Help!!! Beginner looking for advice! (1 Viewer)

[BradStoodley]

Hi,

I'm a student in Ottawa, Canada, and I've been very interested in bringing home theater into my life. There are a couple of things that scare the daylights out of me though. Price is my number one concern. I'm looking for something in the 400-500 dollar (canadian) range. That means about 11 bucks American! But seriously, 500 max. It looks like the only thing I can get is an RCA HTIB, and those systems don't sound all that hot to me. Can anyone help me? Make some suggestions? Please stop me before I go to Future Shop and buy a shinsonic system! Thanks

 

[ColinM]

Maybe you should try a 2 channel HT for now and get the rest of the speakers later, when you have more cash.

$500 breaks down like this -

$200 for the rec. (Used HK, Pioneer or Marantz?)
$150 for the 2 main speakers (Used Paradigms, NHT Zeros, etc)
$150 for a sub (DLS is no longer available, but maybe a new Sony SA-WM40, Used Energy, Def Tech)

I know here in the US you can find entry level DD/DTS receivers for $150 at some stores. Speakers are a matter of taste / budget. Watch the used section here for some good deals - search for what you want.

Good Luck!

 

[BradStoodley]

I should have mentioned, I already have a 32" Panasonic TV and a Panasonic DVD player... I just need audio (reciever and speakers + sub)Thanks!

 

[ColinM]

Well then, I shall edit.

 

[JasonG]

Hey Brad

Good to see another canuck around! If you definitely want to stick to that budget and your looking at a HTIB, then I would have to suggest the system I bought. I purchased it at 2001 audio video and it is the YHTB20 system from Yamaha. For the small space I have it really ROCKS. You get a decent receiver 5 small satellites and a sub. For a starter system I thought the sound was quite good. Just my 2 cents but I like its performance for now, and if I want to upgrade the route is there.

Good Luck with your purchase

JasonG

 

[Shahid]

Brad, you may want to look at the Onkyo HTS650 home theater system. Receiver+5 speakers+powered sub. Do a search for hts650 and you will get a bunch of hits. Beware though, that some recievers have a LFE problem in one of three playback modes, but it is my understanding that it was a problem unique to a particular production run and should be fixed (again the thread is on this forum somewhere). However, the speakers are outstanding. The system is also extensively reviewed on Circuit City's site.