OT: Please spend my money ;-) Update
 

My current music setup is an old Onkyo mini system like this:

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/iEoAA...G/s-l1600.webp


What I want:

1- 2 floor speakers
2- Subwoofer
3- Receiver

Budget - $ 500 - $ 600 tops. Please help / guide me
FWIW Main source of music will be BT/Spotify from my phone or MacBook Air

Thanks!

That's not much money to get that amount of stuff I'm afraid. You will need to scour classified sections to get something 'decent'.

$600 spent on one of those out of the box type of home theater setups like this: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_700REA...em.html?tp=184 is about the closest you'd get.

If you are open to not buying a subwoofer, you could probably pick up a pair of large floor standers and a decent integrated amp for about $600 used. Now, if your budget was trebled or quadrupled, then you could think about the inclusion of a decent sub, but cheap subs really aren't worth it.

But if you're really desperate for that exact setup, you're probably be limited to these: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_701S80...ck.html?tp=185

This: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_701S80...SUB-Black.html

And this: https://www.accessories4less.com/mak...plifier/1.html

You should be able to find everything on FB Marketplace or even a local Buy Nothing group (also on FB). If you were closer, I'd set you up with speakers for very little

Three questions:

1. What kind of music?
2. What are the room details?
3. What volume do you intend to play at? (we can end sentences this way now, even though it looks incorrect. :) )

Without knowing any of these, I'd recommend:

- any of the older midsize (bookshelf) American speakers - Boston Acoustic, Polk, ADS, etc. You don't really need floor standing speakers if you also have a sub. Boston was a hotbed of speaker production in the '80s and '90s, and even more recently...you'll find a great local selection on FB Marketplace and CL.

- Acoustic Research S108 (or similar) subwoofer (cheap, great sounding. Take a step up to the 10" B&W, or one of the many similar subs on the used market.)

- Denon network ready AV receiver (or similar for multiple sources)

All of these together might run $600.

Make sure you listen carefully to the speakers and inspect the speaker cones for wear or degradation. Older foam tends to fall apart.

I might also throw in an Apple TV and an LED monitor. :)

2 Sonos Fives or 2 Era 300's + sub mini if you can stretch the budget a little and need bass.
The Fives in stereo will be great.

Ditch the receiver and speaker cables.

Other people who reply will know a lot more about all things audiophile than me, but if it were me I'd a combo of two things like this:

Receiver/Amp: Onkyo A-9050
https://reverb.com/item/77947116-onk..._source=google

Speakers: Some sort of 15 yo B&W floor standing speakers
https://www.ebay.com/itm/38684287250...Bk9SR9rYsO7FYw

Subs get much better once you crest the $500 threshold.

Sorry about your budget. :eek:

Those B&W will be fabulous; they will want a good amount of power. :)

Agreed...but it depends on volume and signal. The subs that get the most use in my house are my smaller B&Ws.

If the OP is playing heavy rock, loudly, he's going to need a thumper. If he's listening to NPR and comedy podcasts, not so much. :)

I am no audiophile but I found a set of Bose speakers and subwoofer super cheap on FB marketplace then bought a BT ready amp/receiver thing and it sounds great.
In reality I use my UE megaboom BT speaker more often. I have 2 and set them up stereo and it sounds better mostly because I move them both to wherever I am.
I just had a big party and set up 5 megabooms and had sound everywhere!

Calling @Bob Ross. Bob, you're wanted in the back sound room.

I could use some schooling here, but the sound is only going to be as good as what's in the source. What's the state of play for streaming?--in terms of sampling rates/compression, THD, frequency range, etc. Streaming for the most part makes my ears tired after 20-30 minutes. I recall Neil Young was trying to get more true fidelity into music. [edit: https://www.sonarworks.com/blog/lear...the-difference]

For the OP, I would think there's lots of high end second hand equipment to fit your spend range (kind of like rim brake bikes?)

I would start scouring estate sales. I have seen some really nice stuff and usually it sells for Pennies. Will definitely take some time to build though. Just plug in your zip.

Estatesales.net

I don't even listen that loud, you just miss a bunch of the low 20Hz and below frequencies unless you get (a) a driver capable of moving that much air, and (b) enough power to move that driver.

http://www.sdcav.com/

this place has been around for decades in various locations