HTIB, $500, suggestions needed (and another option) (1 Viewer)

[BrianTwig]

Alright, I know HTIBs are not the preferred way to go, but some peoples living situation, interest (or lack of) in HT, and budget require them.

Have a friend who just got a new 46" Sammy DLP. Looks great. Now he is looking for something a little "extra" in the audio department. He won't be using it for theater level volume and will rarely if ever really pump the volume. And has no desire for house rattling bass.

Regardless of my protests against HTIB he keeps coming to me with "how about this one?" "This one any good?" In his defense, he just doesn't care. He has ample funds for a true, top notch, envy of the neighbors system. He just isn't "in to" it enough to ever spend that kind of money on such a system. Different people, different vices.

So, in an effort to help him at least get an HTIB that won't totally suck I am coming here for some suggestions for him to look at. What say you?

Also, the placement of the surround speakers may be an issue because of the "openess" of the area he is in, and cable runs will be all over the place and hard to hide. I have heard terrible things about wireless surrounds, but if there are any HTIBs that have ones that perform to an acceptable level (for what they are) suggestions on those would be appreciated.

But with the trouble of hiding wires I have considered trying to get him to purchase a decent 2.1 or 3.1 system with a small bump in his budget today and that he can expand to 5.1 down the road if he so desires. Being a big fan of SVS I have thought about going with a PB10 from B-stock to save a few bucks and a pair of SBS-01s and a decent yet affordable receiver.

So I am open to all HTIB suggestions and some 3.1 suggestions including a receiver.

Thanks!

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

3.1 w/ a good sub, bookshelfs, and an entry level receiver would probably be the best route in terms of sound quality... though it won't be the full surround sound experience w/out some surround speakers. It's tough to even do 3.1 w/ a good sub at $500, though w/ a budget bump it wouldn't be too hard to do 5.1 one. IF you can get him to up his budget up to around $750 then you could put together a very nice true surround system. Something like:

JVC RXD401B - $192, eCost
AR XP62 Bookshelf Mains - $99, J&R
AR XP242c Center - $59, J&R
AR XP62 Surrounds - $99, J&R
JBL S120PII Subwoofer - $298, J&R

Alot of the entry-level JBL subs have earned the reputation as bloated and boomy... and rightfully so. The S120PII was the JBL Studio series sub and is a definite step up. It was also highly rated by Tom Nusane. The AR speakers are being closed out and represent an EXTREME value. There are a few threads here and elsewhere discussing them, one on AVS even has a full review with pictures. The JVC RXD401B is a nice little digital path receiver with HDMI audio/video switching/repeating and analog-video conversion to HDMI. Some of the early versions were buggy in terms of HDMI but these are refurbs and should be problem-free.

I'd wait until J&R is running free shipping or call and try to negotiate free shipping.

 

[BrianTwig]

Thanks! Others, please keep the suggestions coming.

Stephen,

How about swapping out the XP62s for the ARVP600 floor standing speakers for the front channels. Bumps the price a little, but I think it might be worth it, since stands are going to be needed for the 62s he is likely within a few dollars either way. Would the ARVP600s match up well with the 62s as surrounds?

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

That'd probably be a good choice but shipping might be high if you had to pay it.

 

[Greg Gable]

I had a similar situation in one of my rooms. I purchased the Sony Dream system and for what it is...it works fine. I never had any problem with the wireless surround speakers. Just to make it clear; I dont like Sony products or HTIB but this fit my needs at the time. If your friend lives in Texas; I can dig it out and sale it.

All this being said; Talk him into the SVS system or something like it.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

Also, if he does decide to go HTIB, there are some decent options from Onkyo. The Onkyo HT-S907 goes for $699 from J&R and includes the SR604 HDMI switching receiver, CP704 6 Disc HDMI DVD Changer, and 7.1 speaker/sub... the speakers & sub, however, are probably the weak point, but for the price and quality of electronics included it's a pretty solid deal.

 

[BrianTwig]

What about something like this...

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/it...ures/501999644

Onkyo HT-S990THX (7.1)? Price is $860 with free shipping.

I am still trying to push the 5.1 SBS system from SVS, but at $1,000 he will likely end up nearer to $1,500 after getting a decent receiver, speaker stands, RCA cable for the sub, speaker connections, etc... and that might not sit well with him. With the above system, he will still be likely closer to $1,200 when all is said and done. Maybe a little less.

For an HTIB, the speakers at least seem a little more beefy for lack of a better term. But I can't find any stats on the sub.

Thanks for the suggestions. Hopefully a few more will roll in.

 

[ThomasC]

How about the HSU Ventriloquist speakers and a HSU sub? You can have a combination of the two starting at $449. I would go with Denon for a receiver, and they start at $299.

How is his area "open?" Not many walls, high ceiling, a combination of the two, or what?

 

[BrianTwig]

His area is open as in it has a ceiling that slopes from 9 feet to in excess of 20 feet with a big open loft up there. Room is about 20' wide and about 30' deep, with it opening to the entrance foyer of the home and dinning room.

Hows that for a challenging room for a low budget system!

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

I've actually read pretty good things about that Onkyo THX HTIB. The magazine review I read only really complained about the lack of HDMI on the receiver.

That said if you can push near the $900 range I'd look at something like the AR XP62 Bookshelfs ($99/pr) and XP242c Center ($60/ea) along w/ a PE Dayton 12" Sub ($150), Onkyo SR604 Receiver ($330), and Oppp Digital 970HD DVD Player ($150). If you don't need the DVD Player then replace it and the Dayton sub with the JBL S120PII or Dayton 15" sub kit (both $300/ea).

 

[BrianTwig]

How important is it for the DVD to go through the receiver and then to the TV via HDMI?

As you can see from my sig, I have the Marantz SR5600 which doesn't have HDMI and I just plug the DVD directly into the TV via HDMI and connect it to the Marantz with an optical.

I figure that arraingement would work just fine if a receiver lacking HDMI had a lower price and allowed a few more dollars to go to other components.

My TV is a 720p, and so is the TV of the guy I am inquiring for. A 46" Samsung DLP.

 

[Stephen Hopkins]

If you're using component video for DVD then there's no advantage to going through the receiver outside of switching (having one input on the tv and switching sources on the receiver). By skipping HDMI you will, however, be closing yourself off from next-gen disc formats like HD-DVD and BluRay which may require HDMI for resolutions over 480p and DO requrie HDMI for losless audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD (player decoded and passed as LPCM over HDMI).