New System (1 Viewer)

[jay_com]

I am moving into my new home soon and am starting to look at a new HT system. I am wanting to build a 6.1 system. The room is 16x16x10. Here is what I am looking at:

Reciever
Denon AVR-1804
Onkyo TX-SR601
or
Sony STR-DE995

Speakers
Polk Audio RM6700
(I'll need to buy one extra for 6.1)
or
Infinity TSS-450
with
Infinity Primus 250

Television
Philips 30" Widescreen

Any suggestions or input would help in my decision.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

I'd go with the Denon of the three receiver companies mentioned, but I'd look for deals on the 3803 now that the 3805 is coming around the bend.

If you don't have a DVD player, there have been deals on the Pioneer 563A (around $150), which is a pretty decent universal player (SACD/DVD-Audio/DVD-Video, etc.) for starting out (just don't expect the very best SACD and DVD-Audio performance).

The cheapest universal players w/ DVI or HDMI digital video outputs and quality digital de-interlacing and upscaling to 720p/1080i (not the same as true HD) will be around $350, and should be coming to market soon.

If you don't need DVI or HMDI digital video outputs then the Denon 2200 universal player has better audio and video performance than the Pioneer 563A, but runs around $400.

There are pretty decent deals online right now for HD-ready RPTV's that may be just a little more expensive than the Philips tube set, but you'll get a bigger picture (and probably a better overall picture too). Just be sure it has at least a DVI input with HDCP copy protection compatibility for HDTV or a DVD player with a digital video output (if you want to do both there are DVI switches available). I don't think the Philips includes one.

Onecall.com is a good place to look for HDTV's. They have a few sales and free shipping on certain products right now. Be sure to sign up for their free prefered shopper program and you could save a little bit more too.

Dan