Out of the Box

[Woochifer]

Why the rush? A home theater is an investment, and IMO you need to go out there and try stuff out. Listen to speakers, try out the receivers, etc. You're not going to buy a car without driving it, or buy stocks without doing some research about the company.

Rather than buy a home theater in a box, you're better off getting a decent receiver and then taking your time finding a family of speakers to build around. Amost always, the weak link in the HTIB systems is with the speakers. I've yet to listen to one with speakers that produce anywhere near full range performance, and all of them have significant problems in the lower midrange integration with the bass module. With a large room like yours, a HTIB will not work very well. Impatience and the obsessive need for all-in-one convenience drive the HTIB market, not sound quality.

You want decent performance? Take your time, do your due diligence, figure out the type of sound you're looking for, and build a system around your performance/budget goals. If you're limited to $900, there's absolutely no reason why you can't just buy the receiver and front two or three speakers now, and then add on as funds become available. I took more than two years to build my system because I decided on the level of performance that I wanted and determined that what I wanted would not fit within my budget unless I added on gradually. If you're wedded to the idea of an all inclusive speaker package, the absolute minimum that I would consider is the Energy Take 5, which goes for around $600. In general, if your budget is under about $800, forget about tower speakers. The low priced towers almost all have bass resonance and other problems. IMO, "out of the box solutions" with home theater don't solve anything.

[Deus]

I have a B-Day next week and an someone was going to buy me the solution. I agree this usually takes time and I meant to look into it I just never expected to get one so soon. The person will not wait as they have to give it to me on my bday because they are neurotic (sp) hahaha.

I agree with dumping the out of box solution. Any good suggestions for receiver and two front towers that I could later add rears to? Or should I get a front center and two rears ro start? Not sure.

thank you again for the help