Bob McElfresh
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- May 22, 1999
- Messages
- 5,182
Hello. I have seen a number of posts where people say "...I was told to stay away from HTIB's!" and I think it is time to correct some misunderstanding.
Here at HTF - we love these things! We recommend them to our friends. We buy them for our family. They are a great way for people to get a complete Home Theater system without spending $$$$ (Save that money and buy the larger TV.)
BUT not all HTIB's are the same. There are some differences and things you should watch for.
HTIB - Pop Quiz:
Below are pictures of 2 Home Theaters in a Box. Both are by Denon (a well respected company) and both retail for $580-$750.
One of these units is a recommended HTIB and the other should be avoided. Can you pick the one we would recommend just by the pictures?
The unit in black with all the speakers is the better unit and sells for $588-$699. The silver unit with only 2 speakers should be avoided and it sells for $740-$800
HTIB - The Basics
A HTIB is a packaged set of peakers, receiver, dvd player and subwoofer all sold together in a single box. The parts all work together and the hookup instructions are usually fantastically clear. (Instructions are easy if the writer knows exactly what equipment you have). This makes a HTIB a great choice for anyone new to home theater.
Most home theaters are built using parts from a variety of manufacturers. The each piece is designed to work with equipment from many other brands. A HTIB has all the pieces from a single company - but the better sets are made from parts that could be sold separately.
Here is how you can spot a 'Good' HTIB:
If you look for these features when shopping for a HTIB, you will find units that tend to be more flexible, have a more robust design and be much easier to upgrade in the coming years.
HTIB - The arguments against a HTIB
The guidelines above will avoid many of the problems that give HTIB's a bad reputation. But lets address some of the fears I have seen recently. These include:
"HTIB's are cheap and will fall apart."
"HTIB's wont do a good job with music."
"My friends will laugh at my poor-sounding, cheap system."
The last concern is usually the biggest. You just have to get over the snob factor. A good HTIB is a great sounding movie system from the start and allows you to grow over the years if your interest and budget allow. It wont impress your friends with glossy tower speakers, concert hall sound or how much disposable income you have. It will give you a great movie experience in your home with a system that has all the parts of much more expensive systems
"HTIB's wont do a good job with music." - Ok, there is some truth to this concern.
Music is a lot of different, complex sounds pumping out of 2 speakers every second with total accuracy being the goal.
Home Theater sound is often voices coming out of the center speaker, Low mood-music and effects out of the L/R speakers and occasional sounds out of the rear. Lots of quiet times and the sound is less complex & busy compared to music. The audio from a DVD is highly compressed, often artificial, lots of pauses and the audience ... is lets face it ... WATCHING a movie, and not focused on the sound. Oh, and there are five or six speakers handling this reduced load instead of just two.
All these reasons, and a few more, are why a set of 5 inexpensive, but tone-matched speakers properly setup can give you a great movie experience. But fire up a CD on this system and focus on just the sound and ... it just wont sound right. The less-than-accurate speakers will show their bias towards some sounds over others.
User Stories
Several years ago an administrator on HTF went to his in-laws for Christmas dinner where he was shown a huge box containing an HTIB. Since he was 'into' home theater, they asked him to set up the $550 system. The family ate, visited and watched 2 movies after which the Admin excused himself and ran home. He popped his copy of a movie they had just watched into his dedicated HT room and just listened. His system did sound 'better', but not 5-10 times better the difference in equipment price would imply. He posted his experience and we spent several weeks discussing the reasons & issues.
Several months later, "Stereophile Guide to Home Theater" reviewed this same system and compared it to their "Budget" system where the speakers alone retailed for $1,100, and it held up very well.
A few months later, a good friend bought the same system and I spent a fun afternoon setting it up for him.
Note: Kenwood no longer sells the HTB-503.
Last Christmas I bought the 'good' Dennon unit shown above for my Daughter's apartment. A few months later, "Home Theater" magazine took this budget unit, gave it a very positive review, then mixed and matched the speakers, receiver, DVD player with other equipment to show how flexible the unit is.
Denon 487 Review
Conclusion
There is a large number of different HTIB's out there and my advice may gloss over some really great systems that put the DVD player in the receiver, or use fancy looking brushed metal speakers, but built by a well-known speaker company. Don't reject these systems just because they come in a box. That money you save could let you buy that bigger television, or add in a PS3/XBox 360 or BluRay or HD-DVD player.
Please feel free to post your questions and comments.
Here at HTF - we love these things! We recommend them to our friends. We buy them for our family. They are a great way for people to get a complete Home Theater system without spending $$$$ (Save that money and buy the larger TV.)
BUT not all HTIB's are the same. There are some differences and things you should watch for.
HTIB - Pop Quiz:
Below are pictures of 2 Home Theaters in a Box. Both are by Denon (a well respected company) and both retail for $580-$750.
One of these units is a recommended HTIB and the other should be avoided. Can you pick the one we would recommend just by the pictures?
The unit in black with all the speakers is the better unit and sells for $588-$699. The silver unit with only 2 speakers should be avoided and it sells for $740-$800
HTIB - The Basics
A HTIB is a packaged set of peakers, receiver, dvd player and subwoofer all sold together in a single box. The parts all work together and the hookup instructions are usually fantastically clear. (Instructions are easy if the writer knows exactly what equipment you have). This makes a HTIB a great choice for anyone new to home theater.
Most home theaters are built using parts from a variety of manufacturers. The each piece is designed to work with equipment from many other brands. A HTIB has all the pieces from a single company - but the better sets are made from parts that could be sold separately.
Here is how you can spot a 'Good' HTIB:
- Speakers - The speakers should be small, monitor-style speakers that are all nearly identical in size. (The center speaker can be bigger). The connections on the back should be either binding posts or spring clips that can accept speaker wire. If the speakers have pre-attached wires - avoid the system.
- Subwoofer - The subwoofer should be self-powered (have an AC power cord). It should also have a female RCA jack on the back. It can have connections for speaker wires - but it must accept an RCA cable for input. It should also have some knob for volume/intensity adjustments.
- DVD Player - The back of the DVD player should have lots of connection options. An optical and coaxial-digital jack, perhaps an HDMI jack, and a cluster of RCA jacks and a SVideo connection.
- Receiver - This unit should be a large, heavy box that looks similar to receivers you have seen in the papers. If the unit is a "slim style", it wont have enough space on the back to connect all the other gear you will need to hook up in the near future.
If you look for these features when shopping for a HTIB, you will find units that tend to be more flexible, have a more robust design and be much easier to upgrade in the coming years.
HTIB - The arguments against a HTIB
The guidelines above will avoid many of the problems that give HTIB's a bad reputation. But lets address some of the fears I have seen recently. These include:
"HTIB's are cheap and will fall apart."
"HTIB's wont do a good job with music."
"My friends will laugh at my poor-sounding, cheap system."
The last concern is usually the biggest. You just have to get over the snob factor. A good HTIB is a great sounding movie system from the start and allows you to grow over the years if your interest and budget allow. It wont impress your friends with glossy tower speakers, concert hall sound or how much disposable income you have. It will give you a great movie experience in your home with a system that has all the parts of much more expensive systems
"HTIB's wont do a good job with music." - Ok, there is some truth to this concern.
Music is a lot of different, complex sounds pumping out of 2 speakers every second with total accuracy being the goal.
Home Theater sound is often voices coming out of the center speaker, Low mood-music and effects out of the L/R speakers and occasional sounds out of the rear. Lots of quiet times and the sound is less complex & busy compared to music. The audio from a DVD is highly compressed, often artificial, lots of pauses and the audience ... is lets face it ... WATCHING a movie, and not focused on the sound. Oh, and there are five or six speakers handling this reduced load instead of just two.
All these reasons, and a few more, are why a set of 5 inexpensive, but tone-matched speakers properly setup can give you a great movie experience. But fire up a CD on this system and focus on just the sound and ... it just wont sound right. The less-than-accurate speakers will show their bias towards some sounds over others.
User Stories
Several years ago an administrator on HTF went to his in-laws for Christmas dinner where he was shown a huge box containing an HTIB. Since he was 'into' home theater, they asked him to set up the $550 system. The family ate, visited and watched 2 movies after which the Admin excused himself and ran home. He popped his copy of a movie they had just watched into his dedicated HT room and just listened. His system did sound 'better', but not 5-10 times better the difference in equipment price would imply. He posted his experience and we spent several weeks discussing the reasons & issues.
Several months later, "Stereophile Guide to Home Theater" reviewed this same system and compared it to their "Budget" system where the speakers alone retailed for $1,100, and it held up very well.
A few months later, a good friend bought the same system and I spent a fun afternoon setting it up for him.
Note: Kenwood no longer sells the HTB-503.
Last Christmas I bought the 'good' Dennon unit shown above for my Daughter's apartment. A few months later, "Home Theater" magazine took this budget unit, gave it a very positive review, then mixed and matched the speakers, receiver, DVD player with other equipment to show how flexible the unit is.
Denon 487 Review
Conclusion
There is a large number of different HTIB's out there and my advice may gloss over some really great systems that put the DVD player in the receiver, or use fancy looking brushed metal speakers, but built by a well-known speaker company. Don't reject these systems just because they come in a box. That money you save could let you buy that bigger television, or add in a PS3/XBox 360 or BluRay or HD-DVD player.
Please feel free to post your questions and comments.
