Advice Needed - $500 Budget

[Dexter Morgan]

I plan to purchase a home theater setup in the next few weeks, and I have $500 to spend. I know I won't be getting anything top of the line, so I'm looking for the best bang for the buck setup. This will be going in my living room, which is quite cozy at about 15' x 15'.

I have a 1080p Sharp Aquos tv with a PS3, and Dish Network VIP722 HD/DVR box.

I have to admit I don't know much about home audio, so I am looking for a little help here. I am not looking for a HTIB with any sort of DVD player included, as I have the PS3. Do I go with an entry level 7.1 system, or a medium grade 5.1?

Any help would be appreciated. Oh yeah - go Blu!

[moviefan]

Originally Posted by Blu Atlas

I plan to purchase a home theater setup in the next few weeks, and I have $500 to spend. I know I won't be getting anything top of the line, so I'm looking for the best bang for the buck setup. This will be going in my living room, which is quite cozy at about 15' x 15'.

I have a 1080p Sharp Aquos tv with a PS3, and Dish Network VIP722 HD/DVR box.

I have to admit I don't know much about home audio, so I am looking for a little help here. I am not looking for a HTIB with any sort of DVD player included, as I have the PS3. Do I go with an entry level 7.1 system, or a medium grade 5.1?

Any help would be appreciated. Oh yeah - go Blu!

Tight budget, but if you can reach juat a bit:
Sony STR DG 810 for about $300 online. 7.1, 3 HDMI inputs with full video/audio switching.
Boston Acoustics MCS100 5.1 speaker system. About $330 online. A decent center speaker, 4 surrounds, and a 10" sub with cable included.
I purchased and installed this system for my daughter and it rocks.
For about $150 over your budget you would have a system youd could enjoy for years!
Good luck!

[bb::bd]

Welcome to the forum!

Looks like you've covered the video portion of your home theater pretty well with a quality 1080P native set and a great Blu-ray player. The audio portion is very important also, but you may not understand if you've only used tv speakers. A good sound setup will improve the immersion capability of your home theater by leaps and bounds.

Entry level AV receivers start at around 400 bucks, which will get you decent wattage, video passthrough over HDMI, and some of the advanced codecs, not to mention the legacy sound formats. You can go lower if you can do without video switching, the new audio formats, and room filling power. For speakers, you could always start with fronts and a center channel, and add a subwoofer and surrounds as you can.

If you go small budget and then get bit by the bug, it could be money tossed away unless you can use it some where else. On the other hand, if you are bound by a smaller budget, check out some of the new HTIBs coming out like the Onkyos.

My first (and current) audio system is a Panasonic SA-XR55 7.1 receiver (around $260 at the time) and an Athena Technologies Audition 7.1 timber matched speaker setup (around $1400 for the set). All video to the 50PZ700U, all audio to the XR55. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed this modest system. I'm looking for a good class 6 receiver now but they all seem to have one goofy problem or another.

Check out Crutchfield, J&R Audio, Amazon, and your local B&Ms for good deals. AVS Forums has some good audio threads so check them out too. Good luck and I hope you enjoy whatever you decide to get.

[moviefan]

Originally Posted by bb::bd

Welcome to the forum!



My first (and current) audio system is a Panasonic SA-XR55 7.1 receiver (around $260 at the time) and an Athena Technologies Audition 7.1 timber matched speaker setup (around $1400 for the set). All video to the 50PZ700U, all audio to the XR55. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed this modest system. I'm looking for a good class 6 receiver now but they all seem to have one goofy problem or another.
.

The man says he has a $500 budget!
The Sony 810 has all the important state-of-the-art technology for a very reasonable price, and the Boston Acoustics MCS100 will satisfy him until he can afford a major upgrade.
Let's stay within shouting distance of the man's budget!

[davidPS3]

I just mentioned this on another post.

Alot of retailers have programs where you can buy with out making interest payments. Most allow you a year of making monthly payments and as long as you pay off the balance in a years time, you get no interest charge.

All you have to do is ask for their payment options and as long as you have decent credit, it is the way to go! No interest!

So, you can buy a full system and say it comes out to $1,200.00 or something, you make $100.00 payments per month and you paid off in a year.

Just a suggestion, but a great option.

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by davidPS3

Alot of retailers have programs where you can buy with out making interest payments. Most allow you a year of making monthly payments and as long as you pay off the balance in a years time, you get no interest charge.

let me expand on this idea...

Vanns.com has 6 months no interest.

now with that, Blu Atlas you should consider:

Onkyo HT-SR908 ($770)

use the $500 you have now, and pay off the extra $270 over 6 months.

...and its a good system.

[Dexter Morgan]

While it is awfully tempting to spend the extra money and get something better, I had a hard enough time convincing my wife to even buy the surround sound period.

Does anyone else have suggestions for a lower budget system?

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by Blu Atlas

Does anyone else have suggestions for a lower budget system?

Originally Posted by moviefan

Sony STR DG 810 for about $300 online. 7.1, 3 HDMI inputs with full video/audio switching.

Sony STR-DG910 ($299) 5.1PCM

Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 speakers ($240)


this is probably the lowest you can go and still get HD audio, 5.1 Uncompressed PCM and Dolby TrueHD from the PS3.

[NewBluClu]

Originally Posted by Blu Atlas

While it is awfully tempting to spend the extra money and get something better, I had a hard enough time convincing my wife to even buy the surround sound period.

Does anyone else have suggestions for a lower budget system?

Ha Ha, I'm in the same boat (convincing wife and tight budget)
But, I'm gonna shell out little more to get Onkyo 605 receiver. Don't want to get semething cheeper and then feel bad for it. Work harder by convincing your wife (hint: nece bouquet, red wine... two days later hit her with the news ) good luck

[MouseRider]

My default is that it is a bad idea to buy on credit, even if it is interest free unless you've got discipline to get it paid off before the "free ride" period ends.

At your price point, you're at one of those thresholds where just a little more will get you quite a bit more.

If you're not in a hurry, I'd say put the $500 in a box, stick $1 to $5 in it every day, that's less than some meals in McD, and you'll be surprised how much of a budget you'll have in a short while.

I don't see a problem if you're saving your money to get something, but that's just me.

[Dexter Morgan]

I do see what you are saying by spending just a bit more to get a lot more. We have the money to buy something a little more expensive, but I'm having a little trouble justifying that we should spend the extra cash.

Maybe I am just better off waiting on this until I can convince her to go a little higher. That Onkyo HT-SR908 does look really nice....

[ace2k8]

Originally Posted by Blu Atlas

I do see what you are saying by spending just a bit more to get a lot more. We have the money to buy something a little more expensive, but I'm having a little trouble justifying that we should spend the extra cash.

Maybe I am just better off waiting on this until I can convince her to go a little higher. That Onkyo HT-SR908 does look really nice....

Just tell her it was 500