Buying a Home Theater soon

[solomr2]

I have to agree with most of the suggestions others have already made. Two key points to consider is when budgeting for sound it is generally accepted best practice to allocate about 2:1 (twice as much on speakers vs. receiver). Also, good quality components such as those recommended will typically outperform most of the HTIB offerings.

Having said that, if you still decide to go with an HTIB then I would seriously consider the Onkyo system already recommended, or something along lines of the Panasonic SC-PT750, which has a wireless interface for rear speakers. However, if I were you I would consider buying it from a shop that will let you take it back if you don't like it. I think when you hear the sound in your specific environment you will probably be disappointed with the performance, especially with wireless speakers. Bear in mind, wireless speakers typically run on batteries, so besides the limited amount of power the batteries can provide, you also have to deal with changing out batteries and the associated cost of that.

 

[Halon451]

3 - In regards to adjusting the speakers so that they work optimally with my room, what the receiver be able to do that? If not, how could I do it myself other than just listening to it? (the problem there is that my current audio is coming from my tv, so anything will sound fantastic and I would never know that it's not the best I could get from my setup).

That's a long winding road to travel my friend, once you get started on it, but you came to the right place. These guys here on this forum are fantastic at helping you in every way conceivable, once you've purchased a system you're comfortable with.

As a sidenote - I would shy away from HTIB systems. They may look great in the store, and it's convenient to have everything in one tidy package, but purchasing things separately will ultimately give you better long term satisfaction.

 

[no. 5]

Looking at the Sony webpage, it looks like the HDMI is only up to 1080i. Does that mean that anything that is 1080p and goes through the receiver gets downgraded to 1080i?

I think what Sony means by 'only up to 1080i' is that the HDMI passthrough on that receiver does not have sufficient bandwidth to handle 1080p. So it cannot be sent a 1080p signal.

As AcuDefTechGuy pointed out, you could just run the video directly to the TV, and if you run into any problems doing it that way, I *think* that receiver has a lip sync control to fix it.

 

[davidbr55]

Hi everyone,

Quick update: I didn't buy the Sony receiver on Black Friday (I didn't feel like standing in the cold for hours waiting for Best Buy to open). But, as I did some more research on it, the STR-DG510 appears to only be able to support 3 external pieces of equipment at a time. Seeing that I have 4 (DVD, PS3, Wii, Cable), that wouldn't work too well. Does that sound right or am I completely off? (3 does sound like too little)

 

[davidbr55]

Hi everyone,

Quick update: I didn't buy the Sony receiver on Black Friday (I didn't feel like standing in the cold for hours waiting for Best Buy to open). But, as I did some more research on it, the STR-DG510 appears to only be able to support 3 external pieces of equipment at a time. Seeing that I have 4 (DVD, PS3, Wii, Cable), that wouldn't work too well. Does that sound right or am I completely off? (3 does sound like too little)

 

[Halon451]

Hi everyone,

Quick update: I didn't buy the Sony receiver on Black Friday (I didn't feel like standing in the cold for hours waiting for Best Buy to open). But, as I did some more research on it, the STR-DG510 appears to only be able to support 3 external pieces of equipment at a time. Seeing that I have 4 (DVD, PS3, Wii, Cable), that wouldn't work too well. Does that sound right or am I completely off? (3 does sound like too little)

I believe that any modern AV Receiver should be able to support many more inputs than that. This depends on the interface you choose - component video, HDMI, etc. It looks like you have two each component and HDMI inputs, so that's four devices you could hook up there. I assume your cable box outputs either component or HDMI, correct?

You could try to use the component connections for two of the devices (2 input - one output to component input of the TV), then routing two other devices via HDMI in the same fashion, but would require switching the TV's input selector depending on the configuration.

OR, you could buy an inexpensive external switching device, run all your gear into that, use its output to your receiver, then into the TV. But the problem with that is that if you want to have specific sound-fields set for each device, then it could be a hassle in that regard, because every device would be coming into one input.

Either way you slice it, stick with the higher quality connections first.

-HDMI
-Component Video w/Digital coax or optical audio (the red/green/blue connectors)
-S-Video
-Composite (the single yellow RCA connector on many included cables)
-RF (which is your typical incoming cable line, or the coax cable used to connect your old VCR back in the day - carries both composite video and stereo audio channels on one wire - VERY poor quality for HD applications)

In this order...

Do some research on other receivers. My Yamaha accepts three different component video sources, so I stick with that for my needs at the moment - My cable box is the HD version, which inputs to the receiver (my TV is a SDTV with component inputs), and maxes out at 480i resolution, which my cable box does support); DVD player, and computer (VGA to Component video via scan converter device). My regular Xbox (not the 360) has standard A/V connections (L/R audio, composite video), which inputs directly into my cable box, which upconverts it to component and goes into my system on the same set of wires my regular cable does.

There are tons of options out there. Explore what works best for you.

 

[davidbr55]

Alright, so after another day of researching, here are my receiver options:

Onkyo TX-SR505 for $200 (refurbished, with shipping)

Yamaha RX-V461 for $170 (refurbished, with shipping)

I don't mind the refurbished condition because I will buy the extended warranty (2 or 3 years).

I need your help deciding which one to buy. I am buying the receiver before the speakers, but let's suppose I will buy the following suggested speakers:

Speakers ($239 or $249)
http://www.tsto.com/cgi-bin/TSTO.storefront/4741f8c400266c4a2740ac1003410625/Product/View/2229
or
http://www.tsto.com/cgi-bin/TSTO.storefront/4741f8c400266c4a2740ac1003410625/Product/View/2516&2D1

Subwoofer ($80):
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-631

Which one would you buy?

 

[Halon451]

It's not a bad deal on either, as long as they work as described. It looks like you get a little more bang out of your buck with the Yamaha, so I would probably go with that one.

Let some of these other guys pipe in though first - they are probably much better for product comparisons than I am.

Plus the Onkyo is a 7.1 system - the ability to upgrade later is a big plus, as most of these guys will tell you.

 

[davidbr55]

The only thing that has prevented me from choosing the Yamaha right off the bat is that the Onkyo has HDMI, although it doesn't carry sound, just video. With the Yamaha I would just plug the video directly into the TV.

Any views on that or any other differences / reasons to buy one or the other?

 

[cmb5286]

i would go with the onkyo
i think they give you the most performance for the least amount of money
ive never had a problem with mine and i ve had it for 2.5 years
some people say that onkyo receivers run a little warm but just give them ample room for cooling and youll be fine

 

[davidbr55]

Anyone else? I plan on buying the receiver tomorrow - your input will be much appreciated

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Anyone else? I plan on buying the receiver tomorrow - your input will be much appreciated

Yeah, I vote for the Onkyo too.

 

[firedome]

theatre

Stick with tooob amps! R in ny

 

[Seth=L]

Another Onkyo vote out of those mentioned.

If you wanted to get a good bang for buck, look for the Yamaha RX-V659, you may be able to find it within that budget. the amp section the Yamaha RX-V659 uses the same size power supply as the new RX-V861 which costs around $800 new. It also has a pretty healthy amount of inputs/outputs. Feature wise it has more than the Onkyo or Yamaha you where looking at minus the HDMI on the Onkyo.

Here is a refurb of the Yamaha RX-V659. Audioholics gave this receiver a very positive review.

http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/home-audio-receivers/m/18611394/qlty=r

If you want one act quickly, there are only 4 units left. JMO, but if you don't need HDMI switching you should really get this one.

 

[Seth=L]

Stick with tooob amps! R in ny

This is not helpful and you are just posting just to be have a certain post count.

 

[Matt34]

This is not helpful and you are just posting just to be have a certain post count.

I've already had my eye on him Seth.

 

[Seth=L]

I've already had my eye on him Seth.

I wanted to post "enjoy your ban".

THIS IS SPARTA!

 

[davidbr55]

Seth,
Thanks for the suggestion. It does seem like a pretty good deal, but I am unwilling to buy a refurb receiver if I can't buy the extra warranty.

The score so far:
Yamaha RX-V461- 1
Onkyo TX-SR505 - 3

 

[davidbr55]

Seth,
Thanks for the suggestion. It does seem like a pretty good deal, but I am unwilling to buy a refurb receiver if I can't buy the extra warranty.

The score so far:
Yamaha RX-V461- 1
Onkyo TX-SR505 - 3

 

[DavidG]

Another Onkyo vote out of those mentioned.

If you wanted to get a good bang for buck, look for the Yamaha RX-V659, you may be able to find it within that budget. the amp section the Yamaha RX-V659 uses the same size power supply as the new RX-V861 which costs around $800 new. It also has a pretty healthy amount of inputs/outputs. Feature wise it has more than the Onkyo or Yamaha you where looking at minus the HDMI on the Onkyo.

Here is a refurb of the Yamaha RX-V659. Audioholics gave this receiver a very positive review.

http://electronics.pricegrabber.com/home-audio-receivers/m/18611394/qlty=r

If you want one act quickly, there are only 4 units left. JMO, but if you don't need HDMI switching you should really get this one.

I can vouch for the Yamaha RX-V659. If you can find one in your price range it packs quite a bit of power for a fairly inexpensive receiver. I'm sure you would be quite happy with it, as long as this post is not too late. If you don't need HDMI and can stretch your budget a little, I would definitely choose the RX-V659 over the other 2 choices.