New Audio Set-up... Help Me Out (1 Viewer)

[Matthew Furtek]

Hello Everyone,

I'm gonna be on somewhat of a budget this summer, but my main purchase will be a nice new audio system for my budding "Home Theater". It seemed that I had settled on going for the HTB-505 that is coming out, but after reading the most recent threads regarding the Onkyo-600, I'm now leaning towards attemping to get a package of the 600 with JBL NSP-1 Speakers and a Sony Subwoofer WM 40. This would up the price from 450 to 800 at least... which is huge (if my girlfriend knew I was even talking about this I would be dead... of course the 450 is going to be better..).

I live near a Circuit City and a Crutchfield, and purchases won't be made until mid-June or even July. I don't even know if they carry the Onkyo and JBLs and Sony brands... but would think both stores would, and I imagine any salesman would salivate over getting the 3 for 1, so I probably could haggle the price down to about 800 total.

Basically to sum it up... HTB 505/544/504 or Onkyo-600 + JBL NSP1 + Sony WM-40.

Any thoughts on this?

Matthew Furtek

 

[John Sully]

Go with the Onkyo, JBL and Sony.

 

[Jeffrey R]

It really depends on what you want. As you mentioned, there is a definite jump in price from the HTB to the separates. If you want a quick, affordable fix to a home theater setup, the HTB-505 would be an excellent choice. I have the HTB-544, and the system was truly a steal for $400. The receiver (VR-509) has a ton of features, the speakers are good and the sub is very good. If you are willing to spend the extra few hundred bucks, the Onkyo with the JBLs and the Sony sub would undoubtedly be better. So, you can get a bang for the buck for $400 to $500 with the Kenwood HTB, or get a better system for $800. I think you'd be happy with either choice.

 

[Ted Lee]

that's a big jump...you're really doing apples & oranges here.

the onkyo setup would probably perform better, but you're paying almost double.

so, the only answer is for you to listen to both and see what sounds better to you.

remember, audio is so subjective anyway, that what sounds like crap to you may sound golden to someone else. your ears are the best judge.

another thing...try to audition as much gear as you can. you'll want a feel for what other stuff sounds like so you have a gauge to judge by. it doesn't hurt and is kind of fun...