5.1 & Blu-Ray 600$ or less? (tried a HTIB)

[EliteRetard]

I know this is gonna sound weird, but my sister (see...) has asked me for some advice on a home theater setup. Im pretty good with computers and electronics so she thought I might be able to help. Unfortunately I dont know allot about audio and have had no experience with HD (Ive got a 28" CRT TV that cost 200$ back in 1990). I know she is terrible with research though, so I thought I could help by asking you guys and doing a little digging. She tried a 600$ complete setup from panasonic or some such, but was not at all impressed and apparently it didnt even work right (bad Blu-Ray player?), and returned it.

I dont know what if any differances there are in Blu-Ray players but I know speakers vary allot. Shes not a complete idiot (neither is her husband), but she definitely needs the "wife factor" gotta look good feel good smell good and have a recognizable name brand. The set also needs to be easy to get and setup, so a receiver that will just work and not need any fancy modifying or wacky cabling...which is why she tried a HTIB (and probably would still prefer one). Im thinking maybe get a Blu-Ray separate and get a nice complete 5.1 separate (HTIB or other). I think she wants a system that can handle rather high continuous volumes more than having really accurate sound (cant sound like crap though, they play instruments). I dont know how/if fewer higher quality speakers would work (2.1/4.1), you kinda need sound in front and behind to make it worthwhile. Im kinda wondering this cause I saw these on sale (whats with the multiple inputs?). But four of them seems to eat all the budget, and youd need a receiver/sub and such still. (Ill ask if the budget can be stretched at all, but Im fairly sure no)

Some fancier features might be nice if possible, like I know she has an MP3 player...might be nice to have a plug in up front to play from it. Multiple input options cant be bad (can you hook it up to a PC and/or console?). I paid about 200$ for my Z-5500 system, and I think its pretty decent...increase the mid speakers a bit and add a tweeter in each and itd be perfect (IMO). Anyway, I figure spending twice the price could get a good HTIB system close to that perfection (balanced, loud, and not terribly expensive). Other thing is the speakers would need a stand included in that cost, so they can be setup properly.

So thats my thinking, 400$ for the speakers and from what I can see 200$ for a Blu-Ray. I could use help on the Blu-Ray portion as well, what should I be looking for, what are the features etc. Totally dont know anything.

All (positive) input is appreciated, thanks in advance!

 

[Muadib]

Your post is a bit confusing, so I have some questions.

First off, what HTIB did she try, and what was it that didn't work? Your post makes it seem like you don't know, and I think that info is pretty key. You have blu-ray player as the possible issue, so I'd also like to know what TV she has.

Second, how much does she what to spend? Since she bought a HTIB, I'm going to guess that she needs a receiver too, and you don't include that in your $600 breakdown.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

A $600 budget for a 5.1 set + blu-ray player leaves very few viable options for putting together a system from components.

How small do these speakers have to be? I know Panasonic makes some sets with very tiny speakers and some with more medium sized ones.
If the system they tried was one of the versions where the main speakers have 2.5" drivers in them, I can certainly see how they would be unimpressed even if it did "work".

As for wacky cabling, basically for just a blu-ray system you're looking at maybe a couple HDMI cables and maybe 1 more audio cable to connect things.
For the other sources, a simple $2 adapter would allow you to hook up the headphone output of an mp3 player to a front analog audio input on virtually any receiver out there today.
Unless it's a very basic HTIB set, the receiver you get should have enough inputs to handle several sources.

The multiple inputs on the Polks are for bi-wiring / bi-amplification... basically something that I feel is mostly marketing... on this level of product at least.

Would you be able to go there and help them set it up?
Any system you get it going to benefit from basic calibration of speaker distances and volume trim settings. This is becoming an automatic feature on a lot of receivers, but I'm not sure if that technology has made its way down to basic to medium priced HTIB units yet.

Onkyo makes HTIB sets that tend to have pretty good receivers that would handle everything you're asking for. Speakers are generally where the biggest difference in sound quality is going to come from... and most if not all HTIB sets are lacking here.

If very small speakers are a requirement, there are some options that are probably better than Panasonic. I know this thread (especially with Slick5150's suggestion) is a system that would fit in the budget and probably has reasonable performance and brand recognition.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...t_key=y&keyword1=denon

If they are musicians though, music quality is probably important to them. I would suggest asking them if they'd rather have a basic 5.1 system or would rather have a decent 2.0 system that they can add to later.

 

[s44]

Depends on the room size.

Absolute cheapest stuff that's plausible...
Energy Take Classic 5.0 + 8" tSc sub = $300 shipped
OR
5x Energy C-50 + 8" tSc sub = $350 shipped
OR
tSc 6.1 package including 8" sub = $243 shipped (use coupon code HT10 through tomorrow)

PLUS

refurb Denon 788 (90 day warranty) ~= $250 shipped
OR
refurb Onkyo 576 (1 year warranty) ~= $265 shipped
OR
just skip HDMI connectivity altogether and get a $100 receiver, though I wouldn't do this

PLUS

this Amazon Blu-Ray deal ~= $200 shipped for player and 4 discs (deal expires today)

Which makes $700 (shipping included) about the cheapest combo -- although you DO get 4 Blu-Ray discs as well for that. I don't think you can get below that for 5.1 without dumping HDMI connectivity (and thus lossless Blu-Ray sound) on the receiver.

Ideally you'd spend a bit more -- $200 gets you a lot more sub than $100.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
If very small speakers are a requirement, there are some options that are probably better than Panasonic. I know this thread (especially with Slick5150's suggestion) is a system that would fit in the budget and probably has reasonable performance and brand recognition.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...t_key=y&keyword1=denon

Note that the 488 does *not* have HDMI audio. So it's one of those cheap $100 receivers I was talking about. 😉

If they are musicians though, music quality is probably important to them. I would suggest asking them if they'd rather have a basic 5.1 system or would rather have a decent 2.0 system that they can add to later.

Agree -- or even 2.1.

I'd seriously consider jumping on the Amazon Blu-Ray deal today no matter what, though.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
If very small speakers are a requirement, there are some options that are probably better than Panasonic. I know this thread (especially with Slick5150's suggestion) is a system that would fit in the budget and probably has reasonable performance and brand recognition.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...t_key=y&keyword1=denon

Note that the 488 does *not* have HDMI audio. So it's one of those cheap $100 receivers I was talking about. 😉

Yeah, it's not a stellar deal or anything considering the components, but if the budget is exactly at $600 and they need to buy video cables / speaker wire / stands / etc., then it's going to be really tough to get something decent.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
If very small speakers are a requirement, there are some options that are probably better than Panasonic. I know this thread (especially with Slick5150's suggestion) is a system that would fit in the budget and probably has reasonable performance and brand recognition.
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...t_key=y&keyword1=denon

Note that the 488 does *not* have HDMI audio. So it's one of those cheap $100 receivers I was talking about. 😉

Yeah, it's not a stellar deal or anything considering the components, but if the budget is exactly at $600 and they need to buy video cables / speaker wire / stands / etc., then it's going to be really tough to get something decent.

If his sis is anything like mine, she has no clue. My sis & her husband love my setup, and thought they could get something like it for $600. When I laughed & said I spent that on the sub alone, they both were like :shocked:

 

[EliteRetard]

Thanks for the input, Id have liked to look a bit more but they decided to go for it. They went with two of those JBL tower speakers I posted, a JBL center and a yamaha reciever with 2 HDMI in composite etc. which came out to about 500$. They also jumped on the Blu-Ray deal from Amazon. So it did come out to like 700$. Figured they could get two rear speaker and a sub later.

Sister liked the look of the tower speaker allot better than the "ugly" bookshelf type (also recognized the JBL name best). I had seen yamaha reccomended in the audio thread, and found the 5.1 for about 230$. Less than the 7.1 refurbs (since they dont need the 7.1).

Theyre in another state, so I cant help them with any setup or anything...hopefully thisll work for them (or else Ill get yelled at and have to come back here) 😛

Thanks again!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Wait, what JBLs?

 

[EliteRetard]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Wait, what JBLs?

Durrr...

Yeah wow, I dont know where that came from I meant polk audio. I told her these were one option that was on sale for the weekend and she was like "oh snap! I should buy everything now!" I told her she could wait and look around a little bit more...nope.

 

[s44]

Yeah, no kidding. And I hope that Yamaha does actual HDMI audio... The amp section is going to be puny (all Yamahas are), probably less than half the output of the Onkyo, so -- particularly given the full-range operation -- I hope the room's not very big either.

Ah well.