$300 to spend... (1 Viewer)

[Sanjay Joseph]

I've got about $300 to spend on a decent sound system for my TV at home. I know that's not a lot of money, but I'm going to be buying a complete system in about 8 months when I move into a house. I need something small to tide me over. Something with surround sound. If you've got any ideas, share it. Thanks.

 

[Sanjay Joseph]

I'd also like something in silver to match the rest of my set. I've got a Sony 51" RPTV now.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Being that you'll be moving and buying your "better" system in 8 months, why not wait until that time to buy the right stuff?

Until then, I'd just hit the movie theaters a few times a month.

 

[Sanjay Joseph]

8 months is a long time, man. LOL. Is there anything I can get for now?

 

[steve nn]

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.proc...2D+REFURBISHED

 

[Sanjay Joseph]

That actually sounds nice. Is that realy a nice system? Would it sound decent? What do you guys usually do with color? If I spray paint this stuff silver, would that look supercheesy?

 

[Wayne Ernst]

I think it'd be quite hard to properly spray paint these items. Plus, once the paint started chipping, it would look horrible.

If it's only for 8 months, live with the color.

 

[Sanjay Joseph]

Yes; I think that this is the best bet so far. I'll do some research into the brand. Thanks a lot for the quick reply, guys.

 

[steve nn]

MM-- Sorry I forgot about silver being part of the equation.

Bang for the $$ it is very hard to beat. The Kenwood 505 ranks up there also. If your going to go this rout. These two HTiB's should do the trick for ya.

If I spray paint this stuff silver, would that look supercheesy?>> Most likely

 

[Matt_Smi]

I agree if you get the Onkyo HTIB, just leave it black, it’s only temporary anyway. I think that Onkyo does offer some of thier HTIB setups in silver however, check out thier website. $300 is not a lot and does not give you a lot of options, but for that price I doubt that you will be able to do much better than that Onkyo HITB set, it is pretty well regarded as being one of the better HTIB’s out there. BTW Onkyo is a good brand, you may or may not have heard of them before, but they mainly make quality receivers, CD players and DVD players. I would put them in the same class as Denon, Harmon Kardon, Yamaha and Marantz.

 

[Ian-Fl]

The Onkyo site has a referb HTIB in silver.
http://www.shoponkyo.com/catalog_det...&p=i&ext_war=1

 

[steve nn]

Fry's has a Kenwood HTiB 506 one day sale for $199 if you have one close to you? (No shipping charges) The 506 is a solid performer for the $$ also. The Onkyo is better imo but the 506 is close.

Here is a link on another site.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-MCc3Flt...sp?i=113HTB506

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Yeah. Next season, MTV will have a new series out, called:

"Pimp My Stereo" or "Pimp My Home Theater System"

 

[ScottCHI]

at $300, why does it matter what color it is, sanjay?

 

[Garrett Lundy]

It matters because its HIS $300 and he can spend it on any product he wants. If a company wants his $300 badly enough they will have produced a product that will catch his eye, in this case a silver-toned surround sound system.


Theres my fancy college business-class education.

That and teflon-coated multi-blade razors are the biggest waste of money.

 

[DonJ]

I would wait the 8 months and used that extra $300 on a better sub, speaker package, or receiver. You would end up happier that way.

My friend got a Sony HT-6600DP HTiB he said it should sound better than My HK AVR320 Paradigm Monitor setup because it has more watts. Hate to say it but I laughed to myself when I sawe the look of disappointment of his was after we got the thing setup.

Back to the point is that any thing at that price range is going to dissapoint and let wanting in the end. If you really plan on buying a real setup in 8 months it will be worth the wait.

my set up
HK AVR320 Pre/Pro
Anthem PVA7 amp
Monitor 9 v2
CC370 v2
Mini Monitor
old sub PS-1000
new sub PW-2200

 

[Sanjay Joseph]

How much would your setup cost? Man, I though that modding my car was expensive. Now, I'm getting all these crazy ideas. I don't need anything RIGHT NOW, but all your inputs are helping me out. I'll think it over this week and make a decision. However, I'll let you guys know which way I decide to go.

 

[Ian-Fl]

I have a friend who has a $20,000 5.1 sound system. He has cables that cost $1000 each. The total value of my sound system is maybe a $1000.
His system when listening to music there is no comparison. However, when watching films with my system, it will still engage me in the film.
The sound with my system is clean, the dialogue is clear and the bass is low. It could be because I'm not only concentrating on the sound but the film as well.
I'm sure the Onkyo system would give you the theater experience when watching a film.
It might not bring the fine dimensions out but it will give you a high.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Sanjay what I'd suggest is you buy something that you can grow with later on when you move into the house. Now that might mean only getting two front speakers and a receiver now but at least you could then build on that system later on and not have $300 invested in a system that's really not going to last you very long. I'd also strongly urge you to consider buying used equipment to maximize your dollar. Since good front speakers can be quite expensive I'd suggest you buy a set of bookshelf speakers that sound good to you and that have larger versions that you could later purchase to use as the new fronts moving the old smaller ones you buy now to the back for surround duty. There's a lot to choose from in the speaker market so go out and listen to a wide range and pick something that you like the sound of. Also if you still wanted surround sound just buy some really cheap speakers from a pawn shop or garage sale for now...they'll do for the time being as rears and you won't feel bad tossing them into the garage in 8 months.

For example try this or this used receiver paired with these Super Zero's would be a nice starter system

Or else these are supposed to be very decent for the price.

 

[Sanjay Joseph]

$20K?!?! Sheez! Man, all that money on just a home sound system. There are so many more important things that he could have done with that money like help the needy. For example, he could have given that money to ME so that I can buy a turbo system for my car and buy my wife a big ass diamond...of course, I'm kidding. I've been to this one guys house and he states that one of his subwoofers in his house cost him around $5000. I believe it; the guy, as we found out later, was using money he got from investors to increase his quality of life. But that's a different story.

Andrew, that is another great idea. I guess that just having a good reciever and two or three speakers wouldn't be so bad. With quality components, the sound must be great.

Sound is important, but so is asthetics. I really like the way the Panasonic tower speakers look, but I've read bad reviews of them. I want something that is thin and sleek which can stand on either side of the TV. As you can see in the picture, there isn't much space on either side of the TV to hide big speakers. Would I need one sub and two satallite speakers?