Choosing a Home Theater speaker set-up.?

Question

I'm looking for a very good sounding 5.1 home theater speaker set-up. I'm running a Oknyo sr-605 receiver that can decode dolby true hd and dts-hd master audio. Our price limit has to be five hundred bucks. So, far i've narrowed it down to Athena Technologies - Micra 6 Home Theater Speaker System for $449.99 and the Acoustic Research - Home Decor 100W 5.1 for 424.99. I mainly watch movies and live in a apartment so I really don't need a loud system. I just want crisp sounding audio. Are those good choices or does anyone know of anything better for under $500?

Answer 1

All loudspeakers add their own sound to the signal they are reproducing. ( colouration ) Listen to as many different brands as possible for your budget,then narrow it down to 2 or 3 that you like and carefully listen to them and choose the one you can live with.You are the only one who can choose the sound that your ear /brain mechanism likes.If you go by someone else's recommendation,you may be disappointed.We all hear differently and prefer a certain sound.

Answer 2

goto www.crutchfield.com and ask their people they have great great customer service and they will tell ya what ya need!

Answer 3

EXCELLENT QUESTION!

Yamaha, JBL and Polk Audio and Energy make some great sounding inexpensive 5.1 speaker systems within your budget - and much better than the ones you've listed so far.  

Another route is to find these used, like on Craigslist in your area!  You'll get the most from your budget that way.  I think you made a great choice on the receiver, too.

(P.S.  Crutchfield is a rip, that answer was probably posted by an advertizing bot.)

Answer 4

Both the Athena and Acoustic Research are decent brands.  Normally I would say to look at the subwoofer, but you live in an apartment so the better sub would not gain you anything.

Sorry but you have a Coke vs Pepsi choice - but either system would work well.

Answer 5

Go to ebay and check out the Klipsch Synergy Quintet III 5-Piece Speaker System. Add a subwoofer, (8 or 10 inch), and you have yourself an excellent sounding bang for the buck system that will blow away the other home theater in a box systems. Plus it will work quite well with the nice new Onkyo 605 reciever. Sweet reciever by the way!