[SOLVED] Price ranges for a decent home theater/gaming system

piechockidocent9

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Aug 30, 2017
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Hello yall,
as title states what is in yall opinion decent price range if I'd want buy a decent home theater/gaming sound system. I'm talking about a 5.1 or 7.1 so subwoofer and few columns nothing truly cosmic in quality or quantity, decent will do.
I recently had a subwoofer dying on me and while I got at least some helpful input on unreletaded hardware, with this I've hit a rock. No replies at all or some and then nothing when we reach point of discussing "what are me expectations and budget".
It baffles me a tad because as a more or less experienced pc/laptop guy I would and do at least try to explain/point something in a low shelf range of gear to smone currently asking me for a decent gaming pc/laptop up to 300-400$ which is impossible.
 
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Hey, not sure if you ever received any decent responses but I'll chime in here some if you're still looking.

I'm going to use my idea of decent for this reply, which may be quite a bit different than yours either direction but it gives a starting point.

Basic entry level pricing would be around.....say the $600-900 price mark. You'll be looking at theaters in a box or 5.1 speaker sets which you'll need to get a AVR to go with it. Honestly, I personally wouldn't go this route, unless sound really doesn't matter that much or you have some hearing problems where you just physically cannot tell much difference between most speakers, as a lot of people end up have regretted going this way.

Now, for a decent entry level system, (don't...

punkncat

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You can buy a "surround sound" speaker system for a couple of hundred buck to sky is the limit. It is impossible to give range, literally.

You would want to consider things like the size of the room, materials and furniture in the room, carpet or hard flooring, housemates or neighbors. There is a lot to it.

I have what I could consider a fairly modest system using a Denon receiver and a Klipsch Reference 5.1 surround with a sub. The receiver probably cost me less than $200, but that was probably 10+ years ago now. I built out the speakers while working at a company that did A/V type work and got a great deal on it all, but even now if you are looking at bookshelf speakers you could get the 5" driver models on sale off Amazon for $150 a pair right now. The center channel is likely about $80-100, and the sub would depend on how powerful a unit you got but they tend to be $200+ and up.

There are speakers out there that go for thousands of dollars and more, each. Head unit/receivers can be much the same.

In a situation like this are you putting sound in your bedroom, a larger living room, etc. and do you want the neighbors to jam with you?
 
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ien2222

Distinguished
Hey, not sure if you ever received any decent responses but I'll chime in here some if you're still looking.

I'm going to use my idea of decent for this reply, which may be quite a bit different than yours either direction but it gives a starting point.

Basic entry level pricing would be around.....say the $600-900 price mark. You'll be looking at theaters in a box or 5.1 speaker sets which you'll need to get a AVR to go with it. Honestly, I personally wouldn't go this route, unless sound really doesn't matter that much or you have some hearing problems where you just physically cannot tell much difference between most speakers, as a lot of people end up have regretted going this way.

Now, for a decent entry level system, (don't mistake this idea of entry as bad, this is the start of good) will depend a bit on preferences but looking more around the $1800 give or take a couple hundred for a 5.1 system, obviously a bit more for 7.1. Being patient for sales can definitely save some coin. With this budget we're looking at about $200-300 for AVR, around $600 for a sub, and $600-800 for 5 speakers and a bit for stands or wall mounts if need be. But this is depended on preferences and the room this is going to be in and the expectations. And to be honest, this may be considered more mid range than entry but this is the range I've given people before who are looking for a solid entry system. One of the things I do mention is that you can build up to that instead of fronting the entire cost at the beginning. You have the option of starting with 2.1 or 3.1 then adding the rest of the speakers later.

Then a solid mid range system you're looking at $2500-$3000. $800-1000 for sub, with around $1200 for the 5 speakers. Again AVR isn't that much, just what you need, or what you think you need in the next couple of years. There's no need to get an $800+ AVR if you have no use for the features if offers over a $300 AVR. Power will pretty much never be a factor, they're all close enough where if you just need it that loud, you'll be looking at dedicated amps, but more importantly higher efficiency speakers. 50 more watts per channel doesn't matter.
 
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