my first home theater system

[jplatt8527]

i was interested in spending 300$. either 200 on the receiver and 100 on the speakers or 300 on a package. i really have no clue what is good. ive been reading lots of reviews and am just confused.

what do you think of

receivers:
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8021&qp=0&oid=50660&m=0
or
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8021&qp=0&oid=8481&m=0

with speakers:
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8023&qp=0&oid=60379&m=0
or
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8023&qp=0&oid=70186&m=0

home theater systems i was thinkin of:

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-10041&qp=0&oid=91691&m=0

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-10041&qp=0&oid=93322&m=0

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-10041&qp=0&oid=69902&m=0

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-10041&qp=0&oid=74160&m=0

do you have any recommendations? i appreciate it. thanks

[Bryan]

Initially, I would suggest broadening your horizons. There are more stores that sell home theater gear than your local Circuit City or Best Buy. If quality is important to you then re-examine your budget. If sound/music quality isn't that important, look into the Kenwood or Onkyo HTiB systems. For almost any of those systems there are compromises. The Onkyo receiver is good though is a stereo receiver. Not much good for 5.1 surround sound. The sound quality of the others will leave alot to be desired. For a good subwoofer, forget it. Look around for used gear. Those aforementioned entry level systems compromise speaker and subwoofer quality and sound quality for price. You get a cheap system that will leave you wanting to upgrade the components and ultimately spending more than you could have.

[depressed]

Initially, I would suggest broadening your horizons. There are more stores that sell home theater gear than your local Circuit City or Best Buy. If quality is important to you then re-examine your budget. If sound/music quality isn't that important, look into the Kenwood or Onkyo HTiB systems. For almost any of those systems there are compromises. The Onkyo receiver is good though is a stereo receiver. Not much good for 5.1 surround sound. The sound quality of the others will leave alot to be desired. For a good subwoofer, forget it. Look around for used gear. Those aforementioned entry level systems compromise speaker and subwoofer quality and sound quality for price. You get a cheap system that will leave you wanting to upgrade the components and ultimately spending more than you could have.

I agree. With your current budget you can forget quality. To buy a somewhat decent system, you need to spend more then $450. IMO, you can match a HK, Denon or a Yamaha receiver with affordable speakers, such as a new Fluance 5-speaker set. Fluance 5-speaker set can be had for aprox. $200. Look for used stuff, that would be the best advice I can give you. You can find decent new receivers like HK or Yamaha for the rest of your budget, or you can look into used ones, where you should be able get good used receivers and stay within your budget. There are some HTIB systems that you could buy for aprox. $400. Be warned that the speakers will be the weakest link in all of the HTIB packages. I made a similar purchase, but I knew what I was doing because I had no choice. I'm happy with the bang for the buck I got. Buy only a Denon, HK or a Yamaha receiver, and as for speakers, you will have more choices, especially if you go with used speakers. Do extensive research on speakers and look for good deals online.
Good Luck!

[jasmit]

Your budget: I don’t know how flexible you are on your budget of $300, but as stated, that’s not a lot of money for a home theater – even a modest one. A home theater consists of more components than just a receiver and speakers. You will need a display device (TV), which you may well already have. Unless you plan to just watch broadcast movies, you will also need a video source (a VCR or more desirably a DVD player). It may be that you already have a TV and a DVD player. And finally, you will need a source of amplification – most folks have either an amplifier and pre-amp/pre-pro or a receiver. As far as speakers go, you should have at least two main speakers, one center channel speaker, two surround speakers and a sub-woofer. Many folks on a budget will start with just the main speakers and later add a center channel, then surrounds and finally a sub-woofer. If you want it all at once, as I said, you may have difficulty finding a decent home theater in a box (HTIB) for $300.00

Your priorities: You’re allocating only 33% of your budget to speakers. You should allocate 50 - 60% of your budget to speakers; the rest to the other components and accessories, cables, etc. The speakers are what you hear, hence their relative importance.

Re: your choices in the order you listed them, here are my comments for what they’re worth:

a) Panasonic SAHE70K – This is a 5.1 receiver which will power two front speakers, a center channel, two surrounds and a sub-woofer. I don’t know much about Panasonic receivers.

b) Onkyo TX8211 – This is a two channel (stereo) receiver which will only power two speakers; it will not power any of the other speakers you will need for a home theater. My sense of things is that Onkyo makes a decent receiver at their higher price points, but I don’t know much about their lower priced ones. At any rate, you would need to move up to one which handles more than just two channels. Onkyo’s least expensive surround receivers are sold as part of HTIB’s. Go to their website and check out the HT-S670 for $399. It doesn’t come with a DVD player however.

c) Pioneer SH153 – These would serve as front speakers only; you would need to later add a center, two surrounds and a sub-woofer.

d) Sony SSCR350H – These consist of two surround speakers and a center channel. They would serve to compliment a set of front speakers which you would need in addition to these.

e) Panasonic SCHT05 – This HTIB does not include a video source if you need one.

f) RCA RT2600 – This HTIB does not include a video source if you need one. RCA is not noted for their audio products. I don’t think you will find many on this forum who would recommend them.

g) Panasonic SCHT700 – This HTIB includes a DVD player but not, as far as I can tell, a receiver. I can only assume that it has its own built in amplification. High distortion figure (10%).

h) Sony HTC800DP – This HTIB seems to have it all; a receiver with a built-in DVD changer. High distortion figure (10%).

If I were going with a HTIB, I would look at the Onkyo HT-S670 first, even though it is a little over your budget. But, if you can be patient and you have a steady source of income from which you could set aside an audio savings account, you could purchase really good components incrementally. I would start with something like a Harmon Kardon AVR 130 available through onecall.com for less than $300.00. Or a Yamaha HTR-5740 for about the same price. Then I would purchase a pair of bookshelf speakers, say either B&W DM303’s for less than $300 or a pair of Paradigm Mini-Monitors which you should be able to get for around $300. When you can afford more, buy a center channel to match the bookshelf speakers. If you went with B&W, that would be an LCR3 for $200. If Paradigm, that would be a CC-370 for around $350.00. When you are ready for your next purchase, buy another set of main speakers and move the bookshelves to the rear. For example, in the Paradigm scenario, you might get Monitor 5’s for a little over $500.00. In the B&W scenario, you might get DM601S3’s for $450 or DM602S3’s for $600. Then, finally, you could purchase a sub-woofer. CompUSA sells the well-respected Hsu STF-2 for $350. Then you would have a system that you could be proud of – until you got that all too common disease of upgraditis.

I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but I feel, like Bryan and depressed, that for $300 you would only by purchasing something that you would ultimately be dissatisfied with. I doubt if you will find many people on any of these audio forums who will recommend a home theater in a box.

Good luck!

[depressed]

Don't forget that more money doesn't always mean better equipment. $500 spent in local high-end audio store equals about $800 spent in a Circuit City. As Jasmit elaborated, you should really pay attention to your speakers choice. Note that in my previous I listed HTIB not as a suggestion, but as an example of what you should avoid. Mine contains a nice receiver, decent DVD player and crappy speakers as most HTIB's do. I used to own mid to hi-fi equipment back when I lived in Europe, so unfortunately I know what speakers should sound like. The prices that decent speaker 5.1 sets go for are out of your current budget range ( and out mine for that matter) However, if your current sound "comes out of the boom box", the HT upgrade will make you happy for a while. You decide how good equpment you want and ultimately, how much too spend on it. As Jasmit said, good receivers can be found for about $250. Fluance speakers may not be the best solution, but be assured they they are better then ANY HTIB speakers in that price range that you can find in Best Buy or such stores. Unfortunately, the speaker prices that Jasmit listed are accurate. I would suggest you buy a new receiver and look for used speakers that Jasmit mentioned. You can save a lot of money that way. For example, I found a used Wharfedale Sapphire- center channel speaker that went for $60 and 2 Paradigm Titans that went for $140 on Ebay. If I had the money, I would go with Jasmit's suggestion, no doubt. Otherwise, you might think about buying used speakers or a "all in one" box.

It all depends on how much you can afford and how much of an "audiophile" are you. If your ears aren't too hard to please, think about Fluance and such options, they will be better then the Curcuit City options, and the complete HTIB's, no doubt. In any case avoid the major retailers. If you compare Yamaha, Denon and HK receivers vs. other similar priced units, you will notice the difference, not only in sound and specs, but also in the quality and in the effort the manufactors put in making these.

[Bryan]

Typically the better HTiBs go for between $350 - $400. The downside to most of them is the speakers are not great. As for the sub ... if I were to go that route it would be the first thing I upgrade. Probably the minimum good system I would recommend:

Yamaha HTR-5730 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1077626339945&skuId=6303859&productCategoryId=cat03031&type=product) - $200 delivered. A receivers quality is important. Entry level Yamahas tend to be better than those put forth by Sony or Kenwood. Could go with a B-stock/refurbished Onkyo TX-DS501 for $174 delivered from JandR.com.
Dayton (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-632) Audio 10" powered subwoofer[/url] - $109 plus shipping. From what I understand it is better than the Sony SA-WM40, a very well received sub-$200 subwoofer. However, a SVS this ain't so do not expect crystal clear bass. Odds are 35Hz - 63Hz are exagerated which means this will be a boomy sub. It likely stands no chance with Lord of the Rings, Master and Commander, or the first 10 minutes of Toy Story 2.

Fluance (http://www.fluance.com) AV-HTB - $200 delivered. Not the best but no where close to the worst. You get what you pay for so do not expect the performance of B&W speakers. For a small to medium size room these speakers will be good. For anything much larger than that you will want to look elsewhere. If you are able to find it, the JBL NSP1 goes for $150 plus shipping.

Anticipate spending in the neighborhood of $500 or more for quality gear. The used market can save you money so look there. As an example, I bought a 1995 VMPS Large Subwoofer for $102.50 plus shipping. Granted it is not a powered subwoofer but that may not be a problem if you have something other than your primary receiver to power it with, even a used amp or receiver found at a yard sale. If you found one (used amp or receiver) for $60 that combination (with VMPS sub) would be far better than pretty much any powered sub you could find for $240. Keep your eyes open.

[jplatt8527]

do you think this panasonic ( http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&u=c&catoid=-8021&qp=0&oid=50660&m=0 ) is better or the yamaha you just mentioned? its basically between those two for receivers

[jasmit]

Normally, I'd pick Yamaha audio products over Panasonic. But, in looking at the specs for the HTR-5730 (http://www.yamaha.com/YEC/products/compare/htr_comp.htm), I noted that it is not compatible with HDTV. So, if you now have, or plan on having an HDTV in the near future, I wouldn't get this particular Yamaha model. I don't know if the Panasonic model you cited will work with HDTV. If HDTV is not a concern to you, I'd say go with the Yamaha. If it is, you should determine whether or not the Panasonic will work with it. Perhaps one of the more experienced forum members can tell you.

Good luck!

[jplatt8527]

im actually gonna go for the yamaha. it comes in a package for another 100 w/ 5 speakers and a sub. obv not the best quality but best value. it also comes w/ 25$ gift certificate for bestbuy

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1077626340240&skuId=6314614&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03010&cmp=++

thanks for helping me guys

[depressed]

im actually gonna go for the yamaha. it comes in a package for another 100 w/ 5 speakers and a sub. obv not the best quality but best value. it also comes w/ 25$ gift certificate for bestbuy

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1077626340240&skuId=6314614&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03010&cmp=++

thanks for helping me guys

Before you buy it at Best Buy, check out other online retailers, you should be able to save some money, or get a better package for the same amount. Also, if you have an Ebay account, you will surely find it for less on Ebay, unless you want to mantain your warranty. Sometimes you can still have warranty even if you buy it from an unauthorized seller.

[Bryan]

FYI, the Onkyo SKS-HT510 (http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/544279203?v_c=CJ&AID=10273773&PID=112&SID=999) is currently on clearance from OneCall.com for $199.88 with free shipping.

[jplatt8527]

do you need digital inputs to connect the computer to the receiver or will that onkyo package work for me? thanks. i have a dolby digital dvd player, tv, and ps2 that id like to hook it up to also. thanks.

[pwh03]

I have my computer hooked up into the cd in on my denon reciever, i use my dvd player for cds so i don't actually use my computer as a cd player but for downloaded stuff it works fine. just get an rca spliiter and plug it in the headphone jack then plug the left and right channels into their respective spots on the back of the receiver. it should be fine for what you want, but use the dvd to play your cds for sure.

and I'm not sure of the prive but hsu has a hometheater system that has been getting great reviews I think there is an option to buy it withouy a sub for not to much at all I would check into that you could buy the sub later if you felt you need it just a tip

http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html

I think if you got a cheap receiver with that you'd be happier then you good get the sub later wouldn't be much over your budget but if you've made your decision thats fine too have fun with it

[keithse]

I would suggest Yamaha YHT-450 over YHT-150
Etronics is selling this at $399