New Guy Quetion (1 Viewer)

[kismetgeek]

I'm completely new to home theater and I could use some guidance from those with more experience.

I'm moving into a new house and I want to start things off on the right foot. I'd like to setup a 5.1 HTiB, but i don't know which one to buy. My friends are recommending a BOSE system, but some people are telling me that BOSE is not worth it and that the price is mostly marketing. However, I love the small size of the BOSE satellite speakers.

Can someone please recommend a good HTiB. I'm not looking for anything that will shake the house since I have a newborn baby, but I want clear, sharp sound with good surround.

If this subject has already been beaten to death, I would appreciate a point in the right direction.

Thank you for any help.

 

[schan1269]

Do you really mean a craptastic all- in-one with BD and crappy speakers that you'll be throwing away in 12-18 months...???Or do you mean a pre-package that you'll never outgrow, cause you'll be able to upgrade it as you go...???

 

[Al.Anderson]

The concensus is pretty much that Bose stinks. Going with satellites may reduce the sound quality enough that you won't be getting any better sound than Bose, but you pay far less for the same quality. Plus, you'll have a real receiver so that if you want to upgrade the speakers later, you can. (Bose works with proprietary speakers/pseudo-woofer, so you cannot upgrade.)

And I'm not pushing you away from the satellites. They aren't as good for music as regular (bookshelf) speakers, but they can be fine for movie use. I use satellites with my theater set-up and bookshelfs with my music set-up.

 

[kismetgeek]

I mean a pre-package that I won't outgrow. I wouldn't mind upgrading as needed, however, I'd like to buy the entire system in one shot from the beginning.

I would prefer to stick with satellites simply because I don't want the back surround speakers to become too large. My system is going to be used more for movies and PS3 than music.

 

[schan1269]

Denon DHT(there are several model numbers from various years)Onkyo HT-S5x00(5400/5500 etc) are very popular.Do you have any legacy gear(VHS/Wii)?

 

[kismetgeek]

I have a ps3 which I also use as my blu ray player. That's it.

 

[kismetgeek]

On amazon the onkyo ht-6500 is $655 while the onkyo ht-s3500 is $289. Is it worth the price difference to buy the ht-s6500?

 

[schan1269]

There is this, which you missed...

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S5500-7-1-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B0077V88ZE/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1365108498&sr=1-1&keywords=ht-s5500

It is wholeheartedly worth the recommendation over the 3500. The 3500 has a passive subwoofer that runs off the AVR, which means future upgrades to it require you to know how to build a subwoofer box.

The 5500 includes a self-powered sub. The only reason(well the main one) to buy the 6500 is if you have the need for HDMI upconversion. Which, if the PS3 is "it"...you don't need HDMI upconversion.

 

[kismetgeek]

I would purchase the 5500, but I don't have the walls for 7.1. Will it still sound good if I put the surround speaker pointing down from the ceiling?

 

[schan1269]

Then connect only 5 speakers. Keep the other two for spares or let them collect dust.

When you set-up the AVR, you have to tell it how many speakers are connected anyway.

Or you can arrange the speaker layout in DPL IIz.

http://www.dolby.com/us/en/consumer/technology/home-theater/dolby-pro-logic-iiz.html