Looking for “just good enuf” for garage man cave

ideally, an AVR with front pre-out and a separate stereo preamp or integrated with ’HT Bypass’ (an input for front l and front r that the AVR controls the volume of)

No way in your $1,000 budget, so I would look for good used, and go for a pretty good video 5.1 and simply use the avr’s 2 channel mode for stereo content.

patience to find good deals on better equipment will be rewarded for years afterward. or, don’t spend much, sell/toss it all later when you do it differently.

soundbars solve space/budget/installation issues, but separate speakers will sound better.

front L & R speakers the most important if you want say 3 people wide to get a good l/c/r image, their dispersion pattern makes a huge difference, or at least have easily adjustable toe-in.

none listed currently, but these DBX soundfield 100’s were designed for wide l/c/r, perhaps use something temporarily, keep an eye out for some, or another model designed to do what they do

http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/dbx-soundfield-100-135.html

front center speaker very important to keep close to the image (just below works best), thus think about how to arrange that carefully now.

I used my very compact Bose VCS-10 for many years, surprisingly good

I just changed to a Klipsch center (version with no rear port)

I waited until a good deal on a used one popped up.

live anywhere near Plainfield, NJ. I’ve got some good used stuff on the shelves I want to move outta here with as little effort on my part as possible!!!

onkyo 5.1 receiver

bose center channel

small speakers good for rear l/r channel use (3 optional pairs: energy/boston/b&w)

I also have a 2 channel stereo receiver that has 2 sets of speaker outputs, with remote control.

close enough? drop by, look, listen, have fun, learn something that helps you with other choices now or later.

In my garage where I'm running machines and making a lot of noise I have my "retired" yamaha reciever and some old 2 way speakers that remind me of how sound systems sounded when I was in college.  I certainly don't consider this a "man cave".  my cave is where my primary system is.

I'd stay away from sound bars. 

Jerry

I’ve got some used Cambridge Soundworks speakers and a Yamaha 660-something receiver that does just fine. I can stream Pandora on it and hear it in the front yard which is fine for what it is. 

In my garage I have a Sansui 8080  JVC KD A5 cassette deck and some  Jensen JP 1200 3 way speakers sounds pretty good .

Hey Brother,

I'd suggest you save yourself a bunch of cash & opinions. Depending on where ya are in the world, take about 800 bucks of that grand and go blow it on your kids or grandkids or fishing gear or something. Then, take the 2 bills, and hit your vintage and thrift shops. You're building a system in a big ol garage, so wired junk shouldn't be a biggie. If you have a YMCA thrift shop close (most do) those are phenomenal, Salvation Army is still kickin' it in a lot of places, and there's always a crap load of OKWill's around. If ya wanna tell me where ya are, and it's in the USofA, I can just about tell ya what's within an easy drive from ya. Not to be a braggart, but I have more Thrift shop intel than Macklemore ;) I got a pair of Infinity RS speakers, a set of pre-Sanyo Fisher floor speakers, an Onkyo TX-SR607 (HDMI) a Yamaha HTR-5940 that has an immense amount of character and plenty of ass, and including the few odds and ends, a few caps, a transistor, and a transformer I think I needed, along with some re-solder on a few brittle spots and the time involved, including gas, I'm still under a Benji. I can do that week in and week out. You may not go out and get it all at once, but if you're anywhere near civilization, you should be able to get whatever ya get in a week or two. PLUS, you get an adventure out of it, going out without exactly knowing what you're going to end up with, but it could be way more Rad than what you'd think, and it certainly will be over a Bose sound-bar ... I almost puked in my mouth a little just typing that \😂 I promise ya, at worst, you'll be a week behind schedule going to blow a grand, so there's ALL kinds of upside. I'll be more than happy to clue ya in on anything I can help with. To start, check out your junkyard, or I guess "recycling center" nowadays, but I go ALL the time, and most people would NOT believe what is thrown away. If your junk yard is anywhere a big govt. anything ... Jackpot. I got 100 laptops for 42 bucks, no lie. I wish it were. They take the batteries out, pull the HD's and the RAM, so the laptop becomes 4 parts basically  ... and guess where they send those other 3 parts to? If your junkyard dudes are organized like I helped my guys get, they'll be in bins or boxes or however your spot stores junk,  right next to the pallets of laptops. I made like 75 decent machines out 'em in a week and gave most of 'em away to poor kids here in the mountains that wouldn't have been able to have one other wise. I only had to sell ONE to make the money back. The laptops won't help your efforts, but it's an example of the stuff that goes through there. A sound output on a device comes un-connected and, "Well, that thing doesn't work anymore, toss it, and get some other cheap Chinese crap to replace it." Ya know? If I gave a shit, a man could probably make 40-50k out of the junkyard in a year. If you're not a DIY kinda guy, and ya just want it done, Thrift shops my friend. I'm not a big fan of OKWill on a moral level, but all the really old folks and the really young take the vast majority of the crap they get rid to GW, so it's a GREAT source for what you're doing. If you're in a metropolitan area, there's several GW's near you, not just one. I live in nowhereville USA, 70 miles in any direction just to get the burbs and Roanoke has 9 GW's all within 30 minutes of downtown, Charlotte has 17 GW's in the "city" and within 30 minutes outside. Sure it's a BUNCH of clothes, but if you haven't really checked it out, it'd blow ya away. Of course, I'm just one dude, and this is all just one dudes humble opinion, but I felt compelled to say it, in the off chance I can help. Anything new you'll get today under a G from around 3 bills to your limit, will just be a little better versions of the garbage that's under 3 bills. I'd personally rather see someone I care about spend a couple hundred on something that sounds like a grand, then blow the G and have it sound like White Van crap. That's just how I see it, just as everyone hears a bit differently, we see a bit differently as well. So I dunno. Even if you paid retail, ugghhh puke again, I'd still say ya'd get more bang for the buck and be better off getting some older used equipment. As far as connectivity, you can Bluetooth just about any electronics today for 20-30 bucks. I dunno how tall your building is, I just figured 20ft, but it's kind of moot anyway, you're in a space approx. 13,000 cubic feet, probably steel-ish, probably not killing it on the insulation and stuff, so kind of echo-chamberish anyway, and you're not gonna put a pair of Infinity IRS V's or Genesis 1's out there ya know. Oh yeah, I forgot, the pawn shops that rape people, if ya talk to the dudes there once or twice, you can basically take half off the tag, and they'll go for it, as they paid 25% of that, so at half they still double, and they sit on the inventory so long, half of what they're asking is always good for them. I recently got an Akai AP-Q310 still in the box from 1983 for 65 bucks. Well.. I've taken enough of everyone's time and painted my picture, I can only hope it may in some small way help someone along the way. Now "Get otta here boy ... ya bother me" 😂🤣😂

Much love!!! ✌

        .ƹ.