Need audio set up for home use/occasional party

[jsn012]

It's for my brother.

He has the following already:

50" Plasma
PS3
Macbook (Aged)
Iphone
Blackberry Z10

The reason i mention these are to ask you guys, with these items already in the house; is it wise to go for a hifi/home theatre system. Or simply to get a set of really good speakers.

He owns a good sized 4 bedroom house with a large yard.

Uses:
Mostly for watching movies, putting on music in the background both occasional and for social events.

But he also wants them to be able to be quite loud in outdoor environments as he has some big parties planned at his house. He doesn't want them to buckle under the strain too easily (If that makes sense to you gents and ladies xD).

Since the party is not a one off, he wants to buy a semi decent system that will enable him to meet the above requirements.

I am quite an amatur, hence I am asking you guys for advise.

Should we just get speakers or go for an entire system.

And which one would you recommend? We are in New Zealand so price range is NZD 600. Maybe 700 as sales may bring some prices down.

 

[ssddx]

if you only purchased speakers they would need to be powered and then you would have to worry about how to connect everything up.

if you purchased a receiver (suggested) or an amplifier (which also works just not quite as many features) and a decent set of speakers he could do all right.

if stereo sound is fine then you could pick up some rather nice tower speakers and a half decent avr or amp. if surround sound is required you could get some average tower speakers like the ones sony has at $100/pair or some decent bookshelf speakers and a sub.

to put thngs in perspective... i have a klipsch quintet satelite speaker system, a receiver and a 450w sub and if i turn the volume up i can hear music within a decent radius of say 70 feet or so without turning the speakers up uncomfortably loud. floorstanding speakers can pump even more volume and dont really require a subwoofer but adding one can give some extra kick. we run a pair of sony floorstanders out the back of an old tv (has an integrated amp... not sure how good it is though) and the things can get pretty darn loud (and at $100 for the pair its a much better deal than my $500 for 5 speakers satelite combo, though mine do sound clearer).

just some thoughts..

 

[jsn012]

if you only purchased speakers they would need to be powered and then you would have to worry about how to connect everything up.

if you purchased a receiver (suggested) or an amplifier (which also works just not quite as many features) and a decent set of speakers he could do all right.

if stereo sound is fine then you could pick up some rather nice tower speakers and a half decent avr or amp. if surround sound is required you could get some average tower speakers like the ones sony has at $100/pair or some decent bookshelf speakers and a sub.

to put thngs in perspective... i have a klipsch quintet satelite speaker system, a receiver and a 450w sub and if i turn the volume up i can hear music within a decent radius of say 70 feet or so without turning the speakers up uncomfortably loud. floorstanding speakers can pump even more volume and dont really require a subwoofer but adding one can give some extra kick. we run a pair of sony floorstanders out the back of an old tv (has an integrated amp... not sure how good it is though) and the things can get pretty darn loud (and at $100 for the pair its a much better deal than my $500 for 5 speakers satelite combo, though mine do sound clearer).

just some thoughts..

So, which one would you recommend. Either a system or an amp. Knowing my price range etc .

Add in a subwoofer etc. Not sure I can get klipsch here :S.

I found this : http/pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=1682369

But I'm limited to 600. ='(

 

[ssddx]

$600nzd = $496usd

all of my prices are in usd (since naturally i'm in the usa and know this currency better)

for that budget getting a good pair of tower speakers and either an amp or receiver is probably going to be easiest. you could then get something half decent since i would NOT recommend home theater in a box (htib) solutions as they are normally shoddy quality. if you bought used you may be able to pick up something half decent in surround sound but you would need to look around.

if you get a decent pair of tower speakers they should be loud enough. tower speakers have sub drivers in them (as well as meds and tweeters) so a sub is optional but might be cutting it close on budget. honestly i'd buy something better than worry about a sub.

i paid $500 usd for my klipsch. i never intended you to get it (was only providing it as an example of what i use and how the volume gets). you will need to stick to something cheaper.

honestly i dont know whats available in your country. i would suggest looking at ebay and amazon and seeing what sort of tower speakers are in your price range (leave a good $100-200 for the amp/receiver) and read reviews to see whats good. some pretty good deals on those sites at times (ebay especially)

the reason i like receivers is that everything routes through it to the tv so there are less cables and its easy to swap tv inputs (knob on front). it also supports enough inputs for phone (3.5mm input), ipod (3.5mm or ipod input), as well as everything else. of course an amplifier can work as well (a receiver has an amplifier inside it) just without some of the additional features.

onkyo makes some cheaper receivers... but other than that not sure i can recommend anything cheaper.

as far as speakers... the sony ones arent bad at all for the price... but again, not sure i can recommend many brands for you.

 

[jsn012]

$600nzd = $496usd

all of my prices are in usd (since naturally i'm in the usa and know this currency better)

for that budget getting a good pair of tower speakers and either an amp or receiver is probably going to be easiest. you could then get something half decent since i would NOT recommend home theater in a box (htib) solutions as they are normally shoddy quality. if you bought used you may be able to pick up something half decent in surround sound but you would need to look around.

if you get a decent pair of tower speakers they should be loud enough. tower speakers have sub drivers in them (as well as meds and tweeters) so a sub is optional but might be cutting it close on budget. honestly i'd buy something better than worry about a sub.

i paid $500 usd for my klipsch. i never intended you to get it (was only providing it as an example of what i use and how the volume gets). you will need to stick to something cheaper.

honestly i dont know whats available in your country. i would suggest looking at ebay and amazon and seeing what sort of tower speakers are in your price range (leave a good $100-200 for the amp/receiver) and read reviews to see whats good. some pretty good deals on those sites at times (ebay especially)

the reason i like receivers is that everything routes through it to the tv so there are less cables and its easy to swap tv inputs (knob on front). it also supports enough inputs for phone (3.5mm input), ipod (3.5mm or ipod input), as well as everything else. of course an amplifier can work as well (a receiver has an amplifier inside it) just without some of the additional features.

onkyo makes some cheaper receivers... but other than that not sure i can recommend anything cheaper.

as far as speakers... the sony ones arent bad at all for the price... but again, not sure i can recommend many brands for you.

Hmm, I see. So confused what to do right now :S.

The thing about price is just taking in account the exchange rate isn't enough, we pay a lot more for hardware here .

I'll avoid the home theatre systems in that range as you suggested.

What do you think about this one? http/www.dicksmith.co.nz/audio-systems/logitech-5-1ch-surround-speakers-z906-dsnz-ae2938

Think they'll be enough for the living room, just having my doubts for those outdoor social events.

Also, regarding tower speakers; I understand you can't recommend brands, but could you tell me some trustworthy ones anyway. Ones to watchout for at any rate.

I use pricespy.co.nz, simply a site which details all the products available.
Here, for example: http/pricespy.co.nz/category.php?k=23

Receivers themselves seem quite expensive which is my whole dilemma.

 

[ssddx]

z906 are computer speakers though they could work since they have the right inputs.

they arent going to be as loud as bookshelf or floorstanding speakers but other than going with a crappy HTiB set are likely the only choice for surround sound in that budget.

while a receiver is nice, you are correct they are expensive. most also only have up to 100w per channel so i'm not sure how well they would drive larger speakers. an amplifier only would work but doesnt have as many inputs.

i've read however that some smaller amps can power larger speakers... honestly i'm not an expert by far when it comes to large speakers so perhaps someone else can chime in. americanaudiophile typically shows up once in awhile with good advice.. maybe he can advise

i did find a decent buy on speakers over at ebay.com.au for wharfdale at-400 floorstanding speakers at $300 only for the pair. they seem to have good reviews and this would leave $300 for a decent amplifier. again, if you wanted large stereo speakers (and sacrifice surround sound for tv)

lets see if we get any other posters on this thread.