Where do I start? (1 Viewer)

[Sean_J]

Hello everyone!

I was wondering where should I begin with building my home theater? Should I start with speakers, a reciever, bigger television? What recommendations do you have?

Please reply with any comments and/or advice.

THANKS!!!!

 

[Adam O]

Start off by telling us what you have now, and telling us what you are unsatisfied with and what you are hoping for. Also tell us your price range, then we can help you.

Adam

 

[Sean_J]

The area I want to use for my home theater is my bedroom. So keep in mind I have limited space.

As far as money goes--- I am willing to spend different ammounts of money here is my possible budget:

$up to $250 for reciever

$up to $200 for six speakers including subwoofer

$up to $200 for additional room accessories (posters..etc.)

I already have a Television, DVD, DVD movies, VCR. Should I get a laserdisk?

 

[Selden Ball]

Sean,
Laserdiscs are a collector's item now. New players are almost impossible to find without importing them from Japan. While there are some LD titles that'll never make it to DVD, I wouldn't bother unless there are some LDs that you just can't live without, or if you can get a large selection of titles you're interested in for almost nothing. DVDs produce better images, usually have better sound, have more features, and are much more convenient. (FWIW, I have a collection of several hundred LDs that I won't bother to replace. I haven't bought any new laserdiscs since the Japanese edition of "The Phantom Menace" LD came out, long ago -- long before the DVD.)
Most people recommend spending as much as you can afford on your speakers, like about half your budget. They'll make the most difference in the quality of the sound you hear.
Unfortunately, local audio stores have to include a substantial markup in the speakers they sell. If you're willing to buy mailorder, Home Theater Direct has had excellent reviews. Their price/performance ratio is much better than retail speakers. See http://www.hometheaterdirect.com/
(I have no personal experience with them, however.)
I hope this helps a little.

 

[Al_M]

SJ:

Don't take this the wrong way, but from the budget you have stated you should probably look into a "Home Theater in a Box".

I think Sony has a couple of them. Philips/Magnavox does too. Radio SHack has RCA. Just stay away from Bose!

Also, you could try used equipment from a local pawn shop, E-bay or the Used Hardware section on this forum.

Good luck!

 

[Jason Wilcox]

For the budget listed, you should check out kenwoods home theater in a box products. However, if you spend a bit more, you can get much more out of your investment.

Here's a popular home theater solution

Receiver- lots of good ones out there for $300. Yamaha's new rx-v430 is a great value at this price. Also, check out onkyo, harman kardon, and denon.

Speakers- the JBL nsp1 set is very highly regarded and can be found for $250 shipped online.

subwoofer- the sony sa-wm40 is a very good value at $150-175. If you stuff 1-2 pounds of polyester filling in it, the bass really tightens up and it sounds very nice.

cables- for speaker wire, get 12 gauge home depot/lowes wire. for interconnects, check out acoustic research and radioshack.