Home Theater Help

[wypych]

i had a budget for redoing my family room for a new t.v., coaches etc. so i bought everything i needed but forgot about the home theater system and i only have about $200. i no this not a lot to work with so i wiling to go over a little bit but not to much.i could really use your opinions please and thank you in advance.

[PDN]

Go to www.hometheatermag.com, then click on HT in a Box at the top right. You'll see some budget lower end HT systems "in a box" reviewed with the lowest package price of $599.00 (Onkyo HT-SR800) without a DVD/CD player. You're going to need to spend at least this much some sort of 5.1 surround sound system and another $250.00 at least for a DVD/CD player. What size is your room (LWH)? These HT's in a box may be too small for a family room. Could be designed more for a bedroom. Just a guess on my part. You'd almost be better off waiting and save up about $2K to buy something decent. All the best.

[blackraven]

Thats a pretty tight budget but here are some idea's
HT receivers Sony STR DG510, Pioneer VSX 517K or the Onkyo SR304 or 305. These all can be found for less that $160.

Speakers-Polk R150s for $99pr at www.crutchfield.com, Pioneer 3 ways the HF41-LR for $69 each at Circuity City. These actually sound decent for the money and have an 8" woofer. Infinity primus 162's or beta 20's for $200pr.

Buy a sub $100 upconverting DVD player like an LG, sony, samsung, jvc or toshiba to name a few, if you dont already have one.

For a sub- Sony SA-w2500 for $100.

If it was me on that budget, I would do just 2ch with the infinity's and wait till I could afford a center channel and better sub. But you could do the Polks for $100, the Sony or pioneer receivers for $150 and a DVD player for $60 for a total of $310.

[zepman1]

Well, $200 doesn't leave you many options, not even HT in a box. I would avoid the HTIB because in the long run is not upgradable and you won't be happy with it. Here's some ideas I came up with for some bargain components. There is no way you can do 5.1 audio anywhere near $200. You will have to add pieces over time.

Option1:

Front Speakers: Athena LS-100 bookshelfs (Audio Advisor on clearance $100)
Center Speaker: Athena LS-100 center (Audio Advisor on clearance $100)
Receiver: Onkyo HTR420 (Accessories4less reconditioned $99)
5.1ch. 100w rated (likely much less, but will be OK)
Speaker cable: home depot 14 ga. ($10)
DVD/CD player: $50 sony or something similar at Walmart

TOTAL = $360. Add a sub and surround speakers later. You need to get the front speakers and center right now for the Athenas because they are discontinued and won't get a matching set later on.

Option2: a little better quality:

Front Speakers: PSB alpha B1 (audio advisor (demo) $237)
Center Speaker: get matching psb center channel LATER (alpha C1)
Receiver: Onkyo HTR420 (Accessories4less reconditioned $99)
5.1ch. 100w rated (likely much less, but will be OK)
Speaker cable: home depot 14 ga. ($10)
DVD/CD player: $50 sony or something similar at Walmart

Total = $396 Add a sub, center channel ($170) and surrounds later on.



AV123 X-sub = $199
you can get decent satellite surrounds for $150 a pair.
upgrade to a better CD player down the road.

[bfalls]

I saw this on the www.agoraquest site.

Sony- BRAVIA 1000W - 5.1 Home theater system Dashboard

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=11-48730604-2

Looking at the size of the receiver and speakers, I doubt you get a true 1000W total all channels driven, but may do the trick until you have the budget for a better system. Bargains can be had, but most often you get what you pay for.

[L.J.]

Dang you guys are trying to squeeze a system out of $200

Good job so far

[Woochifer]

Forget about trying to do a multichannel home theater on that kind of budget. Best you can do is find a closeout HT receiver, and a decent pair of speakers. As your budget allows, you can add two additional speakers, the center speaker, and the subwoofer. Otherwise, you should take your time and save up. You don't need to buy the whole thing at the same time. I would generally forget about HTIB packages because the speakers typically aren't very good, and the receivers included in those packages sometimes don't allow you to upgrade.