surround sound

Onkyo for shizzle.

Because the onkyo reciever is a great reciever and if you ever want to upgrade your speakers or sub, you have a great reciever to do that with. And Onkyo is known to load up their recievers with plenty of inputs/outputs for anything you can imagine. Can't do that with a DVD reciever.

Never get DVD Sound systems. They are just subpar everything, and you are unable to upgrade if you ever feel the need to do so.
 
[quote name='DarkNessBear']
Never get DVD Sound systems. They are just subpar everything, and you are unable to upgrade if you ever feel the need to do so.[/QUOTE]

That is all you need to know OP. The Onkyo is a much better system.
 
Onkyo all the way. See if you can track down a $40 off $200 coupon as well and watch Circuit City online prices closely - I pricematched my Onkyo 3 times over the next 30 days after purchase.
 
For a cheap HTiB that Onkyo SR800 has gotten pretty good reviews.

Here's a great review at Home Theater Magazine:
http://www.hometheatermag.com/hometheaterinabox/607onksr800/

Also, everything in that set is standard "seperates" so you can upgrade when you're ready, a piece at a time.

I was actually thinking of getting that set for our bedroom.

Here's a link to get a deal on one:
http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=HT-SR800&modelid=135&group_id=1&detail=1&ext_war=1
http://slickdeals.net/?permadeal=10549&nojs=1&nojs=1

There is a coupon code to get that as cheap as $314 (if you don't mind a refurbished one).
 
I've heard Onkyo makes great stuff so I would go with them, but I think that 7.1 is pretty useless. If you can get a better 5.1 system for the same price I would advice to do tht.
 
[quote name='chodax']I've heard Onkyo makes great stuff so I would go with them, but I think that 7.1 is pretty useless. If you can get a better 5.1 system for the same price I would advice to do tht.[/quote]

Yea, I agree. 7.1 one could be nice. But it's more of a hassle then its worth.
 
Read some reviews, at sub-$400 there isn't really a better option.

PS3 1st party games (and many 3rd party games) are 7.1 discrete. 5.1+PLIIx processing does a phenomenal job of extracting extra information from the rear surround channels.

I've had 7.1 for a couple of years now and I can't imagine going back. It does require a rather large room, but it's worth it if you're into audio. (Although if anyone is shopping for audio under $400, you're probably not into audio)
 
Whatever system you end up buying, just remember to trash the speaker wire included and get some decent 12-16 gauge. It will make a big difference.
 
[quote name='Sarrasis']Whatever system you end up buying, just remember to trash the speaker wire included and get some decent 12-16 gauge. It will make a big difference.[/quote]

I'm pretty sure I read a long, detailed post somewhere about how, to a non-audiophile, thicker speaker wire doesn't make much of a difference. I could be wrong though.
 
[quote name='Sarrasis']Whatever system you end up buying, just remember to trash the speaker wire included and get some decent 12-16 gauge. It will make a big difference.[/quote]

12 gauge wire is complete overkill for most home theater in the box systems. 14-16 gauge at most is fine. A good majority come with 20-22 gauge out of the box.
 
[quote name='willardhaven']Wouldn't it be better to just spend the money on a good receiver + 2 speakers and a sub?[/QUOTE]

IMO, the 5.1 experience is what matters most, but I'm not an audiophile.

On a budget I go with a decent 5.1 box set, like the SR800 above, and then just gradually upgrade the speakers (i.e. get a better center, then better fronts, etc. etc.).

That way you get the surround sound experience from day 1, and can later upgrade to better speakers if you so desire.

Of course, hardcore audiophiles should just save up and buy a quality system from day one as they won't enjoy the cheaper systems as they'll just nitpick them to death.

I've always been happy as hell to not have developed many audio/videophile tendencies. Makes it easier to just enjoy music, games and movies when you're not obsessing over technical stuff. Ignorance is bliss. :D
 
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