Budget Home Theatre Setup - Need Advice

DealCrazyTM wrote: ↑ Hi Everyone,

I have been a lurker for quite some time and doing some research and not that the time has come to actually get a setup, I have realized that I am completely lost/confused with where I should start. So here I am, looking for some guidance.

I currently have a Bose Soundbar that I originally got back when I lived in a Condo. It served my needs back then but now I am looking to upgrade and get serious with audio in my home. In the past I have had 7.1 Onkyo setup that I enjoyed but not that much. There was a lot of bass and volume but nothing else. Vocals seemed to be very weak and I felt like it lacked in the upper end.

So here is the situation.

My budget is about 700 CAD. My room is around 8 feet wide and 15 feet long. 9ft ceilings and one side opens up to the dining and kitchen, so basically no wall on one side of the room. I cant keep floor standing speakers because with the size of the tv and there being a door on the other wall, its just not possible (My wife would also hate me if I got something that massive). I would like to keep the setup simple and not make my room look like a studio with massive speakers. The main use of this system is for Movies and some TV shows. We watch around 3 movies every week.

I started my quest looking at HTIB's but with a lack of options and people generally saying that the HTIB are not usually worth the money, I quickly veered off. I am now considering if I should just get some mid level bookshelf speakers with a receiver for now and slowly work my way up with time.

Here are some of my options.

Option 1 - Pick up an HTIB from Onkyo (5.1.2) for about 700 CAD used and call it day.

Option 2 - Get the Klipsch Reference 5.1 and a receiver (which one?) but this would be a stretch at around $1,000 for the setup. Also I am a little worried about this as people say that they are very sharp sounding and wont work well for the TV dramas that my wife watches a lot of on the weekends.

Option 3 - Get the Fluance Signature 5.0 system for $720, get a used decent receiver and wait a few months till I can afford the Fluance subwoofer. The setup will be around a $1,000 without the subwoofer. (Again a bit of a stretch but I would try to get this if its worth it or move on to option 4)

Option 4 - Pick up a 1 pair of bookshelf speakers (ELAC Debut 6.2 OR Fluance Signature 2 way with a 10" sub OR Paradigm Monitor SE Atom) and a receiver for about 600 - 700 CAD in total and slowly build up from here.

I would appreciate any insight or recommendations from you guys here. Any receiver recommendations are also appreciated. I don't need any fancy features. Would just like to connect a blu ray player and ARC from my TV. I don't listen to music at home either.

Thank you to everyone posting up their deals. I hope I can also help out in the future.

Refer to this Thread for ideas: RFD Home Theatre Discussion Thread

When we moved out of the condo ... sold off the old Sony KDL-40XBR3 40" BRAVIA® XBR® 1080p LCD HDTV (sold for $230 on Kijiji)... and bought a new Vizio 55" D55U-D1 Smart TV. We held on to the Sony 5.1 600 Watts DAVTZ510 Home Theatre System DVD Player (which we purchased from Sears for $178 taxes in from 2011).

Looking that we first moved in to our new home (2016) we had a 11' x 16' living room with a Cathedral ceiling. So we mounted the 55" Vizio Smart TV on the wall above the fireplace, and I started to wire up all the speakers (hiding the cables down to the basement and back up to the living room).

I already pre-built a Desktop for streaming as I had another desktop that strictly did all the downloading.

Then in 2018 I decided that we required an upgrade. So went and purchased the Denon AVR-S740H 7.2 Receiver and the Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 speakers from BestBuy. Subsequently sold off the Sony Home Theatre system on Kijiji for $100. Had to re-wire everything as the Sony speakers had the wires pre-built-in with special connectors. So picked up some 16 gauge wires from Princess Auto and rewired all the speakers.

Now the devices (Desktop, Rogers NextBox, and my game consoles) all plugged into the receiver. Clean.

My buddy told me that he had a pair of Jamo Classic 10 Towers in his basement just sitting there ... unused. Picked them up. So now my system became a 7.1 instead of a 5.1 ... they became my Front Left and Front Right speakers ... enough bass coming out ... no need for a second subwoofer in the front of the room. Took out the 16-gauge and replaced with 14-gauge with 24K gold-plated banana plugs.

Late in 2018 ... I found the Polk Audio S35 Signature Series Center Channel on sale at Visions ... went in ... bought it for $302. Swapped out the Polk Center that came with the RM6750. HUGE UPGRADE ALREADY! Again replaced the wiring with 14-gauge with 24K gold-plated banana plugs.

Summer of 2019 ... found a pair of Klipsch R14-M on Amazon for $180 ... bought them with new 14 gauge cables and mounts and swapped out the rear satellites from the RM6750 set.

The fall of 2019 ... a friend of ours was in Taiwan and helped us pickup an unlocked Android Box for $150 ... has virtually everything you need (including Disney+ , Netflix, Crave, UFC, NHL Network, NFL Network, MLB Network, Sportsnet, TSN, WWE) ... and the box has all the latest movies and shows you want).

Then before I left for Cuba in November 2019 ... found a pair of Klipsch R51-M at 2001 Audio Video on sale ... bought them for $280 ... bought another set of mounts and new 14 gauge cables ... came back from vacation ... mounted the R51M as the rear speakers ... then moved the R14M to the front for Height Speakers ... replacing yet another pair of the satellites from the RM6750 set.

Early January 2020, found the Polk Audio HTS10 Subwoofer on sale at BestBuy for $299+taxes. Oooops. Picked that up and swapped out the 8" Polk subwoofer from the RM6750 set.

Sold the Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Speaker System with excess 16 gauge wires in March 2020 for $320.

Each time doing something, you seem to add and subtract. And spend time re-doing. Its fun and tiresome. But in the end, the result is personal satisfaction!

Another friend of ours returned from Taiwan in March and helped us pickup a second unlocked Android Box (different brand ; different manufactuer) for $180 ... different GUI and apps and also has virtually everything you need (including Disney+ , Netflix, Crave, UFC, NHL Network, NFL Network, MLB Network, Sportsnet, TSN, WWE). The box does have channels and content that the other didn't and vice-versa.

And in May 2020 ... I went to Visions and picked up a second Polk Audio HTS10 Subwoofer for $268+taxes ...

Now my Home Theatre System is complete at a 7.2 setup. And so I thought.

July 2020 ... swapped out the 55" Vizio for a 65" Hisense Q8G and changed the wallmount to a mantle pulldown.

September 2020 ... finally said GOODBYE to Rogers Cable TV (Nextbox PVR) and Rogers Gigabit Internet (Hitron CODA modem) ... ended a relationship that began in 1994. Welcomed Bell Fiber 1.5Gpbs with their Home Hub 3000 modem).

Baby steps to make the changes.

After a long time debating, I went with the Yamaha RX-V385. This thing can be had for less than $250 straight from Yamaha eBay store, and I am more than impressed with it. Actually, I like it so much that I am buying another one for some old bookshelf speakers I had around the house.

Wow. Thanks for that. I think i needed to hear it from someone. I ended up picking a yamaha 385. It was a display piece that had not been used so i got a good deal on it. Paired it with a set of ELAC B6.2 practically new and a C5.2 for the centre. I just couldn't live without a sub so I got a used Polk SW110 for cheap.

Did not know about the Yamaha ebay store. Still got a decent enough deal. Good to know in case i ever need another receiver.

DealCrazyTM wrote: ↑ Did not know about the Yamaha ebay store. Still got a decent enough deal. Good to know in case i ever need another receiver.

I actually did end up buying another one of these receiver, and using it with the old Energy CB-100 I had around the basement. Now I might want a sub as well. How much did you end up paying for the Polk sub used. Thanks

$100.