New surround sound system

[rickreeves]

I'm looking for a new surround sound system for the livingroom. Can anyone recomend a fairly inexpensive system that has a phantom feature. I want it to play through all speakers even when the signal from the TV is not surround. I recently bought a system and returned it because only the center speaker and subwoofer would work on half the TV stations. My old sony stereo surround sound system has a feature called phantom I think that plays through all speakers even when not getting a Dobly signal. I'm looking for a new system with this same feature in the $200 - $450 range. Thanks in advance for your input.

[hershon]

What exactly do you mean by a phantom system. In my receiver I have a device called all channel (and I imagine most receivers have this) where I can get all 5 satellites & sub to produce sound coming from a simple stereo source such as TV and VCR for example. You do that, or at least I do that by connecting the 2 audio monitor outputs from my TV by an RCA cable into the TV input of your receiver. My receiver is a JVC RX-DV31SL whihc though it retails for $450 you can get online new in a sealed box for $280 including shipping or get it new and unopened on EBay for $200 including shipping if you have the patience to wait 1-4 weeks for it to be listed. As someone on this forum posted a while ago, most TV shows aren't broadcast in surround sound. Again, maybe I'm misconstruing your problem as I thought all receivers have an all channel speaker option. On my system, even if I have it set to all channels, if there is a 5.1 dolby surround sound broadcast/dvd, the recieiver automatically detects this and it goes to surround sound.
I'm looking for a new surround sound system for the livingroom. Can anyone recomend a fairly inexpensive system that has a phantom feature. I want it to play through all speakers even when the signal from the TV is not surround. I recently bought a system and returned it because only the center speaker and subwoofer would work on half the TV stations. My old sony stereo surround sound system has a feature called phantom I think that plays through all speakers even when not getting a Dobly signal. I'm looking for a new system with this same feature in the $200 - $450 range. Thanks in advance for your input.

[rickreeves]

The system i returned was a KOSS. It didnt have the feature that you are refering to where it plays throught all speakers even when you are not on a surround sound station. It only plays through the center channel and subwoofer on non stero TV channels. Thanks for the help Im going to look up that JVC system. Is it a decent system? Anyone else have any recomendations?

[hershon]

Funny enough I had a cheap KOSS system as well but I think I still got stereo TV sound. I ditched that system within a month of buying it as I got what I paid for. I totally recommend the JVC unit I have and recommended, as for me personally it produces the best CD/DVD/TV sound I've ever heard especially for the cost- I'm sure there are much more expensive systems that sound better but if you want to get a great sound for under $1500 I recommend that receiver with Orb Mod 1 Satellite speakers and Orb Supereight sub and monster THX speaker wires & sub cable but cheap RCA cables for the best TV sound. Also Monster Component cables as well. Before I go on, if your speakers are crap/mediocore, no matter how good/expensive your receiver is, your sound will still suck. The Orb speaker/sub system I have & recommend is only sold by Orb Audio direct (go to www.orbaudio.com for details) as the owner/designer who I personally know from buying direct from him, wants total control and does not want to be involved with the hassles of having his product retailed in stores, such as being paid, etc. Also the JVC receiver I recommended has a built in progressive scan DVD player which I'm more than happy with but alot of people on this board are against as they feel you're better off getting a seperate receiver and DVD unit in case anything breaks down, etc. To each their own. Bottom line is for about $1200 give or take $200 you can get an excellent sounding system for the money. Whatever you do, I definately recommend you do not buy a home theater system in a box which by my definition is a receiver and speakers/sub all manufactured by the same company in one package. Without getting into debates/pissing contest which I did at an earlier time, Orb who manufactures/designs their own speakers will at the buyers option sell the JVC receiver I recommended if you wish. To me this is not theater in a Box as its 2 different components/products manufactured by 2 different sources who are 2 seperate companies. I'd also recommend getting an HD Ready TV as well if you have the money. Good luck.
The system i returned was a KOSS. It didnt have the feature that you are refering to where it plays throught all speakers even when you are not on a surround sound station. It only plays through the center channel and subwoofer on non stero TV channels. Thanks for the help Im going to look up that JVC system. Is it a decent system? Anyone else have any recomendations?