SOUND Advice

I'm wanting to get some sort of all encompassing sound system going in my house. something that can communicate wirelessly, I can have speakers in different rooms if wanted, can pick up and move them, etc. I want good sound, ease of connectivity, and good value. If I am going to invest in this, it also has to be something I can purchase in pieces (aka won't be invalidated in the next month) to soften the financial burden of my shopping. 

I also have an old receiver / cassette deck / record player that all hooks together, but I am assuming I will need to get some sort of converter for that whole mess over in the corner. 

thanks in advance ♥ 

brand preferences, personal experiences, and other info accepted as well!!!

for example, i was looking at bose v sonos but now i see klipsch and i like their aesthetics but I literally know .01 of anything about stereo systems. 

The new Amazon Echo system and add on components can now turn any set of speakers and/or stereo into a wireless and VOICE CONTROLLED system. And with the new update, those devices can now link between rooms. Which now makes the Sonos system over-priced and feature limited. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20">

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Ohhh and here I was, about to say that while I have limited personal experience with it, Sonos' are SO cool.

Too bad I'm gonna be the owner of a Google Home Mini pretty soon, not an Echo!

knight1fox3 said:

The new Amazon Echo system and add on components can now turn any set of speakers and/or stereo into a wireless and VOICE CONTROLLED system. And with the new update, those devices can now link between rooms. Which now makes the Sonos system over-priced and feature limited.

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is the sound good tho? and this is why i'm asking. i think sonos connectivity is so cool but i'm sure there are worthy competitors out there. 

thejulie_PE said:

is the sound good tho? and this is why i'm asking. i think sonos connectivity is so cool but i'm sure there are worthy competitors out there. 

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Depends on what kind of speakers you have. The Echo Dot for instance is a very small speaker and relies on what you connect it to. But the manner in which it links to all things Amazon, is pretty fantastic. It also links with a plethora of other devices so that it adds so much more functionality than only being an audio system. For instance, Alexa can turn on my Samsung TV or adjust my Nest thermostat or add milk to my grocery list. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20">

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knight1fox3 said:

Depends on what kind of speakers you have. The Echo Dot for instance is a very small speaker and relies on what you connect it to. But the manner in which it links to all things Amazon, is pretty fantastic. It also links with a plethora of other devices so that it adds so much more functionality than only being an audio system. For instance, Alexa can turn on my Samsung TV or adjust my Nest thermostat or add milk to my grocery list. [emoji4]

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I need pro tips on what speakers to get, too. I have some silly 100 dollar Walmart surround sound currently.

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thejulie_PE said:

I need pro tips on what speakers to get, too. I have some silly 100 dollar Walmart surround sound currently.

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Time for a trip to Best Buy. If you're not an audiophile, just go with a reputable brand and what sounds good to you.

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knight1fox3 said:

Time for a trip to Best Buy. If you're not an audiophile, just go with a reputable brand and what sounds good to you.

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But then I have to talk to people[emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33]

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thejulie_PE said:

But then I have to talk to people[emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33][emoji33]

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Not really. Most people at Best Buy no longer know anything about the depts they work in. And hence will likely not want to talk to you. LOL

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knight1fox3 said:

Not really. Most people at Best Buy no longer know anything about the depts they work in. And hence will likely not want to talk to you. LOL

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Lol oh! I guess it's been a while. My hs bf was the sound system dude at bb

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Best Buy doesn't seem to have all that much choice these days, but it's probably about the only option to listen to speakers these days without getting ripped off at an audiophile place. Online stores like crutchfield.com have lots of choices and excellent customer service but you can't listen.  But I think that most of the major speaker brands (Polk, Klipsch, NHT, etc.) will be pretty good choices (don't buy Bose!). Just remember that - no matter what they tell you - size matters!  If you want big sound (not only loud but "large" sounding bass, etc.), get a big speaker with big drivers. If you don't care about that, probably any decent sized bookshelf speaker with a 6 inch main driver would be more than adequate, and you could always add a subwoofer for more bass. 

Dleg said:

Best Buy doesn't seem to have all that much choice these days, but it's probably about the only option to listen to speakers these days without getting ripped off at an audiophile place. Online stores like crutchfield.com have lots of choices and excellent customer service but you can't listen.  But I think that most of the major speaker brands (Polk, Klipsch, NHT, etc.) will be pretty good choices (don't buy Bose!). Just remember that - no matter what they tell you - size matters!  If you want big sound (not only loud but "large" sounding bass, etc.), get a big speaker with big drivers. If you don't care about that, probably any decent sized bookshelf speaker with a 6 inch main driver would be more than adequate, and you could always add a subwoofer for more bass. 

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I definitely intend to get a sub at some point. Can I ask why not bose?

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Bose makes gimmicky stuff that cheats on power (tiny drivers amplified by the shape of the speaker) and they're extremely overpriced for what you are getting. I do think they're nice for portable speakers. But you can get much better sound for the same and less money going with "regular" speakers. 

Honestly, you can't beat a good pair of tower speakers for excellent sound. I tried numerous small speaker and subwoofer combinations over the years before finally biting the bullet and getting a pair of NHT towers, and the sound difference was amazing. I still have a sub, but the towers can handle most music now - the sub only really kicks in for movies, where it probably damages the foundations of my house.

I have a several pairs of BOSE speakers but they are all at least 15 years old and still sound great to me.  I bought the AM-5's (two small cube speakers with a subwoofer) when they first came out and they still sound great.  BOSE was the innovator of these small big sound speakers.  Dr. Amir Bose's goal was to produce speakers that had really good response in the primary audible frequencies resulting in speakers where the human ear really couldn't distinguish between the recorded sound and the real thing.  He didn't bother fine-tuning for frequencies higher of lower than the audible range.  Therefore BOSE aren't "reference" speakers but they sound really good.  Many companies copied their technologies and like most companies that grew to a huge size, their product line is subjected to production cost cuts in materials and workmanship.  I don't agree that they make only "gimmcky stuff" but then again I haven't shopped for new audio equipment for quite a while.  Of course I may be biased as Dr. Bose was an MIT guy and the company's world headquarters is in Framingham, MA

I bought my stuff from SoundTrack (Ultimate Electronics, now dead and gone) years ago. I have Klipsch speakers and a Denon 5:1 receiver (it can run 7:1 but I didn't buy all of the speakers). To tell you how old it is, the most "up to date" audio feature it has is the ability to run fiber optic audio cables (no HDMI). At the time I probably paid more than I should have, but looking back on it now they have performed amazingly for years. My only complaint is that the system is technologically outdated and can't run the full functionality that I want, but not to the point I will replace it.

When it comes down to it, you need to listen to the system before you buy. Also keep in mind the input source. Most audio stores have top of the line wiring, receivers, and signal quality to minimize any flaws in the system. Just like televisions, they'll provide crystal clear perfect signal and their settings have been adjusted so the TV's look awesome.  When you listen to something, bring your iPod and play music from that as a source. Reset it to the default (out of the box) settings. Because that's what it will sound like when you use it.

These would probably sound awesome - big discount right now:

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107RTIA9C/Polk-Audio-RTi-A9-Cherry.html

Dleg said:

These would probably sound awesome - big discount right now:
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_107RTIA9C/Polk-Audio-RTi-A9-Cherry.html

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Those are Ginormous

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Probably not as big as they seem.  As I mentioned, there is a noticeable difference in the "size" of the sound produced by large speakers compared to smaller speakers, even when augmented by a subwoofer. I didn't think that would be the case until I finally got large speakers and heard the difference. It's very pleasing, if you enjoy music or movies.

Dleg said:

Probably not as big as they seem.  As I mentioned, there is a noticeable difference in the "size" of the sound produced by large speakers compared to smaller speakers, even when augmented by a subwoofer. I didn't think that would be the case until I finally got large speakers and heard the difference. It's very pleasing, if you enjoy music or movies.

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They look like they're 6 feet tall. I did not read the specs. Lol

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