# Adding Surround on a Budget



## crimsonking58 (Jun 18, 2011)

Hello everyone. I'm admittedly not much of an audiophile, mostly because I don't have a lot of money to spend, but I try to do my best with what I have. I currently have a Blue Sky eXo2 2.1 monitor system, originally purchased for mixing music, and while I've been happy with them so far, I'm looking to add a center channel and two rear speakers for a more immersive experience in video games and films. I'm not as concerned about extreme precision of frequency response as I would normally would be for monitors; I'm just looking for something that would sound at least decent and blend in well with my existing speakers. I should also note that I'm running all of my sound out of my PC, which supports up to 7.1 audio, and I haven't heard any merit in purchasing an expensive sound card over the Realtek onboard audio, but I could be mistaken.

I would greatly prefer to avoid buying a full 5.1 A/V receiver, because of the cost and lack of open shelf space in my home theater. I would also like to keep the Blue Sky speakers in the front for convenience, as well as keeping the subwoofer as the bass source. I'm trying to keep this project under $200, and absolutely not any more than $300. I'm completely new to passive speakers and surround systems, so please let me know if I'm completely wrong here.

So far, I've found this:

Back Channels: Dayton Audio B652 Bookshelf Speakers. Decided on these over the closely priced Sony bookshelf speakers because of a few reviews I read. I'm concerned that the woofers may be too large though, as well as the frequency response range, which might create a very distracting level of timbre difference between the Blue Sky speakers. I've been searching around for smaller bookshelf speakers and I can't find anything.

To amplify: Lepai Tripath Amplifier. Extremely inexpensive, and would probably put out enough juice for my liking. I'm not one to blast sound too much, and I never turn up my 35 watt Blue Skys beyond the half volume level.

Center Channel: Polk Audio TL1. I chose this because of the size of the woofers, since most everything else I found was 5"+, which seems like too large of a gap from the Blue Sky's 3". I would be willing to upgrade to the TL2 if it would make a significant difference.


To amplify it: Pyle Home PCA2. Inexpensive, and puts out enough power for a center channel. If I could just get another Lepai that would be fantastic.


This setup comes to around $200 with shipping, which is perfect for me. I'm aware that running 3 separate amplifiers might be obnoxious for balancing volume, but I'm not too concerned about it being much more than an annoyance; after all, this is just for recreation, not a professional mixing job. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
The SVS SBS-02 and SCS-02 are both being sold for 50% off and come out to $300 for the 3. Here is a link for the SBS-02:http://www.svsound.com/speakers/s-series/sbs-02

These are speakers we have recommended for some time prior to SVS's recent 50% reduction. They are very well engineered and I think they are neutral which is perfect for your application. Another good choice would be the Infinity Primus P163 or if Fry's still have the P363 on sale they would be excellent as well.
Cheers,
JJ


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## crimsonking58 (Jun 18, 2011)

Wow, thanks for bringing that sale to my attention. I think I'll pick up that center channel instead of the Polk Audio, but sadly getting the bookshelf speakers in addition to amplifiers would go about $100 over my budget. What other entry level bookshelf speakers/amplifiers might you recommend?


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## crimsonking58 (Jun 18, 2011)

I decided to cut back on another potential project to pick up the bookshelf speakers as well, since I don't think a deal that good will come around again any time soon. Now my problem is amplification. I'm reading pretty horrific reviews for everything in my budget; would I be better off just spending the extra money and getting an entry level (~$150) receiver?


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## zieglj01 (Jun 20, 2011)

For a tight budget and surrounds - look at the 
NXG Pro 4.1 speakers
http://www.amazon.com/Nxg-Pro-4-1-S...8&qid=1349834173&sr=8-4&keywords=nxg+speakers

Go to www.ac4l.com and look at refurbish receivers
http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...iver/Home-Audio/Home-Theater-Receivers/1.html


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