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home theater in a box question.....

post #1 of 8
1/6/08 at 6:49am
Thread Starter 
hi everyone!

hope y'all having a good start to the new year!

i purchased a Samsung 4665F in time for football season. what i am thinking now, is, that i would be interested in purchasing a sound system to go along with it. i would like to keep it in the $500-$1000 range. for example, i just happen to see a commercial for the Bose 321 GS II system that i thought looked interesting. i also see it has mixed reviews. i would like to keep the system as simple as possible---no need here for the "professional" system (with all due respect).

actually, i'm in the beginning stages of research, so, sure would appreciate any tips, recommendations and/or reviews of any systems in the aforementioned price range.

tia!
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post #2 of 8
1/6/08 at 7:26am

Re: home theater in a box question.....

To keep it simple in that price range, I would look at pre-packaged "all-in-one-box" systems from Denon (DHT-687), H/K (CP-15/35), Onkyo (908), Yamaha, etc. that have separate receivers and dvd players along with a 5.1 speaker system. Avoid anything with the dvd player built in to the receiver and especially anything with a "bass module". Those type of systems won't perform as well and are almost impossible to improve or up-grade on because of their proprietary wiring systems. And you won't find much love for Bose on any of these type forums. Do a search if you want to read some cat fights.
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post #3 of 8
1/6/08 at 7:47am

Re: home theater in a box question.....

most people here will agree that you should not buy the bose. i won't go through all the reasons why, but the big one is value, or lack there of. bose may sound better than your tv's speakers, but you can inevitably find something that sounds better than the bose for the same or less money.

there are lots of good places to read up on this stuff, i posted a bunch of links recently on another thread - make sure you read through the threads here. (aperion university is good for the basics).

there are lots of options between htib's and putting together a system on your own. there is basically 1 reason why i'd say you're better off putting together a system yourself - you can replace the parts easily. whether it is because you want to upgrade or something has broken, there are many options for a new speaker, subwoofer, avr, or disc player. with most of the htib's, the system was designed to work as a whole and will not work well if it will work at all with parts that were not designed specifically for it.
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post #4 of 8
1/6/08 at 8:03am

Re: home theater in a box question.....

You might also want to read through this thread in the HT Basics area for more on the pros and cons of HTiB systems. (And I would agree with the others that from both a value and upgrade/expansion standpoint, Bose is a very bad idea. You can get better quality and more flexibility for the same money or even less.)

Regards,

Joe
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post #5 of 8
1/6/08 at 9:35am

Re: home theater in a box question.....

The Bose® 3*2*1 GS system is nothing more than a pair of micro-satellites & a 4" woofer 'sub'. It is a computer-speaker system, nothing more.

If that is the kind of simplicity you want, a simple bookshelf speaker 2-channel stereo system will work wonders for you. You can find some very high quality bookshelfs for around $200/pair, and simply need a low-priced stereo receiver to power them.
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post #6 of 8
1/6/08 at 1:57pm

Re: home theater in a box question.....

With the budget you stated, you could put together your own system and end up with something better any HTIB.

***Official HTIB Alternatives Thread*** - AVS Forum
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post #7 of 8
1/6/08 at 2:52pm

Re: home theater in a box question.....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Garrett Lundy
If that is the kind of simplicity you want, a simple bookshelf speaker 2-channel stereo system will work wonders for you.
:thumbsup: (I was just about to ask buzzbomb if he even wanted surround in the first place).

Stereo definitely can still sound great and even as a major fan of surround sound myself, stereo's "simple" factor can't be ignored:

* 2 speakers, bookshelf or floostanding
* a receiver (or an integrated amplifier i.e. basically a receiver with no tuner,* since radio is so awful now)
* audio source (cable box, dvd player, VCR, CD player etc)

That's it.

No programming speaker sizes or crossover points, accidently turning on crappy sounding fake surround modes, etc etc.

Most stereo receivers also include a subwoofer output too.

Onkyo, Denon, Outlaw Audio, Yamaha and others have been introducing an increasing number of stereo receivers in response to the realization that surround sound is not everyone's thing.

* like this really nice Yamaha for just $450.
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post #8 of 8
1/7/08 at 6:29pm

Re: home theater in a box question.....

You cant find a used stereo receiver for under $50 in most pawnshops. Then you could get some really nice speakers.
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