3 Great Cheap Surround Sound Systems

Posted by on December 12, 2010 1 comment

I don’t know if you guys are aware of this, but I have a Posterous account (and subsequent WordPress, Blogger, Xanga, Tumblr, etc. accounts) where I post all sorts of interesting bits about cheap surround sound. One of my favorite things to do over there is blog about individual surround speaker systems that you can get for cheap on Amazon or elsewhere. Also, remember what I taught about buying used cheap surround sound in my last post? Well if you use those tactics with these models, you can get them even CHEAPER.

So in this post I’m going to outline 3 different cheap surround sound systems that are of top-notch quality from name brands for the lowest cost possible!

1. The Philips HTS3151D/37

Available for $230 ($110 used), this Philips system comes with 300 watts of power, and the full 5.1 speakers that you should ALWAYS be looking for. The technology used is Dolby Digital and ProLogic II surround sound, so you know that you can expect great encoding, decoding, and quality from this system. There’s an iPod dock for your music, and you can also play files direct from a USB drive. You can also play DivX movies as the system is DivX Pro Certified! Overall, great technology and features for a low price.

2. The RCA RTD316Wi Home Theater System

Packing less power (only 250 watts, not a super-powerful system), this RCA surround speaker system comes in at a lower price to match. At only $109, the system comes with tons of different iPod docking options, making it ideal for playing your music. It’s extremely easy to setup as well, one major benefit for those of us who aren’t A/V geeks. There’s also a built-in DVD player with HDMI output, so you can get full 1080p HD video- great quality!

3. Coby DVD938

This is probably the best deal in the entire post. It’s only $100, comes with 35 free songs and a free audiobook, built in DVD-player and radio, and more. Crazy? For only $100, there’s a total output of 600 watts! There’s microphone inputs for karaoke, and it’s a well-reviewed system by several cheap surround sound websites.
So that’s it for this cheap surround sound post! Go check out those 3 surround speaker systems!

How to Buy Surround Speaker Systems Used

Posted by on November 21, 2010 No comments

Here at MyCheapSurroundSound.com, and over at our posterous blog (mycheapsurroundsound.posterous.com), lately I’ve been talking about a few individual products that are cheap surround sound systems. However, there are several factors that can make surround sound cheap, and the list price isn’t the only one. Besides just buying surround speaker systems that are cheap in the first place, you could also cut costs by installing it yourself, or by buying used. In this post, I’ll cover 4 different ways that you can find great surround speaker systems for cheap by buying used.

1. eBay

eBay is probably what first pops into most people’s minds when you say “buying used items” online. eBay’s been around for quite some time now, and rightfully so. Both their auction and fixed-price environments are safe places to buy, filled with great sellers and plenty of items for sale. A simple search for “surround sound” will turn up a whole page full of surround speaker systems priced under $100. So first you can looked for used surround speaker systems on eBay.

2. Craigslist

Craigslist is a little less well-known, clean, and safe then eBay, but it still serves its purpose, and plenty of legitimate transactions are conducted everyday. Craigslist is essentially a classified ads board online, so if you use their site to find a surround speaker system for sale, you’ll have to work out payment and delivery with the seller. Craigslist can’t help you. That being said, you can still find some great deals on Craigslist, so it’s a good second place to look for surround speaker systems.

3. Friends/Family/References

Maybe you’ve already checked these sources, but see if family, friends, or friends of friends/family have surround speaker systems that they’re not interested in any more, or they’re looking to upgrade soon. Having a guaranteed buyer will probably get them to buy a new one much faster, so put the offer out there. You can probably get cheap surround sound safer and cheaper from people you know personally, so go for it! You could also ask around local home theater stores to see if they have clients with old systems that they’re upgrading, or if they sell used surround speaker systems themselves!

4. Google

As a last resort, you can always do a google search for “used surround sound system for sale” or similar queries. Try shopping around until you find a system you’re interested in, and google the brand name/model number: “Brand A45X Speakers Used”. Often you’ll find that you can buy used on lots of smaller shopping sites. It’s another great way to buy surround speaker systems without spending a fortune.

See you next time here on My Cheap Surround Sound!

Cheap Surround Sound: From Headphones to Full-Blown Setups

Posted by on October 28, 2010 No comments

In this article, we’re going to talk about different cheap surround sound products for every problem you may have or solution you may need, and all the different scenarios you might want cheap surround sound for. We’ll start off from the bottom line and smallest products and work our way up to the real systems that you can get for cheap .

First off, let’s do a scam alert. I know that I’ve talked a lot about different surround sound scams already, but let’s do one more cheap surround sound scam. This one is called 2.1 or Dolby Virtual Surround. It tries to decode different Dolby Surround Sound channels and put them into two speakers and a a subwoofer and make it sound like surround sound. However, this just isn’t the real thing. Unlesss you actually have speakers behind your ears, then it will never sound like it’s coming from behind your ears!

However, on to the real stuff. There are products out there that actually works with only two speakers, and those are surround sound speakers with a decoder. Cyberhome makes this model number CH-SRD 600R which is a surround sound decoder they call it, and they put that into special headphones and it actually sounds like surround sound. This is probably the most economical cheap surround sound solution if you’re going to be playing a lot of video games or using the computer a lot.

Moving up then there are some small computer speakers that you can use if you want a 5.1 system in your home office or computer area. They are made by Logitech model number Z506 or X-540 and they actually sound pretty decent for cheap surround sound. However, the speakers are small and don’t sound very nice, and I wouldn’t recommend these for anything besides and office or computer desk setup.

Moving on to the real 5.1 systems that you would have in a home theatre, I have two review for you . The first is of the RCA RT151. There are actually 6 speakers, and they look a little outdated but not too bad for plain. The design is just plain black/gray and could fit any decor nicely. However, they’re big problem is that there’s not a lot of bass and subbass sound. Because of this, when you watch Hollywood movies on DVD, there’s not a lot of great sound because there’s lots of explosions and stuff in those movies. Music sounds decent on those too, and they’re capable of great volume. Overall a decent cheap surround sound solution, if you can sacrifice the bass sound and don’t watch a lot of movies.

After those, there are even some better ones manufactured by Creative Labs. They are model number T5400 and they’re pretty great. Most listeners say that they can’t even tell it’s a cheap system. They sound great with both loud movies and also subtle atmospheric effects. The one drawback is that the controls are a little strange- they are controlled by a few knobs/buttons on an actual wire, as opposed to the other ones which come with a remote control.

Overall, whether you will be playing video games, computer work, music, or Hollywood movie DVDs, then there is a specific set of cheap surround sound products that will work best for you. Make sure to consider what you will be using them for and how they sound when you are purchasing cheap surround sound. Make sure also to stay away from scams like Surround Sound SImlulation or whatever. Until next time, this is MYcheapsurounroundsound.com

Setting up a Cheap Surround Sound System

Posted by on August 17, 2010 No comments

Setting up a cheap surround sound system may not sound like a lot of work, but in reality there’s a lot of planning and thought that needs to go into the process, before you even buy the cheap surround sound system itself. After you’ve read this article, you’ll know how to set up a cheap surround sound system, including all the planning and thought that goes into the process.

Before you buy cheap surround sound, you need to figure out WHAT exactly you need. Like we discussed in the “Bad alternatives to surround sound” article, you can’t just buy two speakers and call it surround sound. You need a 5.1 system at the the very least, which consists of the 6 following speakers: Front left, front right, center, back left, and back right. There is also a subwoofer that makes up for the .1 in the name.

Start by measuring the room that you will be putting the system in. Where are the speakers going to go? Are you going to need shelves to put them on? Consider the height of each speaker and shelf and different ways you can arrange them around the room. The “satellite” speakers (back left, back right) don’t need to be on the other side of the room! They could just be on opposite walls closer to the middle. Also consider if you will be buying a wired or wireless system. Wireless systems connect the speakers via bluetooth, but a wired system will require you to actually run wire around the room. If you’re going wired, think: Where will you run the wire? How many feet of wire will you need? How will you conceal and hide the wire for both visual appeal and wear and tear purposes?

Then consider the decor of the room. What color speakers will best match the room? What size will fit the corners of the room where you will be putting left and right speakers? Make sure you know what you’re looking for.

Then you can actually go looking for cheap surround sound. You don’t need anything too expensive, but don’t cheat and buy something that isn’t truly surround sound either. You want all the 5.1 system, also without sacrificing quality. It is definitely possible, and we’ll talk about what to buy in a later post. For now, just know that you need the real thing, with measurements and designs to match your room and decor.

Then when you finally get the products, look through the boxes and make sure everything is there. That last thing that you want to do is totally install your system only to find out that there are parts missing and you need to repackage everything and return it, or order replacement parts. Always read the customer reviews on Amazon.com to make sure the products aren’t scams and that they actually work, and double check all sorts of Guarantees and Warrenties.

Then you can go ahead and set up your cheap surround sound system. If it’s a wired system, this will involve a lot more work and we’ll need to cover that in another post. However, if it’s wireless, then it will be as easy as just putting the speakers around the room and setting up the central system. Then you’ll be able to enjoy music and movies where the sound is actually placed where it’s coming from. The experience is incredible. This is one more reason you may want to consider a wireless system. There are indeed wireless solutions for cheap surround sound.

That’s all there is to setting up a cheap surround sound system. To summarize, you need to : 1. Check and measure the room for speaker measurements, 2. decide wired or wireless, 3. if wired, figure out how much wire you need, 4. check around for appropriate products, 5. check the boxes for missing parts, and 6. setup the system! Enjoy your cheap surround sound!

Alternatives to Cheap Surround Sound that SUCK

Posted by on August 8, 2010 1 comment

The premise of cheap surround sound is great. Amazing sound quality, coming from all angles, for a low price. However, there are tons of terrible alternatives to cheap surround sound, including headphones, bad speakers, so called “5.1 sound cards” that are nothing but rubbish. Beware of false marketing when you’re looking for cheap surround sound, because it’s all over the place. Let’s talk about common culprits to avoid.

Doing a simple amazon search will reveal something called ”5.1 sound cards”. I have no idea why they’re called 5.1 sound cards, because really they are just little USB sticks that you can plug into a laptop or desktop computer and substitute for your nomral sound card/driver. Don’t be fooled by the “5.1″ in the product name, they aren’t surround, and aren’t manufactured by any trustworthy names. They just come with a jack for your headphones and a jack for a microphone. You can read many reviews on Amazon that they make hiss sounds, don’t work, are incompatible with Macs, are too quiet, etc. Don’t be fooled or waste your time even considering these because they have nothing to do with surround sound, they’re just cheap sound cards.

Moving on, there are surround sound headphones. These are actually manufactured to meet high sound quality standards and have great durability for a pair of headphones. They come in many different shapes, including over the ear headphones, and deliver a full sound quality designed to simulate surround sound.  Although these are not substitutes for high quality surround sound speakers, or cheap surround sound, it’s a good solution for on the go ipod listening.

The real stuff you want is cheap surround sound. Don’t fall for anything with just 2 or 3 speakers that claims to be surround sound. Those aren’t the real thing. What you want is actually a set of a couple speakers- between 5 and 10, depending on the configuration. Popular configurations include 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. The basic setup for 5.1 is this: center, front right, front left, back right, and back left speakers. The .1 refers to a sub-woofer that is placed for bass sound. If you don’t have multiple speakers, then it’s not actually surround sound.

The way surround sound works is that you place speakers all around you, and then you hear everything split up. Movies and music are either specifically put into surround sound, and the system decodes it and plays it , or the system takes stereo (2 channel) tracks, and figures out how to split it across 5.1, or 7.1, whatever you have.

The point of this website is to give you real surround sound except at good prices, without sacrificing quality. Cheap surround sound is all about getting the real deal for a good price, and we’ll talk more about different ways to do that later, different manufacturers, and avenues to buy your stuff from.

Be careful when shopping for cheap surround sound on Amazon that you don’t fall for fake product pictures. Sometimes something cheap will look like speakers, but what’s being sold is actually just wires or speaker covers or something. Always read the reviews to see if people think it’s a good product for not based on experience.

Believe it or not , there are actually popular manufacturers that sell surround sound systems at cheap prices, so you know that you’re getting quality. Trust me, no matter what your setup budget is, you’ll want to get surround sound, because the difference is amazing, and you’ll be able to get it. You’ll never go back once you’ve tried the real thing.

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