Home theater question help!?

Question

I just brought down two MTS speakers from my living room where the receiver and surround speakers are. My mom did not like the way the speakers looked in the living room so she just gave them to me. I know now that i cant hook them up to the TV directly i need a receiver. but i have been hearing that its not worth it, that i should buy a Trusted name brand system but im kinda short on money so i think buying a receiver will do but most receivers are like 200+ at best buy but they have like 5.1 surround sound capabilities and all i want is a left and right speaker for my tv for now at least lol. is there such a receiver tht is cheap and doesn't have too many extra plug ins that i can buy? also the speakers arent AV audio capable they have a black red clip thing? i don't know what wires those are for either. HELP

Answer 1

black/red clip thing

These are spring-clips. You insert speaker wires here and attach the other ends to the speaker outputs on the receiver.

These are POWER WIRES. They are driving a motor (your speakers).

LINE LEVEL

The signals from your TV, xBox, DVD player, Cable box, etc are called "Line level".  You use RCA cables for these.  These signals carry no power, but are just information.  The RCA cables are a wire inside a "pipe' to protect the signals from electrical interference.

HOOKING IT ALL UP:

Your TV has Left/Right RCA output jacks. You run RCA cables from these to an input on the receiver.

The receiver adds WATTS of power to the signals, lets you adjust the volume, and sends the outputs to the speaker terminals.

The speaker wire you attach and run to the speakers carry the power that creates the sound.

Hope thats clear.

PS: Look at Craigslist. For $200 you can get entire systems that were very good 5-7 years ago. Search under "Electronics" for "Dennon", "Yamaha" and even "Receiver".

Answer 2

Best Buy sells an Insignia brand stereo that is only two channel for about 80.00 that should fit your needs.

I would also check pawn shops which always has older stereo gear on the cheap.