Newbie with a tiny budget and an unenthused spouse

[bibfortuna]

<font color='#000000'>Hi! I'm a newbie with a tiny budget and an unenthused spouse and I'd like to have a home theatre setup. Here's my situation:

First, I have a couple low end components already: &nbsp;a Sharp 27R-S50 27&quot; TV (wedding present), and a Panasonic DVD-S35K DVD Player.

Second, I have a severly limited budget -- I have about $300 to play with. Yes, I know this won't get me anything really good, but that's what I have to work with.

Third, my wife is not excited by the idea of a bunch of &quot;ugly electronics&quot; (in her opinion) and &quot;big honkin' speakers&quot; (to her, even smallish, mid-size speakers are big).

Fourth, I'm a clueless n00b.

So, all I really need now are a receiver and speakers, right?. I suppose decent speaker wire, the Avia Guide to Home Theatre DVD, and a Radio Shack Digital SPL Meter would all be worthwhile, but then again maybe not given the price level I'm looking at. What do you think?

Given my situation, can you give me any recommendations?

The best I've been able to find with my limited knowledge and budget is the Sony HT-DDW750 Home Theater System (5.1 speakers and receiver). Non-audiophiles seem happy with it (at amazon), and the aethetics and size are acceptable with my wife. Anyone know if it's any good (relatively speaking)?

The next best I've found is the Onkyo HT-S760 but at $500 it's beyond my reach (although I'm sure it would be worth it).

My last question is: what types of speaker wire do I need? What brand(s) do you recommend? My TV has a coax input and one set off RCA inputs. My DVD has one set of RCA outputs, one set of component (video only?) outputs, and one S-video ouput.

TIA for your help!</font>

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

<font color='#000000'>Quick answers:

1) Buy used. Bargains abound. A two or three year old receiver from a reputable maker wlll be audibly identical to anything current.

2) Put most of the money and mental effort into choosing the best speakers you can afford. They are the most variable in performance and will make or break the rest of your system.

3) Don't waste any thought on wire or cable. Get your speaker wire at Home Depot or the like. 16 ga zip cord at about $0.30 a foot is all you need unless you're talking long runs (like, more than 20 or 30 feet). If that's the case, get 14 ga. or 12 ga. Get reasonably sturdy interconnects from Radio Shack. Ignore all the BS about wire having sonic qualities, or that you should spend x% of your budget on wires.

4) Read other threads here. Others have asked your questions, and found wisdom here, Grasshopper.

As for the spouse: do you have a spare room you can make into your very own den/listening room? By the way, there is even a jokey &quot;technical&quot; term, &quot;WAF&quot;, meaning &quot;Wife Acceptance Factor&quot; used when describing gear. If you have your own room, you don't have to worry about WAF.</font>

 

[bibfortuna]

<font color='#000000'>Thanks for the tips, Rip. I'll check out past threads.

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">By the way, there is even a jokey &quot;technical&quot; term, &quot;WAF&quot;, meaning &quot;Wife Acceptance Factor&quot; used when describing gear.</td></tr></table>LOL. That's awesome. I don't have my own room, so a high WAF will be quite important.

</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000080'>Used is definitely a good idea. The other thing is that $300 is such a small budget, that if you completely start over a few years from now it won't matter.

Try to focus on opening up your wife to the joys of 5.1 and then later you may be able to spend some more money to get somewhat of an upgrade.</font>