I want to get a quality home audio system?

Question

Need advice picking receiver, speakers, vendors, best sites for researching these. Budget $800.

Answer 1

For quality, go with a refurbished Onkyo receiver and a 5.1 speaker package from JBL.

You can get an Onkyo TX-SR705 for $433 (MSRP$899) - http://www.ubid.com/Onkyo_TX-SR705_7.1_C...

It's 100w/ch, THX Select2 certification, decodes all the new formats found on Blu-ray Disc through HDMI and has 3 HDMI inputs and three component inputs and will switch all signals for you through HDMI, in addition will deinterlace 480i to 480p. The best part is, uBid is an authorized Onkyo dealer and they'll warranty your receiver through their service network for one year, most companies only do 90 days.

It will match up perfectly with the JBL speakers - http://www.ubid.com/New_JBL_CS6100BG_5.1...

They're new for $376 and handle 100w/ch and a 10" sub. You'll get frequency response down to 30Hz, which is not bad at all for a first system. Also, when you decide to upgrade you can do it a piece at a time, replacing the front speaker for example and moving the JBL's to the 6th and 7th channels giving you a 7.1 system. That's how I did it, but of course when you upgrade your budget will need to increase. My front speakers alone cost $1,200/pair and my subwoofer, the Paradigm Servo 15v2, costs $2,000. However I started with a satellite system like the one I'm recommending to you, which is the best way to start...the highest level possible within a budget.

Total for this speaker/receiver combo before shipping - $809.

Good luck.

Answer 2

You won't get high quality for that budget. You won't get high end equipment for double or triple that budget. However, there is a lot of equipment of reasonable quality for your budget.

I'd suggest you visit some of the AV forums as well as manufacturer sites and Amazon.com and some of the internet retailers. You can do far better with the internet than any big box store. Below are a couple of my favorite forums.

Answer 3

Try this.  I know its more than your price range, but this is a quality set, and all of the components are new with reasonably high quality.  Kilpsch speakers are awesome and the sub in this package is pretty beefy.  Trust in Yamaha receivers in this price range.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?...