starting from scratch (1 Viewer)

[jawbreaker]

i am new to this site, and to home theater in general. i have wanted to begin putting together a system for years, and am now going to be "forced" to. all of my hand-me-down gear has finally crapped out, almost all at the same time, and i find myself with only a pair of speakers, which most of you will probably tell me to dump before i start--they're bose 901s. they were given to me by my father years ago, and they have suited me just fine. i would like to use the 901s as front speakers in a 5.1 surround setup, but still use them as a pair for listening to music... i know bose gets slammed pretty hard on here, and it sounds like in order to use them in a home theater setup i'd have to get another amplifier... that all starts to go a little over my head. would it even be worth the trouble to have someone try to explain it all?

most of the music that i listen to is on vinyl, so a phono input will be essential on the receiver. and i'll probably have 3,000-4,000 to spend on projector, screen, speakers, receiver, and dvd player.

i don't really want to go the htib route, but with my (very) limited knowledge of home theater and my (somewhat) limited budget, would that be the best way to go?

i'd really appreciate anyone taking the time to reply to this post. there's so much information out there, even just on this site... my head is a little bit swimming, and i really don't have the slightest clue where to start. the temptation is to just run out to best buy and get a simple htib, but i'm pretty sure i'd regret that. but at the same time, i'm going a little stir crazy watching movies on my little imac screen and built in speakers!

thanks so much!

 

[amacsteeze]

Welcome!

First question, are you pretty keen on going with a projector?

On a seperate note, everyone has a pretty tight budget, and sales people know that. I work at a best buy here in Canada, and last night I sold a brand new Sony STG-920 amp 60% off haha. If you narrow down what you need to a few select things, go into one of the box stores around you and bargain yourself a good deal. Especially if you're potentially buying multiple big ticket items, those "sales-people" can be easily persuaded if you tell them you're looking to buy. If nothing else, go into one of those places, ask around and get some reccomendations on a good amp and speakers (not in the htib direction).

My recommendation for you;
Sony STR-720 receiver
Sony BDP-360 bluray player
As for speakers and a projector/tv, you need to narrow a few things down first.

Alex

 

[jawbreaker]

thanks for the reply, amacsteeze!

yeah, i think i am pretty sure about going with a projector. i don't yet own my own home to set up a "proper" theater, and i may even be moving soon... it seems like a projector might be the most versatile option as far as where it can go. for example, the best spot in my current viewing room is going to be on a wall with french doors. i was thinking i would hang a retractable screen from the ceiling above the doors.

as far as the speakers go, like i said, i'd like to continue using my bose 901s for listening to music, and as front speakers in a ht application, but i'm not sure if that's even possible with the dedicated equalizer that's involved. if i did that, i guess i'd get that bose center channel speaker, cos aren't you supposed to brand-match all your front speakers? like i said, i don't really know what i'm doing.

thanks for the recommendations on equipment, i'll check into the sony receiver and blu-ray player.


more suggestions are welcome! help point a new guy in the right directions!