[ElectroNut]

Struggling.  I really only have researched computer and headphone setups before.  Speakers etc. are new to me lmao!
     
 
     Looking for something for the 3 bedroom apartment my fiance and I live in.  We listen to music together mostly on our iphones (upside down in a bowl), while walking around the house, or use one of those small bluetooth speakers (like a 20 dollar one, which is now broken).  Im looking for a setup to either connect to via bluetooth, or plug into with an aux cord.  Usually we use pandora, but my music library is in the cave with my headphones.
    Something simple, 2 speakers would be great.  
Budget is probably 400 total
 
Not sure what components I need or what the best bang for my buck is but Im hoping to stick with the budget and get some decent sound, at this point anything is better than what we're currently doing.
 
Thanks so much!

 

[theveterans]

Get a soundbar IMO. You get a better bang for buck than bookshelf speakers, but this is just my opinion.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

        Looking for something for the 3 bedroom apartment my fiance and I live in.  We listen to music together mostly on our iphones (upside down in a bowl), while walking around the house, or use one of those small bluetooth speakers (like a 20 dollar one, which is now broken).  Im looking for a setup to either connect to via bluetooth, or plug into with an aux cord.  Usually we use pandora, but my music library is in the cave with my headphones.
    Something simple, 2 speakers would be great.  

 

By "2 speakers" do you mean a stereo pair or two rooms to have one speaker each?
 

 
Not sure what components I need or what the best bang for my buck is but Im hoping to stick with the budget and get some decent sound, at this point anything is better than what we're currently doing.

 

If what you want to do is put one speaker in each of two locations then it would be best to get a single piece BT speaker. These can get loud enough barring something like using one in the kitchen while banging a wok against the stove when tossing the food around the carbon steel.
 

Get a soundbar IMO. You get a better bang for buck than bookshelf speakers, but this is just my opinion.

 

How exactly when you get a plastic housing, small paper drivers, no real port, and barely any 2ch imaging considering it would have to be one giant log just to sufficiently space out the left channel speaker from the right channel? The distance between each driver on most soundbars up to 37in width is fine for desktop speakers at the same distance apart, but once you sit far enough back from them, you'll start losing a clearer sense of stereo imaging on those. What soundbars do is provide simplicity specifically for how much easier they are to install neatly, and in so far as being better, only better against big brand, bundled 5.1 speakers that use drivers that aren't any larger much less better than what you can find on a decent soundbar.

 

By contrast you get MDF panels, a tuned bass port, 6in midwoofers and ribbon tweeters for $60 for a pair of Dayton speakers. If the intent is to use it on a 5.1 system, you can always get three pairs (plus a Dayton or Monoprice sub), and keep one satellite as a back up.

 

 

 

[MannerPylon]

If you set on using bluetooth from a phone, you can just buy a pair of powered speakers and attached them to a bluetooth receiver. A bluetooth audio receiver will run you about $20 and you can use the rest of the money on a nice sets of active speakers.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  If you set on using bluetooth from a phone, you can just buy a pair of powered speakers and attached them to a bluetooth receiver. A bluetooth audio receiver will run you about $20 and you can use the rest of the money on a nice sets of active speakers.

 
Or he can just buy one with a BT receiver built into it already.
 
http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087560765156
http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087561424236
http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087562147646
http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087562833575
 
http://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/s1000db-active-bookshelf
http://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/r2000db-bookshelf-bluetooth-optical-rca
http://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/r1700bt-bluetooth-bookshelf

 

[MannerPylon]

True, it'll give you less options but based on his use case it might be better to sitck to simplicity with built-in BT.

 

[kobe22]

In my opinion, if you are looking for two speakers in one room, your best bet would be a basic stereo receiver like this http://m.usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hi-fi-components/stereo-receivers/r-s202.htmlone from Yamaha, and a pair of passive bookshelf speakers. This stereo receiver features built-in Bluetooth which would allow for streaming from Pandora from Bluetooth enabled devices, and is $150. You could also buy an aux cord and hook your iPhone or computer or whatever directly to the receiver.
For the speakers, the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR ($130) or the Elac B5 ($230) or B6 ($280) are all great speakers and are highly recommended in this price range.
If you mean speaker setups in two rooms, you could buy two pairs of cheaper bookshelf speakers such as the Dayton ones mentioned above, and set one pair up in the same room as the receiver, and run the speaker wire to the other room to another pair of speakers. The wiring would be difficult to hide, and it probably wouldn't be the most attractive thing in the world, but it is an option
You could also get two Bluetooth speakers, one for each room. UE makes models such as the Roll 2 and Boom 2 that sound decent and are waterproof, and can even be synced together to play the same music from one source. IMO this would be the simplest solution, but comes at the cost of decreased sound quality. Hope this helps.

 

[Tro95]

If you want something that will allow some expansion in future and aren't opposed to second hand, I can thoroughly recommend buying a well-rated integrated amplifier (with a few selectable inputs), a pair of second-hand bookshelf speakers, a bluetooth receiver that can feed into 2x RCA, and a 3.5mm to 2x RCA aux cable.
 
I survived my student days with this setup for a similar price, and it still sounds great to this day (yes, I still own everything). In my setup I have an Audiolab 8000S, a pair of Celestion SL6Si + stands, and a few cables + receivers (notably a Logitech Squeezebox, an Airport Express for Airplay, and a little Schiit Modi for computer audio). The Audiolab 8000S sounds awesome and is very versatile (5 input sources, can bi-amp and run a sub), although you'll probably find its close cousin the 8000A is more widely available (eBay puts them around $100-200 at the moment). The Celestions are also amazing, but they will likely fall outside of your budget (I got an amazing deal on them). I'm not very well-versed in the 2 channel world so I can't recommend anything different. The additional cables and receivers can start to add up, but if you just want a bluetooth receiver and an aux cable, it shouldn't be too bad.
 
In total this came to around £500 ($600 by today's prices), although you could certainly lower this with cheaper speakers and without the various receivers I have.

 

[ElectroNut]

Or he can just buy one with a BT receiver built into it already.

http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087560765156
http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087561424236
http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087562147646
http://www.hivi.us/products/detail.aspx?pid=100087562833575

http://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/s1000db-active-bookshelf
http://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/r2000db-bookshelf-bluetooth-optical-rca
http://www.edifier.com/us/en/speakers/r1700bt-bluetooth-bookshelf

Thanks so much for all the fast replays! I'm looking to put two speakers in the one middle room. I would like to buy a nice but inexpensive receiver like that Yamaha mentioned and then two speakers but if I can use the money for better speakers that have everything built in I'd rather go that route for now.

"For the speakers, the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR ($130) or the Elac B5 ($230) or B6 ($280) are all great speakers and are highly recommended in this price range."

I saw these three speakers ^ on a couple best of lists and they seem great! But I also like the looks of the ones listed above! You posted a decent amount of links. Which would you say would be the best of the built in Bluetooth speaker sets between the 200-350 range. I'm not knowledgeable enough to compare them all :/

 

[ProtegeManiac]

In my opinion, if you are looking for two speakers in one room, your best bet would be a basic stereo receiver like this http://m.usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hi-fi-components/stereo-receivers/r-s202.htmlone from Yamaha, and a pair of passive bookshelf speakers. This stereo receiver features built-in Bluetooth which would allow for streaming from Pandora from Bluetooth enabled devices, and is $150. You could also buy an aux cord and hook your iPhone or computer or whatever directly to the receiver.

 

If he's going with separates might as well save up a little bit more and get a Network capable stereo receiver, that way the receiver has a built-in Spotify and Pandora app, directly streaming rather than having it go through BT, and the smartphone only acts as a remote with the Yamaha app. Also any networked external HDD is accessible to the network receiver, so his local collection can be easily accessible also.

 

[ElectroNut]

Protege do you have any recommendations for a network capable stereo receiver that would fit my needs?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Protege do you have any recommendations for a network capable stereo receiver that would fit my needs?

 
This one costs $350 and already has a subout (older entry level network receivers don't have the subout so invest in one that does).
https://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-Network-Component-Receiver-TX-8140/dp/B01AT3G1Z0/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1484192885&sr=8-8&keywords=network+stereo+receiver