very new to this stuff (1 Viewer)

[Drew_H]

first off I have to say what a nice forum you guys have here. and second for my question, I have absolutely no clue when it comes to this stuff I just bought a DVD player that came with a 6 peice speaker set and it sounded real good but I didn't know how to hook it up to my TV so that I could have good TV sound. I have a cable that comes out of the wall and into my vcr, from the back of the vcr into the back of the TV then I have A/V cables (red yellow and white rca plugs) from the back of the DVD player to the TV then a red and white rca plugs from the vcr to the aux in the dvd player for sound but it only comes through two speakers and my TV has no outputs on it just RCA inputs and coax I think thats what it is (see I don't even know what to call all these cables) well I just got frustrated and took the thing back to the store so now I'm gonna start all over again and am hoping that my puny $500 budget can get me something that sounds halfway decent when I watch TV with regular cable, anyway to shorten things up a little is it better to buy speakers then a receiver and then a DVD player? what am I going to do? I live in an apartment so I guess I don't need a great big system, which is probably a good thing with only 500 bucks. If anyone can think of a good system please let me know. I am completely lost in this home theatre stuff!!

 

[Dheiner]

First of all, welcome to the furom.

That is a small budget, but, I suggest you go with a system such as the HTB 544. you can find it on-line for < $400.00 (+shipping and handling).

Then you can get one of the cheapest DVD players you can find, and stay near your budget.

At that dollar amount, I would also take a real close look at open box and refurbished pieces.

 

[Scott Page]

Welcome to the forum.
Drew, your $500 budget is quite a bit to small to get much in the way of "good" sound, of course what you consider "good" sound is an individual thing. Please don't be discouraged but...
I'd suggest just getting a good DVD player and a few of your favorite movies on DVD, then start saving for a receiver and speakers. Look at the Pansonic RP-56, Sony ??700, and the JVC progressive scan players.
The Acoustic Reasearch HC-2, HC-6 and the Energy Take 5 speaker systems should be on your short list of budget speaker systems that many reviewers consider the best of the budget speakers. Personally I like Denon, but Kenwood is reported to make the best budget receivers.
Later, add a subwoofer. Consider the Hsu Research VTF-2 for a great budget woofer. Available on-line.
I suggest going to your local Barnes and Noble once each month. Find a cushy chair and read all the HT magazines. Also read as much as you can from this forum. In no time you will know 100 times more than you do now about HT.
For your next posts, please use blank lines to separate paragraphs, and capital letters to start sentences...It's hard to read when its all bunched together

 

[Brian Tuttle]

The 6-piece system you bought will probably only allow the DVD movies to be played through the speakers but not your regular cable and/or VCR (I've never used one of these all-in-one systems, so maybe someone can clarify). Plus, I think that you can only hook them up through the back of the DVD player that came with the system, and not your TV.

If what you're after is to be able to run your cable/VCR/DVD/TV through an amplified source then you probably need to get a home theater receiver. You can pick up some decent entry level receivers for ~$200 that are Dolby Digital/DTS and can handle everything you want in terms of components. For $300 you have a bunch of options for speakers. You can get a complete speaker system for around that price with the fronts/rears/center and sub. Or you can split the amount in half and buy two fronts and a DVD player.

It really depends on what you're after. Do you want an on-going project (add better components a little bit at a time) or are you after something to get the job done right now? Myself, I added components over time on those items that I really wanted. So, I had the fronts for awhile, then the rears, etc. until I was able to complete the system that I'm really happy with. I'm a tweaker by heart so I'll never offically have it completed, but this way I knew I wasn't going to want to upgrade my system in too big a hurry.

Good Luck

 

[Ted Lee]

while i agree that separates are a better way to go...

at 500 bucks the kenwood htb is the one to get. i'm always recommending the 504, but maybe the 544 is the updated model? in any case, it's within your budget and comes highly recommended around here.

i think it will provide the sound and flexibility i think you're looking for.