Which home theatre system to get?

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Personally I would never ever go for a home theatre in a box (HTiB) setup, not even in a bedroom. For starters you have the issue of smaller speakers likely being unable to generate the full spectrum of frequencies adequately and then on top of that everything is integrated. Now to some that may sound handy but if your Blu-ray player is your AVR as well and one part of it buggers up then then whole thing's headed for the bin.

I have and always will prefer component systems. Generally speaking they perform better because each component is designed for its own task. Yes, often they will cost a bit more for it but you will definitely notice the difference.

Is $500 the budget you have to work with? If so, I would say that you build your system a little at a time. I know you might "want it all now" but you might find that if you put some $$$ away over a 6 month period you can build yourself a pretty decent system. You could pick yourself up a very decent receiver for $500 or just under that does everything you'll need for the future (3D pass through, decoding of all lossless codecs etc). Then as you save you could buy yourself additional components like a 5 speaker set and then a sub.

Alternatively if you want it NOW you could get something like Almadacr listed or you could put together your own dirt cheap system (which truthfully would IMHO still blow away most HTiB setups that aren't $1000)

Receiver: Sherwood for $246 which JB states does all the audio codecs but not 3D: http://www.jbhifi.com.au/jb-hi-fi-ho...ver-sku-97505/

Throw in Dream's cheapest 5 speaker pack at $249: http://www.dreamhifi.com.au/store/in...products_id=61 (I actually use some of Dream's bookshelf speakers as fronts in my bedroom setup - surprisingly good sound for the price)

Add in one of Dream's dirt cheap 12" subs @ $169 (you won't get a 12" sub in a HTiB ): http://www.dreamhifi.com.au/store/in...products_id=63

Minus delivery and haggling the receiver down @ JB you've just got a 5.1 receiver, a set of speakers which aren't satellite and therefore stand a chance of recreating that all important 100-200hZ frequency range that gives body to everything (HTiB are notoriously bad for being weak in this area) and a 12" sub for some BOOM for a grand total of $664.

Obviously you can search around and find deals on components that are good for what you need, but only you can decide that. For instance, if the room you're watching in is 4.5 x 3.5 metres do you need 160w of power per channel or will an amp that does 5 x 100w do (yes, it would)? Buy so that you're future proof but also don't spend money on bells and whistles that you won't need for your situation. For me there are some absolute musts:

- It (HTiB or receiver) must be able to decode all the relevant audio codecs
- It must have enough power to run your speakers at a decent volume
- The speakers must be able to recreate a wide range of frequencies
- The sub must not bottom out if turned above 1
- The HtiB or receiver must have customizable setup options (speaker distances, volumes, EQs)

Then after all that comes the most important thing: setup! When you've got your gear at home, do a basic setup and then move the speakers (fronts and sub in particular) around a little. You will be surprised by just how much different it may sound when moving it 10cm to the left or right or bringing them further away from the wall. When you've found the sweet spot for each of the speakers, get out your tape measure and measure how far it is from each of the speakers to where your ears would be when sitting in the central seating position. Pop those numbers into the receiver, do an EQ setup and then beg/borrow/steal an SPL meter and set up the volumes of all the speakers.

That's the short, short version of things but it will get you a very entry level but still satisfying (especially in comparison to any current situation if you're listening through your TV) home theatre experience.

There's one last step after everything: take pictures so we can see how it turned out.