with a decent subwoofer as they can be a fairly bright speaker. Their Take Classic Series are awesome, but you may have some trouble tracking them down.

As far as Receivers go, if you need one I can't recommend Yamaha enough. They build kickass receivers at all price ranges. If you're just looking to set up a 5.1 system, they are dirt cheap right now (for a receiver anyways).

[rattran]

I'll second the recommendation for a Yamaha receiver, I'm very happy with my rx-v661. Decent price, great sound and works well with both the ps3 and an hd-dvd player run through it.

And as always, avsforum is your friend for research.

[Ookii]

GET BOSE!  Like seriously, THE SPEAKERS ARE SO SMALL AND SOUND SO GOOD.

It doesn't really sound like you want to get separate components, just go here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=109 and pick something someone else recommends.  I guarantee whatever you end up with will make you happy as soon as that bass kicks in! 

[ajax34i]

Bah, everyone does bass-and-tweeters, and it all sounds like shit without high-quality mid-range speakers.  IMO.   The majority of a movie's soundtrack is speech and music.  Plug Finding Nemo in, you'll see.

[Sky]

I went cheap. Bought a cheap Panny receiver that had a ton of connections, especially the 3 optical ins. Match the ins/outs to what you need. Then I got some cheapish klh surrounds that came bundled with a nice down-firing 100W 10" sub. It's not great for music, but really nice for games and movies/tv.

At some point I'd like to get some decent r/l speakers for music, but it seems like decent ones are FUCKING EXPENSIVE, so fuck that noise.

[Righ]

I don't want to spend over $1k. I'd rather spend half that unless I'm going to get something way better for the extra money.

There's a LOT of snake oil in the AV world, but if you pick reputable components, $1K will get you something much MUCH better than $500 will. Because you're going for a surround system, most of your money is necessarily going to have to go into the speakers, and probably only around 20-30% into the surround amp if you're looking to balance for the best possible sound for the money. However, at this price point I think you should compromise there and spend a touch more on the amp, and suffer through slightly poor speakers by the amp's standard - and I suggest this because you probably want an amp that's somewhat future-proof in terms of features, because unlike purist stereo, features are important in the AV surround world. Brands to look at in receivers would be Denon, Marantz, Onkyo and Yamaha. For $400 discounted, you can actually get something with 1080p compatible HDMI, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio decoding, using something like the Onkyo TX-SR606. That's pretty incredible. For Speakers, look at Paradigm, PSB and Energy. That'll suck up most of the rest of the grand. Go to a dealer and listen and play - you know what sounds good to you.

[Murgos]

I'm seriously considering ordering a SONY HT-SS2300.

Mostly because it has three HDMI in so I can do X360, PS3 and Cable to one unit while not having to pay extra for features I am uninterested in like 5 disc changers and etc..

I guess it is fairly new so I don't really see much on avsforums, does anyone here have any comments?

[Nebu]

At some point I'd like to get some decent r/l speakers for music, but it seems like decent ones are FUCKING EXPENSIVE, so fuck that noise.

Buy used.  When I sold audio equipment I learned that speakers have a ton of markup.  Buying used will get you high quality speakers that have already been burned in for a fraction of the cost.  This is what I love about audiophiles: they are so busy chasing after the next best thing that many will let their current gear go for a song so they can satisfy their next impulse buy.  

Listen to a pair that you like and then watch Audiogon or eBay.  I've gotten some huge bargains that way.

[Morfiend]

I have some older Onkyo's and they are great. What I really like is that the little wall mounted speakers have tiny base speakers in them, so you dont get that weird sound like do from Bose of a lot of those tiny speakers.

[Brolan]

If you want good but inexpensive speakers check out http://www.athenaspeakers.com/v2/ Athena.  I have five of their speakers for my surround sound system and couldn't be happier.

[Abagadro]

I'd definitely go for 5.1 instead of messing around with 7.1. I just don't see the marginal utility of the extra two speakers.

Here's my recommendations, although they are biased by me having this stuff and liking it:

Get the Onkyo 606.  Unbelievable receiver. It can run a bit hot if it doesn't have proper ventilation in your cabinet though. I actually cool mine with a PC fan and I can give you tips if this becomes a problem. If you have space above it in the cabinet it usually isn't a problem.

I have the 605 which I love, but they added two HDMI ports to the 606. Great receiver and an incredible value at 400 beans.

For speakers I really like my Polks. They aren't super high end, but they aren't crap either. Definitely get the job done and for a room that size would do fine.

Rti8 Front Speakers 199 each. 400 for pair.

CS2 Center Channel at roughly 200 bucks or you could go cheaper with the solid CS1 Center for under 100.

Polk PSW10 Sub. I have the 12 inch version of this and really like it. For your room 10 inches would be plenty.

You could get the receiver, fronts, center and sub for a grand and be very happy with it. I have Infinity rear satellites but I think most rear speakers from a decent company (Infinity, Polk, Klipsch, Sony) will work for you. This is dependant on whether you want to wall mount, bookshelf it or whatever so no specific recommendation from me.

[sinij]

I have older Onkyo TX-DS595 running with Energy speaker setup - all around superb sound. When I am going to upgrade, it will be another Onkyo.

About only flaw with my current setup is that with surround sound turned on quiet scenes are a bit too quiet. I think upgrading center speaker will solve this problem for me, it is energy XL-C. What do you think will be best center channel to go with my receiver?

[schild]

Sinij, if you're going to upgrade from that, you may as well skip to the higher end Onkyo stuff - Integra or (if you're feeling super wealthy) Integra Research. My box's dac for surround didn't survive the drive from Maryland to Phoenix so I can't plug optical or coax in, but I kept the 60lb beast because the LR still works and sounds better than my 1-bit Seperates or my Logitech THX desktop setup. The Integra stuff is absolutely superb.

[sinij]

I was thinking upgrading *only* center channel... or perhaps I should stop being lazy and properly mount&orient it. I am perfectly happy with L&R speakers.

[murdoc]

...or perhaps I should stop being lazy and properly mount&orient it. I am perfectly happy with L&R speakers.

I would try this first.

Also, I know on my receiver I can turn up each individual speaker to output a bit louder. I have my centre speaker slightly louder than both of the fronts and so far am very happy with how it sounds. I'm using the XL-C100 myself.