Total NEWBY HT advice....

[J.F.SEBASTION]

Hey folks,

I see a few other posts about this but I'll get even more specific:

My set up is pretty decent right now thanks to the addition of a SONY WEGA tv I got over the summer...nearly killed myself getting it up the stairs into my shack....that SOB is HEAVY but worth every penny What a picture!

Running the DVD through my current reciever with a Boston Accoustics sub & satelites for a decent experience, but I know it could be much better with a home theater set up.

<<That march job bonus $$$ is already burning a hole in my not yet filled pocket>> http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif:

QUESTION: are those home theater's that come all in one package worth it or should I be buying my HT in pieces like my entire stereo?

A) It has to power all my other components
B) Not looking to spend more that about $600
(am I dreaming here with that price ceiling?)

What kind of wattage are we looking at & I guess it would be foolish not to get a reciever that could handle DTS right?

thanks in advance....


"THE SLEEPER HAS AWAKENED"

[stevevt]

Does everyone see where it says
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"><> http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif:</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
in the message above?

Well, it's supposed to say

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">((That march job bonus $$$ is already burning a hole in my not yet filled pocket)) http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif:</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Just thought I'd point that out.

[BartleyR7]

I would advise to purchase your HT components seperately. Maybe I'm reading your post wrong, but I assume you are just looking for a receiver. Is this correct?

You can find the Yamaha HTR-5280 for around $505 online (I think at Etronics). It puts out 100W per channel, has 5-channel audio, features a DD and DTS decoder, and it can handle 6.1 matrix ES/EX. For more information on it, click the link below.
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/DsplyModel/?gAVR00010HTR-5280

If the Yamaha doesn't interest you, you can get a lower-end Onkyo for around $600 or so. One particular example is the Onkyo TX-DS676. It is $595 from Etronics ( http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=onktxds676 ).

Hope this helps some.

------------------
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day."

The Widescreen FAQ (http://www.widescreen.org)
My Home Theater (http://home.cinci.rr.com/bartleyr/hometh.htm)
My Growing DVD Collection (http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollection.asp?alias=BartleyR)

[PoorBoy]

With that TV you should definitely build slowly. You won't the picture justice with a package audio system. Either look for a pair of NICE speakers and an old used intergrated amp, or go for the bitchin' receiver and plop in some cheap thift store speakers til the money rolls in. Definitely go in strides though, I have and I haven't regretted it for a second.

Receivers: Onkyo, Pioneer Elite, HK, Denon, Marantz (my suggestions)

Speakers: Paradigm, Monitor Audio, Energy, NHT, B&W, Gallo (just a small few of my suggestions)

[bdshort]

You say you already have a receiver and Boston Acoustics sub and sattelites. How many sattelites are we talking here? If there are 5 speakers and a sub, then you dont really need new speakers (unless you just want better speakers, but you wont find these in a $500 HT in a box) If your receiver is dolby digital, this is about as good as you can get right now as far as sound goes (the best being 6.1 channel DTS sound http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif )
If it's not Dolby Digital, and you have the 5 speakers and a sub, I'd reccomend spending most of that money on a new receiver. For $600 you can get the Outlaw receiver which supports 6.1 channel sound. (www.outlawaudio.com)

Brian

[J.F.SEBASTION]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bdshort:
[B]You say you already have a receiver and Boston Acoustics sub and sattelites. How many sattelites are we talking here?


Thanks for the input guys, guess I should have been a bit more specific... http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/redface.gif

I have only two satelites and a sub, & the receiver I have is an ONKYO that has served me well over the past decade....I don't even think that the words "PRO-LOGIC" were around when I bought this receiver http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/smile.gif http://talk.dvdtalk.com/ubb/redface.gif

So, the feedback I'm getting here is to spend some $$$$ on a very good receiver 1st & then go about adding speakers to the overall system as I go. I guess a box system of a receiver and 5 speakers is the quick , cheap & easy way to do it , but sounds like I'd be sorry in the longrun.

Everything I own currently is SONY (Xcept the receiver) so I might want to stick with them.......suggestions?

thanks again !

[ZenDog]

Well in the $600 price range there are a few brands that I think perform very well. These include Onkyo, Marantz, Yamaha, Sony ES, and Denon. You are pretty safe with any of those brands. You really just need to see which features you like more. I would also not buy a reciever without at least first listening to a few of the above mentioned brands to compare. Recievers are very subjective and you need to find one that performs in the areas that are most important to you.

[Enkidu]

I am in the same boat and upgrading slowly. I must say that a GOOD receiver IS the centerpiece of your Home Theatre.

I stuck around in the $350 dollar range for a Sony DE845 receiver which on www.audioreview.com (http://www.audioreview.com) got a pretty decent rating.

I have seen this online at http://www.inetshopping.com/products/receiver.htm and for only $299 looks like a decent deal to keep you under that $600 dollar range to get a decent receiver and some decent speakers. It has 100w per channel and the nice thing is you tons of inputs and outputs. It is DD/DTS compatible and the only thing I wish was better was that it ran a little cooler, but other than that it is perfect for my modest setup.

I just went out and bought some left and right front speakers(harmon kardon), and got a free center channel speaker for buying the pair ($460), and then am picking up the Sony SAWM40 subwoofer ($175) and I am just using my current 2 speakers for left and right surrounds. So for under $1000 dollars I built a pretty decent receiver/5.1 speaker setup.

But I would definately go the route of individual speakers and receiver instead of a whole package, because each speaker has it's purpose and you can spend a little more money on the speaker(s) that are important to your room and customize the speakers to better fit the listening area.