El Cheapo Home Theater System

Anyone have any suggestions for something like this I can pick up on amazon for $100 - $200 price range? Speakers on my tv are terrible and I've had just about enough of it.

For the money you have to offer, a soundbar is likely the best option for you.

[quote name='shrike4242']For the money you have to offer, a soundbar is likely the best option for you.[/QUOTE]

I figured that would probably be the case, but does anyone have any suggestions for good soundbars they have experience with?

if u have a best buy close by, check their open / clearance items. i bought a sony htib for $100 and it still working great up to now.

Check HTiB options available on Amazon Warehouse.

I have this, it was $248 when I got it. It's good and has a real receiver so all parts are replaceable unlike most HTIB's.

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-S350...4073408&sr=8-3&keywords=surround+sound+system

The sub is unpowered but its really good for most people's houses. If you own a McMansion you're going to need a 7.2 but I'm assuming you're a normal person. For small to medium sized living rooms, this is good. You can feel the sub vibrating the floor even though its unpowered. My suggestion is watch it and wait for the price to drop a bit again then buy it. It you can get it for the price I paid then that's only 50 more than the max price of your soundbar and this thing will absolutely blow a soundbar out of the water.

Thanks for the input guys. I really appreciate it. I'll keep any eye out for that system on sale or something. If anyone else has any more suggestions please share them too.

I would second that Onkyo system. Other suggestion would be a refurbished Samsung sound bar with wireless subwoofer. Can usually find those for around 100, and to me are really nice. Use mine in the living room/kitchen, and the Onkyo in the media room downstairs.

[quote name='kaos424']Thanks for the input guys. I really appreciate it. I'll keep any eye out for that system on sale or something. If anyone else has any more suggestions please share them too. [/QUOTE]

No problem, plus it's got 4 HDMI inputs and supports 3D input/output. I tested it (the 3d) with my 3DTV and a 3D movie - it works great. I've got my cable box, 360, ps3, and 3d blu ray player hooked into the HDMI inputs and one cable going from it to the TV. Then my Wii is hooked directly up to the TV with component.

If you're going to pay the $300 for the 5.1 you might as well get this 7.1 for 350 as it's got 2 extra speakers + a powered sub.
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-SKS-HT5...78346&sr=8-4&keywords=7.1+home+theater+system

Personally, I'd rather get the 5.1 with the unpowered sub for around 250 (which I did) and save $100. The unpowered subwoofer is surprisingly good. I was watching Lord of the Rings and was completely blown away by it.

Here's somebody asking about upgrading the speakers. This is what I was talking about in regard to it having a regular receiver. You have to watch out for the HTIB's that have a blu ray player built into the receiver. Often times they will have few if any inputs and if the blu ray player goes out you've got to replace the entire thing. Often times they'll even have speakers that use proprietary plugs so that it's hard to replace them yourself (without striping the wires and doing a bunch of work you don't really want to do).
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1464495/onkyo-s3500-with-energy-take-classic-5-1-worth-it
In the S3500, you can replace the speakers if (for some reason) you decide it's not good enough (if you're considering a soundbar then it IS good enough) or if you manage to blow one of the speakers. Since it doesn't have a built in blu ray player, you don't have to worry about that going out. If the receiver breaks you can replace it with a new receiver and keep your speakers.

honestly the expensive computer 5.1 and 7.1 systems make incredible home theaters for small cash. often times they can be picked up for around 100 bucks. another brand to look at is rca. speakers can always be upgraded rather cheaply.