Best Home Theater System (1 Viewer)

Hello,

I bought a Sony Bravia DAVF500 5.1 Home Theatre recently and realized that I can' connect my PS3 directly to it with the optical output. So, there is no way for me to get the best digital 5.1 sound from my system with my blu ray neither my PS3 Games. So, I'm planning to return the system this weekend.

That's being said, I'm quite new to the Home Theater environment and would like to know if you would have a good Home Theater System to recommend to me around the 1000$. Should I go with a Yamaha Soundbar instead?

I have a new full 1080 HD Panasoninc Plasma TV (3 HDMI connections). I'm using a Bell HD Satellite Receiver, and I have a PS3 (which I use for games and Blue Ray).

Because I do have a Panasonic HD TV, should I look for a Panasonic Home Theater?

Many thanks for your advice!

Jonathan

Here is an excellent system for less than $1000.
It decodes the HD audio formats, so you'll get the maximum enjoyment of your blu ray movies. Is the ps3 the old fat one, or the new slim one?
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S7200-7-1-Channel-Entertainment-Receiver/dp/B002C73WSG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273006380&sr=1-1

So, there is no way for me to get the best digital 5.1 sound from my system with my blu ray neither my PS3 Games.Should I go with a Yamaha Soundbar instead?

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There's no way you'll get good 5.1 surround from a soundbar, much less "the best 5.1 sound".

With $1000 I'd look into seperate components. Newegg.com has Polk Monitors on sale for about 1/2 off and Vanns.com has Jamo speakers for more than 1/2 off. Add a receiver like the Denon-1910 ($394-free shipping) or the Denon-1610 ($310 shipped) and a sub like the Jamo-550 ($199/ today only, otherwise $249) or a Dayton/Sub120HT from Partsexpress.com ($170 shipped) and it would be a pretty good system for around your budget depending on what you went with.

Get your wires/cables from either Monoprice.com or Bluejeanscable.com.

hi, i came across this thread. i am new to all this home theater systems and need little help. i recently built new house an want to purchase surround system. i like onkyo system suggestion in this thread, but would like to go for HT-S9100THX [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 0)]instead.
1) my living room is prewired for 5.1 system but this is 7.1 system. are the speakers wireless? if no how do i solve this so there are no cables visible on the floor or walls? i am not even sure if the satelite speaker outlets are in right locations. i can post my room layout here if it will help. thanks[/COLOR]

According to the specs, no they are not wireless. Your run additional wires in your wall, behind your baseboards or under your carpet.

Check out the Dolby Labs site for suggested speaker locations.

And you can use a 5.1 configuration with a 7.1 receiver.

Hi brankulo, welcome!

The 9100 is a very good home theater system. Even though it is 7.1, it does not have to be configured for 7.1 if you don't want it to. You can simply not install the extra 2 speakers and have it function as a 5.1 setup.

To answer your questions, no the speakers are not wireless in the 7.1 system. If you decide you want to set up the extra speakers, you would need two additional runs of speaker wire (regular 14 gauge, CL-2 rated speaker wire can be found at most hardware stores or from Monoprice.com) from wherever the current speaker wires originate (near your receiver) to the speaker locations.

As far as speaker layout is concerned, according to Dolby recommendations, for a 5.1 setup, the surround speakers should actually be to the sides of the listener (maybe only slightly behind them), a foot or two above ear level. For a 7.1 setup, the two additional speakers are placed at the rear of the room, preferrably several feet behind the listening position (if your sofa is against the back wall, the extra two speakers won't really work as intended). Check out this site for placement guidelines: Dolby Speaker Setup.

IMO, the difference between 5.1 and 7.1 is more noticeable in large rooms, where the extra speakers help "fill" the room better than 5.1. For small to medium sized rooms, I don't feel you're missing out in all that much.

If you're concerned about your speaker placement, feel free to post a picture of your room layout and maybe some of us can offer alternatives. It may be a good idea to start your own thread on the subject, though, since you may get a lot of input and we wouldn't want to divert discussion away from Jonathan.

Edit: Ha! If I didn't enjoy hearing myself type so much, maybe I wouldn't wind up repeating what Robert_J said...

here are 2 shots from my living room, speaker cables are circled in red. there is about 9' in front of the sofa to the tv. i would like to take advantage of 7.1 system, i have plenty of space behind sofa. i am just not sure how to wire there. we have no baseboard where i would run cable. i am not sure how to run the cable in the wall as there is gypboard already installed and finished. no carpet either.

Originally Posted by Jason Charlton /forum/thread/300324/best-home-theater-system#post_3687965

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You gave links and better explanations.

Edit: Post moved to the new thread.

response moved