Home Theater suggestions

[Remyo]

My folks just bought a 46" Sony Bravia & a BluRay player. I'd like some suggestions for a HD audio receiver/amplifier and wireless speaker system for them. they just need a receiver and not a receiver w/ dvd on it, because they don't need that. thanks.

[Zragnarok]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6740_7-0.h ... nt.ha.htib

I used that website when I bought my HDTV. It gives reviews and comments, it's really helpful.

[zoobernut]

How much money do they have budgeted for a sound system?
what kind of cabinet do they have to put the equipment in?
Where/how do they want the speakers in their room? (mounted, on stands, floor standing)
How much experience do they have with sound systems? (how critically do they listen)
Is it just for movies or is it also for music?

(There is no such thing as "HD" sound)

As a rule of thumb off the bat home theater in a box systems are almost always complete crap and not worth the money, you can usually find something that comes separate for similar price range but a HUGE improvement on quality. Another thing is never ever be duped into buying anything BOSE it is the biggest crap in the world and most of their speakers use cheap ass drivers.

Depending on their price range some good brands for electronics is:
Denon (good recievers)
Rotel (good separate components amps/preamps)
Adcom (again good amps/preamps)
Sunfire

This might have changed a bit since I was working I have not gone out in the last year and listened to all the new stuff. I personally own a Rotel preamp and Adcom amps.

Speakers:
Paradigm (one of the best speaker brands out there huge line from very inexpensive but great sounding to extremely nice expensive studio speakers)
Anthony Gallo (small round and stylish sound good but are easy to hide in a room)
James Loudspeaker (got to demo these a couple times and I really liked them they tend to be a bit bright though sometimes)

The most important thing is to listen to any speakers before you purchase with your own music.

Edit: I just noticed you asked for wireless speakers. From my experience wireless speakers tend to be expensive and have interference if you have the time it is easier and cheaper to hide wires around the room than to deal with wireless speakers. Wired speakers still sound better too.

[Remyo]

budget up to $600, they wanted to get bose but i told them they'd be paying for the name. They have a 7'x 4' entertainment center for the tv. Mostly for movies and tv. I'd like to get wireless because hiding the wires would be too difficult.

[Katlan]

for 600$... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... 6004972651

Good system and it converts up to 7.1. Seems some of the recievers have handshaking issues though.. I had to return the reciever for another, the new one didn't have the problem. Obviously there are better, but its a great system for the price, better than a lot of systems that cost more. My only suggestion would be to get new speaker wires for it before you set it up, the factory provided ones are kinda skiny and the speakers output better w/higher quality wires.

[SamanosukeShiva]

dont get expensive home theater if you gonna put it on small room :elmer:

[noblemountain]

yamaha 661 - two in/one out hdmi passthrough, two zone control, and 7.1 if you ever feel the need.

speakers...just depends. i have a set of klipsch quintets that are very nice and a klipsch 10" subwoofer. got the speakers/sub for about 500/600 (can't remember) and the receiver for 350 bucks, open box @ best buy. my room is 7 x 14 and it sounds amazing in here.

[zoobernut]

dont get expensive home theater if you gonna put it on small room :elmer:

This is completely not true. A lot of people think that big or expensive speaker systems are only for a big room and in order to play it loud. Personally the largest difference I hear between shitty speakers and good speakers is at low volumes in a small room. In that listening environment You are not distracted by distance and echo's. I have set up some very expensive very nice surround sound systems in small rooms in peoples houses before.

$600 is a tight budget for a full surround sound system but if you can find something around that price in paradigm or Denon I think they have some great lower budget stuff.

http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3759.asp looks like a good system though I have never listened to this particular one the place I worked carried the older version of it.

http://www.paradigm.com/en/paradigm/fro ... 2.paradigm
Their Cinema Series speakers are exceptional for the price. I think you can set up a system with those for around $600 not 100% sure though.

[Auspice]

I fucking love my Onkyo 605. Got a refurb on Onkyo's site for dirt cheap($350 with a 2 year warrenty) around January(if you keep checking their site you can get some sick deals). As for speakers I don't have a 5.1 setup yet but my fronts are a pair of JBL Stadium 8" that I got from Amazon for $125 each with free shipping(which was 60%ish off of retail). Best Buy carries the Stadium series in store so you can hear it set up but I fell in love with them. Great speakers for a reasonable price. I am going to skip out on the voice channel since I hear there are better ones for similar price and I'm waiting for a good deal on the 6" bookshelves for my rear channels.

[mootsfox]

Sony, Samsung, etc all know how to make good electronics, they do make fairly good receivers. However, they tend to know jack shit about actual speakers. Don't buy a set from them, you will be disappointed.

Great receivers come from companies like Onkyo, Denon, Harmon-Kardon, etc. I prefer Onkyo myself, as they have yet to let me down. Best Buy and Circuit City are great places to test out possible parts, but you'll probably find better prices online.

[Plow]

A good rule of thumb for home audio is, Bose.


If you wanna go really high end it's a different story, but judging by the tv it's going to be awfully hard to beat what you'll get out of a Bose system with the price range you'll be looking at.

[Quixon]

I'll give a +1 to the Paradigm Speakers. The ones I have are fucking awesome. I've got the Millenia Series Speakers if you're looking around.



p.s. Only reason I could afford them is because I bought them stolen out of the back of a white van......... yes I'm serious.

[Isiolia]

A good rule of thumb for home audio is, Bose.

No.

They're at best overpriced. Most people just say "Bose" to mean Lifestyle systems, though Bose does make other speakers that aren't bad, depending on the price (301s, 701s, etc), but you still wind up paying a bit for the name.

I'd go peruse the AVS Forum http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ really. One of the better resources I've seen. There are a lot of good brands out there, far more than the select few a local store will have.


IMO, go for wired speakers and work with the wires. You're going to have to power wireless speakers somehow.

Were your parents looking at Bose due to form factor? As in, they don't want to see the speakers much? Or just that it looked like a convenient thing to go with?

Lot of options really. You should be able to get a solid A/V receiver for $150-200, really just depends on features.
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR575S-C ... 56&sr=1-17
might work well for you. Has HDMI switching and the like, which you may want with the HDTV.

Could go cheaper though, depends on what exactly they want/need out of it.

Personally I would buy 5x a bookshelf speaker or 4x of them and a matching center to start. Unless your parents are stuck on tiny speakers/sub. Decent size bookshelf speakers will have solid enough bass, especially in a smaller room, that a sub shouldn't be necessary...though you can always add one later.

http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Monito ... 992&sr=1-2
for mains/surrounds, and then
http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Monito ... av__text_b
for example.

That reciever, two pairs of the speakers, and center, should fit in your budget. Always better stuff to get of course, but $600 is a bit tight to work with for A/V.

[Remyo]

sub $600 is my goal, I don't think they're really worried about what the sound system will cost. When we got the TV we walked by the sound stuff and all they had was bose I had to talk them out of buying it because it was a small system for, to me, a high price.

[levish]

most wireless speaker systems are more trouble than they are worth or fall short in sound quality, if its a apt. just run a 2 channel setup + subwoofer.

for Wired setup I'd also like to suggest Axiom Audio. Has a hard to beat promo where you demo the stuff in your home and decide if you want to keep them from there http://www.axiomaudio.com

a quality 2.1 channel setup >>> Home Theater's In a Box

[sunb1ind]

A good rule of thumb for home audio is, Bose.


If you wanna go really high end it's a different story, but judging by the tv it's going to be awfully hard to beat what you'll get out of a Bose system with the price range you'll be looking at.

As a mixer/producer and someone who is claimed to be an audiophile lol This is the funniest shit I've ever heard. Buying Bose is like going out and buying the cheapest, shittiest pairs of speakers and tossing the rest of your leftover money in the trash.

$600 is a lot of money if you don't limit yourself to only retail chains like Best Buy. Like someone else mentioned, read up on speaker reviews and if you can, buy them online or through ebay. All I know is I've purchased multiple studio monitors for less than that, but would've payed double at somewhere like Sam Ash. Surround sound systems are even easier to shop for, although I've never look up wireless systems, it shouldn't be too bad with your price range.

edit: Just wanted to add to that 2.1 suggestion. I run this also in my house, I don't have the space to take advantage of a surround sound setup either. If you don't have room to distribute the speakers evenly throughout the room, then you're not really going to have an all too great experience. Most people are only reacting the subs anyways when it comes to surround sound, the sats are usually cheap ass quality in alot of setups. 2.1 with some awesome speakers will do wonders.

[zoobernut]

Yeah check actual AV forums and stuff and do not go to Best Buy or Circuit City for advice. Audio is completely different than electronics and just because a company makes a good receiver does not mean their speakers are good.

If you want a small speaker LIKE bose but that actually sound good check out Anthony Gallo speakers they are very good and very small.

The main thing again needs to be stressed for speakers is NEVER buy speakers you have not listened to. You can listen to two very good very similar price speakers and they can sound completely different, if you like softer more muted sounds or if you like bright sharper highs and punchier lows you will lean towards different speakers.

[Auspice]

My planned budget for my system is about $1000 and I'm probably going to hit the mark with the setup I listed in my previous post. The receiver was $350, my fronts were $125 each, the rears are probably going to end up costing me about $130 for the pair, and I'm going to drop $150-$200 on the voice channel. Then to help round off the system I'm going to have my brother help me make a subwoofer. There's some REALLY good DIY stuff on the AVS forum. Yeah, I'll probably end up around $1200 but it's going to be a pretty sweet system.

2nd'd on how shitty Bose is. The real acronym is Buy Other Stereo Equipment.

[zoobernut]

No joke at the stereo store where I used to work (privately owned custom home theater only not a big box store) we took apart a bose lifestyle cube and the driver was a generic $4 paper cone piece of junk.

[Auspice]

No joke at the stereo store where I used to work (privately owned custom home theater only not a big box store) we took apart a bose lifestyle cube and the driver was a generic $4 paper cone piece of junk.

They're just like Monster cables; the entire brand is based entirely on their perceived value even though the parts are mediocre and/or overpriced.