need help- new at this [Archive] - Audioholics Home Theater Forums

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12-11-2002, 01:43 PM

I am a total novice and would appreciate some good advice.  Here is what I have:  A 48 inch widescreen HDready TV with an HD satellite receiver.  Also, have a multi-disc progressive scan DVD player that plays MP3, CD-R, CD-RW, SACD,etc.  I am looking for a surround sound system in the neighborhood of $1500.  The room it will go in is not that big and we will use it for both TV and music.  I would like the speakers to be fairly small and wall mountable.  The receiver should also be 2 zoned since we are prewired for speakers throughout the house and will eventually get to that.

01-07-2003, 12:35 PM

I spent a long time looking and listening and the only speakers I heard that made a difference are Totem. Give the dreamcatcher series a listen. great for a a small room. Maybe a bit above your budget, but I changed mine to fit.

01-10-2003, 02:42 PM

In that price range you will likely do best with a good HTIB (Home Theater in a Box).  It sounds cheesy, but several are respectable.  Check out Cambridge Soundworks (www.hifi.com) which is possibly the best bang for the buck.

duff

01-10-2003, 03:25 PM

Axiom puts together some nice packages in that range.

Clint DeBoer

01-13-2003, 01:29 PM

Since your budget is for a receiver and speakers, I wouldn't recommend a HTIB solution.

There are some other good posts in this forum on good receiver selections - I would stay around $400 if you want to have enough left for a decent set of speakers. Go out and audition as many speakers in the $1000 - $1200 price range as you can. Stay away from magical paper cone solutions with no tweeters. You want real speakers that hook up directly to your receiver.