need help finding a good home theater system

[asma123]

so originally I wanted to go for the bose sound system but after reviews I lost interest since it was so expensive and not worth it
I would like to spend between $1 up to $1000.
My room is 5mx5.38m.
I went to future shop and looked at the yamaha htr-5063 and I really liked the harman kardon speakers they had as it was loud and looked really nice. (I forgot to write down the model number of the speakers.
then when I got home I was looking at the yht-593
(http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190511296409&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT)
now I was looking at CL and found a Harman Kardon AVR 247 with HKTS15 for $550 (probably can talk them down)

I'm mainly looking for a good system for tv, movies, and gaming and I would like it to have 3d support (hdmi 1.4a) and preferably sound up scaling. any suggestions?

 

[avnetguy]

The only thing I'll add is to take a look at the HTR-6063 (same as the RXV-667) vs the HTR-5063. For a $100 more you get a much better receiver IMO but you'll need to decide if those changes are worth it to you.

Steve

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

NHT SuperZero x 5: $99 x 5 = $495

http://www.amazon.com/NHT-SuperZero-2-0-Monitor-Speaker/dp/B0049FA1TM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1302805643&sr=8-1

NHT Super 8 x 1: $349

http://www.amazon.com/NHT-Super-110-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B0049FGP7O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1302805643&sr=8-4

Denon AVR-591: $296

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-591-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B003H04Q8C/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1302805842&sr=1-3

Total: $1,140 (includes S/H, no taxes)

 

[ZeGhostbear]

Waiting for a sale at Future Shop or talking them down is good. You could also monitor Dell and electronics for less. Should you prefer a brick and mortar store (assuming you are in Ontario), you can check out the fliers for 2001 Audio/Video (they also negotiate price, especially at the end of the month).

Have you considered starting out with a 2.1 system and then working your way up or do you just want to get it over and done with?

 

[asma123]

I ended up getting the yamaha Htr-5063 and Harman kardon Hkts-15 from future shop. The Htr was 280+tax and the Hkts was 550+tax but I'm having second thoughts and considering returning them. Any advice? Perhaps keep the yamaha and go with the acoustimass (although a lot of people say no) but I like the way they sound. At least at the store. Any tips would be great. I'm looking to just get it all at once.

 

[Alex2507]

I wanted to go for the bose sound system but after reviews I lost interest since it was so expensive and not worth it

Perhaps ... go with the acoustimass (although a lot of people say no) but I like the way they sound.

Any tips would be great.

Get your ears checked.

 

[ZeGhostbear]

... but I like the way they sound. At least at the store.

The standard Bose setup in the store is a highly controlled environment. Whether you shop in Canada, the U.S. or in Germany, you will see the exact same setup. Have you ever wondered why? When you naturally step into the middle of this near-field setup you are in the sweet spot, right where the manufacturer wants you. Off-axis response and subwoofer sound pressure level no longer matter. This is not a good example of how the system would sound in a normal room. It does demonstrate how important proper speaker placement and calibration are, but you should be able to get similar or superior results from other systems, without paying the premium for an over-hyped brand.

 

[digicidal]

It does demonstrate how important proper speaker placement and calibration are, but you should be able to get similar or superior results from other systems, without paying the premium for an over-hyped brand.

I would have to say that you'd actually have to try pretty hard to come up with something that only sounded similar to the BOSE systems provided you maintained the same budget. Now if you mean getting some HTIB from Walmart... then maybe.

The real issue is exposure. As people (even casual listeners) are exposed to truely great sound - from that point on they know what to listen for and won't accept less if possible. Take my wife for example. To begin with she just used the built-in speakers in her iMac for music... and was happy. Then I hooked up some cheap PC speakers and she was happy. Then I hooked up an AVR with some decent spare bookshelves I had laying around... and she was happy. Then I needed the speakers for a little while and she was back to the PC speakers - and she was miserable! When those speakers failed... she was back to the iMac speakers... and she stopped listening to music at the computer completely, saying she would simply wait until I hooked the AVR+Bookshelves up again (I did).

The bottom line is that she didn't know that what she was listening to wasn't as good as it could be (at least in that room) - despite hearing much better sound from our main system. It was relative to her - she simply assumed the problem was that the source was the iMac... once that was shown to not be the case - anything less than the best she'd heard was unacceptable. To someone that's used to listening to their TV's speakers... a BOSE system is absolutely fantastic! However, once you've heard a system that's accurate and powerful... suddenly the BOSE system sounds like TV speakers by comparison.