Would Would you suggest? (1 Viewer)

[mark_ahlers]

Howdy,

I am in the market for a Home Theater system but have no clue what to get. I have an 11 x 20 room with a Mitsubishi WD-62825 TV and Samsung DVD player hooked together via HDMI cable. I would like to get a system that sounds great and has the rear speakers wireless if possible. Any suggestions? Thank you in advance.

Mark

 

[KeithMoechnig]

I can't give a whole lot of adviceon the speakers, but screw the wireles speaker idea. There are still wires involved(power cable) and they don't get nearly as good quality as a wired speaker. And I very much recommend you get an SVS subwoofer.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

Hey neighbor! Welcome to the forum!

What is your budget and how big is your room, including open spaces to the back? Is this system for a dedicated theater room, or a family room with a big screen? What percentage of the time will it be used for music v. movies?

PS - A couple of forum no-no's:
1. You need to ask the questions in the appropriate forum. Home theater in a box (HTiBs) are discussed in AV Sources. If you want to put together a system, start in speakers and subs.

2. You need to remove your equipment list from your sig. It messes up the search feature when people look for information by product model number.

 

[mark_ahlers]

What is your budget and how big is your room - $500 - $700

including open spaces to the back? - Not sure what you mean by this.

Is this system for a dedicated theater room, or a family room with a big screen? - Family Room with big screen.

What percentage of the time will it be used for music v. movies? - 50% Msic 50% Movie

PS - A couple of forum no-no's:
1. You need to ask the questions in the appropriate forum. Home theater in a box (HTiBs) are discussed in AV Sources. If you want to put together a system, start in speakers and subs. - My apologizes. Mods please move this to where it needs to go.

2. You need to remove your equipment list from your sig. It messes up the search feature when people look for information by product model number. - My apologizes again. This has bee removed.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Gentlemen, I am at a loss here. After more than two years of aggressively making sure that only the appropriate posts/threads go into the Basics area, the message still is not getting through: The area is for general discussion at the beginner level only. If you want specific advice as to what hardware to purchase, please -- please! -- post in the appropriate hardware area. Thank you.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

Jack - I think that the mistake is usually made by new forum members. They don't get the word until it's too late. Not sure how you fix it since many member's first post is a "where do I buy my first HT" post.

Mark-

You've given us a place to start. In that price range and for that usage, there are a couple of things you can do. A HTiB such as the ones by Onkyo, would be good for a family room HT. (BTW, I saw your room dimensions. Missed them the first time around. The "space in the back" referred to openings to other rooms. More on that in a moment.) What you get here is an easy to set up system, upgradeable, and speakers that aren't so big that your SO hates the way they look. What you lose is the absolute heart-stomping bass that comes with a more expensive subwoofer. Also, the systems may not be great for music as the speakers tend to be the small, satellite type. So you have a choice to make there.

Bigger rooms require bigger (more expensive usually) speakers, amp power and subwoofers to really pressurize the room. This is where the openings to other rooms plays a role.

I don't listen to very much music on my system, so maybe someone else can help here, but I'll give you some general info. Music lovers typically prefer floor standing front speakers. This is because: 1. music is generally in stereo, so the front L/R are very important and 2. the bass demands are adequately handled by the woofers in floor standers. HT lovers typically want a very good center channel (80% of all sound in movies comes from the center) and a very good sub (modern movie tracks push the limits of bass). Some also say that smaller bookshelf type speakers are better for movies because they focus the sound at ear level.

So, you have a compromise to make here, depending on how you see the system being used. Don't fret tho. This really is a hobby, rather than a purchase. You'll be making additional purchases in the future and your first system will end up in a bedroom or given to a friend. Your budget, however, limits you in the beginning. You might try the Onkyo HTiB. Another route you could go would be to get a decent open box receiver or one that has been replaced by a new model. Add the partsexpress.com $125 dayton sub and some decent L/R speakers and build from there.

 

[John S]

Ok, back to the question at hand. You have $700 to spend on a system.

On the lowest end side, an Onkyo 770 system. Depending on your room rize, this may be fine.


On a pieced together system:

One of these $138 12" Parts Express Subs.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...=25&rak=daysub


One of these Yamaha Recievers.
http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_27435.htm


Qty 2 pair of these $139x2 (4 speakers total)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation


One of these for your center channel. $99
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...goryNavigation



Best of luck with your system, speakers are to subjective and I hate to suggest them. But your on a tight budget here.


You could of course get two of the subs, a cheaper reciever, and then you could get away with lesser speakers in the mix.

You could aslo go with JBL E10's for your rear channels and save more money there and get a better Center channel.

ect..ect..ect...

 

[mark_ahlers]

Thank you all for your advice and help. I will check out everything that was recommended. I just have one last question. When you buy a system, is it better to hook all your inputs into the AV receiver than go to the tv or better have all video goto the tv and audio out from the tv to the AV receiver? Thanks again for everyone's help and patience.

Mark

 

[Charlie Campisi]

In your price range you may not find a receiver with the ability to do video switching (run video through the receiver). Even if you have that option, it's usually only recommended to cut down cable runs or sometimes because it makes operation of the system easier (you'd be using the receiver's remotes to change audio and video inputs, instead of the receiver's and the tv's remotes).

That said, most base this decision on getting the best picture and sound quality as that is usually goal no. 1. With analog connections this means the less "things" between the source and the display/speakers, the better. Less chance for the signal to degrade. This is somewhat less true with digital signals, but many times somewhere in the path the digital signal ends up being converted to analog, then back to digital. That's the long answer.

The short answer is run your component/hdmi/dvi video connections directly from your dvd/sat-cable box/game console directly to the tv. Also connect them with the red/white stereo jacks for those times you want sound from your tv's speakers. Then, connect those same devices directly to your receiver with a digital connection, either digital optical or digital coaxial so that the receiver gets a full digital (5.1, etc) signal to produce your surround sound.

 

[John S]

With decent enough AVR's, with robust video handling / switching capabilites, I usually connect every thing to the AVR then from AVR to display.

If there are a lot of sources, any other way just seems to complicated for most. Wives in particular like it kept simple to get what you want.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

Lock the entire Beginners secton and just leave the F.A.Q.

 

[Joe*H]

I would say that the speakers that john stated above would work good but for the receiver I would go the refurb route and get a onkyo 602 or harman kardon 135,230 or 235. Good luck

 

[mark_ahlers]

Well I finally picked out a Home Theater System. I decided to go with the Onkyo HT-S780 7.1 system. It should be here this week. I just now need to figure out speaker placement and purchase some upgraded speaker wire. Thanks to everyone for their help and advice.

 

[MikeLi]

You might want to look at the Rocket Tykes or their ELT line at av123.com

Lots of sales going on there. I have two of the Tykes systems in my teens bedrooms and they come with a small sub and really do great for a smaller room. The ELT's are a step up and forgot the cost but if you have a receiver already they too should be close to your budget and they get outstanding reviews. If you need a receiver as well the guys there have access to about anything and can give it to you for a substantial savings. Anyway everyones ears are different and I am not saying this may be the best for you... only you can know by trying them but I feel they are worth and sound way better than anything else in the price range.