What's new

Putting 'Good' and 'HTiB' together. Is it a contradiction? (1 Viewer)

SamC

Agent
Joined
Dec 8, 1999
Messages
32
Hey Guys & Gals,

Been an awfully long time. Had my little Yamaha 795a & Polk Audio speaker set up running for a few years now, but now I have to move house. Kinda. I'm moving FROM a house into a VERY small apartment.

Want to make the most of the space, seeings I won't have any. Definitely no room for a RPTV and floor standing speakers, so it's new gear all around! Hooray! Will get a flat-panel display of some sort, and some small speakers.

So... to the point of the post:
I've noticed over the last couple of years the proliferation in HTiB systems, and the idea sounds brilliant for a very small system. Some look OK, some very dodgy. Some have DVD & receiver built in, some don't.

So what can the knowledgable HTFers out there tell me? Is there such a thing as a high quality HTiB?

I like the idea of a progressive scan DVD player incorporated ito a small form receiver with 5 wall mounted speakers, such as the Yamaha DVX systems (The 'p' models, with Plasm style speakers look awfully nice :)).

Does anyone out there have feedback on the Yamaha gear, or any other? Or, maybe you can even talk me out of HTiB and recommend some compact components instead?

Cheers,
Sam
 

ChrisWiggles

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2002
Messages
4,791
What's your budget?

"good" means different things to different people. I am a big 2-channel buff, so no HTiB is adequate for that. I"d rather 2 good speakers and a basic receiver instead. But for only Ht, HTib can be plenty good for most.

returns us to your budget, and your listening needs.
 

BillHewitt

Auditioning
Joined
Mar 8, 2004
Messages
14
On the lower end of things, if you're not a big basshead, you may want to try out the Rocket Tykes from AV123. $399 for a 5.1, but it only goes down to 80Hz.

If you are a basshead, the Klipsh Promedia Ultras might be more to your liking. Yes, I know they're computer speakers, but the sub is burly, especially for small rooms.

The Onkyo HTS760 is apparently fairly decent as well, but it's not exactly tiny.
 

Carl Johnson

Senior HTF Member
Joined
May 6, 1999
Messages
2,260
Real Name
Carl III
Moving into a smaller place isn't necessarily just cause to downsize your gear. My current television and speakers seemed like overkill a few years ago when I lived in a tiny one bedroom apartment but I've since gotten a house with a family room and everything fits just right.
 

SamC

Agent
Joined
Dec 8, 1999
Messages
32
ChrisWiggles - fair call. My budget is 'as yet undetermined'. Really been out of the market for a while now, and don't know what the deals are like. I guess we'll keep it 'reasonable' and set a high water mark of $1000 USD for sh!ts and giggles.

When it comes to listening - pretty much straight 5.1 DVDs. Won't be worrying too much about anything else, with the exception of stereo music on the occasion.

Not often enough to warrant making a big deal out of the stereo side of things tho.
 

Shane Martin

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
6,017
Sam,
As you know decent to some is crap to others. Much like how some of us like certain beers or pizza. Some think Budweiser is fine and dandy while some of us wouldn't offer it to our worst enemy.

In my somewhat elitist opinion and to answer your question: NO WAY. If your current setup is going to overpower your apartment there is a thing called a volume knob :)

If you want to go get a flat panel monitor of some sorts, IMHO You are better off with something else. They are highly overpriced for what you get(not much bang for the buck) and the only thing going for them is the coolness factor.

Personally if I was considering a Flat panel TV and a HTIB I'd reconsider the strategy.
 

SamC

Agent
Joined
Dec 8, 1999
Messages
32
Thanks for the feedback guys. Still going tho.

Firstly Carl -
Thanks for your thoughts, but in this case, 'smaller' is definitely required. My current Polk speakers are about 4 and a half feet tall and the receiver and DVD are pretty big too. The 'apartment' I'm going to is a bedroom + kitchenette with the world's smallest en suite. Too much power would never bother me, but size will in this case. In fact, I'm not sure I'll have room for the '5', let alone the '.1' :)

Shane - I agree that the "Decent Vs Crap" argument will go on forever (esp with beer). My aim is to get something that won't offend my slightly more discerning ear.

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by the last comment. Are there better receiver/speaker combinations that you can think of as opposed to a HTiB package?
This probably isn't the forum for discussing displays, but I will...
I think that the flat panel displays are ideal for 'space challenged' locations. I agree that there are better bang for buck options, but IMHO there's nothing else appropriate for this situation. I am only too happy to be corrected here, as it's $$ I would rather not spend if at all possible.
 

Shane Martin

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Sep 26, 1999
Messages
6,017
Sam,
What I'm saying is I'd reassess the situation. Instead of spending 1k on HTIB and 2k on a Flat Panel TV, I'd spend 1k on the TV and 2k on the Sound system.

However if that just isn't possible or you can't fit in another type of TV then yes I think there are better receiver/speaker combo's out there for the money than HTIB's. The problem will be finding something that is easily had in Australia.. I don't know of too many companies in Australia and I don't know the market. I assume buying online and shipping to Australia wouldn't be very cheap and would likely blow my budget suggestions.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top