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I am currently looking to buy a home theater system for my television so I can play my PS2/GCN with surround sound. I also need a DVD player to go with it. I have between $800 and $1,000 to spend but I have no idea where to begin. The choices are overwhelming. Please help a fellow CAGer! Thanks!

Bose lol if u have that much money get the Bose 1-2-3 system or gett like a Sony Dream system but make sure it has a powered sub and not a passive sub, passive subs are terrible so dont get one , i have a pretty cool Pioneer systme it was like 387.00 at Sams Clud and Every where else it was 500.00......so i dont know what to tell u but that......hope it helps a lil

Doesn't the Bose system cost like $3000?

I bought a Sony HT-5500 home theatre in Oct. 2002 for $550. I'm not really an audio snob though. It works fine for me with absolutely no distortion at volumes that literaly shake the entire house. Dolby surround, digital 5.1 decoding is a must, of course. But I can't hear any difference between Sony's Digital Theatre Sound(DTS) and dolby digital. Make sure you get one with 100W speakers. Any system below 500W doesn't really put out enough 'presence', IMHO.

I would get one with a stand alone tuner and seperate DVD player. I use the tuner as a system selector (until I got my HDTV, that is)

Almost forgot: PROGRESSIVE SCAN! don't forget this! My ps2 doesnt have it and I never thought I'd get an HDTV so I had to buy another DVD player with ProgScan to watch in 480p.

Head unit

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...&oid=69796



Speakers

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...&oid=73035



and you can find any progressive scan dvd for cheap so you have numerous options there

It depends on how much of an audiophile you are, and the size the room you decide to put it in.

No the Bose 1 2 3 system is like 899.00 at my circuit city but that was like 2 months ago it might be back up to 999.00

Denon is sweet if you can afford it, I currently have a Denon system hook up with true Dobly D,the experience is sweet http://www.crutchfield.com/S-BlNCm17...p?i=033AVR3803

Thanks for the info... I am hooking it up to a Panasonic 42" HD Plasma TV. The room, however is tiny - I will only be sitting 8ft. from the screen (I'm not even sure if that matters). The install guys are coming on Saturday and they said they will hook up a home theater system as well but I don't have one yet! They are going to run all the cables in the walls so I really want to pick one up by the time they come to install the TV. I guess I'm not that much of an audiophile but I do want it to sound good...

Originally Posted by javeryh Thanks for the info... I am hooking it up to a Panasonic 42" HD Plasma TV.

Well, I don't know what you should get, you have a 42" Plasma? Well, I can tell you what I use for my 25" CONSOLE tv that I got from the salvation army for $15.00 and thats the speakers I made for it. You're no cheap ass gamer, and as such, I cannot in good conscience answer your question. Besides, my answer would consist of how to use old car speakers, duct tape, and cardboard.

good day sir.

Originally Posted by jdpimp Well, I don't know what you should get, you have a 42" Plasma? Well, I can tell you what I use for my 25" CONSOLE tv that I got from the salvation army for $15.00 and thats the speakers I made for it. You're no cheap ass gamer, and as such, I cannot in good conscience answer your question. Besides, my answer would consist of how to use old car speakers, duct tape, and cardboard. good day sir.

Ouch man. Believe me, I am still a CAGer... I just might not be a CATVer. Actually, I made quite a scene at the store when i bought it with a handful of coupons and gift cards... not to mention the 24-month no interest financing. Come to think of it, I haven't paid a cent for it yet . That's pretty cheap ass if you ask me...

However, I am looking for something a little nicer than a couple of car speakers taped together in a cardboard box for the home theater setup...

That Onkyo set someone posted above looks pretty nice - does anyone have any experience with it? Also, I'd love some more recommendations. Thanks!

Cardboard and ducttape, that's a riot. You should use those big 5lb coffee cans, they give a much better sound, and they're directional!

I've got the Onkyo model posted above. Well, the TX-SR600...the link's for a 601 but I can't see the difference without consulting the owner's manual.

It's a great system with LOTS of inputs (only 2 component ins though, so I use S-Video for my GCN). I got mine with some St. Patty's day deal back in March that bundled a refurbed unit with the speaker set linked in the same post for $489 shipped. Even though it's a reburb unit the only way I can even tell is that the box they shipped it in had a sticker slapped on it that says "Refurbished Unit. May Contain Minor Cosmetic Defects" but I certainly can't find any and the sound quality has been excellent. I live in the middle of nowhere on 3.5 acres of land (a small yard out here in the sticks really) so I've really been able to crank it up and test it out. Something like the Die Hard 5 Star Edition DVD will really make you appreciate it.

If you order it directly from Onkyo's website you get an immediate discount (they have some kind of membership points system called Club Onkyo) just for making your first purchase through them.

http://www.onkyousa.com

Also, this is a site with great forums for any and all home theater questions.

http://www.hometheaterspot.com

Do NOT get Bose. Anyone who has knowledge of audio knows that Bose is overpriced crap that delivers horrible performance. Go to www.hometheaterforum.com and ask for recommendations in the forum there. The people at that forum are very knowlegable and can recommend you a good system where you will actually get your moneys worth.

I don't really know much about receivers since I only have a 2-channel music system, but for good budget speakers look at Ascend Acoustics and Axiom Audio. I have a pair of Ascend CBM-170's and I like them a lot.

And yes, please stay away from Bose.

I would go with a nice plasma hdtv and a run of the mill 650 watt panasonic home theater system for $300. Sound systems just dont have that long lasting apeal that Big ass nice tv's do.

My biggest recommendation to you is to go to the store and test these things out yourself, usually any circuitcity has a nice home theatre setup on display, bring a dvd with you and play it there, I recommend the star wars episode 1 pod racing scene, it's one of the best uses of surround I've ever heard.

I wanted to chime in here.

I am by no means a pro but I wanted to have some good quality stuff when I ordered mine.

I will say if you are listening to surround sound (not 2 channel) then the compact speakers will sound about the same as larger floor speakers. The only thing the larger floor speakers do is look more impressive and in 2 channel mode sound a bit bigger.

I personally picked up some JBL speakers when my wife worked at Best Buy. The cool thing is the setup cost near $2500 but JBL has a very nice incentive for Best Buy Workers and they get 75% off.

Maybe you should get friendly with a few of the workers and have them take care of you? I dont regret ordering our system one bit and although I went with the larger floor speakers, my father in law went with the compact system and I am just as pleased with the sound output from him.

If you are going to use Cube in surround make sure it has Dolby Digital II decoding or you are not going to get true surround.

Wow. hometheaterforum.com is making my head spin there is so much info there. It will take some time to sort everything out. Feel free to keep the reccommendations coming though!