Best Boxed Home Theater Under $700

[hershon]

Can anyone tell me what they think is the best boxed home theater with a DVD receiver under $700 list price by brand and model number and the best boxed home theater with a receiver (no DVD) under $700 list price. These can be discontinued items.

[Bryan]

Do you mean a receiver with a built in dvd player? If so, there is a downside to ordering something like that. What do you do if the dvd player goes? You are out your entire system. If the receiver goes, same thing. If you wish to upgrade, you can't just buy one or the other. You'll have to buy both.

With the budget that you have you may wish to focus on an entry level receiver, a pair of speakers, a sub, and dvd player. The problem will be getting a good subwoofer as that can make or break a system. That requires either getting lesser gear now or buying a sub later.

An example of what you can pick up now:
Onkyo DV-301SP - $120 (JandR.com)
Yamaha HTR-5740 - $299 (BestBuy.com)
Dayton 10" powered subwoofer (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-632) - $109 plus shipping
Fluance SX-HTB package (http://www.fluance.com/fluan5speaks.html) - $260

Total - $788 plus shipping on the sub. May be close to $700 if you went with an Apex dvd player ($40ish). Overall a good package but you get what you pay for and expect to upgrade the sub fairly soon though good ones can go for $450 new. (Check out the used market.)