Which of these home theater systems is better?

[Sukhoi]

I need to keep the receiver and speakers around $500, so my selection is fairly limited. Here are two options I've found so far.

Kenwood HTB-504 home theater system. Has the VR-507 receiver along with some kind of 5.1 setup. Sears has it for $450 now. However, I have no idea where I would put the center speaker with the layout of our family room.

Kenwood VR-506 receiver ($250), four Acoustic Research AR-215PS bookshelf speakers ($160 combined), and an Acoustic Research AR S108PSB 8" 100 watt subwoofer ($180). Total is $590.

The receiver is better in the first setup. The main difference besides the additional A/V inputs/outputs is the Pro Logic II suppport. Is it worth going with what I assume are worse speakers, to get the better receiver? Thanks for the help!

 

[iamwiz82]

i just got the Sony STR DE475(i think its de, its definately xx475) at best buy B&M for $189. This is only $5 more than the best price online. Its an awesome receiver for the price. DTS and all. My only complaint is that it has not svideos. That way you have $300 to play with speakers

 

[conjur]

Friend of mine got a Kenwood Home-Theater-In-A-Box and it sounds pretty good but doesn't offer much bass. Might go for the AR speakers with the Kenwood receiver (or look for a low-end Yamaha receiver).

 

[sohcrates]

so some people have actually heard that kenwood box system? any more opinions of it?

the reason i ask is that i have a friend who wants a home theater for about 500 bucks (just like Sukhoi)

and everything i put together is WAY over that!

 

[Sukhoi]

I don't think I want to go with a Sony receiver. I've been reading a lot online tonight, and most people seem to think that the low-end Sony stuff is mostly features but not great quality.

The room is probably 14x21, so I know these speakers aren't near as big as I need, but I can only do so much on this budget. I'll have to check out the Yamaha receivers and see what they offer.

I'm heading up to HHGregg tomorrow to check some prices, so maybe if they happen to be out of stock on the stuff I'm interested in I could get some good deals.

 

[Sukhoi]

Any other ideas or suggestions? I don't really know if that speaker setup I listed is any good or not. I pretty much took the lowest-end stuff on Crutchfield's site. I guess I need to do some more speaker research on Saturday..

 

[deftron]

You still need a Center Channel Speaker with the second option...

And I would get a Sony WASM40 Subwoofer instead instead of the AR
for about the same price

 

[Prong]

Many people seem to have good luck with the Kenwood "box" setups. Someone's suggestion of the Sony Sub was a good one. Please, stay away from those low end Sony receivers. It's well documented that their power rating is optimistic to say the least. I bought one myself, and after reading all the reviews and experiencing it, it was swapped out for a Yamaha receiver (very highly recommended). If you want to drown yourself in home theather info, click here.

 

[Sukhoi]

Thanks for the suggestion on the Sony subwoofer, I hadn't heard of it before.

I purposely left the center speaker out of my second setup..nowhere to put it. Right now it'll be hard enough to get a 4.1 system situated correctly in the room. There's a full height fireplace on the far wall where the TV is (TV is in the right corner of the wall), so I really have nowhere to put a center speaker. For my parents needs, a 4.1 setup will be plenty anyway.

 

[deftron]

A Center Chennel is VERY important..

More so than a subwoofer...


When watching DVD's or any 5.1 surround source...
most of the dialogue comes out of the center channel

Just place it on top of your TV


BTW.. if you didn't want to order speaker...
Circuit City has Polk R10 bookshelfs on sale
for $39 each.. they're not bad for such cheap speakers..
A little better than the AR's and 4 of them would be the same price
without having to pay shipping.

 

[Sukhoi]

Actually I was just up at Circuit City today and saw those speakers..they don't look too bad. I'll have to see if my parents are interested in them.

The problem with putting the center speaker on the TV is that the TV is in the far right corner of the room. So there would be nowhere to put the front right speaker that's more than a foot or two from the center speaker, while the front left speaker would be 12 feet away.

Can't I just merge the center channel into the two front channels?