View Full Version : home theater system
400exrules
11-30-2003, 07:12 PM
im shopping for a surround sound, home theater system and i dont know wuts good or wuts bad. Does anyone have one or know whats a good brand to get?
I have seen some nice lookin $90-$200 systems in ads but i dont know if the cheaper ones are rip offs or not.
LTandRaptorider
11-30-2003, 07:30 PM
Originally posted by 400exrules
im shopping for a surround sound, home theater system and i dont know wuts good or wuts bad. Does anyone have one or know whats a good brand to get?
I have seen some nice lookin $90-$200 systems in ads but i dont know if the cheaper ones are rip offs or not.
Yes, in that price range, it would be a cheap system. It's all in what you can afford. I have a 42" Panasonic plasma tv hooked up to a Technics Home Theater receiver. The front Speakers are Bose, rear is Technics, 15" down firing subwoofer is Paramount Pictures. The A/V receiver cost about $400, Bose center speaker wsa $200, Bose right-left front speakers were $400, subwoofer (passive) was $200. The tv was...... $3500... :eek2: Get a magazine from the grocery store on Home theater systems and read up on them. They have reviews on different systems, with prices. Then get what you can afford! You can go anywhere from $100 to $10,000 just for the home theater system.
hondafox440
11-30-2003, 07:50 PM
You know what are really cool? Digital Light Projectors (DLP). They project an image from either a TV, VCR, DVD player or computer. You can set it up anywhere, and literally make the screen as big as you want. I was playing with one all weekend (watched Scarface, Slednecks 5, played Vice City for like 10 hours on it, and watched football on it today, all with an 11 foot wide screen). Thing is cool as hell, especially with surround sound. They go for a few thousand dollars though and the room has to be really dark for it to work.
400exrules
11-30-2003, 07:58 PM
i cant afford one of those expensive ones. but i dont want to get like a $100-$300 system, and have it sound like sh*t, i want one that will sound good, and real
so if i got like a $250 system....would it sound nice? or would it sound like sh*t
mxdave28
11-30-2003, 08:23 PM
i didnt buy a "name" brand system and only paid 218 bucks for it and im very happy......at work we just bought a 100 dolla system which i was in doubt of (since it was 100 bucks) but after getting it up and running and adjusting a few things...it sounds better then mine at home:(
400exrules
11-30-2003, 08:26 PM
Originally posted by mxdave28
i didnt buy a "name" brand system and only paid 218 bucks for it and im very happy......at work we just bought a 100 dolla system which i was in doubt of (since it was 100 bucks) but after getting it up and running and adjusting a few things...it sounds better then mine at home:(
when i said name brand i mean like....sony, samsung, zenith...
Aceman
11-30-2003, 08:27 PM
After you find a system you like you should look on ebay and see if you can get it cheaper even with shipping. Who knows it might be so cheap you will be able to afford a more expensive model.
LTandRaptorider
11-30-2003, 09:34 PM
Originally posted by 400exrules
i cant afford one of those expensive ones. but i dont want to get like a $100-$300 system, and have it sound like sh*t, i want one that will sound good, and real
so if i got like a $250 system....would it sound nice? or would it sound like sh*t
I think WalMart has a Panasonic system for $399, that would be pretty good. But anything would sound better than the tv speakers! ;)
Narly R
11-30-2003, 10:07 PM
I dont recomend "Regent":mad:
Im shure you wont find it, maybe you will, dont get it though.;)
Yep, the price has really dropped. Look around, stop by some of the stores that sell home theater systems and listen to some, Circuit City, etc.
It depends on what you want, if you want to really shake the walls and be crystal clear, your gonna have to shell out. I dont need or want that. I can get good solid bass and clear treble for $200-400 dollars.
Hint: Its the speakers that make or break a system
Yep, right now I am running Fluance SX HTB speakers all the way around. These speakers fit into your budget, but nothing else. I would save up a few extra bucks, get these speakers then go on Ebay and find a good DD/DTS 100/ch receiver. This will cost you maybe double of what you want to spend, but I can tell you it blows most speakers away...ones that even get into the $1000 range.
I also doesnt hurt to pick up a SPL meter and Avia calibration disc... combo for $70-80. You can have the best speakers in the world, but if you dont calibrate them, it will sound like junk.
Here are the speakers...you can pick them up for around $300-320 depending on shipping (they are very heavy!) Jump on Ebay and get that reciever for around $200 and you have a VERY good system for around $500-600!
mxdave28
12-01-2003, 05:30 AM
Originally posted by 400exrules
when i said name brand i mean like....sony, samsung, zenith...
So thats what "Name Brand" means?? :rolleyes: well no chit sherlock thanks for the news flash.....i was saying that " i " didnt buy a new brand system and its sound just fine im very happy with it...the one at work isnt a "name brand" either and it sounds better then mine at home....my entire point to my first thread was the fact that you dont have to buy "Name Brand" equipment to have something good.
Originally posted by mxdave28
So thats what "Name Brand" means?? :rolleyes: well no chit sherlock thanks for the news flash.....i was saying that " i " didnt buy a new brand system and its sound just fine im very happy with it...the one at work isnt a "name brand" either and it sounds better then mine at home....my entire point to my first thread was the fact that you dont have to buy "Name Brand" equipment to have something good.
I know for a fact there are home theater companies that make equipment out there that most people on this board would think they are just some cheapo company...meanwhile they make some of the best audio equipment on the planet.
spincr4hire
12-01-2003, 06:09 AM
I bought everything piece by piece. Onkyo receiver, Polk Audio front speakers, Polk Surround, Polk powered sub, Mitsubishi 55" HDTV.
Can anyone recommend a good wireless surround speaker?
LTandRaptorider
12-01-2003, 06:15 AM
MoFo, you are absolutely right about calibrating your speakers! The guy on here that asked about what system, will have to do what the rest of us have done, buy a system and find out what he likes and dislikes, then upgrade. Sounds like for now, he just wants something better than his tv speakers, on a low budget. That's fine, then later he'll probably upgrade to better stuff. That's what I did. While my Technics A/V receiver works fine, I'm not overly thrilled with it's output. I had to buy an Audiosource Amp for my sub, which crapped out. I like the new amp, so I may buy additional ones(they're modular) for my front channels. It really is a trial and error method. I think he'd be happy for now with a boxed system such as the Panasonic I mentioned.
Originally posted by LTandRaptorider
I think he'd be happy for now with a boxed system such as the Panasonic I mentioned.
True, true. Start simple and see if its what you want. Panasonic has alway made good products in my book.
Sit back and let me tell what I heard the other day. I was talking to a contractor friend the other day. Million dollar homes he builds. Well, he was telling me about a muti million dollar home he built for some customers. The owner wanted a room in the house that was a state of the art home theater. He contacted a professional company, they flew in and put in a home theater that is out of this world. The room was built to be a home theater from the walls up.
You sit back in the leather recliners. They recline electrically with the push of a button. You start the movie, the lights dim, the window curtains close by themself. The picture is incredible, and the sound is accousticly matched to the room. You are immersed in a audio video experience. He said you are almost part of the movie. It puts most movie theaters to shame he said.
We laughed about how much it cost, we agreed if you got it, spend it, when you are that rich.
batgeek
12-01-2003, 10:03 PM
if yer lookin for a decent system but not wanting to spend big bucks, i would look into the Sony Dream System DAV-FC7 at ~$500. this doesn't include a TV.
good company, good products. i have the DAV-FC8 in my bedroom and i love it.
K2Snow
12-01-2003, 10:41 PM
batgeek, good reccomendation. a lot of the sony HTIB systems (home theatre in a box) aren't bad. they come with everything you need right out of the box, rather simple and inexpensive. panasonic makes a decent system as well. we carry a couple of the other brands but i'd have to say the sony and panasonic products have had the best success. we get a lot of happy customers that just want a simple surround sound system for under 300 bucks and end up buying a sony or panasonic. if you ahve a smaller room, something in that range should be fine. otherwise, you're gonna wanna spend a little more if you wanna be happy.
batgeek
12-01-2003, 10:52 PM
well i needed something small but nice for my bedroom. it had to have SACD capability...i'm a SACD jazz and classical freak!
seems Sony are the only ones that make stuff for SACD :( it's a really cool format, wish more people would start using it aside from the classical and jazz(majority of SACDs ya see) folks.
Originally posted by SGA
Sit back and let me tell what I heard the other day. I was talking to a contractor friend the other day. Million dollar homes he builds. Well, he was telling me about a muti million dollar home he built for some customers. The owner wanted a room in the house that was a state of the art home theater. He contacted a professional company, they flew in and put in a home theater that is out of this world. The room was built to be a home theater from the walls up.
You sit back in the leather recliners. They recline electrically with the push of a button. You start the movie, the lights dim, the window curtains close by themself. The picture is incredible, and the sound is accousticly matched to the room. You are immersed in a audio video experience. He said you are almost part of the movie. It puts most movie theaters to shame he said.
We laughed about how much it cost, we agreed if you got it, spend it, when you are that rich.
Yep, when I help my father out (high end plaster work), we run into the same thing. The last job we did was a 2.8 million dollar house...I believe the estimated cost of the home theater in the basement worked out to be around $100,000!!! :eek: I've yet to see the finished product... not sure if I really want to... it might ruin anything I could put together... :D
sleestack68
12-02-2003, 01:49 PM
I worked in hi-end home audio shop for a few years, my best advice is to buy the best you can afford. I spent $3000 on my system in 1993. Since I worked there I go everything at 75% off.
To this day I use it every single day, I am so used to the sound of it that I have walked out of movie theaters and friends houses because I didn't want to waste the viewing of a new movie on a crummy system.
Originally posted by sleestack68
To this day I use it every single day, I am so used to the sound of it that I have walked out of movie theaters and friends houses because I didn't want to waste the viewing of a new movie on a crummy system.
LMAO... I'm the same way. I prefer watching movies at my house rather than a movie theater... IMO it sounds much better (my fiance agree's) and you dont have to put up with cell phones ringing, little kids talking...etc.
Baley69
12-02-2003, 04:44 PM
Yamaha makes some good stuff.
i was gonan start getting into that crap, then im like 500 bucks= quad parts
i heard a nice sony one in walmart for 500 it was pretty nice sound
400exrules
12-02-2003, 07:46 PM
heck i heard a $50 system at wal-mart that sounded good, maybe everything just sounds good to me, but i kinda liked it...
LTandRaptorider
12-02-2003, 08:36 PM
Originally posted by 400exrules
heck i heard a $50 system at wal-mart that sounded good, maybe everything just sounds good to me, but i kinda liked it...
Yep, like I said before, anything will sound better than tv speakers! Get what you can afford now, upgrade later. Either the Sony or Panasonic would be a good choice, I've seen KLH systems, but I can't vouch for their quality. One last piece of advice, a good subwoofer makes a big difference! Probably the next important speaker would be the center channnel. I believe the center, left and right fronts should be equal amps, the rear surround should be about half the amps of the front. The better the system, the better division of power, and adjustability.
I think no matter what you get for now, you'll like it. After awhile you'll get picky.
So when will you be having an exriders movie party?! :D
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.1 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.