Disclaimer: No guru or expert opinion here. Just want to give a typical
setup example and by no mean indicate they are the best in the price range.
But I do think they are all good values.
Front floorstanding: Polk RTi 8 (currently $340 per pair at Fry’s). I heard
people in this forum generally do not like Polk, but I don’t know why.
They get good reviews on amazon and newegg. I have been using Polk speakers
and I think they sound pretty good, especially for the money.
Center: Whichever front speakers you get, try to get the matching center
channel (same brand same series). In HT set up the front and center do most
of the work so it’s good to have matching timbre.
Surround: RTi 6 bookshelf (currently $180 per pair at Fry’s). Not as
important as the front three and IMO you don’t have to buy the same brands.
Polk FXi A4 or A6 get great reviews for surround speakers (check amazon)
but they are more expensive. A pair of Pioneer BS-41 for under $100 will
also do the work.
Subwoofer: A lot of people on avsforum recommend spending more on a good
sub, which would improve movie experience. From what I read, Klipsch RW-12D
and Jamo SUB 650 are pretty much the best sub you can get for under $300.
AV receiver: Denon 1913. A lot of features including AirPlay (which IMO is
almost a must have if you have ipad/iphone/ipod). Good value if you can get
it for $300.
Karaoke Mixer: See sticky post by Xiaonan.
