IamLegend

I have 42inch plasma in my bedroom and don't want to spend a lot of money at moment on a sound package..have an Oppo upconverting dvd player too...
just want to buy a decent receiver/speakers all in the box-powered subwoofer and digital a must and if available hdmi is plus . The
Onkyo HT-S790 7.1 Ch. Home Theater System seems pretty good and around $400..any suggestions?

Thanks

Sdallnct

Nope

Wouldn't recommend a Home Theater "in a box" system. If you got to go that direction, guess the Onkyo would be a way to go.

SoSpacey

i wouldnt recommend them either.

this speaker set from velodyne is $200 and will be better than any HTIB you can buy. they are very well reviewed.

LINK

add a decent receiver from yamaha or onkyo. for around $200 and try and find a sub for $100.

DVD Josh

The Onkyo is a very nice HTIB, any way you cut it. The receiver is better than most standalones and the speakers are definitely above average. For the price, you couldn't even come close to replicating its performance and value.

Sdallnct

I don't have a problem with the receiver so much. If you say the speaker are ok, ok.

I did have a Onkyo sub, that was acceptable and that was about it.

There are always "deals" on Onkyo receivers. Why not get that and wait for a deal on speakers? But I will admit, $400-$500 is not much to spend. I guess if that is your budget, that is your budget. My current sytem used in my media room,

H/K HT receiver = $200
Celestion 5 speaker system, close out from BB = $150
Celestion matching sub, close out from BB = $100

I'm very happy with the speakers. Especially when driven by the H/K. I'm disappointed in the sub and starting to look to upgrade it. Maybe SVS, but that might be a little overkill. But then again, maybe not.

No, this is not currently available. But like I say, there are always deals.

Oh, looks like you can still get the Celestions for $170,

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/KEFAVP305

or maybe the KEF version w/sub for $300.

http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-.../KEFKHT1005BLK

basic H/K runs about $300

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=4887842

or if you like Onkyo the well review 504 can be found here and there refurbished for less then $180,

http://www.ecost.com/ecost/shop/detail.asp?dpno=2052739

or new for $220

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR504...4506467&sr=8-8

IamLegend

This again is my bedroom..only watch occasionaly at night..so for now looking to enjoy a little better experience then mono plasma ..once HD War is over and prices come down which they ofcourse will dramtically... will upgrade and get better set-up and dump present equipment...hence not looking for supe duper set-up-just one to tide me over a couple years.

SoSpacey

you have been presented with a few good non-HTIB options.

CinemaNut

Do not listen to audiophiles (unless you are one)They have a disease that no matter when someone tells them they arent AP themselves , etc, and even when ya say you want a HTIB system they have to shit on you.

An Onkyo HTIB is an AWESOME choice. Let them piece meal their stuff if they want - bottom line - and they HATE THIS...with a good moderatly priced HTIB system put against the same wattage from awesome components, one would need meters to actually tell which is giving the better sound.

shelland

I have this set - I was skeptical at the "no name" speakers, but decided to bite after reading a lot of great things in this thread. I have been extremely happy. I will not claim that they stand up to my Paradigm setup, but I am very happy with what I got for the money.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=87013

You could pair them with a refurb Onkyo receiver and a sub for your budget.

Sdallnct

No offense but your entire statement just plain wrong.

1. Meters mean nothing when it comes to sound. The only thing that matters is listening. For you to even mention meters to tell the difference shows well how wrong your statement is. Also wattage has nothing to do with sound It is the quality of those watts that count, not having more. My 40 watts per channel H/K sounds very, very good.

2. There are some extremely nice HTIB systems. But none that I know of in that price range. There are some high end systems, but they are expensive (and no, not talking Bose).

3. The problem is few if any equipment makers make good speakers. Few if any speaker makers make good equipment. It is not "piece mealing" a system, it is getting the best out of it FOR THE MONEY.

4. I do consider myself an audiophile. All through college I worked in the single highest end audio store in Dallas (back then there was little if any home theater). However, I'm also a realist. I have no need to spend $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 on an audio system to enjoy it. Example is my system that I paid less then $500 for. I enjoy it. Can it be better? Of course. Is it perfect? Of course not. But I enjoy it. And I have to say it sounds very good for the money.

5. Onkyo makes a solid receiver. But the only speakers of theirs I have heard sucked. Like I say, I use to have a Onkyo sub that was ok, and that was about it.

6. IMHO, with careful shopping you can buy a MUCH better sounding system for roughly the same money ($450-$600) as a HTIB by going separates. There are many a high end brands that have basic pieces that sound excellent. H/K, Denon and some Onkyo's on receivers, Celestion, KEF, Paradigm, NHT, Boston for speakers that with careful shopping you can pick up.

7. Speakers will make the single greatest DIFFERENCE in sound. Notice I didn't necessarily say improvement or betterment. For example some nice speakers from Klipsch sound totally different the nice speakers from KEF. You should listen if at all possible. However, there are bad sounding speakers and they are easy to tell even for the non-audiophile.

Sdallnct

To each their own, but this seems to tell me even more you should do separates. The only reason you would have to upgrade in a few years is if you bought a crappy system now. I guess I just don't get why purchase something you know you will throw away? Why buy it at all?

Why not get good speakers now and enjoy them? Good speakers never go out of style. Many folks are listening to speakers they bought 10, 15 years ago. Nothing has really changed in speakers (far has hook up, what sounds good, etc). There have been no huge new technology in speakers. Heck I still have a pair of 20 year old KEF 103.2 that I would put up against most anything made to today in terms of sound quality.

Also, a good sounding, high current HT receiver will never go out of style. Don't get confused with all the inputs or video switching. The main thing that matters is the sound. I have a 3 year old H/K receiver. But I have done a lot of upgrading in my dedicated theater room: New HD projector, PS3 for blu-ray, a new upconverting DVD player. But of every piece of equipment I own, the one I'm not even thinking about upgrading is the H/K. Why? I love the sound. And it is a basic model even from H/K.

thursdaynighter

My wife and I just picked up the Panasonic HT940 (1200 watt) HTS for $399. So far so good, but more adjustments to make.

hdtv00

"with a good moderatly priced HTIB system put against the same wattage from awesome components, one would need meters to actually tell which is giving the better sound."

LMFAO well there goes every ounce of your credibility. I mean seriously its on the verge of stupid. But anyway he said it was for a bedroom so who really cares get the onk package and be done with it.

cajun_junky

I bought my Onkyo HTiB about 3 years ago and have been very pleased with it. Back them I didn't know enough about different brands and components to piece anything together. If I had to do it again, I might consider piecing a system together but I would not discount the Onkyo....it has exceeded all my expectations for a system in that range. I will say that I will probably be replacing the center channel in the near future. That seems to be the only speaker that I could say anything bad about, but then my ears are not that demanding.

Good luck on whatever you decide.

Jediturtle

This may be the funniest thing I've heard/read all week, for at least three different reasons just in that one sentence! Actually, I HOPE it was sarcasm, otherwise it's actually fairly sad not only that he might believe this, but also that others might read this and think it's true. And no, I'm not what I'd consider an audiophile, but I could sure tell a world of difference moving from a KLH and Sony based system, to a Paradigm and Denon based system, to a Onix and Emotiva based system.

I needed a good laugh, thanks!

CinemaNut

WOW! I am STUNNED at my stupidity!...and AWED at your brilliance (as well as you feining not to be an audiophile while mentioning Paradigm and Denon vs HTIB and KLH!)

Your post aint even worth me commenting on any further..excuse me while I go shit and giggle

cpgator

If you think that is funny, you should read some of his other posts...
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=496617

True comedy

hdtv00

I bet you need to shit because clearly you're full of it. Not worth it but you just couldn't help yourself now could you.

Doesn't matter what I consider myself, doesn't make your retarded statement and less stupid or just plain clueless.

Jediturtle

Lee Harvey Oswald

Getting back on topic...

Does anyone have any thoughts on the Panasonic SC-RT50 Home Theater System?

I plan on getting a Panasonic Plasma soon and was thinking about this HTS. I like the way it looks but I haven't read reviews yet.

And no, I will not buy a HTS system based on the way it looks. But if it sounds great, I'd prefer it to look like this one (judging by the online pics I've seen).

Brian Shannon

I'll speak in generalities about this since the thread has gotten far off topic.

I have not heard this system. Any home-theater-in-a-box is a compromise. You need to understand that in order to hit a price point something has to be sacrificed. If you do not require alot of features then HTIB's can make sense. The speakers a likely not of high quality nor is the amp able to produce much clean power. For a bedroom I would think that this would be more than adequate.

As with any audio component, the most important thing is to listen. Everyone's hearing is different. if it sounds good to you, it does not matter what the specs are or what someone else's opinion is.

Good luck!

hdtv00

"if it sounds good to you, it does not matter what the specs are or what someone else's opinion is"

So someone whos only listened to Am radio all their life, shouldn't worry about hearing what 5.1 dvd-audio, sacd or dolby digital any higher end format sounds like. Just because you choose to stick your head in the sand doesn't mean theres not something far better out there.

If you dont care about quality at all get a HTIB simple as that, but some retard saying theres no difference in sound between one and a real(even cheap) system is pure stupidity.

Speakers play the biggest part in sound quality you ask me. The better they are the better your sound will be , even if its powered by a crappy HTIB. But if you care at all about quality you're not looking at a HTIB now are you.

cck

Denon makes a very good 5.1 HTIB system that sells at Costco for $499, the Denon DHT487-DV. It is not a $20k system of matched separates. It is what it is. And that is excellent value for the money, in my opinion.

Lee Harvey Oswald

^If you weren't so pissy you might be able to get your point across better.

I'm new to the whole audio/ht thing and I'm just trying to learn a few things and get some opinions on things. It's tough when you're just learning and don't know what your choices are other than the price range you want to pay.

Brian, thanks for the post. I don't think I can listen to every system though, so I'm trying to narrow down a few choices.

My biggest concern is if I try to piece together a system I won't know what I'm doing and get stuff that's not compatible or won't know how to hook it up.

Sdallnct

What is your price range? Do you need a DVD player? A ways up I linked some speaker/receivers that would sound better then most htib's at around the same price. Of course those are just examples.

Remember there is no advantage to the cheaper htib systems except that are in a single box (sometimes). I never understood how this is a good thing? What is the difference between putting one big box (htib) or several smaller boxes (buying each piece). In most cases, hook up is no easier (unless there is an integrated DVD player). But even then you are talking one or two add'l wires.

Speakers will make the largest difference in sound. Regardless of your experience, you will easily hear the difference better different types of speakers. Even nice speakers sound different from each other. That is why it is hard to narrow down until you listen at least a little bit.