good all around 5.1 system

[steveO]

ok first things first...this is my first post. glad to be here

for my first question, everyone needs some background. I am a college kid with a father who is insanely knowledgeable in the av world, but only with high end products. Herein lies the problem, when i ask him for help with selecting a good all around home theater system (5.1 preferrably) he only knows about expensive stuff. So here i am asking you guys. I looked at the article for a "bare-bones" system for under 1000 but it was last updated in 2006. Quite a bit has happened since then.

so, can anyone help me select a decent 5.1 channel dvd tuner combo for a college kid. Im looking to not spend a grand but if need be...o well.

this would be for a 36 inch lcd lg tv. any advice on where to buy and what to buy would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Seth=L]

Insignia receiver at best buy with some budget speakers, someone should chime in about that soon.

Athena (speakers) has some closeouts as they are out of business, so jump on those deals if you can find them.

 

[m_vanmeter]

I am extremely happy with my Vizio 32" LCD. Sam's Club or Costco are excellent places to buy LCD HDTV's at reasonable prices.

As to your 5.1 audio setup, consider a refurbished receiver from a factory authorized reseller (factory warranty is good when sold by authorized reseller).

Marantz and Onkyo units:
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/category/AVReceiver/Home-Audio/Home-Theater-Receivers/1.html

For speakers, a quite decent 5.1 setup can be purchased from "The Speaker Company". There are a couple of threads about their speakers on this forum.
http://www.thespeakercompany.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Env=BASE&Locale=en_US&SiteID=speaker&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=95712500

As to the DVD, any good sub $100 up-scaling DVD player will work fine. Don't put a lot of money into the DVD player, they are almost expendible commodities now.

good luck

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Get this and add a 300 buck Yammy RX 659 and be done with it. I know that takes you over budget but it will be worth it. SVS may also have some b-stock which will lower your price.
http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

 

[Seth=L]

Not to bang on Vizio 32" LCD TVs but, I'm going to bang on Vizio's 32" LCD TV. I have this TV at work and I can't for the life of me get the picture to look as good as the similarly priced Sanyo and Westinghouse models. The Westinghouse is cheaper and looks much better. The Sanyo seems to have a slight edge over the Westinghouse and is offered at a little over the Vizio in price. The picture seems a bit orange, I have attempted to get rid of the problem, but I can't seem to make it look as nice as the others.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

He is not looking for a TV, he has a LG already...

 

[Seth=L]

He is not looking for a TV, he has a LG already...

Sorry, I was just reading m_vanmeter's post.

 

[jcPanny]

2nd hand system

With second hand high end gear from Dad you might be able to do better than what you will find in your $1k budget. See if he has anything collecting dust in the garage.

If you plan on moving pretty frequently, you could also start with a nice 2.0 or 2.1 system in your budget.

 

[m_vanmeter]

yep, I blew it.....mis-read the 37" LCD as "wanted", not "already had".

As to the Vizio, I've set up 3 LCD TV's for family, 2 Vizio 32" and 1 Olevia 32". I found the Vizio's PQ slightly "better" viewing than the Olevia, but have had absolutely no problems with any of them. I guess everyones "mileage may vary".

 

[Seth=L]

yep, I blew it.....mis-read the 37" LCD as "wanted", not "already had".

As to the Vizio, I've set up 3 LCD TV's for family, 2 Vizio 32" and 1 Olevia 32". I found the Vizio's PQ slightly "better" viewing than the Olevia, but have had absolutely no problems with any of them. I guess everyones "mileage may vary".

The Olevias have horrible setup guides, I wanted to kill myself working with their 37" LCD. I can't say anything about their picture, as I never got it set up to pick up any stations.

 

[remsleep]

SteveO - I'm in somewhat the same situation, trying to put something together for not too many bucks. Except in my case its from having too many college kids. You guys are spendy little buggers.

You might look at DMC Electronics. They've got cosmetic blems of a little PSB 5.1 system for about $650. The system includes Intro LR1s for front mains and surrounds, plus a matching center and small sub: Its the "mini theater system" shown own the PSB speakers site. (Sorry, I don't have enough posts to be able to include the link). I spent about 15 minutes listening to the LR1 just a couple of days ago. Two of them were filling a 25 x 15 room x 12 room without sounding strained (with easy source material - female vocals). They seemed quite neutral - perhaps just the slightest bit warm to my ears - and seemed like the sort I would be able to listen to all day. There is a review of this system on the Web somewhere. As I recall, the only downside was the sub bottoming out on some heavy LF theater effects.

Please not I have NOT done business with DMC, so have no idea what their idea of a "cosmetic blem" is. They are an authorized PSB dealer, though.

Throw that PSB system together with a $100 upscaling DVD player (I recently picked up a cheap little Pioneer DV-400V that I'm very pleased with.) Toss in a Yammie 463 or Pioneer 818 for about $250 and you'd have a pretty musical setup that would handle small- to medium-sized-room theater fine, as long as you're not a complete basshead.

Hope you're able to put together something sweet.