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need 5 speaker setup; have 1200

A friend has bought my Yamaha 2095 and is looking to purchase a 5.1 speaker system and he has approximately $1200 to spend. He is new to home theater. His system will go into an 12 x 20 combo living/dining area with wood floors. He will be setting up the system along the long walls (viewing and listening across the narrow dimensions of the room). He will audition speakers in town but will purchase on audiogon or other similar site.

Two questions:
1) What price (retail) speakers should he audition and realistically be able to purchase on audiogon or ebay for around $1200?; and
2) What would you recommend he audition in that price range?

thanks,
dwwhitley
glen's avatar
glen
714 posts
 
Another option would be to dump the whole $1200.00 on a great pair of stereo speakers. You would be surprised how far down the road that will get you. Most audiophile minded people would start there, and then add on piece by piece. This is a slow going process but one that will pay off in the long run.

One plus is having more time to think, research and save for your next purchase.

Anyway, just some food for thought :~)
clueless
763 posts
 
Glen has the idea. Sometimes less is more.
jposs
99 posts
 
A pair of 1200 dollar speakers will ALWAYS sound better than 6 for 1200. you can get SO much good used for 1200 bucks, including a great pair of magnepan 1.6. Heck you can probably get a pair of 1.6 AND a sub for that if you are careful!
leoturetsky
103 posts
 
Docwarnock, I have absolutely no affiliation with any audio sales. Check my feedback... all purchases. The only time I go to audio stores is with my friends who always purchase new and locally. I hardly ever purchase new and I never purchase locally. BUT, I also never go to high end stores to audition without the intent of buying. It's not ethical. You said the dealer has to earn your business and they do but Dwwhitley's intent is just to waste the dealer's time. Want to pick your favorite shop from a few choices? Go ahead. Wanna pit one's prices against the others? No problem. Not planning at buying at either one? Don't even enter a store.
BTW, what drove "all those dealers" out of business is irrelevant. No one is forcing you to buy from any particular dealer. Even wasting their time probably won't drive them out of business since you were never a present/future customer to begin with.

leo.
clueless
763 posts
 
Wow! what a lot of respect for audio stores! They must be a different group in your neck of the woods! I use the old 10 question test. You know, the dumb like a fox routine. Ask 10 questions that you already know the answer to when you walk in. My sad experience is that 9 of 10 audio stores fail miserably and would sell you whatever they need to move. I'm into ethics but it's nice when it moves both ways. Maybe I just have had bad luck!
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