[torifile]

I've got a pretty crappy t.v. and some 2.1 computer speakers hooked up to my xbox 360 for my "media" center. I'm looking to upgrade. I'd like some receiver and speakers that can handle my setup: 360, wii, vcr, cable. It's not that complicated. I'd like to keep it under $300. I know *nothing* about receivers/speakers or pretty much anything A/V. I will eventually upgrade my t.v. to something like a 720p LCD but that's not imminent (or even relevant). Any suggestions?

[intlplby]

Onix X-Ls speakers and a power amp....

if you want quality sound....

Onix-LS bookshelves perform well against speakers in the $500-700 range but only cost like $200

if you want surround sound i can't help you, but you could start with a 2.0 system and build up to a surround sound over time.

buy one pair now, buy another pair in a year or so and then get a sub and crossover after that

[torifile]

Originally Posted by intlplby Onix X-Ls speakers and a power amp.... if you want quality sound.... Onix-LS bookshelves perform well against speakers in the $500-700 range but only cost like $200 if you want surround sound i can't help you, but you could start with a 2.0 system and build up to a surround sound over time. buy one pair now, buy another pair in a year or so and then get a sub and crossover after that

so do those come with some sort of receiver or is that seperate?

[AWR]

By power amp he means receiver, without the radio. And these are sold as separates.

[Windowsrookie]

I got the Spherex speakers from CompUSA. They are $200 and sound great. No reciever needed. It has a couple of digital inputs, and some analog. I've got my 360 and my iMac connected to the digital inputs. Sounds great, and it's 5.1 surround sound.

Linky

http://www.spherexinc.com

[intlplby]

if you want to build something decent over time you need to go with separates... if you want to be constantly replacing everything every time you upgrade then go for the whole thing, but most of the quality audio devices don't come as a complete system... they come as separates...

my personal advice is to go with separates and add quality pieces one at a time as you can afford them....

check out audiogon as well because you can buy used and still get good stuff...

[torifile]

Originally Posted by intlplby if you want to build something decent over time you need to go with separates... if you want to be constantly replacing everything every time you upgrade then go for the whole thing, but most of the quality audio devices don't come as a complete system... they come as separates... my personal advice is to go with separates and add quality pieces one at a time as you can afford them.... check out audiogon as well because you can buy used and still get good stuff...

I don't have a problem going with separate pieces but it just adds one more thing to research. Thanks for the recs, WR and intlplby. I'll look into those. I do want to build over time but this sounds like a good starting point.

[intlplby]

basically you have two options as far as speakers, bookshelfs vs floorstanders.... my personal recommendation is to go with more expensive floorstanders simply because to get the most out of bookshelfs you need to get good solid heavy stands which are not cheap and often can make up the price difference between cheaper floorstanders

to sum up:

cheap floorstanders are only a bit more expensive than cheap bookshelfs+decent stands.

what are you going to be listening to most of the time? music or movies?

if movies, then definitely go with an x.1 system.... the subwoofer adds a lot....

if music, focus on decent speakers that go down to about 40-50Hz..... you want to avoid a subwoofer for accurate sound unless you got a good amount of money to spend on a decent sub and more importantly a good crossover that mates well with the speakers you got.

honestly, you can go to just about any audio forum and tell people what your budget is for speakers and what you're looking for and you'll get good recommendations...

look into a stereo as a long term investment and you'll be much happier with what you get in the end.... think of whatever you buy as a lifetime purchase.... get one piece at a time and get quality.