best HTIB for the money? (1 Viewer)

[Victor_W]

Hi all,

I am actually doing this for a friend mine. He is looking into getting a Home Theater in a Box (HTIB) because he really doesn't want to spend a lot of money for this. I was just wondering, what are your opinions on some of the lower end HTIB kits out there? As for a price range, anything under 500. I know this isn't gonna give a lot of choices but any other suggestions would help.

Thanks all

Vic

 

[Steve Cross]

I've owned the sony htddw740 and 840 and they both sound great IMO. they have small 2.5" sats and a powered sub, auto input select which is nice for digital cable, DD, DTS, and like 10 DSP modes, the 840 has DPL II, 20 more watts per speaker, and 50 more watts on the sub. It was a snap to get it going right out of the box. the only thing its missing is S-Video. $269-$399

Good luck
Steve

P.S.- you can put together a nice set up with a lower end onkyo and htd, klh, or even better JBL bookshelf speakers, easily under $500 and very upgadeable.

 

[Yee-Ming]

the Yamaha Cinemastation VS-10 is very nice for its price (dunno what in the US, Singapore it was S$800 = US$450 when I bought it, but probably cheaper today), but it doesn't have a DVD player, just "receiver" and 6 speakers (including sub).

 

[Phil_Lunar]

You should check for the Kenwood HTB-50X(should be 505 by now) series, they are very popular on well rated on audioreview. I almost bought a 504 last fall(finally got a custom Kenwood demo set) It should be in thr 500$ range and it's probably the best bang for the buck under 1k.

 

[Albert M]

Kenwood HTB-505, you should be able to get an internet price match from Sears.

 

[ToddAC]

The Sony HT-1700D seems like the best deal to me. 80 Watts X 5 Channels, 100 watt powered sub, and a separate DVD player.
The speakers leave a bit to be desired, but what do you want for $500.
I think it the best deal for a system with a DVD.

 

[Ted Lee]

go with the kenwood htb-505. very highly regarded. i heard the 504 and was pretty impressed:
http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/pr...oductTypeId=33

 

[Victor_W]

Hi,

OK.. it seems my friend's budget as gotten lower... He's looking at something in the 300-400 range now.. I was looking at the other Kenwoods, like the 405 or the 305. any opinions on these?

thanks

 

[Victor_W]

oops... instead of the Kenwood 305.. I meant the Kenwoods 205....

 

[ToddAC]

All of the Kenwoods are great (except the DVT-505), but where are you going without a DVD player?

What good is great sound if you don't have anything to hear? The SONY 1700D covers all of the bases.

 

[Victor_W]

My friend's got a Sony dvd player.. so he's just looking for a reciever and speaker set

 

[Albert M]

I would tell him to save the money for the Kenwood HTB-505. Sears or another store may have last years HTB-504 on clearance. These are the only two under $500 Kenwood systems I would buy.

 

[steve nn]

The 504 is absolutely great. I think the Onkyo 650 would be the ONLY other I would consider, even well beyond this price point.