What are the most important factors for a 2.1 Setup?

[KrazyMofo24]

I am interested in seeing what would generally be the best areas to focus on within a $5,000 dollar budget. I know just about every component makes a difference in sound, however with not enough funds I'm sure most of us know we have to compromise in certain areas.

Where should most of the money go to if you are starting from scratch?

I personally spent the majority of my budget on speakers and a receiver. My source has been mainly a PC with USB soundblaster connected optical out to my receiver, and my ps3 as a cd player. I'm still debating on where to go from there I'm going to with a used B&K ST-202 for my Haydn's I don't feel its going to my final amp, but it will be a significant improvement which will keep me busy while I keep saving.


Well back to the original question I would like to know out of all the components what's very important and what percent of your budget would you reserve on each component that will give the best audio experience for music.

Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks.

[ND13]

pre/speakers
source
speakers/pre
amp
cabling

[madmax]

Choose the speakers you want, get the appropriate amp to work with the speakers, pick a preamp which mates well with the amp then search for a source which works well with the preamp and pulls everything together. After all that you can tweak cables. If you start at the preamp and work your way down its hard to tell what you will end up with. It has taken over two decades for me to figure this out.
madmax

[Zero]

The bottom line is this: There is more to creating competent stereo system than denoting priorities of importance to a given piece of hardware. It is a system, which means that every single component in it shares a fundamental role in recreating music in a way that you enjoy. For better or worse, there is no agreed upon guideline to follow. It's up to you to discover your own path, whether that path means enjoying $4000 loudspeakers on a $500 integrate and $500 CD-player or whether that means enjoying a $1500 set of speakers, $1500 integrate, and so on..

More important than the budget, is an understanding the options you have available to you given the room you plan on anchoring the system into. Your listening space will dictate a lot. It may work great with small loudspeakers but sound horrible with large towers. It may be favorable for electrostatics may sound like crapola with horns. So how do you determine what will work best for you? Though a lot of it boils down to experience, the good news is that common sense also plays a key role in these determinations. For example; If you're in a big space, you will likely need a larger speaker. If you're in a small space, you'll likely need a smaller speaker. Start with the basics, and go from there.

Secondly, it is also immensely important to know what it is you value in sound reproduction. Do you listen more at high volumes, or low? Do you value big bass, or do you not care? How about resolution? Sound-staging? Once you figure that out, and get an understanding of how those tastes influence the gear you should buy that will work with both your music and the listening space - you're good to go. That's when the fun begins!

I'm sorry that this post wasn't exactly what you were looking for, but I nonetheless hope that it gives you some food for thought. For what its worth, I'd allocate *at least* $500 of that budget to room treatment, as most rooms in modern houses could benefit from a bit of tactical damping. GIK Acoustic panels is an excellent place to start.

Good luck.

[steveinaz]

Choose the speakers you want, get the appropriate amp to work with the speakers, pick a preamp which mates well with the amp then search for a source which works well with the preamp and pulls everything together. After all that you can tweak cables. If you start at the preamp and work your way down its hard to tell what you will end up with. It has taken over two decades for me to figure this out.
madmax

+10 my experience as well. Always build around your speakers, they affect your sound more than anything. In your case of a 2.1, pick a good musical sub, or scrap the .1 idea altogether.

I should have taken my own advice, and didn't. My next speakers will NOT be a compromise. As much as I like the Energy's, they are my weakest link.

To give you an idea, my system below was a little over $5100 (everything was purchased NEW), cables included.

[Hawkeye]

Zero nailed it. Especially the room treatments.

Gordon

[steveinaz]

The reason I don't "sweat" the room, is because frankly, I don't have much control over it. Certainly you can enhance the listening room, but let's face it, if you can afford a home taylored to your audio needs, you're not sweating $5k on a system.

I got lucky that the house we liked also happened to have a very good environment for the system--but that was an after thought in all honesty.

Of course this is all just my opinion, and I do suck sometimes. YMMV.

[Zero]

The reason I don't "sweat" the room, is because frankly, I don't have much control over it

I don't understand this. Sure, most of us are forced to work with what we got (and usually what we are working with is far from ideal), but why throw in the towel on what is still the single most influencing factor of your entire rig? You don't have to build a room specifically for stereo listening to attain great sound. All it takes is a bit of time and small monetary investment. Hell, for $200 you can get three basic traps from GIK that when intelligently placed, can bring far better performance to your system than a $2000 set of cables with magic boxes.

Why anyone would purposely bypass a solution that's so effective and inexpensive bewilders me. Maybe its just because it takes time, and isn't as cool as a shiny new audio toy.. *shrugs*

[steveinaz]

Did you see the "Certainly you can enhance the listening room" comment in my post?

[Zero]

I did, it's just that I read the post as a whole to be dismissive of the concept. Tis all'. Gotta love de internets!

[cnh]

You guys must have some problematic spaces? Mine is not that large. A lot of furniture. Wall to wall carpet, and a reasonable amount of drapes and curtains..not much in the way of sound bouncing off walls. If anything the room absorbs too much sound. In such a case wouldn't working with what's in the room be better than dealing with surfaces--of which there are not many that are smooth and glossy?

cnh

[ND13]

Those that have visited my cave, know that I need very little, if any room treatments . I have an acoustically dead room, for the most part.

[Zero]

Hey, some people don't really need it. I tamed the first reflection point, and thats it. Otherwise, there is no glass hanging about. No metal. Just woods and heavy materials. It sounds fairly decent. That said, looking at the Club Polk galleries, I'd say most people (even with snazzy 10k+ systems) could easily benefit from some care.. whether they think so or not.

[KrazyMofo24]

Thanks for your guy's responses it's very helpful. The Vienna Acoustics I really like and enjoy I don't feel they are perfect, but feel there is still more with my setup I need to improve before ditching the speakers. The amp I feel is going to be a big help, I'm looking forward to trying it out with LSi7's also. I feel with both bookshelf's they lack in bass, and going to try for a REL B2 or B3 sub. I'm also going to take your suggestion on the room acoustics I too agree that they play a big factor to the sound.

I guess I just wasn't sure where the next step would be after the B&K ST-202 if I need to go with a musical sub, a good preamp, spend a lot on cables, or save for an even stronger amp.

[pearsall001]

The room first...then speakers & the rest is a toss up.

[ND13]

Hey, some people don't really need it. I tamed the first reflection point, and thats it. Otherwise, there is no glass hanging about. No metal. Just woods and heavy materials. It sounds fairly decent. That said, looking at the Club Polk galleries, I'd say most people (even with snazzy 10k+ systems) could easily benefit from some care.. whether they think so or not.


Agreed.

I was just blessed with solid wood paneling about 3/16-1/4 thick, even on the ceiling and wall to wall carpeting.

I have a dilemma when it comes to speakers or pre first. Then that little Jesse devil, on my left shoulder, whispers source

[Hawkeye]

I've spent a lot of money on gear that I didn't have to. Buying $750 worth of traps was by far the best improvement I ever made. Don't abandon gear too soon! Most of us do not push our gear to the outer limits.

I read at either Real Traps or ASC that one of the reviewers said he'd prefer to listen to a mid fi system in a well treated room than an uber expensive rig in a poor room.

Gordon

[cnh]

Zero has the important points covered. So I'm just going to go with my personal opinion. I believe there are a number of speakers out there that sound GOOD/GREAT with a wide range of equipment. This IS NOT TRUE for many speakers, even some of the more expensive. What I would do, myself, is find the best speakers I can that have the greatest tolerance for most pre/pros/amps and other equipment and build around those--a significant time and amount of money would be devoted to that search. And I know such speakers exist (of course there is some subjectivity in what something sounds like or what sounds good to you or me) because I've heard a few run on a wide range of different equipment that retained their general sound throughout. I'd then move on to amplification, and look for the nuances that complement those speakers to my best liking. Room treatments...carpet, furniture 'soft', lots of drapes and fabric hangings, should be part of your decorating budget before you even put a system in there. Pick your 'room' wisely so you don't have to fuss much with it if you can.

My two cents..probably not even worth that much.

Good Luck

cnh

[danz1906]

The room first...then speakers & the rest is a toss up.

I agree 100%

[mantis]

The room first...then speakers & the rest is a toss up.

I also completely agree.

Dan

[steveinaz]

I got lucky too. Very large listening room, thanks to the great room concept; 10" thick concrete sub-floor, tall vaulted ceilings, plenty of flexibility for speaker placement. The downside is that I need big power and large speakers to really fill the room with sound.

[dougy]

2-channel priority for good sound? Let me see...

Number one's gotta be the recording itself. A lousy recording is a lousy recording on any system, anytime, anywhere.

Number two is the listening room. True, they can be improved, but most of us use'm like we find'em, for better or for worse. I would also include set-up of speakers/subs in with the room at #2.

Coming in at number three would be the speakers (an/or subs) themselves. That's what I would buy first and allow at least half the total budget for.

Next, at the five spot, amplification. Buy what suits your speakers.

Everything else is negotiable. That includes preamp, or at least preamp features of an integrated or receiver, sources, racks, stands, etc.

...at least, that's my opinion. it may not be much, but it's mine.

[janmike]

Choose the speakers you want, get the appropriate amp to work with the speakers, pick a preamp which mates well with the amp then search for a source which works well with the preamp and pulls everything together. After all that you can tweak cables. If you start at the preamp and work your way down its hard to tell what you will end up with. It has taken over two decades for me to figure this out.
madmax

That approach worked for me. Well stated madmax.