I've decided to use some Christmas money to upgrade my surround sound setup. I consider my current system out of date, so I'm parting it out on eBay. My biggest gripe is that it emits a high-pitched whine during soft parts. I have rather sensitive hearing, especially to the high frequencies, so eliminating that is priority number 1. Also, I need to have a sub woofer capable of producing a rounded sound. It doesn't need to make my insides rattle, but it needs to be accurate and precise. I hate sloppy sounding subs.

Best Buy seems to have some all in one packages (meaning they include receiver, up-converting DVD players, and satellites). One of my in-laws has a setup like this and it seems to work pretty well. Do you guys have any recommendations? These are the ones I've been looking at:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8439371&type=product&id=1183160719230
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8226396&productCategoryId=abcat0203000&type=product&tab=2&id=1166840609889#productdetail

I'd be willing to spend more if someone has a really great suggestion. Thanks

1/7/2008 1:52:03 AM

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=188802&linkid=j13774590k9470&affiliateid=k9470&mid=

Saw that one on bensbargains.

Also, you might see some of these kits on: http://www.audioreview.com/

Handy to get some other feedback, some sharp people use that website. Then again some dull people do too but hey, it's better than less feedback.

[Edited on January 7, 2008 at 1:59 AM. Reason : aids.]

1/7/2008 1:58:20 AM

You might as well take your money and throw it in the garbage by buying a sub $200 HTIB. They are all crap, unconditionally.

I'd recommend an Denon system from CC or a Yamaha system from Best Buy. You probably could get a half-decent one in the $350 price range.

[Edited on January 7, 2008 at 2:13 AM. Reason : ]

1/7/2008 2:07:14 AM

You don't want to spend more than $200? Buy something used from craig's list.

1/7/2008 2:12:34 AM

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8268386&type=product&id=1170290375713

That has a nice receiver but mediocre speakers (but you can upgrade them in the future).

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8230247&type=product&id=1167445161805
This has a mediocre rec., mediocre speakers, and a good DVD player.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Denon-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-System-DHT487DV/sem/rpsm/oid/159499/catOid/-12954/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
This is an excellent system for the money. Better than the other 2 I linked.

1/7/2008 2:12:59 AM

^ Yeah go with the $400 denon system.

It is money much better spent, even though it's twice as much. It's worth it on this one. :E

1/7/2008 2:23:24 AM

Circuit City seems to have more reasonably priced systems. What do you guys think of this one?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsung-HT-X50-5-1-Channel-Home-Theater-System-HT-X50/sem/rpsm/oid/181267/catOid/-12954/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

1/7/2008 2:30:12 AM

That one looks nice.

Just keep in mind that you can get some ridiculous sound that will keep you happy for a long while if you spend a little more.

I realize that a lot of people can't just drop money like it's science, though. That system looks good for the price and has a good discount. Plus it looks nice.

I pieced together a Yamaha HTR-5990 and some Fluance SX-HTB+ speakers (this is a 5.1 set) all off of ebay for under $500 and am pretty damned happy with it. The sound quality is good, and the noise quality is absolutely ridiculous. I bi-amped the two front speakers and the bass coming out of them is MORE THAN ENOUGH to piss off all 8 of the neighboring condos/townhomes in my little block. I'm pretty sure my neighbors hate us for watching movies and playing video games on there.

1/7/2008 2:39:34 AM

Quote :

"I pieced together a Yamaha HTR-5990 and some Fluance SX-HTB+ speakers (this is a 5.1 set) all off of ebay for under $500 and am pretty damned happy with it. The sound quality is good, and the noise quality is absolutely ridiculous."

This is really my biggest concern; I want a system with as little static/noise/whine as possible. My current setup drives me nuts during dialog scenes. I'm assuming its my receiver as its done it with different sets of satellites. I don't mind spending money on a quality system, but I don't want to spend another $100 if all I'm getting is marginal performance gain. So long as the sound is round and crisp with low noise I think I'll be happy.

1/7/2008 2:45:54 AM

Oh and by noise quality I mean "I will blow your fucking eardrums off", not really talking about harmonic distortion or anything like that. I don't have anything to meter it, I just know it sounds better than anything else I have in my house, haha.

The more high-end name brand stuff like Denon and Onkyo will give you better, more balanced sound and better power. A lot of the stuff on the low end will work out just fine though for the price and still deliver sound that's high quality enough that you don't really care to spend the extra $200 on the difference. It's all about whether or not you've bought TOO MANY NICE AUDIO TOYS so that you've gone and spoiled yourself so much that you've turned into a snobby audio prick like everybody else. I'm heading down that path right now. It's cool though, I think as long as whatever I have sounds good and looks nice I won't really replace it. Unfortunately, my current system only looks kind of nice...

OK I'm going to stop thinking about it before I go and bankrupt my ass, haha.

1/7/2008 3:02:40 AM

I've decided to move my price point up to $300 +- $30. Most of these systems seem to lack a TOSLINK input. How can that be? Do they not expect you to hook anything else to these systems? Also, do you guys have any opinions on wireless rear speakers? Are they plagued by noise?

1/7/2008 3:29:36 AM

I've got this bad boy and I love it. Of course, its the first surround sound system I've ever had, so it might sound like shit compared to high end stuff.

http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do?ic=24_0&ref=125875.322600&catNavId=77622

1/7/2008 3:36:07 AM

if your budget is really that low i'd say ur best bet is to grab a logitech or klipsh 5.1 computer sound system.

1/8/2008 12:24:51 AM

Quote :

"You don't want to spend more than $200? Buy something used "

that should really be your only option.

i've picked up a couple of $50-$80 systems off of this website over the years thats way better than any <=$200 HTIB system you can find. of course craigslist will be more expensive but you get the idea.

buy used.

1/8/2008 12:51:22 AM

I forgot that I had this $100 dell gift card, so now I'm thinking about this one. Its on sale so I can get it for $150 after the gift card.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Home_Theater_In_a_Box/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A1231550

1/15/2008 12:38:33 AM

i just ordered this a couple of days ago, it's supposed to be here wednesday:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000O8E8YW/ref=pd_luc_mri?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

its gotten nothing but stellar reviews from both users and home theater mags

http://www.hometheatermag.com/hometheaterinabox/607onksr800/

we'll see on wednesday. but it's an incredible deal for $435.

1/15/2008 3:12:49 AM

I got my Bravia System today. Dell listed is as having Optical Digital Input, however there are none on my system. Thanks Dell.

1/18/2008 6:34:13 PM

I have logitech 5500's for the past 3 years. It's a computer setup but I frequently use it for movies and throw it up on a projector in a 20x35' bonus room. These speakers are damn loud for how small they are and they sound great! The 10" subwoofer deals a lot of quality bass around my room for being computer speakers. I think it's on par with klipsh's systems for $100 less. I got them for $218 with free shipping and free printer. Sold the printer so I effectively got it for $193.

1/18/2008 6:56:28 PM

Quote :

"Also, I need to have a sub woofer capable of producing a rounded sound. It doesn't need to make my insides rattle, but it needs to be accurate and precise. I hate sloppy sounding subs. "

Anything non-ported.

1/18/2008 7:18:19 PM

Quote :

"Anything non-ported."

Explain

1/18/2008 7:40:10 PM