Full suround system for under $2600

[audioguy]

One of my wife's bosses was getting ready to purchase a Bose surround system (Bose C48 I think he said) for one of his many homes and heard my wife talking about my addiction.

He just called and here is what he is looking for so any suggestions/recommendations would be helpful.

--- 5 Speakers, white in color, small (maybe shoebox size) wall mountable. He will not use in-wall since his walls are wooden and he has no interest in putting holes in them

--- 1 Sub

--- DVD/Bluray Player capable of 3D

--- Surround receiver that also includes the ability to drive and control two external speakers (he currently owns them and they are out on his patio)

--- Budget preferably at or under $2600

 

[JackD201]

The DLS Flatbox Series looks promising. Complete 5.1 should come in below $2,000. That leaves plenty for a receiver and BD player.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

He needs to find a Best Buy with a Magnolia Home Theater inside and look at Mirage and Definitive Technology. He should be able to put together a system, including the outside speakers and an AV receiver with plenty of power, that will eat the Bose for lunch within that budget. I personally think the Mirage are smoother and better for music, but they are power-hungry little devils. The Definitives are more efficient, more dynamic, have a little bit more wow factor for the action movies and will do better with less expensive receivers, but, IMHO, are a just bit harsh on top and boomy on the bottom. With either, he'll probably have to order white.

There are lots of other options out there, I'm sure, but those are the two I know well enough to recommend.

Tim

 

[JackD201]

I'm not a big fan of tiny sats. Not one bit, especially for movies. If I had a gun to my head however, I'd go with Gallos.

Tim, DefTech makes On-walls? Didn't know that. Nice to know

 

[Matt193]

I thought I would add the Monitor Audio Radius HD and Orb speakers to the mix. Both of those are small and available in white.

I would also have to agree with Phelonious Ponk that the Mirage Nanostat models are probably going to be a great bang for the buck speaker especially if bought from Vann's during one of their big sales.

Couple those with a nice sub, a decent AVR (whatever is best bang for the buck at the moment), and a Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray, he should be in business for under $2,600.

 

[audioguy]

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations. I am going to Best Buy tomorrow and give a listen. I also am familiar with the Gallos stuff and had forgotten all about it.

The good news is that it would be hard to not over perform and under price his Bose options !

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I'm not a big fan of tiny sats. Not one bit, especially for movies. If I had a gun to my head however, I'd go with Gallos.

Tim, DefTech makes On-walls? Didn't know that. Nice to know

They do. And their use of passive radiators (always as large as the cabinet will allow!) makes their SATs not sound so much like SATs. This is not HT for the kinds of systems many folks around here have, but for the folks wanting an unobtrusive system in a TV room, they're a great alternative to Bose.

The Pro Monitor 1000 is a great speaker for the size. Comes in gloss white as well.

Tim

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations. I am going to Best Buy tomorrow and give a listen. I also am familiar with the Gallos stuff and had forgotten all about it.

The good news is that it would be hard to not over perform and under price his Bose options !

Make sure your Best Buy is a Magnolia location, or you're going to top out at Polk, Bose and Kiipsch.

Tim

 

[FrantzM]

HI

I second the DefTEch recommendation.. Great little speakers and coupled with subs would mop the floor with the Bose. I would suggest to use a Yamah receiver.. Software is simple and they are very reliable .. Denon has been said to be better sounding but confuses the initiated ... I have had god expereines with the RX-V line of networked receiver. I like the Samsung Blu Ray players also ...

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

HI

I second the DefTEch recommendation.. Great little speakers and coupled with subs would mop the floor with the Bose. I would suggest to use a Yamah receiver.. Software is simple and they are very reliable .. Denon has been said to be better sounding but confuses the initiated ... I have had god expereines with the RX-V line of networked receiver. I like the Samsung Blu Ray players also ...

I agree with all of that except the part about Denon sounding better. Pioneer Elite receivers actually have a bit better specs, but as long as you get into the high-current range of the Yamahas, they're easy to operate, nearly bullet proof and, well if you can hear the difference between that and a Denon or Pioneer, you're a better man than I . I'd recommend getting into the Avantage series (at least that's what they're called in the US) of Yamahas. Good stuff. Wonderful headphone sections, FWIW. Competitive with dedicated headphone amps at the cost of the entire receiver, even into difficult to drive cans.

Tim

 

[audioguy]

Make sure your Best Buy is a Magnolia location, or you're going to top out at Polk, Bose and Kiipsch.

Tim

Thanks Tim. It does have a Magnolia inside.

 

[Mark Seaton]

One of my wife's bosses was getting ready to purchase a Bose surround system (Bose C48 I think he said) for one of his many homes and heard my wife talking about my addiction.

He just called and here is what he is looking for so any suggestions/recommendations would be helpful.

--- 5 Speakers, white in color, small (maybe shoebox size) wall mountable. He will not use in-wall since his walls are wooden and he has no interest in putting holes in them

--- 1 Sub

--- DVD/Bluray Player capable of 3D

--- Surround receiver that also includes the ability to drive and control two external speakers (he currently owns them and they are out on his patio)

--- Budget preferably at or under $2600

How about a Marantz SR5005, Denon 1912 or comparable Onkyo (~$499-599 w/ plenty of connectivity options along with Audyssey MultEQ XT) for the receiver. Then maybe an Outlaw LFM-1 Compact or LFM-1 Plus Subwoofer ($399/$549) depending on budget and size preference. A suitable BluRay player on Amazon should be $75-200, where this is also an easy way to add network & Netflix connectivity (wired or wireless) if his TV doesn't already have it. This still leaves a decent budget to find some flat-panel complimentary type on-walls you can pick out at Magnolia or even a specialty retailer.

Being who the owner is and what they were looking at, I'd also strongly recommend some unifying remote, either Harmony, Universal Remote, or maybe an iTouch/iPad based control.