no brand fan-boy's please. i need the best real honest to good clear warm sound for my $500. (i can buy the sub separately a month later when i have the funds). I got an awesome clearance deal on a beefy very strong kick-butt Yamaha 7.1 amp/reciever (rx-v659, 100x7) that really has very good audio production. but im still on a budget and dont have $5,000 for speakers, just my measily 500 budget (not including sub. that comes later but will still be on a budget for that too). Perusing the review sites leaves me lost as the sites that have products in my range have fan-boy biases towards a brand thats not the best and the other pure audiophile sites don't even consider my "poor and unworthy" quest to find the best in that range of price....but they'll be happy to tell me how i should spend $25,000 on speakers instead of my mortgage. so i need clean warm full sound that lets this amp deliver what its able to deliver whether it is rap, classical, jazz, blues, spoken word or death metal.

Now i know that asking this question and assigning a budget of such a low number (in comparison to what the really high end top line stuff costs) is probably undermining if not insulting to a serious audiophile, but whatever suggestions you might have for companies that make wonderful clear sound for not much in the face of particularistic crap market "theater in a box" systems would be fantastic to receive. but i will take a popular name brand if it indeed is the best quality for my money.
(i guess i want anti-establishment sound where possible? )

You say you have a 7.1 receiver but don't mention how many speakers you actually want to set up, which would be helpful.

As would a bit more detail on the room they are going in to (no use recommending small speakers for a massive room or vice versa).

All I can really add is that I bought a 5.1 set of Infinity 1100s for my living room and absolutely love them. Got them clearance + scratch/dent for significantly less than your budget on Vanns.com.

Did you consider getting a headphone setup or is this for a room setup for a TV?

Are you looking to buy a complete system or separates?

Without knowing much, just your budget, I recommend some Polk Monitor 30s and Polk CS1 for the centre. As for the subwoofer, at $250 the BIC H-100 is a good one.

My opinion is that it depends on what your ears are used to. Spending 25k is well and good, but pointless if you've not had something at a lower-mid range to benefit from.

I'm guessing that with a 7.1, you are looking for a surround setup? (re: theatre in a box comment)

I know that a lot of floor-standers are used by folk before adding another set of smaller (or the same) in the range for the rears and centre. In the US, I don't know if you get "Mission" speakers (or Tannoy?), but they, along with Celstion and a few others, have some good speakers in that price range. I know Tannoy and Mission have centre speakers for specific ranges of speaker, so might be worth a look.

Unless of course you want satellites?

With a budget like that I'd build my own speakers.

www.partsexpress.com

oops sorry bout the details. yes its 7.1 capable but i'm just fine with a 5.1 setup and could get more bang for the $$ with a 5.1.
it's a home theater type setup for the living room as a surround system. its a smaller living room and i don't need huge floor standers. if i did i would have to spend alot more than just $500. I've previously been a JBL fan and they are still good but i know that theres better now for the same price. the arrangement will have smaller speakers on 30" stands in the back corners and similar ones on the ends of my console in the front (its wide enough) + a center channel. and sub would be later behind the recliner. minimal echo with rugs over hardwood floors and enough things to limit reflections. again its not a big room....12x12 somewhat with an alcove off to the side.

Take a look at the Polks I mentioned in my above post. Those will probably be the best speakers within your budget. I've just recently bought some Polk myself (but not the Monitor 30), these speakers are well made, quite heavy, and they have a nice "big" sound to them. Any subwoofer will do really, as long as it can play loud and low enough for your needs, no need to be picky there. Even a Yamaha cheapo sub is fine.

If you think the Monitor 30 is too big, you might look at the RM10, as well. Those are available as a five-pack with a centre channel. If you snoop around Amazon.com, you can find them around $300 shipped.

I'd have Mordaunt-Short and Tannoy on my short-list for high quality at that budget

4x Tannoy F1 Custom + Mercury Center should be about $440... so leaving room for a second hand sub??

He said that he will buy a sub another time so that would be on another budget all together...

Perfect then.... the F1's make good home cinema setups, but for decent bass you'll need a sub to fill in the 20-100hz range, as they'll drop off a fair bit - so a sub is a must

[edit:]thanks for the reply guys. i need to go hear the Tannoys tho cause i heard something today that really impressed me. also the sub can be separate but that budget wont be too much so ill try to find something reasonably all inclusive. im gonna go look for anyone near here thats a dealer so i can go hear.[end edit]

well ive been looking now.
i drove around and listened to a few systems. mirages nanosat 5.1, Klipsch's 110, Paradigm 110, Polk, all were very good. the nanosats were great and clear but a bit spacy and heavily dependent on the sub. klipschc's are for hard rockcing crews andd are all horn based and not for everything, paradigms were very good as well as polk. then i heard the Definitive ProCinema 600 and i thought my ears were cleared out with a q-tip. the clarity and especially how TIGHT it all was really made everything else seem a step below. the other brands sounded a bit confused in the midrange after hearing these things. unfortunately its $800 for the whole deal with the sub.....gotta convince the wife. anyone know where the real discount sites are?

im still lookin around. in hopes that something just as clear can be found.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/v-receivers-am...speaker-ht.html

Might want to check these out. I have them as my 7.1 setup in my large computer room with hardwood floors ( <- this is a BIG factor for SQ).

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=309-400

Now before you scoff, read this review:

http://theaudiocritic.com/blog/index.php?o...37&blogId=1

These were designed by Ian Paisley (audio engineer extraordinaire) and I can agree with the review above. They sound fantastic! I have very discerning ears and this setup sounds almost as good as my Grado SR225 headphones (bold statement). I am using a Dayton 10" subwoofer crossed at 150 Hz with this system on a Denon 7.1 amp fed through my PC with a bluegears soundcard.

What amazed me most about the sound of these speakers is the uniformity of the soundstage wherever you go in the room. Awesome to listen to when cooking or cleaning (constantly moving).

Pair them with these speaker stands, http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=240-814, and you're looking at a 7.1 setup (without subs or amp) in the $200 price range that will blow most supposedly high-end surround systems out of the water. Just make sure that your sub can achieve a good response up to 180Hz in order to compensate for the speakers lack of bass.

Finally a Sharpie will get rid of the XBOX logo quite nicely. Also, make sure that you position the speakers correctly because the Parts Express picture shows them 90 degrees the wrong orientation.

And no, I don't work for parts express, I just like the free shipping on orders over $100.........

Very heavily agree, especially if you already own a few woodworking tools. If not...well you might be able to get the boxes cut relatively cheap locally depending on who is in your area.

http://www.speakerbuilder.net/web_files/Pr.../D3/dayton3.htm

I'd use 5 of these any day, and honestly you could get by without a sub for a long time as long as you don't have insane bass requirements. They'll do bass heavy music very well, low frequency explosions not so much but they'll certainly let you feel it. But that's in addition to having exemplary sound quality for the price.

Tough to beat, imo.

Otherwise, I'd be checking out some of Paradigms lower-end stuff. Always been a fan, though I haven't heard any of their newer models.

Edit: Scratch that "five of these" bit. Ever since making my own speakers I have never seen a need for a center channel, provided the room you have your surround setup in is of decent size. Virtually all receivers will send the center channel signal to the front left/right speakers if you shut it off. Sounds much, much better in my opinion and saves you the additional cost. Soundstage is vastly improved and you don't lose any 'action' sound across your mains, it sounds just like the center is there but much more natural, much smoother.

Just my thoughts on it, I'm sure others have tried it as well and may have their own to add to this...

My home theater is set up the same way. Technically it's a 4.1 setup because I don't use a center channel. It's FAR easier to run no center than it is trying to voice match the center to the mains as well as get everything in the right position so that the transitions are smooth.

My best advice would be to hold on and save a bit more money. If you spend $500 then you're probably looking for something that will satisfy you for years to come. Even if you can save up another $250, that would open up a lot more avenues to explore. I know it's hard to wait when you got so much saved up already, but trust me you will thank me later. The last Receiver I bought was a Marantz SR7300, nothing crazy but definitely not a slouch either; 7.1, 1000W for $1000. That receiver was bought in 2002 if I remember correctly and has served my with nice rich sound for all this time. I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon either, so I consider it one of my best investments ever. Speakers should always cost more than what drives them, that's a good rule of thumb to follow. Patience is a virtue

I agree with Dan, I have a set of paradigm 9se's for my mains, bi-amped through a denon 2308ci, with paradigm focus reference v3 for surrounds. I don't need a sub, cuz i can feel bass I can barely hear, and i like the fact that most of the main sounds aren't coming from a small center channel. If it's set up right (timber matched), you shouldn't be able to really hear the center anyway, and i like the way the mains blend in to replicate the center. Works for me.

I really like my polk audio r15's. They are a GREAT deal for the price to performance.