Shelf Systems or HTiB's (1 Viewer)

[Craig Morris]

A good friend of mine recently lost most of his electronics in a "divorce". He's not an audiophile by any means... but would like an all-in-one system that has DVD and surround capability. I know nothing of all-in-one shelf systems or home-theater-in-a-box systems.
Any recommendations? The key here is value for the money. Try and keep suggestions under $700US. I doubt I can convince him to even spend $1000CDN, so less is more.
The only thing I've been looking at so far is the quality of the speakers... if I see a real tweeter and midrange, I would like to believe that the sound quality will be better than those bose-style 'full-range' drivers. Am I wrong?

 

[TommyL]

gonna be tough to get all that seperately and stay under 700usd...even if you took good speakers, a dvd player, and a receiver..I don't think you could get under that "new"...cheapest receiver I can think of that has dts/DD is about 230 bucks...speakers...hmm..even at 50 bucks a piece x4 =200+ a center...and dvd players...180 will get you a good one for the money(panny rp56)...but there are cheaper ones...than you need stands, cables etc too....I seriously would suggest to him wait, and save a few more $$$, and he'll have a lot better system ...hate waiting? buy it in pieces...hold off of the dvd for now...then he'll have to spend more...but later IF he insists on HTIB, I do think the yamaha yst-23 is a good one for the price...good receiver with dd/dts...I was happy with mine until this forum smacked me up a bit others have a ton more knowledge than me..I took the same road...

 

[Brian Burgoyne]

Look at www.hometheaterdirect.com for in inexpensive set of speakers. Search the forum to see what other people say about them. They are budget level, but better than theater in a box from chain stores. They even have silk dome tweeters.
Look for a sale or open box discount at a chain store for a basic receiver. Yamaha, Pioneer, Onkyo, Kenwood....others?
Or maybe somebody else can suggest a good online bargain.
Should be able to get a decent entry level name brand dvd player for a little over $100. Probably should avoid cheap brands.
Don't need fancy cables or speaker wire with entry level equipment. Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc.
That's a tough spot to be in. I lost all my stuff in a divorce too. But eventually I got even better stuff!

 

[BobJ]

He can also build up piece by piece as another possible option. Receiver and player now with a set of fronts and a center and then add more later.

Since you live in Canada have a look at PSB speakers-excellent bang for the buck. PSBs paired with an Onkyo 500 would blow any HTIB out of the water and be a great value.

 

[Craig Morris]

Thanks for the advice guys. I know I can get Energy/PSB/Dahlquist sets of sats and sub for about $800-900 CDN. Budget $300 for a cheap receiver and $200 for a cheap DVD player... total $1300-1400 CDN. I doubt he will spend that much. I was hoping there would be a cheap all-in-one solution.

 

[ThomasL]

Craig, what about the JBL NSP set that some have been getting for around