Loudness does not correlate with sound quality. Just cause a system can blow the windows out doesn’t meant it’s quality. This is a common misconception that many shoppers share.

Some computer speaker packages (Logitech, Klipsch) are only okay. The better ones generally cost $300-400. I’ve noticed that they have better sound quality that most of the cheap (under $300) home theatre in a box setups, so if that’s a solution that works for you, I’d recommend it over the standard home theatre in a box from Sony or whatever.

For those of you on a budget, here’s what I did with a budget easily under $1000. This system is currently being used in my 2 bedroom apartment in our living space. It’s in an open room about 300 square feet, although it’s suitable for much larger rooms.

I picked up a refurbished Onkyo receiver from ecost (onkyo’s web store also has them for a good price). Onkyo’s low to mid range receivers are very good values, and they’ll easily outperform similarly priced equipment from Sony, Insignia, or whatever your retail store’s salesman is trying to push on you. I chose a model that ran about $150 refurbished (refurbished products come with a warranty from Onkyo, and I’ve bought several of them for friends and family with no problems whatsoever). I chose to spend the biggest portion of my budget ($550) on speakers. I picked up a pair of Klipsch RB-35 speakers for my fronts (Klipsch speakers use horn tweeters, giving them a slightly brighter sound that really brings out the mid and high frequencies, my personal preference). I bought a $150 Velodyne VX-10 for my subwoofer. Velodyne makes some of the best high end subwoofers, and their low-end stuff is tremendous bang for the buck. Both these products are discontinued, but you can find their replacements or old stock online, probably for a lot less than I paid. For my surround speakers I actually just picked up some really cheap KLH speakers that included a center channel. This was mostly due to budget concerns, and the fact that most of my content is downloaded and I’ve only recently begun to acquire content with 5.1 sound. They work just fine, but it’s not ideal. I spent about $50, but if you want something a little better you might want to go up to $150-200 for your 2 surround speakers and center channel.

After you get your speakers and receiver, all you have to do is buy cables. If you’re on a budget, go with monoprice. You should be able to get all your cables for under $50 delivered.

Anyways, I’d still recommend going with separate components if you can. If you’re careful, you can get a nice 5.1 setup with a good receiver for about $500-600. Well worth it if you ask me.

I spent about 400 on a Logitech Z-5500. All 5 surround speakers match. The subwoffer rocks the floor and the couch. It does ProLogic (movie and music), 5.1, and DTS. The 5.1 setting also has a Night Mode which will take the edge off of the massive explosions. It also does plain stereo and mirrored stereo (rocking in stereo from both front and rear channels).

It has Optical input, DigiCoax, and up to 3 normal stereo inputs, which can be coupled for use with your puter. I have my iPod, my VCR/Nintendo/PS2, and DVD hooked up to it.

They also make a version with wireless rear channels. Some friends have it and love it.

Spending big bucks gets you big massive thrills. But for sub 500 you can get an all in one kit that screams and will get the police called in your honor.

First off, if you’re serious about upgrading your sound system, you’ll want to buy your components separately. This means speakers, subwoofer, and receiver. None of that all-in-one-box crap. Those systems (with very few exceptions from higher end companies) are generally trash and won’t give you the full surround sound experience you’re looking for. You’ll want to pick up a good receiver that will do at least 5.1 (most mid-range receivers nowadays will do 7.1) AND will pair well with whatever speakers you buy. This is important, because most audio components will slightly alter the sound (due to individual characteristics of each component). This means your speakers/receivers may tend to have a bias towards slightly emphasizing (or lacking in) highs, mids, or lows. You want to select a mix of components that will either leave you with a neutral sound or will alter the sound towards your liking. You can read up on this type of stuff at the Audio Visual Science forums (www.avsforum.com).

For speakers, your best bet (with unlimited funds) is to get the same speakers for your front and surround channels. If money is a concern, spend more on your front speakers and save on the surround channels. The center channel is very important, as that’s what most voices come through. As before, you’ll want to make sure whatever mix of components you buy match up well in terms of sound. You’ll also want to get a decent subwoofer. For those on a budget, I recommend Velodyne’s lower-end range of subwoofers. They can’t be beat for the price.

One last word on cables…don’t splurge for fancy cables at the store. Monster Cables and the like are generally a ripoff. Cable quality is certainly important, but there are diminishing returns. The best bang for your buck is if you’re handy with a soldering iron and don’t mind making your own cables (this is what I do, and I’d guess that I’m making cables that are superior in quality to Monstor cables at about 15-20% the cost). It’s pretty easy to do. I managed to learn how to make almost any type of cable in just a few hours of practice. A good resource is the DIY forum over at Head-Fi (www.head-fi.org). If you’re not up for the DIY route, you can always get cheap, good quality cables at Monoprice (www.monoprice.com).

Well, that’s it. I hope this was a nice supplement to the blog post. Nothing complements your HDTV setup like a surround sound system, but make sure you know what you’re doing. A bad surround sound system is almost not worth having at all. You get what you pay for, but hopefully I laid out enough alternatives so that even those on a budget can make the upgrade.