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I'd say whats your total budget? and are you someone willing to upgrade over time?


My first tip is I think your researching in the wrong place, If you want really good sound and are on a budget, Make sure you invest in good quality speakers. Good speakers will last you 20 years a good reciever could be obsolete in 3.

So if your on a budget and just getting into Home theater, start with some good speakers & Sub, and a decent Reciever nothing fancy. Then wait and see what 3D and these discussions on new HDMI formats are brining and maybe invest in a solid Reciever piece in a couple of years.

 

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Draven,


I can't comment too much on the Polks never owned a set. I myself have some older series Energy Con. speakers and I've always loved them. However I do notice a difference in overall quality since they moved there production to China.

Other brands I like for smaller speaker types are Paradigm, Anthony Gallo's, AV123 (Online only).

As David said you will notice the difference in sound quality as the price of the gear goes up. Mostly its the quality of the Chip sets & power supplies/building materials and a few software benefits that make the differences.

In all honesty I think to invest in Home theater if your not earmarking $500-600 for a reciever, $800 - 1000 for speakers & $200 for blu Ray then your really going to struggle finding Quality items and obviously the bigger the budget the better.

If your cash strapped then as I said I'd build it up over time, get a $200 reciever with 5.1 and then spend the rest of your budget on speakers. Then replace the rest of your electronics when you can since there always changing.

 

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Technokid raises a good point, used speakers are worth a look, certainly you can get a higher value for your dollar and as mentioned by all of us speakers last forever so this is a good route to look at.

I would disagree though that at the price points your talking getting into specifics of room size and usage isn't a huge deal the equipment price range your in is developed for multi purpose.