quick review on my system (1 Viewer)

[dustin_]

could someone quickly give their opinion on my new home theater setup.

ordered/have:
42" Hitachi LCD wall mounted
Onkyo TX-SR602
JBL EC35 center channel
SVS PB10-ISD Sub


Leaning torwards the JBL E50s for mains and the E30's for surrounds on this 5.1 setup. the E50's will be on stands and the 30s mounted on the rear wall.

the room is about 25'x15' with about 13'x15' listening area

does this seteup sound decent for first timer?

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Dustin. Welcome to HTF!

That system looks quite decent with well-respected equipment.

The SVS tends to be outstanding and many people like the JBL speakers. Remember that choice in speakers is like choice in beer - your favorite may not be mine, but thats fine.

Just try to get the L/R speakers as close in tone to the center to avoid shifts in the sound as things transition from one speaker to the other.

Hitachi is one of those brands that quietly impresses. Just because it is not one of the more mainstream names, I have always liked their stuff and they usually tested well in the magazines.

Some questions:

- What are you using for a HD source?

- What are you using to control things?

 

[dustin_]

as of now I dont have HD cable. would a upconverting dvd player be worth it?

what do you mean control things? would be it be better to invest in a universal remote?

thanks

 

[Bob McElfresh]

A DVD player will look good on that TV. I am not sure how much a up-converting DVD player will help. The improvement may be slight.

It is a shock at how good a real HD feed looks.

Remember that ordinary television, and a DVD is still a 1940's era video signal.

Since you dont have a lot of different sources - a universal remote is optional. When you get to a HD Catv box, Sat reciever, Game system all hooked up, check out the Harmony remotes. Very nice for a budget price. I have the 688 unit for about $120 and I am more impressed with it each day.

 

[Dick Knisely]

In my experience it wouldn't be worth it for just that feature alone. If you have other reasons to upgrade the player then by all means you'd want the upconvert capability but if you're happy with the result now, I'd wait and see what happens in the HD/Blu-Ray mess.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Does your choosen TV have a built-in tuner?

If so, go to www.antennaweb.org

type in your address and it will produce a map telling you what HD sources are alive around your home and which direction to point an antenna.

As Dick said - you may be suprised that you can pick up a lot of HD content with a modest antenna. But you need a tuner.

You can get external tuners at BestBuy and other places for $100-$200.