Home Theater System


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A few days ago, I started looking into home theater systems. I have a general idea of what I'm looking for:

Looking at equipment which supports 24-bit audio

DVD Player Samsung

CD Player I'm looking for one which supports SACD. I'd be ok with a 5 disc changer or so, but no 400 disc changers or anything. Sony 5-disc CD Changer / SACD

HDTV Looking at around 30", and hopefully under $1500. I found this one here: Samsung 30" HDTV. And yes I'm aware this TV is 16" thick.

Receiver Good receiver which supports at least 5.1. Onkyo 7.1 Receiver

Equalizer AudioSource 10-band Equalizer

The equipment listed is what I have considered so far. I'm still researching and nothing is official as of yet. What else I'm looking for:

- 5.1 Speakers, at least 50w each I guess. I know wattage isn't everything

- 10"-12" sub, ~150w

- Programmable Remote! One which can capture the signals from other remotes...

Questions:

- As you may have seen from the links, I'm already aware of crutchfield. Anyone know of any other good sites to buy home theater equipment from?

- Would you say its worth getting an equalizer? I always use the one in Winamp, music just sounds like crap without it...

- I'm one of those people which can hear the ringing noise when a TV is on. Do you think the tube TV i listed would be OK in that aspect?

Otherwise, I need suggestions for front / rear / center speakers, subwoofer, and the remote. I'm also open for suggestions for all the equipment listed.

Edit: Should mention around the price range I'm looking at:

TV - Max $1500

Equipment - Receiver, equalizer, DVD / CD player, etc., about $1000

Speakers - Sub $200-300, speakers $500-700

Edited by xinok
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Sony will be releasing a single-disc up-converting DVD player with SACD support and HDMI output for $200 any day now.

The SlimFit Samsungs have some geometry problems. Shoot for a 30" Sony or 30HFX84 Toshiba. CRTs still offer the best image quality.

The Sony STR-DE898 receiver is a great value for $400.

Don't EQ's still require a tape monitor to work? I don't know of any equipment that even offers a tape monitor?

The Yamaha NSP436 6.1 speaker system sounds good, is very compact and is an amazing bargain. I paid nearly $300 for my set.

As far as remotes go, I'd recommend the Logitech Harmony 676. Amazon is selling them for $104, versus $200 at retail.

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DVD Player: Samsung DVD-HD850 :: And I'll look out for the Sony you mentioned

TV: Sony KD-30XS955. I want a TV which supports HDTV broadcasts out of the box.

TV Stand: Sony SU-30HX1. I don't have anything big enough to hold this TV, which is why I went with the Samsung SlimFit TV in the first place.

Receiver: Sony STR-DE898 :: Onkyo TX-SR503. I'm gonna keep in mind both receivers for now.

Equalizer: I've decided not to get one.

Speakers: Thanks for the Yamaha 6.1 suggestion, but it isn't quite what I'm looking for. I'm looking for the "big", floorstanding speakers. Take for example, Infinity Primus 250. I want 2 front speakers, 2 rear, 1 front center, and a subwoofer.

Remote: Logitech Harmony 688

Price ranges I'm looking at:

DVD Player: $150-200

TV: $1500

Receiver: $300

Front + Rear + Center Speakers: $600-800 (I raised this one a bit)

Subwoofer: $300

Remote: $100 :huh:

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The TV is an awesome choice. I love the picture quality on it and the SlimFit is a nice bonus. As far as receiver, I would recommend also looking at the Yamaha 5840.

For speakers, I would recommend the Klipsch Quintet package with the JBL E150P if you wish to stay in budget or the Klipsch SUB-10 if you can splurge a little more.

As for getting an equalizer, I'd say wait off until you hear the system without it.

edit: I didn't see your second post. I still recommend the Samsung over the Sony for the TV. The Samsung has a tuner built in too.

For speakers, if you want floor standing fronts, I'd recommend the Klipsch F-1's or F-2's depending on your budget. Do you want floor standing for your rears too?

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Front Speakers: Klipsch F-3

Rear Speakers: Klipsch B-2

Center Speaker: Klipsch C-2

SubWoofer: Klipsch SUB-10

I always thought Klipsch speakers were more expensive than this. Thanks for making me search for them bangbang :D

TV: I'll probably go with the Samsung then. Save $200 on the TV + $280 on a TV Stand + 7" of space.

Receiver: I just don't know anymore :blink: Yamaha :: Onkyo :: Sony

And in the second post, I just decided not to get an equalizer.

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Wow, going with the F-3's? Damn, I'm getting all excited for you.

As for the receiver, I'd go with Onkyo or Yamaha. I havee a dislike for Sony receivers, though I couldn't even fathom a way of knowing why.

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Wow, going with the F-3's? Damn, I'm getting all excited for you.

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Unfortunately, I'm only planning this system at the moment. It'll be a little while before I start purchasing any of this, and I may decide to downgrade some things...

Comparing the two receivers, the Yamaha seems better overall. Still not completely sure though, I haven't been able to find any decent reviews. Google just returns a bunch of shopping sites like dealtime.

I've ditched both the DVD player and CD player I had in the first post. I'm just now looking for a DVD player with SACD playback.

Samsung DVD-HD950 :: I got this from another post in this forum. Someone even posted a "hack" to make it region free :p I find $250 a bit steep for a DVD player though...

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I feel stupid now. I realized that the Klipsch F-3's don't sell in pairs, so its $400 PER speaker :pinch:

My oldest brother has JBL speakers, very impressed with them. I looked around for the latest they have, I realized I can get a quite impressive JBL system at a reasonable price. I'm looking at the Northridge series. All links are to Amazon.

4x JBL E80 front / rear speakers ($200 each) Link

1x JBL EC35 center speaker ($230) Link

JBL E250P 12" subwoofer ($250) Link

Total: $1280

Shipping, I don't even want to know...

Unless Amazon ups the prices, or anyone gives me a good reason not to, I'll be sticking with these speakers.

To summarize:

Yamaha HTR-5840BL Receiver $300 Link

Samsung SlimFit 30" HDTV $1000 Link

Samsung DVD-HD950 DVD/SACD Player $250 Link

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