5.1 system for movies and games on the cheap

stimutacs on 18/01/2023 - 21:34

Due to a Series of Events I'm stuck on an old Logitech 2.1 system at the moment with my 65" tv.

I've demo'd a few pricey 5.1 systems to match it over the last month in stores, and to be honest - perhaps I am just too old and too much of a philistine to appreciate nice things - very few of the $$$$ 5/7.1 systems sound significantly better to me than my dad's old 5.1 system that has to be one of the dodgiest paper speaker setups going, and is now about 15 years old. Like, to me, all the improvement comes from simply having surround, and the gains from having expensive rears or an expensive sub seem dwarfed under the gains from having positional audio at all.

What's the best way to do this on a sensible budget? Get some active bookshelf speakers from amazon and feed them off something like one of these ?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/385245617264

or better to buy a 2nd hand speaker wire 5.1 system and find an old 5.1 amp on ebay?

I'd be looking to drive this off either HDMI passthrough or a PC with onboard 5.1 audio out, not sure if it's worth springing for a PCIE soundcard with 5/7.1 out anymore - is it ?

Cheapskates of home theatre, how did you save money on this?

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • spackbace on 18/01/2023 - 21:40
    +3

    Just get a "home theatre in a box" off gumtree/marketplace. I used to have a Samsung 5.1 which served me well before upgrading. They can be had for $100-150

    Or a Sony muteki setup for $300-400

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 18/01/2023 - 21:46
    +2

    I wish logitech still made z5500. I still have my set from 17 years ago and still kicks ass as much today as it did back then. Would buy another set for my man cave in a heart beat if could still get them brand new.

    • ihbh on 18/01/2023 - 22:37
      +1

      This is also what my (only) TV is attached to.

  • Davo1111 on 19/01/2023 - 01:31

    yamaha do one for a few hundred. deal comes up every so often. I have them, very happy.

  • DiscountForThee on 19/01/2023 - 11:38
    +1

    or better to buy a 2nd hand speaker wire 5.1 system and find an old 5.1 amp

    This is definitely what I recommend, especially if you live in a city. 5.1 systems get placed for sale daily and there can be some serious deals to be had. I bought 5 speakers and a sub of (what I consider to be, at least) a really nice set of Accusound speakers for $100 from a bloke who had enjoyed them for years and recently upgraded to a $9000 set or something. A few days later I was able to get an Onkyo HDMI 2.0 receiver for $300.

    The receiver I bought in 2018 still works with my PS5 at 4K/60Hz and the surround sound is awesome.

    The 2nd hand market is strong for these, so keep checking multiple times a day on Gumtree and FB marketplace to find some good ones. I wouldn't recommend anything less than HDMI 2.0, but if you can get something with modern HDMI 2.1 features for cheap then that could be even better. I'm not sure if there would be enough of these floating around the 2nd hand market yet in order to get snagged for cheap.

    HDMI audio and video from your PC or console is definitely the recommended route to go.

  • revheadgl on 19/01/2023 - 12:18
    +4

    Have a look at the Yamaha YHT180 pack. It includes a receiver, 5 speakers and a sub.

    Best price I could find after a quick search is $544 delivered or $532 delivered via their ebay store.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join