Topic: time for an "upgrade". need some help on a low end (best buy) system.....

[Gordon]

needed to do this for a long time but now my kenwood is acting up
 I can not afford to go as big as most of y'all    so if you had to buy at best buy what would you get??  only thing I don't need is a dvd player.  thinking about one of the "home theater" ones.

[scervin]

If you want HT then go with Athena Technologies Micra system from onecall.com and a receiver

BTW, a budget would help us.

sc

[Gordon]

thanks.  as for budget I'm not sure.  trying not to spend too much but....

[Gordon]

I can swing those speakers.  now what about a receiver??  may have to get that at best buy so I can put it on my card.

[Gordon]

the athena micros are the same price at best buy and no shipping.

[scervin]

I've not seen Athena in local Best Buy stores for a long time.  Grab them!

[Chris K]

i'm in the same situation, looking to upgrade to a 5.1 home theater speaker setup and receiver. i have a cleared-by-wife budget of about $500 that i can stretch to about $700~800.

i have never heard the athena micra 6 set. i was looking to buy a set of infinity tss-450 because they have been getting good ratings. both cost about the same. how do these systems sound with 2channel music?

i would also like a receiver in the same price range to replace my aging kenwood. i would like digi in. i was leaning towards the sony stra-da3000 or possibly one of those panasonic sa-xr70's.

[zowie]

I have the Athena FS-2 full range floor standers.  They are an absolute knock-out for the money and you won't need to budget for either stands or a subwoofer with them.  Since the 70s I have owned a lot of speakers (presently have about 10 pair), some expensive, but I just can't get over how these blow every other full sized speaker in their price range out of the water.

[Nick's Picks]

you guys...

find yourself a referbed Sony STR-DA2000es or 3000es.  should be well underr $400.
then look for Epos EL3 speakers all the way around.  they run about $250 used per pair. 

a little over budget..but you could always get something cheaper for speakers in the mean time and upgrade later on a piece at a time.  some nice fat front channel towers for example...and then leave the cheapo's as the rear surrounds / center.
This way you can have a decent 2ch system w/the push of a button for music..and still have a great HT for multi-channel and movies.

[Chris K]

yeah, i have 2 kids that have already ruined a set of AR's, so i am on a 20+yr pair of altec lansing model 1's right now. I want something small that i can keep out of thier reach, and when they are older and not into everything, i can upgrade again. so i am looking to get about 4 or 5 years out of this new acquisition which will allow 2channel and surround sound.

thanks for the suggestions.

[zowie]

yeah, i have 2 kids that have already ruined a set of AR's, so i am on a 20+yr pair of altec lansing model 1's right now. I want something small that i can keep out of thier reach, and when they are older and not into everything, i can upgrade again.

One time one of my kids toddled up to my Quads and wiped his running nose on it.

[Gordon]

ended up getting the speakers from onecall as my bestbuy didn't have them and shipping was a bit cheaper from onecall.  the best buy did have some  book shelf athena's and they sounded great!   got this for a receiver

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BOPG2C/sr=1-1/qid=1138169280/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1718706-8472629?%5Fencoding=UTF8

$300 new, shipped (free shipping).   goes for $400 at cc even the online sale this week it was $340 or so.  so for everything I am at about $650

[pfife]

ended up getting the speakers from onecall as my bestbuy didn't have them and shipping was a bit cheaper from onecall.  the best buy did have some  book shelf athena's and they sounded great!   got this for a receiver

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BOPG2C/sr=1-1/qid=1138169280/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1718706-8472629?%5Fencoding=UTF8

$300 new, shipped (free shipping).   goes for $400 at cc even the online sale this week it was $340 or so.  so for everything I am at about $650

+T for toys.  Have fun!

[ducati]

The Athena's are supposed to be nice.  Haven't heard them, you'll have to post your thoughts once you get them.

Other budget speakers I have heard in my home recently, and liked:
Totem Dreamcatcher ($400)--really impressive for the size, beautifully built as are all totem's.  Communicative midrange, very musical, bass is phenomenal for the size...  They will impress there.  Treble can be a little grainy or harsh at times, compared to the best speakers.  But overall a killer bargain, and although I feel they are not entirely neutral, they do get the musical message across.  The Arro's are everything the Dreamcatchers are but with refinement and better tonality, but waaay more expensive.  If you're on a tight budget, you could do much worse than these itty bitty Totem's.
Focal/JM Lab Chorus 705S ($400): the treble's the thing with these.  Ueber smooth and refined; perhaps missing a tad bit of air, but this tweeter is phenomenal for the price.  Mids and bass are good, but not as communicative as the Totem.  Way refined, though.  I listened to this one both at home, and against the very expensive JM Lab Micro Utopia, and I can say wholeheartedly the JM Lab sound boils down to a low price point very well.  Toss some killer electronics in front of these and watch out--they are so darn refined it's like they OWN the finishing school.  If the Totem's too rough around the edges for you, these will soothe your soul.

Another budget tip: if I had $400 to spend on amplification, a HT Receiver would be my last choice.  Go used, audiogon, and buy a little tube amp (Sophia Baby, Almarro A205A, ASL MG-SI 15DT, Jolida 102 or 202)--if you shop wisely real buys can be had there.  Way more musical and enjoyable than any HT Receiver.  If you don't like tubes, check out gainclones and chip amps.

A little late, in your case, but something to consider if you're not thrilled with the sound of the receiver, you can always return it of course!

[scervin]

The Athena's are supposed to be nice.  Haven't heard them, you'll have to post your thoughts once you get them.

Other budget speakers I have heard in my home recently, and liked:
Totem Dreamcatcher ($400)--really impressive for the size, beautifully built as are all totem's.  Communicative midrange, very musical, bass is phenomenal for the size...  They will impress there.  Treble can be a little grainy or harsh at times, compared to the best speakers.  But overall a killer bargain, and although I feel they are not entirely neutral, they do get the musical message across.  The Arro's are everything the Dreamcatchers are but with refinement and better tonality, but waaay more expensive.  If you're on a tight budget, you could do much worse than these itty bitty Totem's.
Focal/JM Lab Chorus 705S ($400): the treble's the thing with these.  Ueber smooth and refined; perhaps missing a tad bit of air, but this tweeter is phenomenal for the price.  Mids and bass are good, but not as communicative as the Totem.  Way refined, though.  I listened to this one both at home, and against the very expensive JM Lab Micro Utopia, and I can say wholeheartedly the JM Lab sound boils down to a low price point very well.  Toss some killer electronics in front of these and watch out--they are so darn refined it's like they OWN the finishing school.  If the Totem's too rough around the edges for you, these will soothe your soul.

Another budget tip: if I had $400 to spend on amplification, a HT Receiver would be my last choice.  Go used, audiogon, and buy a little tube amp (Sophia Baby, Almarro A205A, ASL MG-SI 15DT, Jolida 102 or 202)--if you shop wisely real buys can be had there.  Way more musical and enjoyable than any HT Receiver.  If you don't like tubes, check out gainclones and chip amps.

A little late, in your case, but something to consider if you're not thrilled with the sound of the receiver, you can always return it of course!

Is the $400 only for 2 dreamcatcher speakers??  I've seen the 5.1 for closer to $1500.

sc