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4/15/2010 11:38:31 PM

i bought an onkyo htib and my receiver is hdmi pass-through but i mean, i don't intend on getting anything nicer until i can get a real house where i can use it without the cops knocking on my door

i guess this is a good thing so i can save some money...sigh i wonder what my games would sound like with a glorious setup

4/16/2010 4:37:43 PM

Moving into a new house in about a month. Going to hook up my den and saw this deal with Best Buy. All together it's $1,499. And there's another 3 years, no interest with the purchase on my Best Buy card. I'm also going to buy an extra transmitter and amplifier to make the back speakers wireless, that will add another $200:

Sony - 1000W 5.1-Ch. Home Theater System

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+1000W+5.1-Ch.+Home+Theater+System/9770679.p?skuId=9770679&productCategoryId=pcmcat186600050005&id=1218171552661


Sony - 3D*/Internet Connectable/Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Disc Player

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+3D%26%2342/Internet+Connectable/Wi-Fi+Built-In+Blu-ray+Disc+Player/9739925.p?skuId=9739925&productCategoryId=abcat0102003&id=1218165051047


Sony - BRAVIA 46" Class / 1080p / 120Hz / LED-LCD HDTV

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sony+-+BRAVIA+46%22+Class+/+1080p+/+120Hz+/+LED-LCD+HDTV/9763172.p?skuId=9763172&productCategoryId=abcat0101001&id=1218170031942


What do you guys think?? All the reviews I've read for the products are really good. And what are your opinions on the protection plans?? I'm leaning towards not putting any more money into it, but I also like to take a "better safe than sorry" approach.

6/17/2010 2:18:11 PM

The HTIB (Home Theatre in a Box) is alright, if you are not an audiophile it will be fine. Looks like a pretty good deal on the whole package though.

6/17/2010 2:51:23 PM

^^^ When you can enjoy a movie at reference levels, its truly epic...

[Edited on June 17, 2010 at 2:52 PM. Reason : .]

6/17/2010 2:52:23 PM

Quote :

"if you are not an audiophile it will be fine."

Perfect, because I'm not an audiophile.

Quote :

"Looks like a pretty good deal on the whole package though."

Yeah, the package is what sold me. I'm basically getting the blu-ray and theater system for free. And I'm in love with the TV. And I could afford the whole package now, but I'm about to drop even more money on furnishing the rest of the house, so it'll be nice to just pay this off little by little over the next three years.

6/17/2010 2:58:42 PM

The only downside to that HTIB is you can't upgrade the speakers and keep the receiver, and it doesn't make use of the HD audio formats, but it should still sound pretty nice

6/17/2010 3:34:09 PM

What is everyone's opinion on in wall speakers for the front left/right and rear surrounds in a 5.1 setup? The room is 20X30 and the TV will be hanging on the 30' wall with us seated about 12 feet from the wall. It needs to sound good but not great. It will be used mostly for watching normal TV, sports, etc... I have a home theater up stairs that will get the nicer treatment and will be used for movies and games.

We are building a house and are roughing in all the wiring now.

6/17/2010 8:38:02 PM

^^^If it's a large-ish room, that HTIB will be too underpowered.

And why not get a 3D TV if you've got the blu-ray player...?

[Edited on June 17, 2010 at 9:36 PM. Reason : ]

6/17/2010 9:36:02 PM

Quote :

"If it's a large-ish room, that HTIB will be too underpowered."

What's "large-ish"??

My den is probably something like 18' x 18'. Not big at all.

And I didn't look at 3-D because of money.

6/18/2010 2:50:26 AM

^^^ Wall speakers are alright, the only real problem with them being use as front speakers is you are limited in what you can put there. Furthermore, you can't have ported speakers in the wall so you lose a lot of the mid-bass you would get from your fronts. As surrounds they are great because they are only there for the occasional sound in movies, but I would really recommend not using in-walls for the front sound stage. If space is a concern, look at getting some bookshelf speakers instead, with stands, not quite as large as a tower, and might have a higher WAF

6/18/2010 8:53:52 AM

i agree, in-wall speakers are not ideal for fronts. And depending on what kind of tv you have, you may be able to mount bookshelf speakers on the wall so there's no stand. I know at first it seems like they're stick out a lot. But keep in mind that the tv + tv mount is going to stick out several inches. So a lower profile speaker will be fairly close, maybe an inch or so more than the speaker. But if you space the speakers out from the tv enough, it's not too noticeable.

It does depend some on how thick your tv is. But it's worth consideration if all it is is that you don't want big stands and want everything off the floor. And if that doesn't work, it just comes down to how happy you are with them.

^ why can't you use ported speakers? I see why you couldn't use rear-ported speakers. But plenty of speakers are front-ported. Is there some reason a front ported speaker wouldn't work right in-wall? I imagine he would buy "in-wall" speakers anyhow. Which would be designed with that in mind.

6/18/2010 9:42:44 AM

Yes you can't use rear-ported speakers, which is generally 70% of speakers. The same goes for bookshelves on the wall, you would need non-rear-ported speakers.

Depending on your budget, you could look into a pair of Paradigm Atoms for fronts, they are a pretty small, very attractive speaker, that is perhaps one of the best small bookshelf speakers available.

6/18/2010 10:45:38 AM

Yeah, i guess i could see front ported bookshelf speakers being a little tougher to come by given the space restraints. I'm less familiar with bookshelves than towers (i've seen a ton of front ported towers). But yeah, if the budget is available, i'd try to find a decent bookshelf speaker instead of in-walls.

6/18/2010 11:39:15 AM

SV Sound makes fantastic bookshelves, that are quite affordable. You can also audition them for 30-days to see if you like, and last time I check they will pay for shipping both ways... A lot of the ID (Internet Direct) companies will let you audition their speakers, and its a good way to see what you like and narrow your search.

6/18/2010 11:58:55 AM

Thanks for the input. My wife just informed me today that she wants bookcases on either side of the TV so I guess it will have to be bookshelf speakers after all. I will keep the in ceiling speakers for the back surrounds.

6/18/2010 3:35:54 PM

If thats the case, and they are going IN the bookcase, then you should try to find some non-rear-ported speakers. Bass extension comes from the ports, and if you don't have a good 6"+ of space between the port and the wall (bookcase), then you are going to lose a lot of their effectiveness. Also you may want to look into a set of Auralex speaker isolation pads. Its a special acoustic foam that decouples the speaker from the floor/cabinet, and provides tighter bass response and can also help reduce vibrations. In your case, it would keep the speakers from being distorted by being in a bookcase.

Of course all this is if you are big on sound quality, if you are just looking for some basic, louder than your TV sound, then just about anything will get the job done.

6/21/2010 10:13:52 AM

Quote :

"^^^ Wall speakers are alright, the only real problem with them being use as front speakers is you are limited in what you can put there. Furthermore, you can't have ported speakers in the wall so you lose a lot of the mid-bass you would get from your fronts. As surrounds they are great because they are only there for the occasional sound in movies, but I would really recommend not using in-walls for the front sound stage. If space is a concern, look at getting some bookshelf speakers instead, with stands, not quite as large as a tower, and might have a higher WAF"

Actually you can have ported speakers in the wall. You just either need specially designed speakers, or you need an alcove setup. I've seen it done both ways, and both ways produce ridiculously clean and rich sound. (Both are also retardo expensive).

These speakers are designed with a front porting on two cones each.


[Edited on June 21, 2010 at 1:24 PM. Reason : .]

6/21/2010 1:22:50 PM

Thanks for all the input. I am still trying to get my wife to tell me exactly what furniture she wants on the wall with the TV. Right now I am guessing I will use front ported book shelf speakers for the front L & R and the center speaker will sit on top of whatever cabinet she picks out to go under the TV. The back speakers will be the same in ceiling speakers that are throughout the rest of the house. I think we are up to 32 speakers throughout the house (and outside) for the whole house audio deal. I never realized how much planning needs to go into building a house.

I haven't even thought about the home theater room upstairs yet. It is being wired for 7.1 with the 4 surrounds being in ceiling speakers. My first thought is to use the floor standing tower speakers for the L & R fronts and a matching center speaker under the TV. This room will be used for movies and console games. I have an equipment cabinet being built into the wall to store all of my receivers, DVR, ps3, Wii, etc... I am sure I will be asking for more help on this room when the time comes.

6/21/2010 7:00:47 PM

ok, I got a new townhouse about 3 months ago and have been trying to figure out a good TV/surround setup for my living room. The room is ~14x17. I am trying to go for a minimalistic/modern look with a nice soundbar instead of seperate fronts....I am mounting the tv over the fireplace on a tilt mount, but it is a fairly low fireplace so the tv shouldnt be too high. I am pretty certain about the tv that I want but less certain about the surround setup...
I got a quote from a local company with the tv that I wanted and their other reccomendations. I am trying to decide if this setup would be worth it or if I should scale it back or change anything. Any input appreciated.

Samsung UN55C6500 LED $2,300 (+$200 for 5 year warranty)
Tilt mount $180
Mirage Uni-theater integrated Omnipolar LCR Soundbar $650
Mirage Nanosat-Prestige Satellites (2 rears) $300
Episode CUB 8" 100W powered sub $300
Onkyo TXSR608B 7 ch 90w receiver $500
Sony BDPS370 Blu-ray $180
Control 4 HC-200 Home controller $500
+ cabling cost and $55/hour to install.

what do you guys think?

6/22/2010 8:04:33 AM

the #1 rated tv on the market is on vanns.com for $1799 with no shipping, and no tax. it is 55" LED and has excellent ratings across the board. when i saw it, i bought it. came in about 6 days, and looks absolutely phenomenal.

LG 55LH90



highly, highly recommend. especially for the price

6/22/2010 8:29:48 AM

^ I have heard pretty good things about the Mirage speakers. I am not a fan of the sound bar as it limits your sound stage, and they aren't the most powerful speakers, but it should do well for what you are looking for.

Can you buy your own cable instead of paying the premium price that the guy who installs it will charge? If you can, go to http://www.monoprice.com and pick up like 50-100 feet of in-wall 14-guage speaker wire. It will be a hell of a lot cheaper than what he is going to charge for probably Monster cabling...

6/22/2010 8:31:39 AM