Looking to replace home theater system. (1 Viewer)

[Jammers]

I want to upgrade my home theater system which i've had for about 7 years now, I want to upgrade to a blu-ray player also. This system i have now is a Sony out of the box home theater system. I've always heard that getting separate components is the way to go to get the best sound. I've seen a few systems on Amazon like the Yamaha and Onkyo systems that includes the receiver and speaker package but not a blu-ray player. How good are those systems? I'm thinking of buying the receiver speakers and blu-ray player all separately. Would that get me the best sound?

 

[gene c]

Going with seperate components will give you better all around performance. The yamaha and Onkyo systems come with a regular type receiver which is usually a pretty decent model similar to the Yamaha 473 or Onkyo 515. The speakers will still be better than what you would get with a Sony, Samsung, LG, etc home-theater-in-a-box but not as good as what you would get from Polk, Infinity, BIC, etc. But the price would go up quite a bit. The Onkyo HT-S5500 is often recommended to people who want a simple but decent sounding setup. It comes with a powered subwoofer which is a big step forward.

ac4l.com has it as a factory refurbished model for $249 + sh. Add a Panasonic Bluray player and you would have a pretty decent setup for under $400.

You need to give us a firm budget to work with if you want something better than the HT-S5500/Panasonic.

It takes $750-$1000 to get a really good seperate receiver/speakers/subwoofer/bluray player. And you have to get lucky and hit the sales at the right time.

 

[schan1269]

And it would help to know your sources...

If everything is HDMI, you won't need HDMI upconversion, so you can "pay less" for the AVR and use the extra funds on speakers or a subwoofer...

 

[Jammers]

What about the Onkyo HT-S6500? How does it compare to the Onkyo HT-S5500?

 

[schan1269]

5.1
Networking
HDMI upconversion

 

[Jammers]

I figure i'm going to buy the receiver speakers and blu-ray player separately. Anyone got ideas on a good affordable receiver? As for speakers i'm thinking of Polk, Klipsch or JBL.

 

[gene c]

We often recommend factory refurbished denon's and Onkyo's from ac4l.com. They come with a one year factory warranty and many of us have purchased from them before. The Onkyo RC 330 is the cheapest 5.1 receiver they carry @ $119 + sh. For HDMI up-conversion you will need the Onkyo 608 or Denon 1913 @ $259 and $319

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKHTRC330/Onkyo-HT-RC330-5.1-CHANNEL-HOME-THEATER-RECEIVER/1.html

It's a very basic receiver but would be much better than anything you'ld get from a htib.

An open box but a decent deal if you can swing it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882115376R

I usually don't recommend Sony receivers but the 720 is about the cheapest out there with HDMI up-conversion. Or maybe you can find an H/K 1600 or 1700 as an open box or on close-out. But make sure the warranty is valid.

As for speakers, they are a very personal choice. Polks are always popular, JBL has been around for a very long time and Klipsch is a lovethem or hate them thing as they tend to be very bright. But definently look for speaker that are listed as being 6 or 8 ohms of resistance (very important not to buy 4 ohm speakers) and an spl (sound pressure level) of 88 or higher so the receiver doesn't have to work very hard. Polks are fairly efficient, JBL's about average while Klipsch are usually very efficient with their horn loaded tweeters, which also makes them very bright-some might say harsh=sounding. Listen to as many different speakers if at all possible.

A good place to buy Polk Monitors (as well as other speakers and receivers).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008225%2050012345&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&SrchInDesc=polk&Page=1&PageSize=20

Speaker packages on the cheap

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290066

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882325104

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882325104R (open box)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290066R (open box)

This is the same as the ever popular Energy Take Classic 5.1 but with a different name on it

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=9774&seq=1&format=1

Bigger speakers and a bigger subwoofer but not quite as good as Polk Monitors. Also refurbished and I liked it a lot better when it was $149 instead of $199. Still not that bad for 7 speakers and a decent subwoofer.

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/ONKSKSHT540/Onkyo-SKS-HT540-7.1-channel-Home-Theater-Speaker-System/1.html

 

[schan1269]

Also with speakers...When you find a speaker you like...buy the largest ones you are comfortable with. 90% of the time...the biggest speaker requires less power than its smaller siblings. Cases in point...BIC DV series(Amazon and BB.com)The 84 is considerably more efficient than the 32.Infinity Primus(Fry, Amazon and Ebay. HK has an Ebay store)The 363 is 4db more efficient than the 153...meaning the 263 takes less than half the power to achieve the same volume.

 

[Jammers]

How about in terms of a receiver? I hear Onkyo are about the best along with Yamaha and Denon.

 

[schan1269]

The best AVR is the one that does what you need.

What are your needs/wants?

5.1 or 7.1 or height or width?
HDMI upconversion?
Networking?
Multi-Zone? 2nd? 3rd? 4th?
Video for the zone? Need it SD? HD? Over component? Over HDMI?
Need 12v triggers?
Need what inputs? All analog? Is 1 each of coax/toslink enough?
Need any outputs?
How much do you want to spend?

 

[Todd Erwin]

Check out my just-posted review of the Yamaha RX-V375, street pricing for around $250. This may be what you are looking for.

I figure i'm going to buy the receiver speakers and blu-ray player separately. Anyone got ideas on a good affordable receiver? As for speakers i'm thinking of Polk, Klipsch or JBL.

 

[Jammers]

The best AVR is the one that does what you need.

What are your needs/wants?

5.1 or 7.1 or height or width?
HDMI upconversion?
Networking?
Multi-Zone? 2nd? 3rd? 4th?
Video for the zone? Need it SD? HD? Over component? Over HDMI?
Need 12v triggers?
Need what inputs? All analog? Is 1 each of coax/toslink enough?
Need any outputs?
How much do you want to spend?

 

[schan1269]

Multi-Zone is the ability to play a different source in a 2nd area/room. Like the game in the theater with music piped into the kitchen...

On most AVR, multi-zone is analog sources only.

 

[swaroopchanda]

I have Def Tech procinema 60 5.1 It sounds great for the price. Like everyone usually suggests in the forum, try to audition them before buying