Audio Visual Home Theater Stereo Thread

[LordKOTL]

Cost of my system:



Amp from Ecost: $200 (refurb)

Front Speakers: $100 each from Frys

Center: $100 from Best Buy

Rears: $100 from Best Buy (for 2)

Sub: $100 from Best Buy

TV: $750 from Frys

HTPC Case: Free (I think my bro got it for about $50)

Mobo: $50 from Newegg

Chip: $100-ish from Newegg

RAM (4GB): $100 from Amazon

Win7 Home Premium X64: $99 (OEM Version) Newegg

Tuner Card: $20 from Frys Newegg

Logitek Wavepro Keyboard/mouse--$70 Newegg

BluRay/HDDVD Drive--$100 (No longer being made--a OEM bluray whoud be in that balpark)

VESA Mount: $30 Newegg

Speaker mounts: $30 Frys

Speaker Cable: $40 Frys

Arcsoft Total Media Theater: $100 (plays just about any disc format including HDDVD's--you can likley get by with whatever program is packaged in a blu-ray drive)

HDMI cables: $20 Frys

1TB Hard Drive: $80 Newegg

Graphics card that outputs audio and video over HDMI: $110.



For $2350 you can get an entire home-built setup that will play just about any kind of video/audio you can get from the 'net or on broadcast TV, plus any type of computer game in 46" 1080p goodness (As well as any Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, ATDHE, Myp2p, Gamecenter Live, internet porn, etc.). Add about $200 to the cost for a cablecard tuner and you now have a system that will pull in Cable as well straight to WMC with DVR capabilities--assuming your pay TV choice has Cablecard.

 

[LordKOTL]

I am not an adiophile at all, but I like my music clear, punchy, and and I like to feel it. Same with with when I watch a movie/game.



I have a Sony Dav-IS10, like this http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B000ROQ0YO down in the living room with the Sony Bravia 52 inch jobber do. I know many folks scoff at the idea of a all-in-one box set, but hey, it kicks some noise around. It's nice, and I know I don't have it set up perfect. It does a good job, but lately I have been thinking that the little speakers, while very nice, might not be big enough for the room. I have been considering moving that upstairs to the bedroom, and getting a new sound system for the living room.



I have a Blu-Ray player in both rooms, so I figure I would need a receiver and some speakers. I don't quite understand the point of 7.1, so I am good with 5.1.



So the question becomes, Does anyone think I can either build a system for cheap, say under 400 bucks, or is there an all in one system that could fit the bill?

All-in-one systems work, but as a general rule the satellite speakers are small, need to be crossed-ver to the sub, and generally don't have a good "throw" distance--especially for lower frequencies. They "work", but unless your budget is really tight, you might be better off saving up for discrete components that individually work better.



I know in my case, the front and center speakers would seem VERY quiet on my system because of the distance from my seated position (and my shot hearing doesn't help). The larger speakers help not only with pervieved loudness vs. volume, but also in the range of sounds coming from the speakers and not needing them to be crossed over to the sub. However, at the time I had the wherewithall to spend $600 on a complete discrete system (keeping in mind my Amp was a refurb unit that needed warantee work...twice).

 

[Pez68]

I have a Denon AVR-1911 Receiver with Energy 5.1 surround speakers that I upgraded to this year. Have a 55" Panasonic plasma, and a Samsung Blu-Ray player as well. I love my setup.

 

[jakobeast]

Lotsa good info here. I appreciate the know how here. I really don't need anything crazy fancy, just some crap that can handle movies and music in a bedroom.



The Sony Dav-IS 10 has a bunch of different sound fields to choose from. I never know what it's sposeda be on, I just throw it on whatever I think sounds good. That sounds simple, and I am dumb.

 

[Pez68]

I looked into the HTIB(Home Theater in a Box) solutions when I was looking into upgrading my system. My suggestion? Look into a decent receiver and speakers. It will be WAY better than anything you can buy preconfigured. Sure, it might cost you a little bit more, but it allows you the flexibility to upgrade and you can get the features you want. The sound quality will be much better as well. You won't be disappointed.

 

[MassHavoc]

Yeah, in my experience, home theater in a box options are never very good. They appeal to people who want to say they have a surround sound system without caring what it's like and ends up sacrificing sound for cost. If you can't tell the difference between good and bad and don't have the coin get one. If you want real sound get a receiver and speakers. Even low end receivers and speakers are going to be better. If you really want capable sound make sure you get a receiver with a capacitor for each channel. Basically, I'm not sure if this is still the case, but it used to be most receivers had a one power source... so when there was a boom in the front of the room all the power would be drained to make the boom up front and would leave little power for the rest of the channels. You get a receiver with separate capacitors for each channel and when there is a boom in one the rest of the channels still have full power. Some of the higher end brands have this on their lower end receivers. I've always been partial to Onkyo for some reason. Polk speakers are good solid main stream speakers as well if you don't want to go higher end. Eclipse and Paradigm I've heard and thing sound good but might be in my head.



If you get those all-in-on box sets, remember to look at the wire, and remind yourself that all that 100000 watt sound is going through that tiny wire. There is a reason why the wattage rating on receivers doesn't really tell anything anymore. It's all measured different, low end measures peak, high-end measures constant peak output. ect....