$1500 or so for home theatre/music, how would you spend it?

Question

My main "home theatre" room is taken care of (mid to top level polk components and an upper end yamaha). I want to do my "family" room now, which is a large room, roughly 30' by 30', I'm not looking to engulf the entire room in sound only about a 12' x 18' section; I'm not looking for perfection just decent sound. I was considering doing it with all of polk's entry level components ( i enjoy what ive gotten from them so far) and spend the rest on the receiver but I was intrigued by HSU's enthuisist 1 package and then dumping 5-600 on the receiver. The room has a 44" LG flat screen, but will not see a lot of use, sad but true, so it need not be top end. When I want to hear/see anything special i'll do so in my other room, so this room will mostly be for sparse entertaining circumstances where I'd like good+ sound, but no audiophiles will be in attendance, so no need to knock their socks off as it were... I guess the focus of what will be played is simple soft music, frank sinatra etc,

I will not be blasting music, no heavy bass rap will approach it, I guess I'm looking for crisp and clear with a slight ability to turn things up. thoughts on components sans receiver? I can tweak the budget up a touch but i'd rather not go over 2k as the room simply will not see the use.
Thank you

as stated the TV end is taken care of, LG 44" in 1080p, simply looking for speakers, and no need for 7 (will only close the "room" in more).

just speakers and receiver, sorry, everything else is taken of, at least for the needs of this room. Apologies...

so yes, speakers, receiver and a sub are what i'm looking for, i'd like to keep it under 2k (sheesh we've gone up already), id like to spend no0more than 2k unless it means a true step up within reason). this room truly will not be used much, as such i do not want to equip it....
thanks again
HWMHTR... thank you for your previous help as well

the fronts can be floor standing or I can get stands ...

Answer 1

You are on the right trackwith HSU. They make a great subwoofer.
You might want to try Ascend Acoustics. I have a pair of CBM 170 and they sound great.
Onkyo makes reasonably priced AVR recievers that have good specs.

Answer 2

well you actually have a number of choices you could make. however for the money a 5.1 system from polk would be the best speaker option. tie that together with a upconverting dvd player, no since to go blue ray if your not going to be in the room very much. then get your self a simple 5.1 reciever from either sony or onkyo, both are good choices. lots of features but not a lot money. this would make an excellent spare room system that will suit all of your needs. and all for under $1500.00

Answer 3

We've got a Sony surround sound system - not too much $$ - it was under $500. and it works great. You could go with a Bose system if you want REALLY GOOD music quality for around your budget, but if it's not being used that often there's really no need. By the time you get your use out of it compared to the money you spend the technology will have changed & you'll be looking at upgrading again. Seriously - what's the point in spending more than $5-600 in a room that will barely be used?

Answer 4

Hi. This is for music only,is that correct.? If this is a basic stereo system with reasonable sound,then you don't need a Receiver. A Stereo Integrated Amplifier will be better than a Receiver.(same price better sound ) What Source will you use ? (CD Player,Tuner,Tape,Turntable, other ) Do you want large floor standing speakers or smaller bookshelf types. What speaker sound do you like? Speakers with high frequency emphasis . Speakers with mid-range projection Speakers with a solid bass performance or Speakers whose frequency range is fairly flat (neutral speakers -
good for music ) do you really need a Subwoofer? If you could let me know so i can advise you what to buy.

EDIT....Do you listen to music sometimes with your home theater system,or is it only for video ? Do you have to have a Receiver for the music ?

Answer 5

Well since you're only looking to put sound in part of the room I guess I'd have to question if you need the surround channels at all or not.

The other question is the mounting of these speakers, are they going to be bookshelf speakers mounted somehow, or are they going to be floor standing speakers. These questions are important to determine what kind of speaker setup you should look at and consider for this room.

Answer 6

So you need receivers, speakers, sub and DVD player?

HSU is well known for their subs so that would be a good choice.

I'd go with a mid-level Yamaha or Denon receiver. Then a PS3 to give you a game system/BluRay player.