Stupid question about HD receivers (1 Viewer)

[Richard McNally]

I am trying to package together a good home theatre. Assuming I don't get one of those 'All In One' home theater systems, and instead opt to get everything seperately, do I even need to purchase a receiver if a HD one is included with my Voom subscription? Am I right that all I need to purchase are the speaker set and DVD player? Thanks all for your help.

 

[ChuckSolo]

Ok, I think you are a bit confused here. When you say HD receiver I assume you are talking about a High Definition cable/satellite tuner capable of receiving HD television broadcasts. This is the video side of the equation. You cannot just attach speakers and a DVD player to an HD receiver, cable/satellite or otherwise. On the Audio side of the equation you can go two ways.

1. Get what is referred to as a Home Theater in a Box which includes an amplifier/receiver, DVD player and a surround sound speaker system.

2. Get separate components. A receiver/amplifier capable of Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound playback, a DVD player, and a good 5.1 speaker system that includes a powered subwoofer.

The HD receiver and the Audio receiver are two separate components. You would also have to have a TV or some sort of display device.

 

[Richard McNally]

Thanks Chuck, for making me look and feel like a total moron. But I asked for it, with the question.

In all seriousness, thanks for your help. I have a lot to learn about this stuff don't I? (Just to make it clear that I am not a complete ingoramus, I do know about that TV thing, lol).

Okay so now that you mention it, can you recommend a set of speakers/sub woofer, upconversion DVD player, and Dolby/DTS receiver that would go nicely together? Something that will make my DVDs as well as my music CDs sound good. I can't spend a fortune. Already going to put about $1,500 into a projector and screen. Is there something really affordable going the component route? Ideally, I would like floor standing speakers if that is an option.

And also, perhaps you can recommend a good Home Theatre In A Box, despite the fact they are frowned upon by some audiophiles?

 

[EvanW]

I've never seen a really decent HT in a box but u can find packages put together by stores for instance a denon receiver and mirage satillites sold as a package deal. Whatever you do stay clear of things like Sony "dream systems", they arent real dreamy, bose lifestyles and acoustimas setups might work good for you because they are easily setup though they are overpriced. One more hint of advice the workers at consumer electronics stores like circuit city and bestbuy probably know less than you and i advise you not listen to them.

 

[RichF]

I recommend the following HTIB:
Athena Micra 6 (Best Buy)
Cambridge SoundWorks 108 (cambridgesoundworks.com)

Most audiofiles will direct you to start with good bookshelf speakers and a receiver and build your system as you can afford it. I really liked these bookshelves:
Paradigm Minimonitor
Paradigm Titan
Ascend Acoustics CBM-170

and am still looking at these receivers (all $375):
Pioneer 1014
Onkyo TX-SR602
Yamaha RX-V650
Harman Kardon AVR 235

Also, some people have space considerations or WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). It also depends on the budget. $600-$700 and under leans more to a HTIB. My choices were determined by the budget and WAF.

 

[James Phung]

Some people feel that you should spend the same amount on the audio that you would spend on the video side. I never really cared about audio when I bought my projector and screen and almost bought an HTIB... I think I ended up spending more on audio than I did on my projector and screen!

 

[ChuckSolo]

Richard, some of the highest quality HTiBs I have ever seen come from Onkyo. Keep in mind that there are a few flavors of HTiBs too. Those that come with all separate compnents, including a separate audio/video receiver and separate DVD player. Then there are those that combine the Audio/Video receiver in one unit. There are also those that don't come with a DVD player at all, just the A/V receiver/amp and the speaker system. I would opt for the separate units as opposed to those that combine them in one unit.

 

[John S]

HDTV ATSC Tuner in addition to the Voom thing should get you lots of HD and psuedo HD content.

Onkyo 770 system is the cheapest decent sound system you can build upon if you so choose, seems to satisfy most non-hardcore audio types I know of. Find the best price you can.

And a decent DVD Player, The Zenith DVB-318 is still tops on my cheap player list, load the old firmware and enjoy your DVD's upscaled to 1080i out the component video outs, works great for the money for sure.