First system (1 Viewer)

[Jeff s. H]

this is the first home theater i am setting up. the room is a 14x15 rectangle. i don't know much about speakers systems however i was looking around the Internet, i found a few 'Home theater in a box' systems that i thought would work good mostly based of price and wattage.
here they are in no particular order.

Pioneer HTP-710
Sony HT-5100D
Yamaha YHT-18
Yamaha YHT-24
MovieWorks 408 and JVC RX6010 recever

any other suggestions would be appreciated and if i could get a better sounding system by buying individual parts then i will do that i am fine with making purchases over the Internet, but am a little weary of ebay. my budget it about $1000. i figure i need 3 optical ports to hook up a dvd player (all ready purchased), Playstation2, And my PC.
TIA

 

[Gary Thomas]

Jeff: I recommended and installed a Kenwood HTB for a friend who blew his budget on a widescreen tv. I was pretty impressed with it's performance in his small basement room.

I think you would be happier, in the end, if you put together your system piece by piece. Speakers are the most important investment, in my opinion. You may want to start by purchasing your front speakers, then later adding a center & surrounds as funds become available. You can even start with cheapo surrounds until you can upgrade to match your new front speakers. I would budget at least $800 to $1000 for 5 speakers. There are tons of options.

Receivers are pretty inexpensive & getting more inexpensive. There are several options in the $250 - $350 range. I've had Yamaha & Denon. Onkyo are rated well. Look for 6 channel external inputs for future SACD or DVD-A capability and at least 3 digital audio inputs. I would also recommend Dolby PLII for your tv viewing.

 

[ChrisAK]

If the optical inputs become a limitation, remember that you can use the digital coax for the DVD player if the system only has two optical inputs. Check out the Onkyo at CC. It looks pretty good. Also, there is the standard JBL NSP1 at Etronics for $209 i think. Pair that with one of the budget Yamaha, Denon, or HK receivers(~$300) and a sub. I think you can squeak in under budget with something better than any HTiB.