Need help choosing components for a <$1000 system (1 Viewer)

[Rick_N]

First off I'm a newbie and don't understand all the lingo you guys are throwing out here but I'm learning as fast as I can. Getting a house in probably 6 months from now and I want a sound system for it. I currently have a JBL home theater in a box system from a couple of years ago that has a built in receiver in the sub. Don't remember a model number but all it has is Dolby Pro-Logic. Getting into DVD's and such, I want something with DD, DTS, etc. that will last quite a while. I am trying to get this for under a grand, which I know that's not a great system but it still should be good. I am looking at a Kenwood 507 model right now for a receiver. I believe that's the model number. Anyways, I have a 55" Toshiba HDTV with a progressive scan DVD player from JVC (S65?). I also have a PS2 and an Xbox so I need something with lots of outputs for everything I believe. I would like floor standing speakers for the front, but I have no idea what to look for in those, much less the center, rear and subwoofer. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If I've left out anything let me know.

 

[Greg_R]

http://www.cheaphometheater.com/ has some good reviews of budget equipment. I would try to spend most of my money on the speakers (they make the largest difference in sound). In this price range the subwoofer will be the most expensive (driver & amp cost). Another suggestion would be to purchase the mains & subwoofer and then add the center and surrounds as budget allows...

 

[ThomasL]

Rick, just re-read your post and noticed you said towers for fronts. That would tend to rule out a lot of the good budget satellite+sub systems you see that range anywhere from $700-1000. If your budget is $1K for both a receiver and all 6 speakers (5 + sub) then that is a little tight but can be done. I would say you want to shop around for speakers. Find a pair of fronts you like and make sure to match it with a center from the same speaker family. A budget Pioneer DD/DTS receiver can be had for $200 which would leave you with $800 for the speakers. I spent about $1050 on my current setup of speakers and Pioneer receiver with $850 of that going toward the speakers but I own Newton M50s for fronts and not towers so I don't know how much more towers will cost you in the wallet. I would agree that the speakers should be the bulk of the budget. Receivers will change, new features will come out, new digital decoding algorithms etc - all pushing you toward upgrading, but your speakers will persist through all of that.

good luck,

--tom

 

[Rick_N]

Well, I am willing to go a little over but to give an idea I was looking at some towers from the Outlet section at Amazon from Jensen from $80 a piece and according to today, free shippping for all orders over 99. Its very tempting, I just don't know if they are a good deal or not. What specs I should be looking at, etc. Are there certain specs that you guys would be looking at as a bare minimum for centers, towers, rears, sub, etc.?