HTIB Systems

[Spiffyfast]

I must say I used to be completely against HTIB systems afer hearing what a higher end system could do. I received a Sony HTIB for christmas a few years ago from my father and was happy with it until I heard a full Kef and Mcintosh set up. So when my dad up and decided he wanted surround sound for one of the living rooms in our house and bought a HTIB I was very dissapointed. He brought home a Yamaha YHT550, it comes with an HTR 5730, Yamaha dvd player (can't think of the model), and a 5.1 sattelite system. I was dissapointed that he didn't let me pick a system out for him but grudgingly decided to hook everything up for him (made him go buy an HDTV to go with his new system, 25" rca wasn't gonna cut it anymore). I've never used a Yamaha before and was appreciative of all the settings that can be tweaked with this receiver. Once I got it set up decided to put in a dvd, had gladiator sitting down stairs, and started to watch the movie. For sattelites there is some nice sound coming out of these little speakers and the processing of the receiver was great, ended up liking some of the DSP's that are loaded on there, I think Adventure was my favorite.
After watching the movie and being impressed, I decided to see how it would perform with music. Swiped a Green Day Cd from my little brother and put the Yammy on 5 channel stereo, couldnt believe this sound was coming from those tiny speakers and the bass wasn't too shabby either, got to cranking it up, I know new system I should have gave it some time to break in but it was too tempting, needless to say, about 5 minutes into the cd the neighbor from across the street came banging on the door and was extremely angry, probably more b/c he had been there for longer I just didnt hear it So, after some broken picture frames down stairs and an angry neighbor I have to say my dad may a pretty good choice. I think this just goes to show that no one should ever buy a sony HTIB system....ever......ever......ever. This Yammy system puts mine to shame hands down and kind of shows that a HTIB set up can be perfectly fine depeing on the use its going to incur. Now Ill just have to make my dad jelous when I buy my paradigm and marantz set up

 

[markw]

Not all HTIB systems are bad.

And, for most of the real world, are as much of a "hi fi" system as they well ever need.

But, some are truly horrendous, particularly for those of us who do know decent sound when we hear it. ...and when we DON'T hear it.

 

[MBauer]

Good post HTIB is OK for many

I am not one who bashes HTIB systems. Many are well served by them and I had one myself once, a Kenwood. Living in an apartment temporarily I wound up buying a Kenwood HTIB and while it wasn't great, it was a lot better than either the TV speakers or a stereo setup. Movies were more enjoyable and music was OK. Also a lot of folks don't want to hassle with the setup and configuration of an HT setup. If they start to spend over a $1000 I might counsel them to consider separates, depends who they are and what they are after.

I try not to spend other peoples money, even by inference, like slamming their choices in HT, automobiles, camera gear, etc. I will gladly give advice, and after understanding what they are trying to accomplish, I almost always start with "what are you looking to spend"? If I feel that by spending a little extra, they can get a much better (name it - camera, receiver, auto, etc) then I tell them and why I feel that way, but I let them make the choice. Most people can buy a better HT setup by not spending absurd amounts on interconnects, speaker wire, etc.

A lot of times purists and aficionados have a hard time understanding that not everyone will appreciate the gear, they just want to listen or watch or drive or whatever, the things we love and lust after are appliances to them

 

[BMXTRIX]

Up to around $500.00 HTIB is one of the best ways to go to get value out of a system. Around that point you can start finding sales and discontinued items that really can blow many HTIB setups away. But, at $500.00 and less it is hard to beat the value and quality that some HTIB setups provide. Onkyo and Yamaha systems always seem a step ahead in value for your dollar compared to the competition. Some companies make Bose knockoff stuff, that is, as far as my ears can tell, of equal quality for about 1/10th the price.

I started with a HTIB when I was younger and less clueless. I do not regret buying my Kenwood setup at all and still use the speakers to put some audio into my basement. Good stuff.

 

[JJMP50]

My experience with HTIB

About a year ago I decided that I could put a very small HT in the room next to my office in my basement. It's a very small room and I only had a 27" tube TV that I had bought at BJ's for $175. I figured one of these cheap HTIB would be perfect. I picked up a Toshiba. Standard setup:4 satelites, small center and a passive sub. The receiver had DVD and Tape drives. As you can imagine, I was not very impressed with the sound, but you get what you pay for, right?

My wife and I were doing something one Sunday night so she asked me to tape Desperate Housewives for her. When she sat down to watch it the next day, the tape jammed. This disabled the entire unit. Nothing would work. An error message flashed on the cheezey display. I simply threw the whole thing in the garbage.

I replaced it with an entry level Pioneer, Pioneer universal player and 5.1 Athena Audition series (F1,C1,B1 & P300). Total price - $650. Now this is a good HTIB, with a few more boxes added.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Bird - I think you are the perfect example of someone who did no research and now may feel that HTIB is garbage. Not, you didn't do research and bought a Yugo, so all cars suck.

There are definitely some decent entry level HTIB offerrings from companies. Yamaha & Onkyo use their traditional A/V receivers (like your Pioneer) which include component switching and easy upgrade paths, with so-so speakers for well under $500.00. Their setups don't include DVD players (usually) so you can get any brand you want and add it to the setup.

The all-in-one boxes definitely are scary as what happened to you is common. Likewise, I hate DVD/VCR combo units for the same reason - if one thing goes wrong with either side, the entire unit goes in for repair, or you end up buying a new DVD or VCR separately. What's the point? Buy separate to begin with.

HTIB systems that package separates is the way to go in my opinion and there are definitely better valued systems then others. Going with the cheapest of the cheap is a sure way to have Yugo like results which basically amounts to you throwing your money in the trash a year or so later.

As I said - my Kenwood HTIB system still works great, even though the speakers are the only thing I still use and they are in the basement for background music.

 

[dlorde]

I bought a HTIB and to my ears it's nearly as good as most, and better than some, separates systems at the same price level - but that price level is relatively high (I bought the Linn Classik Movie Di).

To a degree, you get what you pay for - you pay more for the convenience having it all in one box, partly because of the extra manufacturing complexities, but the higher pricing may be ameliorated due to savings in I/O connectors, casing, packaging, transport, etc. Likewise, output quality may be reduced due to the proximity of components, but increased due to the reduction in connectors & cabling. Overall, you're likely to pay a fair bit more for a HTIB than for separates of the same output quality.

In real world pricing, all this can be swamped by marketing strategies and positioning, branding, (e.g. 'Boseing'), etc.

 

[malvado78]

Htib

Earlier this year I bought an Onkyo HT-770 (HTIB). I am very happy with this system. But 6 months later I am already drooling over the thought of upgraging some of the speakers (I'd upgrade everything if money grew on trees). Just told the wife today about may be getting some new speakers where the two mains may cost more that we spent on the whole system. I have more work to do there I think. But I really am happy with the system. I woudl recommend it to others who are looking for something quick and easy.

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Of the HTiBs I'm familiar with, I like the 5.1 Kenwoods for price, features, and sound quality. Just spend your $400, buy a better sub a few months later and Blammo! You've just exceeded the sound-quality of 95% of the country's cinema multiplexes.

 

[JJMP50]

correctomundo

Bird - I think you are the perfect example of someone who did no research and now may feel that HTIB is garbage. Not, you didn't do research and bought a Yugo, so all cars suck.

Yes you are correct. I had not become a member of Audioholics yet...

And I have to say that the BB salesman told me not to expect the kind of performance I get from my Yamaha (main system).

"Don't expect Dinosaurs to shake your house!", he said.