J

jaa37

Audiophyte
I have a Panasonic 37-inch plasma, and I'd like to upgrade my sound. I'm on a fairly tight budget (i.e., $400 or less if possible), so I'm not expecting a wonderful system. I could really use some advice, as I've never bought any sort of surround system before. A few questions:

1) I live in a NYC apartment, with neighbors all around and below -- does this mean that a subwoofer is a bad idea?
2) My girlfriend isn't crazy about wires running from back speakers to the front of the room, and because it's an apartment, I don't think I can run the wires behind the wall or under the floor. Do wireless speakers work well, or should I just stick with two front wired speakers?
3) If I only get two front speakers with or without a subwoofer, do I still want an A/V receiver? I'd also like an upscaling DVD.
4) I noticed that a lot of low-end HTIBs have no HDMI input. Does that mean that I can't use those with my digital cable box?

Thanks for your help!
 
M

Mort Corey

Senior Audioholic
Tough limited options. Twere me, under those circumstances, I think I'd look into some self powered speakers as are often used with computers and run the audio out from the display. I think Klipsch, as well as others, offer something along that line....perhaps two speakers and a small sub for ambiance. JMO

Mort
 
P

Pianoman84d

Audioholic
Thats a pretty tough sell. $400 or less ain't gonna buy you much. Two rec's

Athena Micras. (See the audioholics $1000 recommended system)

Maybe Klipsch Quintet III's

But more importantly, may I suggest you purchase a pair of good bookshelf speaks until you save up more. If you are into music at all, you owe yourself more than what the abovementioned systems can do, not to mention a HTIB.

Happy Hunting.
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
As for the lack of HDMI inputs, well...

...for that price range you hacve to expexrt some sacrifices. It's not a deal killer, though.

I'd suggest you simply route all video signals directly to the TV and use that for video switchig. Route all audio to the receiver and use that for audio switching. Tain't that difficult to live with.

And, you can live without rear channels. I find running the audio through a good sounding two channel system can provide a very satisfying experience. Of course, having the TV placed equidistant between the two speakers is a no-brainer. We do that in two rooms in out house and I find myself not really jonesing for the surrounds.

Wireless speakers tend to suck or worse.
 
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K

kermit_xc

Enthusiast
Start with the Onix X-LS ($219 + shipping) and get used 5.1 receiver from craigslist etc. I found a Harman Kardon AVR 110. Very good system. And the speakers perform like the $500 RTi6 Polks, if not better ... and look like a million dollar speakers.
 
Seth=L

Seth=L

Audioholic Overlord
Yes, start with a stereo rig and work you way up. Don't settle on an all-in-one system. You don't have expandability once you do that.

Concerning HDMI. How many HDMI sources do you have. You don't have to run the HDMI thru the receiver. And there are no receivers in your budget that do anything other than HDMI pass-through, meaning that it will not utilize HDMI at all just serves as a switchbox.
 

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