[Maxvla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shike /img/forum/go_quote.gif lol, I know what you mean. Not a lot of people tend to notice the bargains you can get on older integrated amps on ebay. I didn't notice until I started shopping for a pre/pro. Fortunately for me, even though I had a surround sound setup I was able to score a "non-working" updated NAD T163 unit for $75. Soldered the mains, fixed OSD transformer, straightened the chassis. If it weren't for the fact that paint was scraped off the top you wouldn't know anything had happened to it. Sounds AMAZING, and all on a college student budget

That's great. I'll have to keep this in mind if I ever setup a phono-speaker rig.

Quote:

It only applies to non-clearance items, so he'd still have to pay shipping. I bought a pair of Focals and had to pay shipping even though they were around $300.

Ah, nothing on the page stated it was clearance so I didn't know. That's too bad.

 

[Shizdan]

Total comes to $239 Shipped for the Speakers and Sub or $256 with the adapter

i could get this for the same pirce

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looks like the same speaker except 5 1/4" driver instead of the 4 1/2. I doubt it's worth 50% more money $99 vs $149

Honestly I agree with you on that. In fact, I believe most speakers aren't worth as much as people are willing to pay. I had some Focal 705 Chorus S bookshelves and replaced them with some NHT SuperZero XU wallmounts when I upgraded my HT. Except for less bass extension, they were about the same. The NHTs were actually faster in the midrange since they were sealed too

And here I thought I'd never touch a plastic cabinet speaker again. Who knew?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shizdan Total comes to $239 Shipped for the Speakers and Sub or $256 with the adapter

And that's with shipping right? Guess I wasn't out of the ballpark with the $50 figure (for me it would have been $34). I'm surprised they're charging another $5 for shipping of a simple adapter, but I guess it can't be helped (shouldn't be too big a deal).

Sounds like a solid foundation for a setup! Should sound good with the Auzentech too (I have the same sound card

)

Just to give you a checklist:

Nad Integrated

Speakers & Sub

16 Gauge speaker wire (this will be ran from amp, to subwoofer, then speakers, so make sure to get enough. No particular brand necessary)

Mini to RCA adapter (Audioquest looked decent)

I assume you have some solid RCA cables around. If not, see if they have cheap ones there or check monoprice.com .

All in all, you should land a little under $400 and offer you a punchy music experience!

edit:

Quote:

i could get this for the same pirce

That's honestly up to you. I personally think Onyko makes "okay" amps and electronics, but their speakers blow to the high heaven from everything I've heard.

Then again, it's a cheap way of going multi-channel. So it depends on your priorities.

 

[Shizdan]

and to think i could just get z-5500s for $215 shipped haha

 

[Maxvla]

If you don't have decent RCA's I would definately take a look at these.

That's the auction I won on those cables. Retail is $119, but I won them for $28, which is about average. Most of the auctions of those cables finish around $24-32.

^ Tip to you also Shike if you haven't seen them before.

 

[Maxvla]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shizdan /img/forum/go_quote.gif and to think i could just get z-5500s for $215 shipped haha

And have worse sound, and not have flexibility to use the parts for anything else like you can with separate components. Computer speakers can be used only for computers, but the setup Shike built for you will be able to be broken up to use in another project or individually upgraded if you need. Not to mention I doubt resale value on that Logitech set is very good.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you don't have decent RCA's I would definately take a look at these. That's the auction I won on those cables. Retail is $119, but I won them for $28, which is about average. Most of the auctions of those cables finish around $24-32. ^ Tip to you also Shike if you haven't seen them before.

Personally I rather make my own. Canare Star Quad with some Via Blue interconnects. I can make them for less than that, get a better connection, and have both EMI and RFI shielding that's better.

If I'm lazy, I just use monoprice. They use 75ohm Coax like everyone else (probably Beldin or something similar) and snug connectors that (OMG) are actually manufactured right (I'm looking at you Monster! Ripping RCA grounding off is a NO-NO!).

*cough*

One time I needed RCA connectors NOW and grabbed a pair of $10 Monster RCAs on sale at Rat Shack . . . and that's what happened. -_-

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shizdan and to think i could just get z-5500s for $215 shipped haha

Hey, if you're happy with the way they sound go for it. I tend to configure systems for sound quality first and foremost. That's just the way I work things anymore. I like the thought of being able to breakdown and build another system if necessary. That's why I use a Niles amp is later I can use it for a mult-room system when I get my own place.

As I said, it's a matter of what's important to you.

 

[Maxvla]

Do you have a pic of your cable? How much total $ does it cost you?

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you have a pic of your cable? How much total $ does it cost you?

I don't have any pics of the cable on hand unfortunately. You can grab some entry level locking Via Blue RCA's from here and some of the cable from wherever is cheaper. Haven't shopped in a while and don't have bookmarks to old shops. I think it's about .47-.50 a foot though.

I'd say on average a solid interconnect would be $30. I think you could also probably add on some cheap sheathing if you want the professional look from AV-Outlet too which would probably qualify you for free shipping at that point ($25 purchase)

In the end, it'd probably be only a $1-2 cheaper. IMO though, it's so much nicer to have locking RCA plugs and the extra shielding.

EDIT:

Hell, if you want to go overboard you could also add ferrite cores to them. So their braided, shielded, one way grounded, and have RFI attenuation. lol!

 

[Maxvla]

Well, I only bought the Zu cables because they were inexpensive getting them through eBay. I mostly wanted just a well built IC. Right now I'm not a believer in cables affecting sound, but I did want something that looked nice (hp rig is in my living room so looks are important) and I wanted something that would last through multiple plugs and unplugs.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I only bought the Zu cables because they were inexpensive getting them through eBay. I mostly wanted just a well built IC. Right now I'm not a believer in cables affecting sound, but I did want something that looked nice (hp rig is in my living room so looks are important) and I wanted something that would last through multiple plugs and unplugs.

Completely understandable, I agree too for the most part. The only time a cable will sound different is if the shielding is insufficient next to a RMI/EMI source.

I had some friends near a radio station . . . they used ****ty RCA plugs and could pick up the radio half the time with them. They switched to 75ohm coax which helped, but one claimed they still could hear some of it coming through. So, this was the best solution, and I had him ferrite core it for good measure. That's how he makes all his cables now.

Personally, I use monoprice for most pre-amp to amp connections because the RCA are board mounted and screwed to the chassis. The odds of breaking them is less than me getting struck by lightning. On gear that I don't trust as much (my DAC RCA are only board mounted for example) I use the locking for piece of mind not to break something.

Beyond that, the quad's used because it should never have any interference and it's quite cheap to use.

 

[obobskivich]

just to throw an entirely different idea up, if you haven't ordered yet

Pioneer A-35R

around $200 if you can find one, and from everything I've heard, its suberb for little speakers like you're getting, around 40-50W/rms/ch iirc, very clean, nice little unit

other than that, yes, I would agree with used integrated amp/receiver from ebay, as far as the $250~ onkyo HTIB package, are you mad?

get the 7.1 receiver, or something like it, from Harman's refurb bin, and slowly build it up to 5.1 or 7.1 with decent bookshelves (like what you've found so far), that is, if you really really want multi-channel

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif get the 7.1 receiver, or something like it, from Harman's refurb bin, and slowly build it up to 5.1 or 7.1 with decent bookshelves (like what you've found so far), that is, if you really really want multi-channel

Screw that even, separates all the way!

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shike /img/forum/go_quote.gif Screw that even, separates all the way!

at $400, you'd get the processor, and thats it

honestly though, going with a half decent 5.1 or 7.1 reciever refurb, and good pair of bookshelves, and slowly upgrading from there, would be the best solution given his budget

furthermore, most of those harman units have multi-ch pre-outs that are pretty good quality, especially for their price range, so he could "leap frog" with this receiver, go from it + multich speaker -> same speakers + multich amp + harman receiver -> new speakers + multich + harman -> new processor

or something like that, idk, its late (or is it early? haha)

 

[Maxvla]

^^ I'm lost