firteen88

Hey guys,

Now that I have an HDTV, I'm looking for some good surround sound. i don't know much about home theater so excuse my ignorance. I'm looking to spend $500.00 or less.

I would like something with at least 2 HDMI inputs (so I can hook up my DVD player and PS3 - Would I also hook up my cable box through the Home theater system or can I not do that?) and some component inputs.

5.1 is fine for me....I don't even know where the other 2 speakers would go for 7.1

I know some will recommend I get a receiver and speakers seperate but i can't find anything that will get me the receiver with the inputs I want AND speakers for around $500

and if possible I would like it to have HDMI cross conversion (i think it's called) so I can hook up all my devices but only have to connect 1 HDMI wire from the receiver to my TV.

Anyone have any recommendations? And sorry for the ignorance, I'm just starting to get into this stuff.

buckee1

Recommending a "good HTB" is like recommending a good pair of cheap shoes...something of any oxymoron. The Best of this type I have found are the JBL/JVC units. They sound OK and will give you a little bit of a kick. Not a great set up but, not the worst either. You can find them at Costco/Sam's BB or CC. And the price point is generally anywhere from $700-1K

DVD Josh

Onkyo HTIB is your best bet.

firteen88

Besides a HTIB can anyone recommend a reciever & speakers that come out to around $500.00 (i'll be willing to pay a bit more if need be)

Brian Shannon

Honestly that will be very, very tough.

If you are talking about a receiver and 5 speakers and a sub for $500.00, a HTIB is the best way to go.

DVD Josh

No separates in that range will touch the Onkyo.

firteen88

Oh man, I guess I'm out of luck. I have to try to find a HTIB with some good inputs, that's not easy to do.

cgray

here's a combination that you could consider:
onkyo 605 receiver ($400 at amazon)

yambeka Audio 5 speaker audio system ($194 shipped, www.yambekaaudio.com)

Total price: right under $600, including shipping. The 605 receiver is pretty much the top low end receiver with HDMI, etc.; I have heard very good reviews of those Yambeka speakers, but never heard them myself. Nevertheless, pretty sure that most would agree this will sound/perform better than HTIB.

Note that the yambeka speakers do not include a subwoofer, but that could be something you add on later as you get some cash.

Sdallnct

This is over your budget by about $300...but it is my kind of HTIB,

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/KEFONKPACK

Sdallnct

Also if the only think holding you up is the HDMI inputs, you can aways get a good HDMI splitter from Monoprice on the cheap.

firteen88

Cgray, thanks for the link, I'm gonna look into that.

Sdallnct, you can hook up a HDMI splitter (like the 4 way splitter) to a receiver? and it will work well?

Sdallnct

Should, but not sure why you would want to do that anyway. Just run your PS3 and other HDMI sources to a switcher, then the switcher directly to your display.

Nothing you are looking at in your price range will process the audio over HDMI anyway.

Then just use optical/coaxial from your dvd player, ps3 whatever directly to your receiver.

firteen88

Ohhh so what your saying is....I can hook up my PS3 directly to the TV using HDMI, and then hook up a digital audio wire from the PS3 to the receiver? I will get surround sound this way?

Sdallnct

Yes...that is the more typical set up.

I have

Voom HD OTA reciever
PS3
Upconverting DVD player

They all are HDMI. I have a projector that only has one HDMI input. So I bought a HDMI switcher and plug the three above into it. Then output that to my projector. This takes care of the VIDEO

Then each of the three has either optical or coaxial to carry the AUDIO. So each of these go directly to my receiver for digital surround sound.

I like my receiver but it is several years old, so it doesn't have any HDMI inputs.

firteen88

Wow, that's great thanks!!!!!!

asianxcore

Sorry to semi-hijack your thread firteen88. Might as well ask the question here instead of making entirely new thread.

Concerning the HTIB, if my setup is:

Philips 727 (Component)
Xbox 360/HD-DVD add-on (Component)
PS3 (HDMI)

Would I need to just get the HTIB and all the separate audio cables? Would I need a separate audio input on the receiver for each connection?

firteen88

I would think you would need a seperate audio input on the receiver for each connection but I'm not positive. Also, I'm not sure how you would connect an XBOX 360 since the component cable for it has the read & white audio inputs attached right? i don't think there's any digital audio output on the 360, but I could be wrong.

Spiky

Yes, separate inputs. Or, another switcher separate from the receiver to provide more inputs. But if you buy the right receiver, you won't need the switcher. So shop for what you need, at least 3 digital inputs.

asianxcore

So for the three devices I listed, should I be looking for a HTIB with 3 optical inputs?

firteen88

does the xbox 360 have any optical outputs? i didn't think it did.