I know this budget isn’t a lot to work with but he is upgrading his tv which mean audio needs an upgrade too he doesn’t have any existing equipment and I don’t think he’s interested in used gear. are there any good sound bars or speaker options he could consider?
I use a pair of Klipsh The Fives on my living room TV, they are active so you just plug in a HDMI Arc cable or optical out of the TV, also have a Sub out that has a digital crossover, and with standalone sub they really come alive.
They might be a bit too expensive, but Klipsch prices tend to get discounted.
1 Like
For that budget? ^^ This.
yikes its a bit much considering we are dealing with imaginary money.
Didn’t see the CAD $ they are under $600 US on Amazon right now.
A friend has klipsch fives they absolutely rock for tv, and may get discounted to his budget.
If not check whats the best active edifier he can afford, have only heard r1280 and r1700 which are great budget solutions… but I expect the higher models like S2000/S3000 to also be very user friendly and not very placement picky.
Wasn’t sure where else to post this, but Darko posted a review of the Klipsch The Fives today, and his experience is pretty close to mine. TLDR: they sound kinda awful unless you go through the hassle of updating them and then use the Klipsch app to make a custom EQ.
(My other big complaint is that I find the RF kinda finicky, so when adjusting volume with a third-party remote, I really have to point the remote in exactly the right direction to get it to work.)
That said, it’s nice to have something very self-contained for the living room and I definitely prefer The Fives to the soundbar that they replaced.
EDIT: Also, I bought mine for sub-$500 used, these seem pretty easy to find a good deal on these days.
3 Likes
I quite like mine, replaced a sound bar, but I use a separate sub, the default somewhat bass heavy EQ was very sloppy.
Getting the low frequencies out of the drivers, made them pretty dynamic.
They also have an insanely long break in period IMO.
1 Like
Could look for a used Bluesound Node 2 or 2i and a pair of powered speakers
If you want cheap as cheap gets he should pick up an SMSL AD18, it has all the inputs you need to hook up from a TV. Then go find a pair of JBL speakers which go on sale often. Done, 2 channel tv and will be 100% better than anything TV speakers will output.
I’ve got a setup like this in my kitchen and it works great for normal people who want volume and clarity above and beyond what any tv alone can provide.
2 Likes