Which home theater system is better?

well i read your earlier post, and from what i remember you needed a system not just the speakers correct?
if this is correct, the philips includes a receiver and such.
the sony is just speakers.

The Sony link is just speakers. If I was you I would put the money I have aside now and wait until I have more cash and get something better. I think you would be much happier then. These systems aren't very impressive. I think you will be disappointed with them. Wait a little longer and get something you really like.

Well, Sapph, I'd stay away from any Best Buy-type systems. If I were in your shoes, I'd go to a home theatre or stereo shop, give them your requirements and your budget, and see what they recommend.

In the end, you will get a MUCH better sounding system, with a clear upgrade path. My brother-in-law has worked in the home theatre industry for years, both on high-end (they just wired a house for a guy for, oh, $250K. The system, not the house )and for real people like us.

He just recently sold my best friend a system for ~$3500.00 (more than your budget, but the example holds), including receiver, 5 speakers, subwoofer, DVD/CD player. It absolutely blows away the stuff I bought at Best Buy (Bose 5.1 speakers, Onkyo receiver, Onkyo DVD, Sony CD-changer), and when you add up my costs, it wasn't that much more.

You can get into a really nice sounding system for under $1000.00, with good bookshelf speakers, Dolby 5.1, etc. After listening to some of the smaller speakers at my brother-in-law's shop, I will never buy speakers from a Best Buy again - there truly is no comparison, and the prices are actually competitive.

Bottom line, DO NOT skimp on the speakers - they are the only part of a system that you "hear".

Cut + paste from the previous thread

Originally posted by PsychoMusicloverBagpuss|PuF
I suggest getting a dolby digital/dts amp/receiver (around 100W per channel is usally a good choice). Preferably with a couple of optical/digital inputs. I would then get the front two floor standers (depending on room size, the bigger cabinets on floor standers give a bassier response compared to the exact same speaker/wattage in a smaller cab).
All in one systems usually suck cheesy donkey scrotum. It might sound ok at the start but they're complete and utter pants for when it comes to upgrading (you usally have to replace the whole thing).
This way you can add the surround sound speakers, center and sub when you have the money (or the incentive) available.
The biggest feature of your sound system will be the amp so don't skimp on it (I'd get a decent amp/two floor standers over an all-in-one package with 5 pissant speakers and mini-sub any day).
The s-video connections on an amp are a bit pointless if you're not running multiple s-video using devices, most dvd players have pass thrus and your tv should have a couple of inputs (if it doesn't have any, well it makes it even more pointless getting an amp with s-video inputs).
You don't need hundreds of buttons/gadgets/flashing lights. Amps that pack these (or things like "mega-bass" or different eq settings) have them to disguise a generally crappy sound. The better amps will normally just have a volume control and tone control.
From what you posted you intend to put most things through the amp. If the amp is a "budget" one, regardless of what kickarse sound card/dvd player/console you have they will all sound "budget"
I'll have a look and see what the model numbers are like over here in the U.S compared to the UK.
Think of it like a PC - you're buying a new pc, are you going to spend $600 on an all-in-one crappy compaq desktop system, or build your own using quality components and adding bits when and if you need them?

ZenPirate posted a good standard of amp/speaker - I personally would go for an EX (or EX 6.1 upgradeable one) which would have the option of a centre rear channel (either a discrete one or matrixed in by blending the left and right "surround" sounds into a mono source). I'd also go for one in silver/gold - but thats just personal preference (black hifi is so 80's ). http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=11062760&m=1&cat=3&scat=4 is a nice amp (a couple of my friends are running this).

Anyway, my recommendation (if you're still reading this ambling monologue) is to get a kwality (with a "k") DD5.1/DTS amp/reciever and two floor standers (if you've got a fairly decent sized room).
All-in-one systems are for poor students who can't afford better (majority of us laugh at people with all-in-one pc dekstop systems with ati onboard vga, onboard sound that they got in bestbuy with a "free" printer, who then try to upgrade when theres no agp port/spare memory slots/pci slots - its the same with hifi. Seperates are the way to go).

Hope I've been of some use.

Hugs + kisses

Click to expand...

Please don't go for the all-in-one systems - you WILL regret it. Get a nice amp (main priority) then the nicest pair of speakers you can afford. You can then always upgrade (more speakers) when you feel the need to.
One thing though - how big a room is this going to be placed in?

saph,
if you really want to research it and get the most informed opinions, go to

www.hometheaterforum.com



and make a "help a noob" type post.
try to figure how much you want to spend first, what you want it to accomplish, etc..


gl

Get these speakers SN.:tup: http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-Rgofjc0oA6Y/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=4&g=12000&I=700ENTRA2&o=P&a=0

I really like the second one. Because it's cooler and it gots my favorite colour on it.

Well one.
Oh **** I just bust a pen and all the liquid went on the keyboard.

This is bad... What am I going to do. What about my brother. This won't be pretty.

I swear by Mission speakers - i'll have a dig round and see what I can come up with.
If theres a local hi-fi specialist (rather than a department store type) I'd recommend going in there and having a listen to the different options - you might not buy from there but they'll be more than happy to give you a demo if they think they're going to make a sale. Even better if they've got the amp in stock and you can match the speakers to it.
I'll post again when I've got some more info

Mission M73's http://www.del.denon.com/catalog/photo.asp?s=speakers&p=m73&f=73.jpg&c=50
http://www.mission.co.uk/m70_ser.htm#m73
They're biwirable as well as magnetically shielded (so you won't feck up your tele/monitor by placing them to close to it).
I can pick up a pair of the 73's in the UK for about $210.
Only issue that I can see is that I can't find many places (so far) on the web that are doing them (they're distributed by Denon in the US). I've been able to find a few for the MS773's/MS774's, but these are a bit more pricier.

Sapph, I've got those Bose speakers. Run, do not walk, straight the other way.

These things have ZERO mid range and very little bass - listen to them next to a good or even decent pair of mid-size floor speakers and you'll see what I mean. Most satellite/woofer systems (these things are NOT subwoofers) simply don't sound as good as a cabinet speaker. In fact, the local high fidelity store keeps a set of those Bose speakers in the showroom, even though they don't sell them. Once they demo some other brand head to head, no one thinks of buying the Bose.

Not to belabor the point, but I'd try to find a store that specializes in stereo and/or home theatre equipment. Many of these places will let you take speakers home and audition them in your own house - which is truly the only way to see if YOU will like them in YOUR place. You cannot underestimate the way acoustics of the room and how the speakers react will affect the sound.

One other factor to consider - your listening habits. Speakers that excel for classical may not provide the bass extension for heavy rap, for example. Myself, I tend to listen to classical, some jazz, blues - to me, I want precision and a good deep soundstage.

You might want to look at these:

http://www.paradigm.com The smaller monitor series would work for you, I think.

http://www.bwspeakers.com/ B&W makes some nice speakers

http://www.definitivetech.com/ Excellent, but pricy. Don't know what their lowest priced models are, but some of the higher end stuff can be $5K for a pair.

If I were you (and I've been there ) I'd take a selection of your favorite music and maybe a movie or two, and spend a day hitting a couple of different shops. Have them show you what a REALLY good system sounds like, even if you can't afford it - that way you'll know what you like, and how close you can come on your budget. You'll probably find that speakers from the same manufacturer tend to have similar characteristics - and you will be amazed at the differences between manufacturers!

In the end, you should take the time to find something that YOU like - after all, you're the only one that knows what it sounds like to you, right ?

Good luck - let us know how it turns out!

Just trying to keep you from making the same mistake we did

If I remember correctly, you're in Chicago (or thereabouts)? I did a quicky search on Yahoo's Yellow Pages for "stereo equipment"

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py...&country=us&slt=41.849998&sln=-87.650002&cs=4

"high fidelity"

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py...&country=us&slt=41.849998&sln=-87.650002&cs=4

"home theater equipment"

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py...&sorttype=distance&beyond=1&stat=ClkByndLower

"home theatre equipment" (must be more high-brow to spell it like the limey's do )

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py...sln=-87.650002&cs=4&Search%A0Now=Search%A0Now

"Stereophonic & High Fidelity Equip - Dlrs " (Yahoo category)

http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py...&country=us&slt=41.849998&sln=-87.650002&cs=4


I'd pick a few that are near you, give them a call, and see if they carry equipment in your price range. Then take a ride and give them a listen - if they are a good shop, they'll be more interested in getting you a system that meets your needs than selling the flavor of the month. Almost all of the manufacturers that sell in chain stores offer incentives to the salespeople, like free equipment, trips, etc. Back in the day, my younger brother worked at local version of Circuit City - he steered everyone in the store to Bose, because they were offering free gear if you sold X amount of stuff.

I'm not saying that you won't run into a weasel here or there in the high end shops, but they typically depend more on customer satisfaction than a Circuit City or a Best Buy. Let's face, if every member of this board never bought another thing from CC, they wouldn't even notice.

Plus, you could probably flirt with a salesperson at one of the smaller shops

FWIW, my next system will probably consist of a mid-to-high end Denon, Onkyo, or Yamaha receiver, paired with Paradigm or Definitive Technology speakers. Some of the "audiophile" types claim to be able to hear differences between purely electronic components like receivers; quite frankly, I've never been able to, so I really look at the feature list rather than how a bunch of circuits "sounds". Might be just me.

A CD or DVD player, because it takes a digital signal and essentially decodes it, can have differing quality levels. I would submit that the interaction point (speakers or TV) have a much greater influence than a slightly cleaner amplifier or a higher sampling rate on a CD player, all other things being equal.

OK, I can see I'm rambling, so let me try to sum up what I'm trying to say:

1. Buy the best speakers you can afford.
2. The difference between a $400.00 receiver and a $800.00 receiver is typically going to be features, like added surround modes, and higher amplifier power. The surround modes (stadium, jazz club, etc) are stuff that folks use once, go "gee whiz, ain't that cool" and never use again. Higher amp power is great, within reason. If you're not driving big speakers and/or filling a large room, or playing very dynamic source material at high volume levels, you don't necessarily need huge power. My 100 watt per channel receiver will play music and movies at a louder level than I'm comfortable putting up with.
3. All other things being equal, I'd try to buy your accessories, like a DVD/CD player, from the same manufacturer as the receiver. Tends to cut down on the number of remotes
4. When it comes to this stuff, opinions are like a$$holes - everyone's got one, and they all stink Trust your ear, with your material, preferably in your abode. But definitely give every set up an audition for as long as you want - after all, you have to live with it.

Good luck, let us know the outcome.