Any suggestions on Home theatre system? Reviews?

[punksterz626]

Hi all!

Im in the market for a home theatre system to compliment my PS3, HDTV. My budget is about 500-1000. Im kinda new to this so any info would be greatly appreciated. Few questions to be answer.

1. What is 5.1, 7.1? Is that amount of speakers?
2. should i look for systems that are capable of HD digital sound?
3. Which one do you have? what are your thoughts?

[clyon]

1) yes, there is also 6.1, 9.1, 9.2 & 12.2
2) yes if you can find one in your budget but it would take up the full $1k. Not a big deal.
3) see my sig. I spent about $3.5k+ just on the speakers setup & revievers.

Looks like a HTIB for you! Could you go $1500? It is cheaper in the long run to buy a very good system now with speakers that will last & be happy with in 15+ years, then having to get an ok system every 3-5 years.

Onkyo are the best at HTIB. & say No To Bose

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Y39iHNX...g10300*pg37600

[divedeeper]

I just got the sony STG-DG910 for $420 bucks. It has 3 HDMI's and works really well.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_STR_DG9...ShoppingView=1

I'd also suggest the Onkyo 605 (only 2 HDMI ins) but it has HDMI 1.3 (not sure if you need it) and a few other of the latest greatest sound codecs.

beware, the Onkyo 605 does not support PLIIx for older input devies, but if your doing only HDMI, your fine.

7.1 is totaly the way to go, if you can get some good speakers, you won't regret it. make sure you set up the speaker placement like they reccomend in the manuals/at the home theater store.

The experts do know what they are talking about.

Anyway, the Sony or the Onkyo are both awsome recievers, also, the Yamaha 661 is really good too. all 3 are very similar and all under $500, you can't go wrong imho.

[baccusboy]

Where do you live?

Best speakers for the money are by Paradigm. If you live in Canada, or can drive there, they are about 40 percent cheaper than if you buy them from frumpy boutique dealer in the USA. Don't ship them from Canada, however, because Customs will nail you to the wall (happened to me).

My opinion: Buy some used Paradigm Mini-monitors on E-bay, and get a PDR-12 subwoofer to compliment them with. Get some cheaper Atoms for the rears, and a complimentary Center Channel from Paradigm. 5.1 is the way to go, at your budget. Stunning sound for the money. That's what I did. Worked out awesome for me!

For the fronts:
http://cgi.ebay.com/MIGHTY-MIGHTY-MI...QQcmdZViewItem

For the rears:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Paradigm-Cinema-...QQcmdZViewItem

And find a good 12" Paradigm sub. I suggest the PDR-12.

Or you could go with a smaller set-up, like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-speaker-Paradi...QQcmdZViewItem

[punksterz626]

Originally Posted by clyon

1) yes, there is also 6.1, 9.1, 9.2 & 12.2
2) yes if you can find one in your budget but it would take up the full $1k. Not a big deal.
3) see my sig. I spent about $3.5k+ just on the speakers setup & revievers.

Looks like a HTIB for you! Could you go $1500? It is cheaper in the long run to buy a very good system now with speakers that will last & be happy with in 15+ years, then having to get an ok system every 3-5 years.

Onkyo are the best at HTIB. & say No To Bose

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Y39iHNX...g10300*pg37600

I do have a onkyo right now, which is not as great as i hope it would be. Maybe bc it was few years old. I can go 1500 for a full system but i would like the front speaker to come with a stand with the setup i have in my room.

Also, what is the ideal gauge for the speaker wire for optimum performance?