Newbie deciding on home theatre system needs advice

[Radiolad]

Hi there! First timer here.

I am developing my basement and have a 14x10 theatre room.

I am a little low on budget so I am trying to get an all in one system for less than 1000.

I am gravitating toward the Onkyo HT-S7700 with Dolby Atmos. It seems fairly well set up for now and the future.

Anyone heard this system at all? thoughts?

 

[slipperybidness]

You can do better than HTIB for the same money.

A GOOD 2 channel setup will beat a POOR 5 channel setup, any day.

I'm sure someone will start up the suggestion list.

But, no need to repeat recent work.

Read this thread
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/2-1-budget-system-build-advice-needed.93530/

 

[markw]

With that budget, forget Atmos. Forget 7.1

You'll be lucky to find a barely adequate entry level 5.1 system.

 

[psbfan9]

Hi Radiolad,

Welcome to the forum! That's not a bad looking system, but as Slippery said, you can do a lot better with a with some research. If you can buy that Onkyo system locally then do that and see if it meets your needs. If it doesn't, it makes returning it much easier.
Read through the forum that Slippery linked and see if anything there looks good to you.
What features are important to you? Atmos, 4k, Apple Play?

Here are a couple of suggestions:


http://emptek.com/cinema5.php

With either of these receivers;

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-A830-7-2-Channel-AVENTAGE-Receiver/dp/B00BQHCCQQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1423700984&sr=1-1&keywords=yamaha+a830

Or

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx2000/denon-avr-x2000-7.1-ch-4k-ultra-hd-networking-receiver-airplay/1.html

 

[Radiolad]

Ha! For sure not a big budget markw!

Thanks psbfan and to answer your question, Atmos is something I would like so if I add a couple of speakers later to enhance the already 2 way speakers in the package, I can plus the 4K is already there too. Music and Apple and those other add ons are not important to me....just getting half decent surround while watching movies.

here is another consideration....The source of the movies is usually streaming from my cable service. I'm sure the signal they send is probably barely passable but since Atmos is starting to appear in movies, I will be investing more in Blu-ray down the road.

I have been trying to do research on this but it's getting to the point of throwing my arms up and saying "just buy something!" My working knowledge of home theatre is not bad but not great either....very middle of the road.

thanks for your comments!!

 

[herbu]

Hi there! First timer here.

I am developing my basement and have a 14x10 theatre room.

I am a little low on budget so I am trying to get an all in one system for less than 1000.

I am gravitating toward the Onkyo HT-S7700 with Dolby Atmos. It seems fairly well set up for now and the future.

Anyone heard this system at all? thoughts?

Radiolad,
I'm afraid $1k is not enough to get a "future proof" system, meaning one that can handle basic needs now, but have the capability to handle fancy capability later.

I suggest starting w/ a decent 5.1 system now. Upgrade as the funds and inclination dictate. Honestly, $1k is pretty slim for even a good basic system, but it can be done. There are a number of threads about it. Use the search bar. And look through the Product Reviews and AV Research sections.

 

[shadyJ]

To echo what others have said, if you want a good sound, I would go with a 2.0 or 2.1 for now. 5.1 at $1k stretches the quality of the speakers and subwoofers very thin. If I had $1k to spend on an audio setup, I would go for a pair of Mackie MR8 or JBL LSR308 moniters and a Hsu VTF2 subwoofer. I wouldn't bother with an AVR at that point.

 

[Radiolad]

Well it's official....I give up.

I'm one of these newbs that is stuck on 5.1. I have looked and researched and I am now throwing my hands up in the air.

Luckily I went to a best buy and asked them to demo an Atmos set-up and didn't hear any difference so the HTIB Atmos system I talked about earlier will probably not do.

Been looking at Murantz 1403 vs Yamaha vs Onkyo. I just want great home theatre sound and don't care about music or anything else as its in my basement and I don't listen to music down there.

Will probably make a stupid kneejerk decision one day as I have been trying to digest all the info I see on here and its mostly greek to me. 8 ohms vs 6 ohms...what the hell? 4k passthrough...I hear that its good to have.

My apologies....I guess I'm ranting a bit but its very frustrating trying to get the most bang for my 1000 dollar buck....I just want a good clear home theatre sound that you can hear the different effects.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Cos]

Ha! For sure not a big budget markw!

Thanks psbfan and to answer your question, Atmos is something I would like so if I add a couple of speakers later to enhance the already 2 way speakers in the package, I can plus the 4K is already there too. Music and Apple and those other add ons are not important to me....just getting half decent surround while watching movies.

here is another consideration....The source of the movies is usually streaming from my cable service. I'm sure the signal they send is probably barely passable but since Atmos is starting to appear in movies, I will be investing more in Blu-ray down the road.

I have been trying to do research on this but it's getting to the point of throwing my arms up and saying "just buy something!" My working knowledge of home theatre is not bad but not great either....very middle of the road.

thanks for your comments!!

The 4k Pass through will not work on any copy protected content (i.e. 4k Blu-Ray etc) HDCP 2.2 is required and right now only Onkyo has it in their systems, and it is not even full bandwidth HDCP 2.2. My point being, if that is a requirement for your receiver, I would wait about 5-6 months

 

[shadyJ]

Agreed with Cos, if you really want a future proof system, wait for something with HDCP 2.2. If you want a future proof system, do not buy Onkyo, bad reliability. I will be blunt, $1k is a bad budget for a serious 5.1 setup. Start with a receiver and a couple of good budget tower speakers with $1k, and grow out from there as money permits. There is no $1k 5.1 system including AVR which is worth owning that I have ever heard, and I am not at all a picky audiophile.

 

[zieglj01]

Well it's official....I give up.

OK, go ahead if you want!

However, this is better than straight TV - you can upgrade the sub
and receiver later - free shipping - since you are set on 5.1 now
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQV3KLQ?psc=1

Receiver for now
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavre200/denon-avr-e200-5.1-channel-3d-home-theater-receiver/1.html

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However, I would start simple and build up

 

[rojo]

shadyJ, I'm surprised you didn't link http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/trying-to-build-a-5-1-system-with-1000-budget-read-this.94546/

Radiolad, 3x WaveCrest Audio HVL-1 bookshelfs + NXG NX-BAS-500 + Denon AVR-X2000. That'll get you started with front LCR, sub, and receiver with $100-ish left to buy speaker stands, wiring, sub cable, HDMI cables as needed, and so forth. That should be easy to build upon at your leisure -- a couple of surrounds in a month or two, maybe a couple of in-ceiling speakers before you adopt a new receiver with Atmos and DTS:X (when they arrive on the market in a few months). The NXG sub is great for the money, and should be easy to sell on Craigslist or similar for little loss if you decide to upgrade later. If you must have surrounds now, the Fluance AVBP2 are cheap and are nice for the money.