Speaker choice for small movie and gaming room

keithy351

Honorable
Jan 28, 2013
5
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10,510
g'day everyone, ive built a pc with the spec:

amd fx8320
7870 graphics card
msi 990 board
8gig ram

and have matched it with a 42inch samsung led lcd tv, the setup is for movies and gaming, i opted for the bigger tv over the 3 monitors simply because of the hate of boarders between screens and seeing as there may be borderless screens coming out end of the year i will invest in a triple monitor setup then but for now this is what i got, i now want to finish it all off with a cheapish but ok sound system, the room its in is a small box room, maybe 3mx4m not to big at all, viewing distance sits round 5-6ft away, since im running it all through my pc i dont want a blue ray player surround sound system but currently in my budget i have these options, choices are between a sound bar and a surround sound,

1.Samsung HW-F450
2. samsung blue ray 5.1 with 5 small book shelf style speakers
3.other brands like song and LG, again with blue ray and 5.1 with small book shelf speakers

So im not to sure at the moment, i know if i ever move it will always be in a bedroom ie a small room setup. Any input would be much much appreciated as im a bit of an audio dummy
 
Solution
what is more important to you... better quality sound and loudness or surround sound?

i've seen the klipsch hd theater 600 (5.1 set but doesnt include an amp or receiver) on ebay for only $300 which is a rather good deal (considering its $500-600 msrp). throw in a cheap receiver or amp for $100-150 and you could have a damn nice setup for only $450 which would completely blow away any of those low end htib products.

if you're on more of a budget you could just buy something like the z906 and either buy a soundcard or use your motherboards optical output. while not as good as home theater speakers they are nothing to laugh at and are not a bad solution at all. you can get the speakers for $250-300 for a 5.1 set. if you run optical you...
what is more important to you... better quality sound and loudness or surround sound?

i've seen the klipsch hd theater 600 (5.1 set but doesnt include an amp or receiver) on ebay for only $300 which is a rather good deal (considering its $500-600 msrp). throw in a cheap receiver or amp for $100-150 and you could have a damn nice setup for only $450 which would completely blow away any of those low end htib products.

if you're on more of a budget you could just buy something like the z906 and either buy a soundcard or use your motherboards optical output. while not as good as home theater speakers they are nothing to laugh at and are not a bad solution at all. you can get the speakers for $250-300 for a 5.1 set. if you run optical you dont need a sound card. if you run via 3.5mm then i would suggest a cheaper one at least instead of onboard audio.

then there is the option batuchka mentioned.. you can get a 2.1 home theater setup for a decent budget. for $100 you could get two sony tower (floorstanding) speakers which really dont even need a subwoofer. pair this with a cheap stereo amplifier for under $100 and you will have a very loud good sounding system for under $200. my parents have a pair of the aforementioned sony floorstanding speakers (we gifted them to my dad for christmas awhile back) and they are loud and boomy in a room 3-4x the size of yours without a subwoofer. knowing what i spent on my own system i'm thoroughly impressed for the cost of $100/pair i paid.

what are your expectations?
do you need surround sound?
what is your absolute budget?
what size speakers would you prefer?
 
Solution