JayG

~$1000 budget, need help

I have approximately $1000 and I'm looking for a complete 5.1 system. I'm new to the Home Theater scene, so I don't have a whole lot to go on.

I was looking into buying the Sony DAV-FC9 HT in a box ($700), but since I never make any major purchases wihout extensive research, I started looking around, and from what I hear, that wouldn't be a very good move.

A little background, music is more important to me than movie sound, although that's important as well. I'm a classical music buff, so that will be a large part of the music I'll be listening to, if that makes any difference. I'm also into classic rock and some new rock/alternative.

I heard the Sony system I mentioned earlier at Best Buy and it impressed me, but like I said, I don't have much to compare it to. Also, at the store all the speakers and the sub were bunched together so I couldn't really get a feel for how well it does for surround.

Ideally, I want to be able to listen to both SACD and DVD Audio. I was under the impression that any DVD player could play DVD Audio, but I have seen some conflicting information, so I would appreciate it if someone could fill me in on that.

Keep in mind I need 2 main speakers, a center, 2 surrounds, a sub, an amp/receiver, and a CD/DVD player unit, and my budget is around $1000. I hope it's not out of the question to get a decent system for that much.

One of the things I liked about the Sony system is its compactness, considering much of its time will be spent in a dorm room, but size isn't a deciding factor as long as it's not huge.

I hope I've provided enough info for you guys to go on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

-Jay

JohnPop

$550 Ventriloquist VT-12 with STF-1 subwoofer
$300 Onkyo TX-SR501 6 channel receiver
100-150 Progressive Scan DVD player with the features you want (search the forums)
$50-100 dollars for cables at www.bluejeanscable.com

That will throw you a little over the 1000 dollar budget, but not much

Pablo Abularach

I would go with

JBL S26 $150 free shipping x2 = $300
JBL S Center $130 free shiping
Pioneer VSX-D812K $230 + shipping
Sony DVP-NC685V 5-Disc DVD/CD/SACD Changer $204 + shipping
Sony SA-WX700 250 Watt Active Subwoofer $198 + shipping

A little over $1000 but the JBL studio series are clearing out, and are very good speakers, I think you will end up with a very nice setup. But if you cant pass the $1000 range you could change the speakers to,
JBL NSP-1II 5-Piece Home Cinema Speaker System $199 free shipping

Or you could also get a single dvd player, like
Pioneer DV-563A DVD/SACD/DVD-Audio Player $154 + shipping

Good luck with your setup,
Pablo

CurtisSC

I second this setup. I might change the receiver to a Pioneer 912,

curtis
Manhattan Beach, California

JohnPop

I had no idea on the receiver in that range, so I just said something that was popular So therefore dont go just off of what I said, but rather search for the onkyo unit and see what others suggest in the threads.

The Ventriloquist certainly looks nice and would be great for HT, but I am not so sure on two-channel performance, but I am sure nothing performs all that well in such a small config.

I would also take a look into getting two bookshelve speakers and a center channel for $550. You would get better music performance, but would be lacking the Sub and the surrounds which may not be a big deal to you. The sound should be more clear from these more expensive units, so youll have to decide whats right for you. In this category you may want to look at the ELT Bookshelve and center channel by www.av123.com This also opens the door up to many other mfgs. So ...

BTW I am getting the full ELT system with an upgraded sub. they have great support over there at www.av123.com and If you go for the 3 speakers versus 5 and the sub, then be sure to ask some questions at their forum

JayG

Thanks for the replies. It appears as though I have a lot to look at. The more input the better, so keep it coming. Thanks again.

-Jay

Ian_J

If you're a music buff, I recommend buying a quality 2 channel system first.

Axiom M60ti $800.00 (shipping is free)
Used 2 channel receiver around 125 wpc $200.00
Sony SACD player $200.00

$1,200.00 and you'll have 3D sound (but not surround sound).

Alex Prosak