Home Theater Forum  ›  Forums  ›  Home Theater  ›  Basics  ›  New house - first purchase
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread

New house - first purchase

#1
Rating: 0
11/18/08 at 3:56am
  • Joined: November 2008
  • Post Count: 3
Hello,
We just purchased a new home in a small town in Arizona (Casa Grande). We are in the market for an entire entertainment system including TV, receiver, amps, DVD (maybe Blue ray) and speakers. After price comparing, we are considering Best Buy, Fry's Electronics or Circuit City. The determining factor will be installation since we are not skilled enough to tackle the job. Does anyone have any advice on which retailer to go with - or stay away from - when it comes to purchase and install?
Thanks.
Export to Wiki
#2
Rating: 0
11/18/08 at 4:58am
  • Joined: July 2002
  • Post Count: 722

Re: New house - first purchase

When you say you're not skilled enough, do you mean to handle the connections, or is there physical construction to be performed? If it's connections you're concerned with, the forum can walk you through that.

As far as the retailers you mentioned - most of us wouldn't trust any of them. Beyond that, they really vary by location. So the BB 5 miles away might be leaps and bounds better than the one 7 miles away.

For cost, they're all about the same. For the best price you probably want to go on line. (But that's not the best way to buy speakers; for speakers you really need to hear them.) But the biggest knock on the big box retailers is that they probably don't have the demo units set up correctly - which includes calibrating them consistently; so unit comparisons will be worthless.

I'll end with this, if you do go to one of these stores, do not under any circumstances purchase the Monster cables. (They're average quality and stupendously over-priced.)
Export to Wiki
#3
Rating: 0
11/20/08 at 6:04pm
  • Joined: November 2008
  • Post Count: 3

Re: New house - first purchase

Thanks Al for your reply. I meant that I can handle the basics but wall mounting a large screen LCD is probably beyond my skill set. You mentioned better pricing on-line.
Any suggested vendors?
Thanks.
Export to Wiki
#4
Rating: 0
11/21/08 at 7:51am
  • Joined: July 2002
  • Post Count: 722

Re: New house - first purchase

I'm not the best resource for pricing; it's usually not my primary consideration. I usually either buy from Costco, which has decent prices, but I really love for their return policy; or J&R.com when I need selection. J&R will occasionally have a good deal, but you can't count on it.

With any luck you'll get other cost-focused suggestions.
Export to Wiki
#5
Rating: 0
11/21/08 at 8:42am
  • Joined: February 2002
  • Location: Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
  • Post Count: 1,279

Re: New house - first purchase

Here's an online cable vendor with a good rep and great prices.
HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

Lew
My DVDs

Export to Wiki
#6
Rating: 0
11/21/08 at 8:50am
  • Joined: February 1998
  • Location: New York City, Office space for rent - cheap!
  • Post Count: 19,273

Re: New house - first purchase

Quote:
but wall mounting a large screen LCD is probably beyond my skill set
It is almost certainly beyond the "skill set" of anyone employed by Circuit City, Best Buy or Fry's. If you want someone who knows what they're doing, you'll need to employ (or buy from) an audio-video specialist. Get references.
Zoloft and Paxil and Buspar and Xanex, Depacon, Chronaphin, Ambien, Prozac,
Ativan calms me when I see the bills.
These are a few of my favorite pills.
(Next to Normal)              HTF Rules & Regs     My 2009 Film List
Win cool stuff: www.hometheaterforum.com/contest for details!
Export to Wiki
#7
Rating: 0
11/21/08 at 5:10pm
  • Joined: April 2000
  • Post Count: 1,997

Re: New house - first purchase

The people who install systems from these companies know about as much as you do right now + a few hours of training. I would strongly suggest doing your research in this forum and learn how to hook things up yourself... it's all really simple now, especially with HDMI cables. If you don't want to research each component, just post a budget here and ask for some recommended systems. Additionally, there may even be someone who can come over to help you hook things up (you live very close to Chandler / Phoenix). We won't steer you wrong... good luck!

Greg
My DVD Collection

Export to Wiki
#8
Rating: 0
11/22/08 at 5:57am
  • Joined: November 2008
  • Post Count: 3

Re: New house - first purchase

Thanks, guys.
Dan
Export to Wiki
Forum Nav More Forums | All New Posts | New Thread