For a 5.1 under $2,000, I can really recommend Definitive Technology ProCinema 1000 L/R/SL/SR ($200/ea), ProCinema 2000 Center ($350), and SuperCube III 8″ sub ($650).

All brand new from Magnolia.

I run this system and have been very happy. You can run a ton of power through them and they respond.

One caveat is that the highs are much more buttery than soaring. If you like crispy highs, Klipsch may be a better choice.

And if you have a large room (> 20’x20′), you might need something with larger mids and a wider sound stage.

The SuperCube III continues to impress me (and anyone who I show the system to). It can fill a good sized room very well. If I want better bass, I will get a second SuperCube III, instead of getting bigger one.

I own a pair of def tech BP7006 towers and use the pro center 1000 and think they are great. I have always been a fan of definitive.

Another system for a similar price would be a Martin Logan Motion system, with either a Martin Logan Dynamo sub or maybe a REL T3 or T2. That is under 2k and more musical than the def techs.

I must admit, $2000 for 5 speakers and a sub is a more difficult target to hit than one might expect.

As Tom said, start by picking out a really good subwoofer. I almost always recommend the HSU VTF-2 MK3 in this situation. Naturally, an Auralex GRAMMA isolation riser is a must 😉 I honestly just consider it to be part of the subwoofer!

So, that eats up $660 for the HSU VTF-2 MK3 (in basic black) shipped with an Auralex GRAMMA.

Personally, I really favor di-pole or bi-pole surround speakers. Right now, at $290 with free shipping, it’s pretty hard to beat the Emotiva ERD-1 surround speakers, so my vote would almost certainly go to those.

So that leaves a fairly healthy $1050 for the front three speakers. From that, I’ll start by subtracting $40 for a pair of Auralex MoPads and another $26.50 for a set of Bright Star Audio’s large size IsoNodes to go under the center speaker.

Personally, I can’t stand anything less than three perfectly matched front speakers. I would rather forego the center speaker altogether and just run with the front L/R with a “phantom” center than suffer a center speaker that does not perfectly match the timbre, voice and tonality of the front L/R speakers. There is nothing I hate more than when a sound pans across the front and you can easily tell by the difference in sound when it transitions from left to center to right or vice versa. I want a seemless front soundstage and nothing less will do!

So there are a ton of choices for the front three. But in the interest of matching the front 3 in terms of looks and sound quality to the sub and surrounds, and also meeting my criteria of a perfectly matched front soundstage, I’d probably opt for three Ascend Acoustics CMT-340SE speakers, which, at $888 shipped, work out just about perfectly for the budget!

Funny that I’d go with a sort of “Frankenstein” system, but, to me, it’s all about picking out a system where each component does its own job extremely well and then, together, all of the components work extremely well together.

I think it is vital to include decoupling devices and account for them as part of the cost of any speaker system. I think it is ridiculous that people will spend thousands on the speakers, but won’t fork over $40 or $50 in order to allow those speakers to perform to their fullest potential by eliminating the vibrations of the surfaces around the speakers!

So:

– HSU VTF-2 MK3 subwoofer w/ Auralex GRAMMA = $660 shipped

– Emotiva ERD-1 di/bi-pole surrounds = $290 shipped

– Ascend Acoustics CMT-340SE Mains + CMT-340SE Center = $888 shipped

– Auralex MoPads to decouple the Mains = $40

– Bright Star Audio Large IsoNodes to decouple the Center = $26.50

Total = $1904.50

Definitely on budget with enough left over to get plenty of speaker wire and a cable for the sub 😉

I have to say that these past few shows without Dina have been very good. I have nothing against Dina, but having two guys that are knowledgeable about AV stuff talking about AV is a much better show to listen to. I thought that the last 10 to 15 shows with Dina were much to morning show and not enough AV focus for me. I would consider trying to get another AV geek as co-host rather than going the morning show route. Or at least alternate between the two. Anyways keep up the good work. I look forward to future shows.

An alternative view on the debate of matching-center vs. non-matching-center:

I started my system with matching L/C/R, but found that mids, especially those supporting male voices, which are mid-heavy and basically pinned to the center channel, were distractingly anemic.

That probably suggests that the 5″ mid-range drivers on my speakers were too small, and that I should have matching full-range speakers, but for my budget and my room, 5″ drivers work well.

I switched out the matched center for “dedicated” center (a dual mid-woofer design) and have been much happier. I don’t experience any distracting panning problems. Any problems there are are compensated for by the better vocal intelligibility of the dual-woofer center.

Regards!