Is this a decent combo?

[theknight571]

It's the combo from this weeks Best Buy ad.

Bravia 1080p 46"

450W 5.1 HTS/Ultrasmall Speakers

The combo works out to $1999.99 (before tax etc)

The reviews I've read for the TV seem to be positive (I haven't found any, yet, for the HTS), but I thought I'd ask for AT's opinion as well.

I'm also open to other suggestions.

Thanks.

 

[PurdueRy]

Wow...those speakers will be guaranteed to suck....especially for that price!

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Wow...those speakers will be guaranteed to suck....especially for that price!

Really? When did you demo them?

And the price is $399 after instant discount.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
Wow...those speakers will be guaranteed to suck....especially for that price!

Really? When did you demo them?

And the price is $399 after instant discount.

Spare me the lecture.

I know enough to tell you that a 1.3" speaker paired with a 4.7" and 6.3" subwoofer are not capable of covering anywhere near the 20-20KHz frequency spectrum.

Here is one of the few 1" full range drivers I was able to find after a little search:

http://www.madisound.com/catal...asound/NSW1-205-8A.pdf

It's -3dB point is specified as 220Hz. Now, this would not be the ideal crossover frequency. Ideally it should be flat for an octave or so to each side of the crossover frequency so that the sum of the two drivers being crossed sum to a single constant value. Using 220Hz as a crossover point will most likely result in a null at frequencies less than 220Hz.

Even if I say its a 2" full range driver:

http://www.swanspeaker.com/product/htm/view.asp?id=121

It can only be used effectively down to 150Hz. Again, that's not the ideal frequency to place the crossover at either.

So, a 1" can 220 Hz...a 2" can go down to 150Hz(not ideal), then maybe a 1.3" could start at 200 Hz or so. So you are leaving the "subwoofer" to cover from 20-200 Hz. Which means much of the frequency spectrum of the human voice will be covered solely by the subwoofer. It will also be highly directional. Don't you think it might be highly distracting to have voices in movies, instead of coming out the center channel, being produced from the "subwoofer" in the corner of the room?

On the other side of things, a 1.3" full range driver will not be able to produce the very highest of frequencies. It will do a much better job with them than with low frequencies...but there is a reason most speakers use tweeters specifically designed for that frequency range.

Now perhaps you know some way to avoid the laws of physics, but I haven't found any way to yet. So yes, even though I haven't auditioned this set, it sucks.




OP, I would go with the following on your budget:

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=87210
http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=87147

BB total = $2,119.97
This total = $2,158.05

 

[jpeyton]

If space isn't a premium, then you're absolutely right, the Onkyo HTIB is a much better buy.

But for some people, space is a premium, and the Sony system sounds good enough to them. For $399, it's a bargain compared to other micro-systems that people typically purchase (e.g. Bose).

We're comparing apples to oranges. The Onkyo speakers are huge, and the Sony speakers are about the size of a golf ball.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
If space isn't a premium, then you're absolutely right, the Onkyo HTIB is a much better buy.

But for some people, space is a premium, and the Sony system sounds good enough to them. For $399, it's a bargain compared to other micro-systems that people typically purchase (e.g. Bose).

We're comparing apples to oranges. The Onkyo speakers are huge, and the Sony speakers are about the size of a golf ball.

And we have no idea if space is a premium at this point.

I however wouldn't save the Onkyo speakers are huge. They are definitely larger than the Sony speakers...but they actually don't have that big of a footprint(depth is rather small). Space would have to be extremely limited if the only option were for speakers the size of a golfball. Space isn't typically the issue, its usually asthetics(WAF). In which case it might be useful to explore 2.1 options which have real wood veneers rather that the "black box" effect of HTiB speakers.

OP Let us know.

 

[Chris27]

Well I gave my dad the thumbs up to get this yesterday. It was about time we got rid of our 10 year old crappy 27" crt and moved on to HD. I did some research on the HTS and it is surprisingly decent according to trustedreviews http://www.trustedreviews.com/...-Home-Cinema-System/p1. Well anyway they will be a nice replacement to the $60 walmart speakers my family currently has. Too bad I don't get to come home until the 17th

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Chris27
Well I gave my dad the thumbs up to get this yesterday. It was about time we got rid of our 10 year old crappy 27" crt and moved on to HD. I did some research on the HTS and it is surprisingly decent according to trustedreviews http://www.trustedreviews.com/...-Home-Cinema-System/p1. Well anyway they will be a nice replacement to the $60 walmart speakers my family currently has. Too bad I don't get to come home until the 17th

Looks like Trusted Reviews only reviewed a handful of audio systems ever and this is the only 5.1 system they've ever reviewed? Looks like they rated all the audio products they've looked at a 7/10 or above in all categories too. Maybe the review they did of the system is a valid one, but I just have a hard time believing their ratings given that they have nothing decent to compare it to in their ratings and it looks like this is the first 5.1 audio system they've ever reviewed.

I tried to find some reviews of it from a place that actually does audio reviews and didn't come up with much. AVSforum comments from people that have used the system mirrored PurdueRy's comments about the physical limitations of a micro-satellite + "subwoofer" trying to cover midrange and bass.

If you have a small room and space is your primary concern, then this is probably not a bad way to go and you could certainly do worse. If there is room for something a little bigger though, that would go a long way, especially if sound quality is more important than having golf-ball sized speakers.

 

[PurdueRy]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Chris27
Well I gave my dad the thumbs up to get this yesterday. It was about time we got rid of our 10 year old crappy 27" crt and moved on to HD. I did some research on the HTS and it is surprisingly decent according to trustedreviews http://www.trustedreviews.com/...-Home-Cinema-System/p1. Well anyway they will be a nice replacement to the $60 walmart speakers my family currently has. Too bad I don't get to come home until the 17th

Looks like Trusted Reviews only reviewed a handful of audio systems ever and this is the only 5.1 system they've ever reviewed? Looks like they rated all the audio products they've looked at a 7/10 or above in all categories too. Maybe the review they did of the system is a valid one, but I just have a hard time believing their ratings given that they have nothing decent to compare it to in their ratings and it looks like this is the first 5.1 audio system they've ever reviewed.

I tried to find some reviews of it from a place that actually does audio reviews and didn't come up with much. AVSforum comments from people that have used the system mirrored PurdueRy's comments about the physical limitations of a micro-satellite + "subwoofer" trying to cover midrange and bass.

If you have a small room and space is your primary concern, then this is probably not a bad way to go and you could certainly do worse. If there is room for something a little bigger though, that would go a long way, especially if sound quality is more important than having golf-ball sized speakers.

Women love golf balls :thumbsup: