paulf7509

Hi everybody,
My wife and kids are absolutely into movies and so I want to convert one of our cellar rooms into a cinema room for them. However, I don't really know a lot about home cinema systems, this is why I am here :-)
Because obviously many of you have a home cinema system at home already and are probably able to give me some advice.

If I really do this for my family I want a very good home theater system with everything that you need to have. I did a lot of online research and found that there are a lot of homepages that recommend the same kind of brands.
I read an article ( you can read it here http://www.systemtheater.com/ ) says that the best systems out there at the moment are: Sony DAV-FR9, Onkyo LS-V955, Boston Acoustics Avidea 610, Panasonic SC-HT920 and Yamaha DVX-S120.

Does any of you have experience with one of these systems? which one would you recommend?

Thanks for your help,

Paul

Sdallnct

Searching for the "best" system is useless. There is no such thing. There may be "best" for your budget, needs, wants and desires. But there is no "one" best system.

The easiest example is speakers. You can line up three different $10,000 speaker systems. They will all three sound different. Which is best? Of course that depends on your taste, room, other equipment, etc. Speakers are the easiest examples of that, but equally applies to every part of your system.

Besides, there are some that say you should spend as much money are your room and preparation (acoustic treatments, running wiring, A/C-heat consideration) then you spend on your equipment. Even minor changes to a room can have a significant impact.

Last...you don't want to throw around "best" in a home theater discussion. You can spend anywhere from a couple of thousand for a nice set up to $100,000+ so you kind of have to set a budget. Then you can start narrowing down what is best for you.

Brian Shannon

You have not specified a budget but the "systems" you have listed are referred to as home-theater-in-a-box, or HTIB. While these may be good choices in that category, you may be able to asemble a better system yourself.

You have also not specified room size, type and size of display . . . etc.

shelland

As already stated, considering all of the systems you listed are HTiB's, none would ever by considered the best system out there. The best under $x maybe, but definitely not the BEST.

paulf7509

Thanks for your answers guys and sorry for asking for the "best home theater system" obviously this depends on many things.

The room I want to install it in is about 4x3 meters.
Concerning the budget I am not sure. You know I want a decent system, something with good quality for this room - nothing over the top. And my problem is that there are so huge price differences out there and I don't know what price range I should consider.

Concerning the HTIB systems, I have already heard from some people that it is probably better to assemble a system yourself.

Brian Shannon

Exactly why you need to establish a budget amount. Judging products based on price is a poor way to purchase equipment.

shelland

I agree - you need a starting point. You can always adjust if something really catches your ear enough and you can afford to. I thought I had a budget, fell in love with speakers that cost more, so bought the system I really wanted piece by piece instead of all at once.

And even a ballpark budget helps a lot as a starting point. But no one here has any idea what you can afford. If you consider $500 a lot of money, it's really not in the HT world. But if that's what you're willing to spend, then that's the budget you go with. If you're willing to spend $2-3,000, you can get one hell of a system. And if you want, you could spend considerably more.

If I was to recommend a price point to someone, I would say to start at $1000 if your pocket book allows. Going below that really limits what you'll get, although you can still get a decent system. If you can afford to move more towards $2000+ you can get a great system. Then you could spend roughly $500 on a receiver, $500 on a sub, and $1000+ on the rest of your speakers.

I believe I have about $2300 in my speakers and receiver, and feel I could blow away the system anyone in the "general public" has. Obviously there are some people out there that have better, but I am very happy. Of course, someone else might be very happy with a system that costs $1000.

So, the first step is to set a rough budget to get some general recommendations. Also decide if you want any particular style - bookshelf, floor standing, small, large, color, etc. Then you need to go out and listen with your own ears to make a choice for yourself. I listened to something and really liked them, then listened to something else and liked them even more. Probably because they cost more.

paulf7509

Thanks for the budget tip shelland! Your price point really helped me a lot - I think I am gonna spend between $1000 and $2000 on the system and will really start looking for all the equipment now.

Spiky

Good. Now, start with the sub. You barely have to listen to subs since your ears can't do much distinguishing of deep bass, anyway. Go here: www.svsound.com.

That will likely be all the shopping you need for a sub. Then start checking out other speakers.

shelland

I don't own an SVS myself, but after years of reading HT forums I'd take Spiky's advice (both due to things I've read about SVS, and from reading lots of great advice by Spiky ). I have no problems with my Paradigm sub, but have read nothing but stellar things about SVS. If I had it to do over again, that's what I'd do. And those cylinder subs look soooo cool!

Another piece of advice I'd give that I learned myself is to listen around, and don't be scared to go to some stereo shops instead of just the big box stores. First, you'll get way better help - they employ people that actually know what they're talking about. Second, many of the highest quality brands aren't available at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc. And last, contrary to popular belief you are not bound to spending more money if you go to a stereo shop. You certainly have the option to, but you will find speakers that will blow big box speakers away for the same money if not less. An option that some stereo shops also offer that could benefit you is upgrade programs. I bought some bookshelf fronts, and traded them in within a year for a floor standing. Then you can limit your investment initially, but still move up to something a little better.

Personally, I'd start by listening to some of the mainstream speakers at big box stores: Polk Audio, Infinity, Klipch, etc. I did that, and thought I was in love with Polk. Then I hit some stereo shops and it didn't take long for me to forget about Polk. Listen to a number of different options, and make the decision with your ears, not based on what anyone says online. I used the internet to build a list of brands to listen to, and took if from there. If you listen around and are happy with a $500 system, then don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

I happened to choose Paradigm, and am still in love with them. But there are a lot of great options out there - speakers are very subjective due to individual tastes.

Most importantly, have fun!

Sdallnct

Heck, I'd trust there newish line of speakers as well. I've never heard them, but I'd be willing to buy them if I needed them.

paulf7509

Thanks again guys for all the advice. I have started to look around for the sub online as I don't have a lot of time right now. But I will definitely go out to the shops pretty soon too to get some advice there.

@shelland: now after the first confusion is over and I have some sort of a goal in mind it is actually starting to get FUN :-)