Newbie Help Please!!! (1 Viewer)

[adlenoir]

I joined the forum today after hours and hours of reading different comments. You guys are awesome. I have questions and will try to keep this as short as possible. Here is my history. I am very new to HT. After 2 months of searching for an HD TV (my old Hitachi 51F series has greenish tint that I can't get rid of even after attempting calibration with the Avia CD, but thats another story) I narrowed my choices to the 50" Samsung HL 5086 or 5087 series and the Sony 50" 50E2000 or 50A2000. I was basing my decision solely on the reviews at CNET and Amazon.com. (I only recently discovered HT forums). I decided that I didn't need the 1080p right now and looked at the low end models of each company because they were both within my budget of $1500. For a month I read pros and cons of each (from rainbow effects to screen doors to green globs) and went back and forth to my local BB store. I finally decided on the Samsung because the pictures were both great and so close in my opinion and there was a $200 advantage to the Samsung. I found, however that I could get the 1080p version (HL 5087xx) of this model online for less than the price BB was charging for the 5086 model. I hesitantly decided to order online and it should be here in within 2 weeks. (In time to see Colts win superbowl!). My wife is worried sick about ordering an item like this online. We'll see how it goes. Now I am ready for some type surround sound. My wife sees me looking at CNET and Amazon again and doesn't want me to wait another 2 months to make a decision. She told me about this website so I went here yesterday and literally spent 5 hours reading all the comments and rebuttals. I decided to join and ask my questions and base my decision on your expertise. I am sorry for being so long winded but I have learned so much that I realize I don't know anything about HT. Like I said, I am looking for surround sound, here are my questions/constraints

1)My room is 15 x 17 and my budget is only $800.

2) My wife is OK with the speakers but doesn't want wires running everywhere. I have no idea how this is accomplished without pulling up carpet to get to the rear speakers. Any suggestions?

3) I have a 4 year old Sony STR-DE 685 5.1 receiver and a Sony progressive scan DVD player that my be able to help me stay within my budget if you think they are still viable for my setup.

3) Before coming to this website I had narrowed my choices to the Onkyo HTIB because and the Samsung Q85 HTIB because of the CNET reviews. I was leaning towards the Samsung because of the wireless capability and hdmi inputs which seem to be rare on htib. Also, no need to spend extra cash on stands. Any experience with either model?

4) After reading comments in here separate components seem to be the way to go. I read here where speakers from Athena (.5), Velodyne (CHT), Polk (R15), and Infinity (Primus 150) are better options matched with maybe an Onkyo or Pioneer receiver. I live in a small town in Indiana and would probably have to go all the way to Indy to hear these type of speakers. Any pros/cons? Would it make that much more of a difference with these vs. the htibs to the average consumer? I would use them 90% of the time for movies.

5) One of the reviews stated that the Samsung HTIB Hdmi input cannot be used with cable boxes because of some type of restriction on the cable boxes. It also said that the hdmi input uses a "pass through" which makes it useless anyway. What does this mean in layman's terms? Is the upconversion worth it or will my old sony progressive scan do just fine?

6) Ebay has speakers at unbelievable prices, but how do I know which companies are reputable?


Again, sorry for the long entry. I just have so many questions and I want to make an informed choice. Any help would be appreciated and probably save my marriage. Thanks in advance!

 

[Alon Goldberg]

You may want to consider the HSU Performance 2 Package for $519, which includes:

- HSU Ventriloquist VT-12 satellite speakers
- HSU STF-2 subwoofer

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/performance2.html

You could give these speakers a go with your current receiver and see if you're happy with the sound. If not, find yourself a $300 receiver from Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo or Pioneer, and you're all set.

If you have any budget left over my first picks would be an Oppo 971 DVD Player ($200) or Logitech Harmony 880 Remote ($150).

 

[adlenoir]

Thank you, Alon. These speakers have received huge positve responses from the HT forums so they must be very good. I may have to stretch my budget and get the dvd player you recommended if you feel it will make a difference. Thanks again for the response.