Due to monetary constraints, our only choices are the Bose Acoustimass 6 or the Onkyo SKSHT500 5.1 surround sound speakers. These are available at similar price ranges. I've heard bad things about BOSE and mediocre things about Onkyo speakers. Does anyone have anything good to say about either system?


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Konrad.Berk@Carefirst.com

[This message has been edited by Konrad (edited March 19, 2003).]

[This message has been edited by Konrad (edited March 19, 2003).]

I'm not familiar with the Onkyo systems, but I have heard Bose, and they are......are......not-so-good...

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The Soundhound Theater

[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited March 19, 2003).]

I never have liked Bose, they always seem expensive. Maybe for that same money you could try the Paradigm "Atom" Ive heard it as a surround system and liked it alot. BUT you will need a sub.

I concur. Name your price range and your room specifications, and I guarantee we can find you better speakers for the money. Certainly, Paradigm speakers would be one brand I'd suggest. Others would include PSB, Energy, and the speakers my friend Brian makes at http://www.rutledgeaudiodesign.com .

Jeff

Price range around $300.00. I know that's not a lot but . . . What do you suggest?

1) I do not recommend Bose at any price range. Owned them, used them, don't recommend them. Paradigm has been recommended already, and as a Paradigm owner I concur. Energy and Boston Acoustics are also popular, to name a few.

2) Budget is $300 for surround sound? Tough... I may have to poke around some...

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Please listen to all of the above and don't get Bose. You'll be throwing your $$ out the window, and thats never a good thing

Okay. I just got off the telephone with Brian from Rutledge Audio in Georgia. He was very patient with me and clarified what we have just purchased.

It seems the JVC player we purchased is fine. It only powers five speakers though. That means we'd have to double-up one of the output ports to power all the speakers. Or we would need a self-powered subwoofer. Further, he explained that the Onkyo speakers don't have the tonal range (measured in kHz) that a higher end speaker might. He did this by reviewing the specifications of the Onkyo's and item-by-item comparing them with higher end speakers.

His store makes its own. He is an electronic savvy cabinet maker. We discussed how the Circuit City/Best Buy's of the world mass market speakers from particle board. (His are wood.) He suggested that unless we had real money, we should ditch the surround sound idea. His speakers would carry more than the Onkyo's even by buying two of his M-1 Monitors. He said then, if we really wanted surround sound, buy a third M-1 and two RAD Micros for the rear. That would really blow away the competition, and with quality workmanship to boot.

I'm guessing you don't have the amp or reciever either? If you did, you could get two of the nice brands people have mentioned and worry about adding surround speakers later. Also, you could get just the two speakers from the good company and get some cheap bookshelf speakers, like from Radio Shack, to use for surrounds. If the system is just for movies, the surrounds aren't as important as your two front channels. The only other concern with that plan would be the center channel as that is an important part of a multi-channel system.

If you're looking at HTIB systems, Onkyo's gets a higher rating because it comes with a receiver that allows one to use different components with it. This is a huge advantage over a Bose system where you are stuck with those specific speakers and components for as long as you own it.

Cambridge Soundworks also makes some smaller HTIB systems that are also nice for the reason stated above.

Well you folks are really nice in helping me to sort out the information.

We bought the receiver/DVD player (a JVC RXDV3SL)and the Onkyo speakers decribed above. This was before we did the research. Both are returnable and haven't been opened.

If we went with the two quality speakers from Rutledge, then what happens to the center channel that is claimed to be so important?