Let's pretend I didn't spend 80 dollars on a 5.1 surround sound system. Ok?

I ordered on a Saturday and they shipped via UPS on Monday. Got the speakers on Friday. Nice! Saturday was install day. I had my 250 foot roll of 16 gauge wire, a staple gun, drill, level...all ready to go. Speakers were packed well with individual plastic sleeves. Once I had all the speaker wire up and to my new Yamaha receiver, I began installing the speakers on the wall. Install was a breeze. I LOVE that it came with speaker brackets. Usually you get keyhole notches or you have to buy separate wall mounts. With these C/swivel brackets, my speakers look great and I can angle them for the best sound. Once everything was up and connected, I let my Yamaha receiver do its auto speaker test. That took all of 90 seconds? First thing I did was fire up my Xbox and play some Skyrim. My game loaded and my character was outside. I heard wind. What? Then I heard rain drops. I've had Skyrim for a year. I've never heard wind or rain. Then, I heard my horse snorting behind me. I turned the sound up quite a bit. The sound was so full, so immersive without being annoying. I had the biggest grin on my face and my wife could do nothing but shake her head at me. My speakers sound amazing, they look great and installing them was quite simple.

Now, the kicker.

I PAID 80 BUCKS FOR THIS!! Eighty. You just can't beat that.

Oh, I forgot to mention. EIGHTY DAMN DOLLARS

PROS: Price, sound, looks

CONS: No idea.

good sound for the time being that it worked. Looks nice mounted on the wall . Sub stopped working

PROS: Great sound and easy to setup. Worked wonderfully for the first few weeks.

CONS: the sub is dead. No sound out of the sub at all anymore. With so many people complaining about the sub there has to be some quality control right ?

Also the button on the back of the sub is confusing. Sub auto on has a "on" position so does that mean the other position is off ? It doesn't say. But as the sub is not working who cares

This review covers both the Monoprice 10565 (Premium Sound System) and the Monoprice 8247 sound system. This review assumes the 10565 is approximately double the price of the 8247 (as was so when purchased).



Current Setup:

I recently purchased a new house and in doing so wanted to quickly setup a inexpensive home theater room. I was able to create a very nice setup using a Vizio 70" E701i-A3 as well as the Monoprice 10565. The picture is excellent and the sound is very, very good. I highly recommend this setup. My theater room is large with a 25' ceiling cathedral which does not appear to impact the 10565's ability to perform.



Previous experience:

Of my previous theater systems the best I had was a Bose Acoustimass 10 Series III. It was a decent though pricey theater system which I had to sell while moving. I wanted something that sounded better than or at least equivalent to the experience. The 10565 fits the bill quite nicely, I'd say it is slightly better than the Bose system, which is great because it's 200/1000 = 1/5 of its cost. The Bose does have a better aesthetic appeal and excellent build quality, if I were to close my eyes and listen to both systems, I am confident I would choose the Monoprice premium speakers over the Bose. They have a much better range and can get very loud with little distortion.



Monoprice 10565 VS 8247:

For this comparison I used the exact same setup (wire,placement,receiver,room). You can see it in the pictures below.

I loved the home theater experience of the 10565 so much and I wanted to try the same brand in another room. I frequently listen to music and play games in my office/loft area, so I decided a 5.1 system should work nicely there as well. I had considered buying another 10565 as they're not too expensive, however the speakers are quite large and I wasn't sure I wanted them on my desk. I also felt the system would never be fully utilized (volume) and would be a waste of potential. I decided to try out the 8247 in hopes that it was a smaller shaped system that was capable of producing quality though quieter sound.

This is somewhat the case. The system does produce similar sound, though not as good. The sounds from this system have a much boomier bass (less range) and the sidelights are slightly colder with a tin like sound. It isn't bad sound, but it isn't great like the 10565, which was to be expected given its price-point. The shape of the speakers was also somewhat disappointing, as they are nearly the same size. Though it is a matter of opinion, they look much less appealing to the eye. In short, the 8247 offers no advantage (to me) to the 10565 other than price.



More on the 10565:

This is a great system, read all the other reviews about it. They are spot on. I paired mine with a Onkyo tx-nr525 and it sounds great. I also used VideoSecu 5 brackets from Amaz*n to mount. 16 Gauge wire.



More on the 8247:

I purchased this system because I had read all the stellar reviews and was expecting more than what I received. I tried multiple placement configurations in my office with these speakers but could not find one I liked. No matter how hard I tried you could easily tell where the sound was coming from, it's very sharp and directional. When you tilt your head you almost become dizzy from the sound, it's very odd. The room is fairly large and square. I decided to try these speakers in the place of my home theater setup (same wire/placement/receiver) and they did sound much better than in my office. I believe these speakers need to be quite a distance from your head to blend together better. (In my office they were about 6-8' from my head. Another annoyance is the subwoofer in this system. The auto on function is poorly implemented (requires loud bass to turn on) and when it is on it constantly hums (I've tried multiple wires/speakers that do no impact other systems).



Conclusion:

I really, really, like the 10565. I feel underwhelmed by the 8247. If you're looking to buy either set, I would definitely recommend going with the more expensive model. I feel the cost of the upgrade is minimal (after buying a receiver, speaker wire, etc) considering the performance increase. Perhaps if you only owned the 8247 you would never be the wiser.



Pictures:

http://imgur.com/a/xhMLV0



tldr: Buy the 10565.

More than expected for the cost & provides excellent sound for 5.1 programing & DVDs.


PROS: Easy to connect, takes only minutes & ready to use.

CONS: Should note that an RCA y adapter will be needed for proper hookup to a receiver with subwoofer out, (or include one with the set for an additional couple of dollars). Knowing beforehand would save the bother of a trip out to get one.

My first review ever. I don't write because I'm lazy. BUT! I feel that this requires my two cents.

Exactly reviewed by other 3rd party reviews, It is much Boom and Sizzle.

So how does it rack up against apartment walls where little bass will shake the walls and ceilings?



even with low/quiet volume, the 5.1 does indeed deliver for what you're paying. You don't 100% hear everything (piece of paper flapping in the air or something), but because the dialogues in movies come directly from center speakers, You don't miss out of anything major, and the satellite speakers to deliver ambients and sound effects well enough.



Much better than 2.1 speakers, because the source of the sound comes from multiple directions, lower volume is still coherent. 2.1 speakers only have 2 speakers, and because of this, the 2 speakers need to be louder, hence this may travel to the other tenents. This is my own experience, and what I have tested.



NOTE: the subwoofer is actually quite large. It takes up quite a bit of space for average apartment spaces! And the 8" down firing cone is very pretty to the ears.. even if you put it quite low volume!



Overall: Best bang for your buck speakers! My first personal 5.1 ever, and Monoprice delivered. One weekend, I may crank it up loud for some Planet Earth!

PROS: Everything works!

CONS: No cables for the satellites. If it comes with wall mounts, I was hoping for cables too! My bad?

First let me say that I have been into home audio/theater for 30+ years. I never write reviews but I just have to for these speakers. I also have an energy 5.1 classic system in my living room. I have owned allot of the top brands of speakers, receivers, amps.. etc. etc.. I built a smaller home theater in my house about 12 x 16. I bought these to replace the energy system and move it to the theater room. Well, I hooked theses up in the theater room just to test them and I was totally blown away! I read a few reviews saying they sound "tinny" etc.. well they must not have them set up and dialed in properly. My room does have extra thick carpet/pad and the walls are mostly done theater style with long thick curtains to help with reflected sound and also just looks cool. I had my wife and several other friends come over and do a blind test between both speakers. Well maybe uts the acoustic quality of the theater room, or we all have crappy hearing, but no one could tell the difference on the same movie track! If you blast them the energy system starts to pull away but who listens to mivies like that? No one, its way to uncomfortable for you and any close neighbors. I have my receiver set to "small" for speakers, the crossover frequency to around 120hz to 140hz and the sub set close to that and is placed on one of the long walls. I think some people just have their mind made up already that they wont sound good beforehand and your brain just tricks you.. not one of speakers have any hint of a tinny sound! If yours are setup like mine I guarantee they will blow you away!

PROS: Sound unreal! Cant believe speakers this cheap sound like this!

CONS: The only thing I wish like allot of the reviews is a center channel bracet.. no other cons..

Just got these speakers today and I must say, I am pretty impressed. For the price they have great sound and look nice as well. They work great in my bedroom on my older 4.1 receiver!

My major complaint with these speakers is the speaker connections. They are a pain to use. They are the kind that you have to hold down and then push the wire into. The center channel in particular was difficult to attach a wire to. You would need very small very agile fingers to do it easily. I was able to do it after about ten minutes of messing with it. I guess once they are set up this isn't a bid deal, but it sure made the setup precess lengthy.

Also, for some reason there are no mounting screws for the wall mounts. There are screws to attach the speakers to the mounts, but nothing to attach them to the walls. I don't know if this is just an issue with my set or true with all sets. This sin't a huge deal, just a bit annoying.

I would say that if you are looking for a decent set of cheap speakers pick these guys up. The sound is outstanding, there are just a few small issues that can be over looked for speakers at less than $100. I actually picked them up on sale and got them for $83 WITH shipping! Very happy with them at that price!

PROS: Good Sound
Quality Construction
GREAT price!
Mounts included


CONS: No speaker wires (knew that going in)
Mids are a bit flat (may improve after breaking in period)
Bass is a bit boomy, but not terrible
Speaker wire conections are a huge pain to use, especially the center channel
No wall screws for the mount

I chances upon the Cnet review for the speakers while shipping for one. The speakers were well packed and was delivered hassle free. I hooked them up to a Sony STRK 740p receiver. plugged in a DVD player, VCR and a setup the speakers using the C brackets. I was ready within an hour and was listening to some great sound. I am impressed with the quality of the speakers for the cost at which I got them. a feather in the Monoprice cap for such technology. I would recommend this speaker set in a heartbeat to any of my friends.

PROS: - nice looking speakers for the size
- little distortion at high volume
- very good clarity of sound
- Movies sound great
- Used it as a stereo setup for music with the two front speakers and SW and the sound is great for the price.

CONS: - Sub Woofer does not have a protective cover for the speaker.
- The screws on the C brackets are short and with the foam rings in place needs a little force to latch on.
- There is no marking values to understand the frequency setup for the subwoofer
- No detailed manual for setup

I bought this set on a whim, based on a review of another discontinued set. I am completely happy with this set! Very solid, great sound, and they look great too! I have recommended this set to friends countless times, even showing it off a few times to startled listeners.

Highly recommended for those on a budget that want a superior quality, yet lower priced setup.

PROS: easy to setup, with flexible options when you can't install all 5 satellites.

Inexpensive, but they do not feel cheaply made. Very solid, and heavy like one would expect to see on much higher priced products.

Great sound! Family sure noticed when we played the first movie we'd never had a subwoofer before!

CONS: Not a wall mountable center speaker.

Auto function on sub is weird could be me though.

With smaller kids the sub could use a sonicly transparent covering to keep toys, etc., out of the speaker cabinet.

I work in radio so audio quality is very important to me at work as well as at home. I bought these and found Monoprice just because of the CNet review. I couldn't be happier with the product or company. Overall best system for the dollar...PERIOD!!! Very awesome!!!

PROS: The sound is crisp and tight. Very detailed on the highs and mids. Very good construction and feel. The sub has some very good thump when you need it...Paired this system with the Monoprice speaker stands PID 3022 and they look as good as they sound!!!

CONS: Only problem I have is that wasn't any documentation on the speaker bracket mounting or the system as a whole. Only paper was about the sub and the inputs on the sub.