Home Theater Newbie needs help on making the right decision!

[KASR]

Thanks for poking your heads in here to help me. Alittle background of course.

OK, so I got the go ahead to make a home theater room (in my house, obviously) but I'm getting all turned around trying to decide on what unit to get - should I get a all-in-one in a box, piece it together, etc. So I'll let the "experts" help educate me! Here's the rundown:

Room: 16.9 feet x 15 feet.
Inputs needed: atleast 2 HDMI's, 2 Optical, 1 Component
Output: 1 HDMI (maybe component - depending on passthrough)
Existing Equipment: Xbox 360 (component/optical), Panasonic DVD player/DVD RAM recorder (up-converts to 1080p via HDMI)
Monitor: Sony 50inch DLP Wega (capable of 720p/1080i) - now I do have an Olevia 42inch that is capable of 1080p - but it's amazing how much difference 8 inches will make (that's what she said...) - so another question is which monitor to use for the home theater???

My budget is around the $600 mark...I know it's pretty low - but that's the budget for just the electronics....ok, it's still low. But I'm working with what I got. So with that said - here's what I've been able to dig up so far:

(PREFACE:::: I'm still figuring out which brand is better for what, so please comment on that as well...thanks everyone!)

* Option 1: Piece meal.
This was my original idea. I am getting a fairly decent price on some equipment from where I work, so I pieced a system together and it consists of:
a.) Harmon Kardon AVR154 5.1
b.) Pinnacle MB5000 speaker set (1x MB3000 center channel, 4x MB2000 satellites)
c.) BIC America 8" powered subwoofer (100W, down firing, 11" inch cabinet)

* Option 2: Best Buy
The Yamaha YHT 590 5.1 600W.
The one thing I like about this setup is the fact that the receiver up-converts, so there won't be a need to run component out to my monitor for the xbox - every video signal will come out through the HDMI.

* Option 3: Onecall.com
Onkyo HT-S5100B
OK, so I'll be the first to say that I know "JACK" about Onkyo other than what I've read on this forum and from what I can tell, they seem to be pretty damn good. So how does it compare with the H/K, Bose, Yahama, Sony, Pioneer, Kenwoods, etc.'s of the world? I need a reference point, I guess.


* Option 4: tigerdirect.com
Harmon Kardon CP55 Theater system
features: H/K AVR 146 receiver, H/K DVD38 (upscales 720p/1080i), H/K TS15 (5.1 speaker set 100W 10inch power sub)


Ok, so there it is. Once I get this nailed down, I'll be hunting for the room treatments materials for the walls (to keep the sound from bouncing), wall paint to darken the room color (white walls right now) and of course, the damn seating (which is so freaking expensive!!!!)

Thanks in advance everyone - I'm happy to learn!

 

[adk highlander]

You may want to look at Buy.com as well. Here are somethings I found just now that would serve you well. I have heard all of this but the sub. The KEF's are very nice but are a bit more than the Polk's.

Receiver:
HK 147 Refub 213 shipped: http://www.buy.com/prod/harman-kardon-avr-146-a-v-receiver-5-1-channel-with-hdmi-switching/q/loc/111/207393143.html

or

HK 247 Refurb 319 shipped: http://www.buy.com/prod/harman-kardon-7-1-channel-a-v-receiver-with-hdmi-switching-recertified/q/loc/111/205985714.html

Fronts:
Polk Fronts 298 shipped: http://www.buy.com/prod/polk-audio-rti-a1-black-pr-2-way-bookshelf-speaker/q/loc/111/207390445.html

or

KEF Fronts 370 shipped: http://www.buy.com/prod/kef-iq3-dark-apple-pr-2-way-bookshelf-speakers/q/loc/111/204049545.html

Center:
Polk Center 180 shipped: http://www.buy.com/prod/polk-audio-cs2-black-center-channel-loudspeaker/q/loc/111/204049413.html

or

KEF Center 180 shipped: http://www.buy.com/prod/kef-q-series-iq2c-center-channel-speaker-2-way-speaker-10w-rms-100w/q/loc/111/204049560.html

Sub:
Pold PSW10 144 shipped: http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.asp?sku=204049418&adid=17737&SearchEngine=Guidester&Type=DF&Keyword=204049418&Category=Elec&GSID=34847630&GSESID=1wh5m4u1st0o1kat0wuajj55&GSCID=29

or the Dayton you were talking about is around the same price.

So this setup would run between 837 - 1013 which is a bit over your budget but will be a much better system.

You could then just pick up an inexpensive pair of surrounds for now

 

[KASR]

So, are you suggesting more committment to the receiver or to the center/front set speakers?

I picked the AVR146 becuz it upscales to 720/1080i, which is the capability of my Sony DLP - but I can also scoop up the H/K AVR154 for $229.00 (which boasts quite a few more audio properties).

But I'm beginning to hear that speakers at this point are far more important at the get go.

 

[j_garcia]

Speakers have the largest influence on the sound you hear, so you need to be happy with them first.

 

[mazersteven]

$600 for electronics. But what is the total budget? Speakers and receiver

 

[bandphan]

I picked the AVR146 becuz it upscales to 720/1080i, which is the capability of my Sony DLP - but I can also scoop up the H/K AVR154 for $229.00 (which boasts quite a few more audio properties).

If your talking about owning a SXRD set from Sony, it more than likely scales better than an inexpensive AVR, so you can let the panel handle it

 

[KASR]

If your talking about owning a SXRD set from Sony, it more than likely scales better than an inexpensive AVR, so you can let the panel handle it

When I referenced the AVR146 here, I was talking about the Harman/Kardon receiver.

 

[bandphan]

When I referenced the AVR146 here, I was talking about the Harman/Kardon receiver.

correct and i was refering to your tv which you described as a sony dlp, and i asked if you meant sxrd. Either way bypassing the upscaling in a lower priced avr might result in a better image.

 

[KASR]

correct and i was refering to your tv which you described as a sony dlp, and i asked if you meant sxrd. Either way bypassing the upscaling in a lower priced avr might result in a better image.

Ahhh...ok, I see what you mean now. The Sony I have is the KDF-50WE655, you can see it here

 

[bandphan]

Ahhh...ok, I see what you mean now. The Sony I have is the KDF-50WE655, you can see it here

Ok thats a LCDRPTV...I havent been around that set in awhile, and due to its production date might benefit from an avr with good scaling.

 

[KASR]

Ok thats a LCDRPTV...I havent been around that set in awhile, and due to its production date might benefit from an avr with good scaling.

That's my hope atleast - if it doesn't look so good I can always move the olevia 42" 1080P LCD in there....but those extra 8 inches just seem to make a difference, so I'm hoping it works out. The lamp has plenty of brightness and contrast to it, so I "think" i'm ok - i'll certainly know once i hook it all up.

 

[KASR]

Everything is hooked up and I have to say, the Sony is holding up nicely and produces a pretty darn good picture.

 

[KASR]

Oh, forgot to mention the configuration I ended up going with:

Sony 50" LCDRPTV
Harmon Kardon 154 receiver
Polk Audio 5.1 surround system (RM6750)
Panasonic DVD recorder/player (1080p un-convert) DMR-EZ28K
Xbox 360 connected via component and optical sound
Peerless 5-pak wall mounting
Pysclone optical cables
Belkin HDMI 1.3 cables

Next up....power conditioner!

Or....seating....hehe.