Best "Theatre in a box" for under $350 (1 Viewer)

[Carlos^Gon]

I want to buy one for the basement cause it is now like a den type thing. Im looking for one that has built in dvd/fm/am/vcd support. Thanks

 

[Mike-Post]

I found this one for $270

Phiips MX3900D

dvd
• 5 Disc Changer
• Plays CD, CD-RW, MP3-CD*, VCD, DVD, DVD+R/RW, Picture CD (Kodak, JPEG)
• Parental control
• Play modes (repeat/program)
* Plays MP3-CD (supports 32, 56, 64, 96, 128, 256 kbps and variable bit rate)tuner
• FM/AM Digital tuning with 40 presets sound
• Bass & Treble Control
• Digital Sound Modes:
rock, digital, jazz, classic, drama, action, sci-fi,
concert
• Surround Modes:
DTS, Dolby Digital, MATRIX Surround,MPEG Multichannel, Virtual Surround
• ClearVoice™ dialogue enhancement
• Personalized room setting with Seating Control amplifier
• 6 x 75 watts RMS
• 450 watts Total Power loudspeaker boxes
• 4 dual driver speakers (L, R, SL, SR)
• Cinema center speaker with 5 Multi-
directional speaker drivers
• 75W Twin Port Subwoofer connections
• Audio input:
- analog : AUX, TV in (cinch)
- digital : 1 x optical
• Audio output:
- analog : Line out (cinch)
- digital : 1 x optical
• Video output:
- Composite (cinch)
- S-Video (Hosiden)
- Component (YUV)
• Headphone : 6.3mm chrome plated
• Antenna : FM click-fit, AM loop
• Speakers : click fit general
• Volume indication of each individual speaker
• User friendly On Screen Display
• Eco power standby mode (

 

[ChuckSolo]

If you do some judicious shopping, you can get a good starter system by buying entry level separates. Separates are desireable because you can add on to them where as with a HTiB, you are pretty much limited to what can be attached to it. Especially in that price range. I got the following for my bedroom:

Sherwood 500 watt A/V receiver DTS/DD5.1 decoding = $125.00
AudioSource 6 Speakersystem w/powered subwoofer = $122.00
Zenith DVD/VCR combo = $169.00

While this system is about 60 bucks more than you want to spend, you don't have to spend that much on the DVD player. I wanted a combo because of the large VHS movie collection I have. Shave about 60 bucks off the DVD player and you should be able to come in just about where you want to be. The receiver does not have component or S-Video switching and only has spring connectors for the speakers, but for the price it is a lot of receiver. It does have one optical digital input and two coaxial digital inputs. I actually got my receiver for $79.99 at www.outpost.com but they are always out of stock on it. It can be had however for the $125.00 I mentioned at Circuit City. The performance of the receiver impressed me so much that I went ahead and bought a second one for my den. I paid the same as I paid at outpost because Circuit City agreed to price match the unit.