Completely lost need help...

[youyou]

Hi everyone,
This is my first post on the site...
I have a couple of questions and am completely unknowlegable in terms of what i'm about to ask so please bare with me...
So I just decided to redo my home theater and I kinda went nuts.
Initially my plan was just to change my tv.So i purchased a Panasonic 50" th-50px60. After coming home I decided it was time ro change my Panasonic HTIB. So i went back to future shop here in Montreal and decided to purchase a new home theater. So first off I decided to purchase the Bose Acoustimass 16 home entertainement speaker system.Which is the double cube 6.1 channel... So here comes my first question. Is this a realll good system and is it worth the big $$$$??? I mean in the store it sounded phenomenel but you never know once you get home...
So after that The salesmen told me I needed to buy an Amp and suggested the Harmon Kardon avr 240 which in its own has a hefty price tag... Now here comes my second and most important question.... When I looked at this thing from the back I was completely completely lost... I mean I have no idea what all these connections are for. All i know is that I need to conect my new Bose system to it and that's the whole purpose of this thing. Now the salesman was not very helpful and everything he said about the hk amp sounded like chinese to me. I have been reading some reviews and am wondering what the fuss about this machine no having hdmi connection on it.
Now I bought a samsung dvd player with hdmi connection and my Panny Plasma has an hdmi connection as well so won't i be getting the hdmi signal. I mean don't I have to just connect the dvd player to the tv? Does the dvd player need to be connected to the Amp? Again please forgive me for overwhelming you with all these silly questions but at this i am completely lost.
So ya I mean how exactly does it work out in terms of the video that my tv will be projecting. Will it be running through my HK amp? I also have a xbox 360 and a direct tv philips tivo machine that I will be hooking up. Will that be hooked up to my amp as well? And what about the optical outs? Is that something important will that give me better sound coming from my direct tv receiver?
So there you go i've kinda summed it all up... Mainly I want to know as well if i did a good choice with my Bose sytem and the HK Amp. Will it give me good/great/outstanding sound...
I have my 50" Plasma , my Bose acoustimass 16 system and my HK avr 240 sitting in the boxes in my house waiting for someone to come set it all up for me this week...
Thank you all very much for reading my post and hopefully helping me resolve my questions and concerns...

 

[knobturner75]

First off, welcome to audioholics.

Just to let you know, you would be better served by posting the speaker question in the "Loudspeakers & Subwoofers" thread and the receiver question in the "Amps, Pre-Pros, & Receivers" thread. I will however do what I can to help you here.

As far as the Bose, I am not an audiophile like most here are. I have read a lot of poking fun at Bose. Personally, I don't know the exact problem people have with them. They seem to do a decent job at what they are designed for. I guess one problem would be as you suggested. They are too expensive. My dad has the single cube 5.1 system with a Bose center channel added to make it a 6.1 system. I spent half as much for a Jensen 5.1 system, and to me, I don't see the need to spend that much. Unless you just want tiny speakers. Again, like I said, I'm not the audiophile most here are. Maybe somebody will be along to help you further with your speakers.

As far as the receiver, you are right that you can hook your HDMI from the DVD straight to the TV, but if you don't already know, the HDMI also carries your audio signal. So you will have to run a separate cable to the receiver from the DVD player (HDMI, fiber optic, RCA digital, or just left and right RCA's). If you run the HDMI out of the DVD and into a HDMI capable receiver and out to your TV through HDMI, then you can hook all of your other video equipment up to your receiver. By doing this, if you get the right receiver, you can upconvert all of your other video components to a better quality signal. Not to say that it will drastically improve a crappy signal, because they won't. You will just have one connection to make to your TV. Just to let you know, I just bought the Yamaha RX-V1600. It has the HDMI ins and out. I am not using the HDMI yet, but it is there when I do need it. Also, this receiver does not do the upconverting. This is not a priority for me at this point. The Yamaha HTR-5990 and RX-V2600 both do the upconverting. They also were out of my price range. There is a very good review here on this site about the 2600. There are other brands with HDMI capable receivers. I just don't know the model numbers off the top of my head. As far as not knowing how to connect everything, my manual with my receiver has great instructions on the way to hook everything up. With several options on how to connect various components.

If you will repost your questions, in the threads I mentioned, you will receive more advice than you can possibly process.

Just keep in mind, this is your home and if you are happy with what you bought, then be happy and enjoy.