Best Home theater in a box ?
 

Forgive me, if this is the subject of a FAQ, or is asked once every week. I am planning on upgrading my current audio system. I have between $400-$600 to spend. I do not really need another DVD player, but won't mind having one either.

I was wondering if people had any suggestions as to which manufacturer made the best HT in a box. Also am I making a big mistake buying this way vs. individual components.

The only reason I am doing it this way is for convenience.

Any help will be appreciated.

The simple answer is yes, you are making a mistake doing it this way. The long answer is that most people here (myself included) generally view HT's in a box as inferior compared to systems that aren't too much more costwise that you can assemble yourself. You might wanna start by reading this thread HTB's worst nightmare/Onkyo review and then perhaps people can start directing you to cheap alternatives to buying a box setup. I for one have had great experience with Onkyo receivers and Polk speakers, others here swear by PSB's which are also excellent and can be had relatively inexpensively. If you only occasionally watch movies or need surround sound then perhaps a box setup would be in your best interest but somehow I doubt you'd be here if that were the case. ;) Anyway, if we can convince you not to buy a box setup i'm sure everyone won't mind racking their brains for a component alternative.

I guess my previous post kinda left ya hanging, sorry ;) If I had $600 to spend on a home theater setup I would try and snag an Onkyo 494 from one of the online auction sites, maybe used if I could get it for around $130 - $160. I'd then focus on assembling a front speaker system and use any existing speakers I had for the rears. You could get L/R Polk's for $300 and a center for $250 or you could get PSB Alpha B's in the same price range again from an auction site or refurb. Either way I think that you'd be getting MUCH better sound then you would out of a HTIB setup and you could focus on better surrounds and a sub later. But that's just me, let's see what everybody else has to say.

Hope this helps some, maybe?

Thanks for the advice, definitely starting to think against HTIB, other opinions welcome.

I work for a home/car audio store and we just got in a new product from "Athena" who makes some very nice speakers. It includes 4 bookshelf size speakers, a center channel and a subwoofer...looked to be about an 8". I hooked it all up and it blew away any other home theater in a box i have heard. I think the retail on it is around $600-$699. Not 100% sure as we just got it and All i did was unpack it and hook it up :) Worth a look.

Definitely bookmark http://www.ubid.com/ and look for an Onkyo 494 or 484 that you can get for around $150. Then, I would personally head over to http://www.soundcity.com/ and pick up a PSB Center for $129 and the A/V's for $169. You can do a search for PSB to find what they have.