Suggestions on my Home Theater (1 Viewer)

[Assassin]

Hello guys,
I have been following this forum for the past 1 week and this is my 1st post. I want to appreciate all the members of this forum with one central idea - collective learning and helping.
So, I am planning to move into the world of home theaters now after all the ear/head phones crap. My living room is about 15ft by 20ft and its an apartment. I have decided to invest 1.5K into my home theater system now. 2 grand tops. I am also planning to buy the Panasonic TC-P55VT50 plasma.
I can figure it out that BOSE is over rated and its not the right move. Alright with that said, I have 2 options to consider
1. Complete home theater in a box system.
2. Buy each component (AV receiver, speakers, woofers) separately from each vendor out there.
Please suggest me some options from both the categories. That would be really really helpful!
keep up the good work guys!! Love the forum...

 

[Al.Anderson]

Is the budget for the receiver package and the TV, or just for the audio components (receiver, speakers, sub)? If it's both, you have some options but HTiB is in the mix. If the budget is just for the audio, then it doesn't make sense to not get separates.

 

[Assassin]

Panasonic TC-P55VT50 plasma is separate and doesn't interfere with my budget. 1500 to 2 grand tops for just my audio ( speakers, sub and receiver) + bluray player if i can spare some money from this budget.

 

[Selden Ball]

The speakers are the most important part of the package: they have the most effect on the quality of the sound that you'll hear. The traditional rule of thumb is to spend about 2/3 or more of your budget on speakers and the remainder on electronics. If at all possible, you also should spend some time visiting local audio/video stores (not Best Buy, if at all possible) to listen to speakers in your price range. You'll be surprised at how different the different models sound. Be sure to take along some music that you're familiar with, so you'll be able to judge how they should sound.
Modern receivers in your price range ($300-$500) include room equalization software which can help improve the sound once you have the speakers home. Unfortunately, Pioneer and Yamaha receivers don't include subwoofer equalization. Denon and Onkyo do.
Sony and Panasonic Blu-ray players tend to get the best reviews, costing about $100-$200 depending on the model and current discounts.

 

[Ed Moxley]

Hello guys,
I have been following this forum for the past 1 week and this is my 1st post. I want to appreciate all the members of this forum with one central idea - collective learning and helping.
So, I am planning to move into the world of home theaters now after all the ear/head phones crap. My living room is about 15ft by 20ft and its an apartment. I have decided to invest 1.5K into my home theater system now. 2 grand tops. I am also planning to buy the Panasonic TC-P55VT50 plasma.
I can figure it out that BOSE is over rated and its not the right move. Alright with that said, I have 2 options to consider
1. Complete home theater in a box system.
2. Buy each component (AV receiver, speakers, woofers) separately from each vendor out there.
Please suggest me some options from both the categories. That would be really really helpful!
keep up the good work guys!! Love the forum...

It all comes down to how much money you want to spend. In most cases, you get what you pay for, except with Bose. You don't even get near what you pay for with Bose.
And Onkyo usually gives you a little more than what you pay for (more bang for the buck). Of course it's better to buy all the gear separately, but it's also more expensive that way. But you usually get better stuff, unless you're getting the very cheapest separate pieces.
Nothing wrong with an HTIB, if that's all the money you can afford to spend. Just make sure, if you get an HTIB, make it an Onkyo. They include a real receiver, with plenty of inputs and features. Their speakers aren't bad either, for the price. No one can afford to give you great speakers for an HTIB price point. Good to great speakers cost. There's quite a few people are happy to live with, until they can afford better. Speakers are the most important part of a system. That's where your sound comes from. Good speakers are usually about twice as much as the rest of the system added together, except maybe for the tv.. To get a good sub, you'll need to buy it separate too, unless you're getting a package deal from SVS, HSU, etc. But, those packages are kinda pricey.
So, as I said, it all comes down to how much you want to spend. Some receivers are $150, and some are $5000 and more. Some speakers are $80 a pair, and some are $40,000 and more for a pair. I would venture to say that the average "pretty good" system, of the members here, is probably in the range of $2,000 to $4,000, not counting the tv or projector. So, for the $1,500 to $2,000 you mentioned, you can probably get a pretty decent system.
If I was buying a new system, and $2,000 is what I had to spend, this is what I'd get:
SBS-02-5.0 set of speakers from SVSound: http://www.svsound.com/systems/sbs-02-5 for $397. (real good price for these. On sale I think)
PC12-NSD sub from SVSound: http://www.svsound.com/view-all?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=18 for $749. (outstanding subwoofer)
Onkyo TX-NR709 receiver: http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-NR709-7-2-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B004V8KWQO/ref=sr_1_23?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1340392898&sr=1-23 for $549. (very nice)
Sony NSZ-GT1 Wi-Fi Blu Ray player: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-NSZ-GT1-Wi-Fi-Enabled-Blu-ray-Featuring/dp/B004D4917W/ref=sr_1_11?s=tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1340393158&sr=1-11 for $297.77.
The Sony and Onkyo pieces from Amazon, are on sale right now. Don't know for how long. Those prices I posted are their sale prices..........
That would be a very good mid-range system, I think. SVS makes some of the best subs on the planet. Their speakers are very good too. Would really be best to get an Oppo blu ray player, instead of the Sony, but that would put it a little over $100 more than your budget (http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-93/). I think the Sony does more than the Oppo, with all the internet stuff, but the Oppo is actually a better player. The Oppo also plays SACD and DVD-Audio music discs, which the Sony doesn't. I'm sure others are going to offer more options, with different brands.
Good luck with whatever you decide on.