I've wanted a home theater system for years, and when my dvd player died on me a couple weeks ago I decided to take the plunge and start researching home theater systems. Originally I wanted to spend less than $300 which meant I was limited to htib solutions. I quickly found out that in that price range all that is available are integrated systems with no upgrade potential and if one part quits working you're pretty much screwed. I upped my budget a little bit and was considering the SONY HT-7100DH and the Yamaha YHT-390. Some of the reviews I read said that the speakers with those systems produce "tinny" sound, so I set out to try to build my own system for a comparable price that would outperform the htib solutions. I didn't find this forum until I had purchased most of my system, but I still think I put together a decent system.
The System:
My tv: I own a philips 30" 1080i CRT. I've read some less than favorable reviews about this tv, but I've been pretty happy with mine. Of course I'm a bit biased since this was given to me by a friend.
The receiver: I was considering receivers from sony, yamaha and sherwood in the sub $200 price range. I scored a deal on ebay for the Sony STR-DG510, $105 shipped.
DVD player: I wasn't going to get too fancy here, I really don't know what the difference is between players as long as they upconvert via HDMI. I picked a philips from newegg with free shipping. What sold me on it was the usb port that has the ability to play movies, music and view photos from any attached drive. Not a bad deal at $73, and I couldn't buy all these electronics and not get something from newegg, been a loyal customer of theirs for years.
The speakers: I decided to use my existing JBL 6" bookshelf speakers for the front speakers. I'm not sure of the model, they're really old and weigh a solid 20 pounds each and since I like the way they sound why replace them. For the rear speakers I decided to try to match my JBL's with something similar, I've always like the sound of JBL speakers. I went with the 4" JBL tour venues from B&H photo, $69 with free shipping. I wasn't sure what to purchase for the center channel, and then I stumbled across thespeakercompany.com. I figured with their 30 day risk free guarantee I couldn't go wrong. If I was unhappy with it by the time I return it I'll have saved up a few bucks to get something better. Oh yeah, I'm a sucker for free shipping too. 49 bucks for the RC1 Center Channel Speaker . It seemed every sub I looked at in the $100 price range received a lot of bad reviews. I read a few posts on this forum that said the Dayton SUB 80 was the best one at this price point. After shipping $105.00.
For around $400 I think I have assembled a system that will outperform htib systems that cost a few hundred dollars more, of course I'm just a noob so someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm pretty excited for everything to start arriving so I can start setting it up. I guess I'll pass the time by shopping for some speaker stands.
