Witch Home Theater Should I Get?

[Twiztid]

What one of these would you guys get? I need to know .. Thanxs !!

#1
Sony 180 Watt Dolby Digital/DTS Home Theater System with Built In DVD/CD Player 3 DSP modes 1 optical digital input 2 A/V inputs subwoofer preprogrammed remote Dav-S300 30watts x 120-10khz For $599.99 bucks

OR this one

#1 JBL 600 Watt Dolby Digital/DTS Home Theater System with 5 Disc DVD/CD Player *NOT BUILT IN*
mp3 decoding 2 optical and 3 coacial digital inputs
4 a/v iputs with s-video pacakge also includes 100watt powered subwoofer and universole remote for $999.99 bucks

Now if I get the sony one I'm also gonna get 2 3 way floor speakers w/ dual 61/4 woofers for 99.92 each.

Please let me know what one I should get Im also getting a 36inch SONY hdtv flat screen TV ... so the sony stuff would all go together. Thanxs and reply here later!

Or if you think I should get something else like polk or something leave your thoughts here thanxs!

[necros]

If the Sony one is the silver (Wega color) system, I can't comment on it, but if it's the all black looking one, then it's most likely the same system I got, minus the DVD player (but the DVD player I happened to buy is the same one they include with it :))

I really like my Sony system, the sound is great, and it can do DTS sound too which is another format just like Dolby Digital, but sounds a little better.

One problem I ran into though, is with the speaker wires that came with the system.. they were too short and I had to go out and buy replacement/new speaker cables. Not that big of a deal, only I got the heavy duty Monster Cable, and it just barely fits into the holes in the reciever and speakers, and none of the speaker end clip thingies I tried would fit. So, in general, the little holes that you stick the speaker wires into are smaller than normal, so if you plan to use different wires, you might run into this problem as well.

That's really my only complaint. The system sounds great even though it's considered "newbie" equipment. I'm glad I got it and I plan to keep it for a long time :)

[fdbowie]

These sound nice, but you may want to check out some of these if you have time.
Check out the: onkyo tx-ds484 as a reciever, can be had for under $300. Or a Sony in the similar range(both should have 5.1 and DTS. A Toshiba SD1600 DVD player can be had for under 200.00 and as speakers go you have many options, Energy take 5, 6 speaker set up which I have heard alot of good things about, and it comes with a subwoofer. It can be had for less than 350.00 according to this forum.Do a search, and you will come up with alot of posts. Or Their is also the Paradigm Cinema series. You might want to check these out as well. Anyways goodluck, and enjoy your new setup.

Fred

[Edited by fdbowie on 03-30-01 at 09:29 PM]

[SirPablo]

I hope you are not gonna buy SOny just because you think everything would work better if it's all by the same manufactorer. I would get the JBL system. Look at your power for one thing. 180 watts? That's not much at all. It's fine if you are putting this in a very small room. But if you are putting it in a larger room, say 15x20 feet, it will be hard to fill the room out with sound. The JBL system would do a much better job of that.

[CheapBastid]

Originally posted by fdbowie
...Energy take 5, 6 speaker set up which I have heard alot of good things about, and it comes with a subwoofer. It can be had for less than 350.00 according to this forum.

For the sake of clarity, the Energy Take 5 System does not include a subwoofer at that price, you only get the five speakers (4 surrounds and a center channel).

[donlaur]

Well,
I just got this today.
Sam's club for $339, if you sign up for a sams credit card or if you have one you will get no interest if paid in 3 months.

Aiwa HT-D777.

Package for $339 includes.
Aiwa A/V Receiver D77 that has s-video inputs/outputs, optical/coaxial digital inputs.

600 watts total output power... includes the 5 speakers plus subwoofer.

front: 120 watts per channel
center: 120 watts
rear: 120 watts per channel
continuous average power into 8 ohms from 40 hz-20khz @ less than 1.0% THD.

built in DTS decoder

built in dolby digital decoder

3 digital inputs (1 coax/ 2 optical)
s-video switching (2 in/3 out)
front av inputs
gold plated rca jacks
multiway speaker binding posts
digital signal processor - 30 presets
subwoofer output
phono input
digital am/fm tuner with 32 presets
ac outlets - 1 switched - 1 unswitched
multibrand remote control

speakers contain high performance drivers capable of handling 150 watts each.

powered subwoofer
built in 50 watt amplifier.
8'' long throw woofer
magnetically shielded
auto power on/off.


why do I know all this....
the box is right in front of me while I am typing away on my g4 ti powerbook and listening to itunes on it.

why am I listening to itunes on my computer and not the system?

not sure how to set it up yet.

Not sure what is the best to use... looking online I have found that digital coaxial is better than digital optical.
other than that... pretty confused.

Got a philips DVD 711... TV only has the yellow-white-red connector.

any help.

The deal was too good for me, should be good for a beginner.

[necros]

iTunes rocks :) I had my Mac hooked up to my reciever and it sounded pretty good playing MP3s .. go to radio shack and get one of those cables that has a headphone looking plug on one side, and rca red and white plugs on the other.. then plug the rca part into your reciever somewhere (I use aux for it), then I had to get a headphone extension cord to run from the sterio to my Mac.

It worked really well 'specially for some live webcasts that I listen to, like knac.com

You could do the same thing with a PC though if you don't have a Mac :)

[jumbojp]

Originally posted by necros
go to radio shack and get one of those cables that has a headphone looking plug on one side, and rca red and white plugs on the other.. then plug the rca part into your reciever somewhere

You could do the same thing with a PC though if you don't have a Mac :)

Trying not to stray too far off topic, but this is how I hooked up my computer.

Instead of buying a computer speaker system with the weak sat/sub combo I hooked the computer to an old Dolby Pro Logic receiver I had using a stereo-->RCA connector.

I hooked up a pair of 10" subs along with the 5 other speakers and it sounds great. It is only DPL surround, but that is more than adequate for my office:)