Newbie to Home Audio

[rsd317]

I am a novice to the Home Audio game and was interested in purchasing an audio receiver or a Home Theater in a box. I have had HTIB before and was not overally pleased eith its performance(it was cheap), but for someone who was just starting out I thought it would be fine and that is why I am here. If I was to get an audio receiver it would only be used for a dvd player and ipod (using a y cable) and that is why i am thinking about the HTIB. I have always hear that it is better to buy components, but i dont know??? I would also like to have this receiver for a while. Please help me and reccomend what i should do!!!

[brulaha]

How much do you want to spend?

Do you still have the speakers from your HTIB and do they work? Are they acceptable?

Do you have DVD player?

[rsd317]

i do have a dvd player....a panasonic progressive scan and the speakers for the htib are not all that great....im looking to spend approx. 600-800

[bargainseeker]

For speakers in your price range I suggest Fluance, Station Street (Streem), or Home Theater Direct. For a receiver, I suggest the Onkyo TX-SR502.

[Mr Peabody]

The main reason to go beyond a HTIB is performance. Most any modern receiver will provide you with enough digital inputs you can throw away your Y adaptors. Use digital out of your DVD and I-Pod right into your receiver and let it do the decoding. I like Onkyo as well for mass market receivers but you can find fully loaded receivers for as little as $199.00 from JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic etc. The Onkyo will give you your largest improvement in sound though. There are several options on speakers. Polk are decent.

[brulaha]

Are you looking to spend the 600-800 on just the receiver or on speakers and a receiver. If it's just the receiver, you have plenty of options. Denon, Yamaha, Marantz, and Onkyo are the usual suspects. There's plenty more too, but those will probably provide the bust qualitative bang for the buck. If your after speakers and a receiver, you'll probably have to upgrade piecemeal. You can get a decent pair of front speakers for 200-300 and spend the rest on the receiver.