New HTIB: JVC vs Yamaha

[Chrono]

I hesitate to post this question since it refers to relatively low end products. I can tell from reading through these posts that many here take their audio very seriously. I just purchased a Hitachi 46F500 TV and am about to purchase a HTIB to go with it. I have narrowed it down to a JVC THB-60 ($399 Cdn.) or a Yamaha YHTB350 ($699 Cdn.). Obviously the Yamaha is better. Sales person told me that the Yamaha originally retailed for $1199 Cdn.). It is also a 6.1 system while the JVC is 5.1.

I'm looking for additional justification to spend almost double the price. I understand that the Yamaha will produce better sound, but specifically, what aspects of the JVC might I not be happy with? The one concern that I have with the JVC myself is the center channel. It is the same as all of the other satellites, it is a regular 2 way speaker. The center channel in the Yamaha has two drivers and a tweeter. Will this make a huge difference? Will the JVC be able to reproduce voices adequately? Otherwise, I think the JVC one may do the trick for me. As with a few other newbies, I'm on a tight budget.

Thanks in advance

[msrance]

I hesitate to post this question since it refers to relatively low end products. I can tell from reading through these posts that many here take their audio very seriously.
I'm looking for additional justification to spend almost double the price. Otherwise, I think the JVC one may do the trick for me. As with a few other newbies, I'm on a tight budget.

Chrono, I dont think you should hesitate asking a question just because you are contemplating purchasing a system that is not as High end as most people in this forum would prefer. Its your own preference and budget that makes you decide and not mine or anyone else's opinion buddy!

But i will tell you this, some months back I also used to think why people spend so much money on music systems - after all its just supposed to play some sound - and the real thing is the music which you are playing. But believe you me - after I got myself a Yamaha AX596 integrated stereo amp - and this is in the entry level category from Yamaha, mind you - I just couldnt believe that i had such dumb ideas in life once. Once you jump on the sound quality bandwagon - there's just no stopping - its an addiction. The music suddenly sounds so real - you want to listen to the same CD all over again.

I would suggest you listen to some more options on the market before you decide that the Yamaha's what you are looking for - or maybe decide that the JVC would fit in neatly with your budget.

If I may so suggest - and I might add that I am thinking of going this way myself for the HT purpose - why dont you look into the feasibilty of getting an entry level AV reciever from Yamaha - maybe a RVX440 or RXV 340 or somethin in the same league from (?)Teac. Suits the budget crowd like self. Then just add a few speakers - if you can afford it - get new speakers to go with it - and if its too expensive an option - try out some used resale speakers from a brand of much renoun. If even thats a bit off your line of thinking - why not go my way - and just get a pair of front channel floorstanders in the first go - later just add matching center and rears.

The sound quality that a seperate AV reciever will give you can never be matched by a HTIB - I checked out Hitachi, JVC, Samsung, Onkyo (that was the worst let down - with all those glowing reviews) - and just accidently happened to audition a reciever. Now I am very sure I will wait for the complete speaker set to seem affordable - but i will not buy a HTIB.

Thats my train of thought - your might be different - actually it should be - if you think like an individual. I just thought I could relate to your way of thinking and just felt like putting in my word of advice.

Lemme know what you go with in the end - and what your audition sessions sound like - I better keep in touch with the low end segment that I can afford and not get lost in the 20grandUSD+ segment !!! :D

[Chrono]

Chrono, I dont think you should hesitate asking a question just because you are contemplating purchasing a system that is not as High end as most people in this forum would prefer. Its your own preference and budget that makes you decide and not mine or anyone else's opinion buddy!

But i will tell you this, some months back I also used to think why people spend so much money on music systems - after all its just supposed to play some sound - and the real thing is the music which you are playing. But believe you me - after I got myself a Yamaha AX596 integrated stereo amp - and this is in the entry level category from Yamaha, mind you - I just couldnt believe that i had such dumb ideas in life once. Once you jump on the sound quality bandwagon - there's just no stopping - its an addiction. The music suddenly sounds so real - you want to listen to the same CD all over again.

I would suggest you listen to some more options on the market before you decide that the Yamaha's what you are looking for - or maybe decide that the JVC would fit in neatly with your budget.

If I may so suggest - and I might add that I am thinking of going this way myself for the HT purpose - why dont you look into the feasibilty of getting an entry level AV reciever from Yamaha - maybe a RVX440 or RXV 340 or somethin in the same league from (?)Teac. Suits the budget crowd like self. Then just add a few speakers - if you can afford it - get new speakers to go with it - and if its too expensive an option - try out some used resale speakers from a brand of much renoun. If even thats a bit off your line of thinking - why not go my way - and just get a pair of front channel floorstanders in the first go - later just add matching center and rears.

The sound quality that a seperate AV reciever will give you can never be matched by a HTIB - I checked out Hitachi, JVC, Samsung, Onkyo (that was the worst let down - with all those glowing reviews) - and just accidently happened to audition a reciever. Now I am very sure I will wait for the complete speaker set to seem affordable - but i will not buy a HTIB.

Thats my train of thought - your might be different - actually it should be - if you think like an individual. I just thought I could relate to your way of thinking and just felt like putting in my word of advice.

Lemme know what you go with in the end - and what your audition sessions sound like - I better keep in touch with the low end segment that I can afford and not get lost in the 20grandUSD+ segment !!! :D

Thanks for the reply mrance. Your advice seems very reasonable. Similar to bacchanal ("starting from scratch" post), its about balance. I have been spending lots of money on washers, dryers, a new fridge, a new snowblower, etc for the new home I just built 4 months ago. I just bought the new Hitachi 46F500 today and the well is running dry for now, so the budget has to stay firm.

There is no doubt in my mind that if I were to sit down and listen to a better reciever that I would be able to tell the difference and see the value. What I'm really looking for is some specifics regarding where the lower end systems will fall short, other than just overall sound quality. Specifically between the two systems I have identified. Will the volume of voices be too low, such that I have to adjust the volume between scenes all the time? Will I hear a hum from my sub even when it is not in use? (I hope this is not the case, I invested in a digital subwoofer cable when I prewired the house).

Once I know the specific deficiencies, I can then decide if I want to come up with more money. If it is just overall sound quality, I can live with that. I have had surround sound for about 6 or 7 years now. It is a Sony STR-D665, combined with a couple of Energy front speakers and sony satalites and center channel. I don't even have a sub, all of the bass comes from my front speakers. When I first got it, I was impressed by the surround sound experience. Obviously what I have now is pretty much crap, so whatever I choose now will be a dramatic improvement.

Like I say, I'm looking for specific show stoppers that may influence my decision. If anyone knows of any, I'd love to hear from them.

Also, I'm not opposed to buying separate components and staying away from HTIB solutions, however, the starting point for these solutions seems to be higher than what I want to spend.

One more thing, from your post I see that you own a Yamaha reciever. Does it have the "Silent Cinema" feature? If so, how do you like it?

Thanks again for the advice. I appreciate it.

[Drivesthebeast]

Hello, you likely bought your system of choice a LONG time ago considering the age of this thread, but I found it by accident while browsing info on JVC HTiB's.

I can tell you, and others, that the JVC's are NO SLOUCH. I bought a THB 6000 for my grandmother a few years ago, and she's been more than happy with it. The sound quality that comes out of this system is absolutelty stunning for it's price point (The 6000 being $499 average). This system sounds great because the speakers where all designed to work specifically with the JVC receiver that comes in the kit (I think it's the 6042 which is 5.1 DD and 5.1 DTS). It's got an honest 100w/ch @ 8ohms, NOT 6, and with a very reasonable level of distortion that's not heard until you push the upper limits on the volume. The dialogue is very clean, quite accurate, and sound effects are well staged/placed. It works well BOTH for movies, and for 2-ch analogue music as well. Even the 6.5" 150w subwoofer is quite impressive for it's diminutive size, as it plays both smoothly and deeply, and at a decent volume. This system easily fills my grandmother's apartment, which is 800+ square feet with tons of sound.

Don't let the price fool you, the JVC HTiB's (larger ones like the THB 60/6000) have great sound quality, an easy to understand GUI, and won't break the bank. I can tell you that side by side, they will blow away any compareable Sony, Samsung, LG, or even Kenwood HTiB for the money in sound quality. I'm actually looking for a THB 60 or 6000 to use as a 2nd system to use in my livingroom (Basement HT is Klipsch Refference speakers all around, Marantz 7.1 THX AVR, JVC HDTV CRT, Panasonic Bluray player), as they sound THAT good, and are easy to set up.

Hope this helps someone somewhere...

[kelsci]

Hi Chrono; Is the following set-up available in Canada?

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YHT-393BL-Channel-System-Black/dp/B003CP0KAA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1300679167&sr=1-1

Personally I think the speakers are alittle small but the receiver which seems to be similar to a Yamaha 367 probably has a high enough crossover setting to handle these. The center channel speaker is the W-T-W design known as a D'Appolito. I prefer that design as a center channel speaker. This receiver is more up to date than the JVC system.

Here is a link to the JVC system;

http://www.jvc.ca/en/consumer/archived-product-detail.asp?model=THB-60
I am surprised this is even available. You make a good point that the center channel speaker is a standard two way speaker. My experiments find that I do not like that type of a speaker for the center channel. It does effect the soundfield in such a way that the soundfield is not as prominent in impact,something which the D'app. does correctly. Some years back I did hear a demonstration of some of these JVC systems similar to this and the sound quality did sound quite good to me. That is something to think about.

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YHT-493BL-Channel-System-Black/dp/B003CP0KAU/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1300679868&sr=1-2
The link above is for another HTIB at Amazon. The satellites have 3 3/4 inch woofers. That is close to the 4 inch size that I use and I think it would give better sound. The system comes with the yst367 receiver which is pretty much up to date. I would consider this if you can get a good deal in Canada or if they ship this one from the USA to Canada.

I do not know how good the Yamaha sub is with these systems but it seems to be their cheapest but it is front firing(the JVC looks like it sides firest which could be a nuisance) unit with a side port(that should be considered where you place the sub so the port is not blocked).

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-YSTSW012-Front-Firing-Active-Subwoofer/product-reviews/B000TQ4D8K/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

The following link above gives some info at Amazon of the sub. It seems people are very satisfied with it.

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V367BL-Channel-Receiver-Black/dp/B003CP0K8C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1300680825&sr=1-1

The following link above is for the 367 receiver alone. This can be matched to a different speaker system of your choice if you find one.

http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-TSS-500CHR-High-Performance-6-Piece-Charcoal/dp/B000K1XWFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1300680975&sr=1-1

The following link above is for a infinity system. I personally think the satellites are small like the first yamaha htib.

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Channel-Theater-Speaker/dp/B0002WTK4S/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1300681259&sr=1-1

The following link above is for another 5.1 speaker system for you to evaluate. At least the woofers are over 3 inches.

I think the Yamaha with the 3 3/4 inch speakers with the 367 receiver might be the best buy.

[kelsci]

This link is for a pinnacle speaker system on sale.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=A3319348&cs=04&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=52102&lid=1342490