Home Theater Battle

[mellowd]

I am trying to decide between the Onkyo S767C and the Yamaha YHT-941 Home Theater packages. Can anyone tell me which way I should go?

[Woochifer]

First off, what's your budget and what's your hurry?

In general, component based packages like that Yamaha seem like a great deal, but while they typically include decent receivers and DVD players, the speakers are always a weak link. With that Yamaha package, keep in mind that the receiver and DVD player that got included in that bundle have been discontinued, so you should be able to find really good closeout pricing right now if you buy the receiver and DVD player separately. I doubt that the quality of the components in the Yamaha and Onkyo packages will be significantly different, however the speakers might be very different and that's the area where you typically find the most variation, especially with HTIB packages. Listen to both and decide which one you like better.

However, the speakers that come with HTIB packages are typically a big step down from speaker systems that you buy separately.

As far as speakers go, you really should take your time and either listen to some other speaker packages or try the incremental approach by starting with two or three speakers, and building from there. Yamaha speakers are not bad per se, but in order to package together five speakers plus a subwoofer, you're making a big compromise with the sound quality. Generally, HTIB speakers have limited extension in the bass and poor integration between where the satellite speakers leave off and where the bass module takes over.

The absolute minimum that I would look at is the Energy Take 5 speaker package, which goes for about $600 by itself. And that's ONLY if you're dead set on buying all of your speakers at the same time. However, even a decent 5.1 package like the Take 5 has problems with the subwoofer/satellite integration. Other options from Boston, Paradigm, Polk, and Klipsch should also work for you at slightly higher price points.

If you're willing to wait, I would take that $1,000 MSRP for the Yamaha package and split it out like this -- get the Yamaha HTR-5660 receiver on closeout (I've seen it sell recently for around $350), add a brand name DVD player (around $100), and then look for a pair of bookshelf speakers. With a budget of about $550, you have a wide assortment of speaker options. You can opt for a good pair of bookshelf speaker like the B&W DM602 or the Paradigm Monitor 5, or you can go a step down and get a lower priced pair of bookshelf speakers and add the matching center speaker. In either scenario, you will have much better integration between the main speakers and the subwoofer. Also, the virtual surround features that come with all receivers nowadays will tie your over until you save up enough to get the surround speakers and/or subwoofer.

[topspeed]

What he said...couldn't have said it better myself.

[RGA]

Pick yourself up the latest issue of UHF magazine (#69) turn to page 19 - and save yourself a lot of money and get better sound. Agree with the others here as well mostly.