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Topic: Home Theater Recommendation (Read 9006 times) previous topic - next topic
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Home Theater Recommendation

Hello everybody. I'm starting my research on a HT, and i was wondering what the HA experts have to say about it.

I have 3 requirements:

1) No more than 200.
2) Small as possible.
3) 5.1 or more (i'm ok with 5.1)

Wireless would be really cool.

Thanks.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #1 –
200 US dollars?  If so, yikes.  A truly good entry level sub is going to use up at least a good chunk of that budget all by itself.  So for 5.1 and a receiver too, that's a really tough situation.

I suppose there are some HTIB setups that would meet your budget, but they'd suck.  Upping the budget to, say, 350 would get you a better HTIB system, but even then it wouldn't be anything that special.

Perhaps you could wait until you have a larger budget to work with.  Or, alternatively, buy individual pieces over time to spread out the financial hit - start with the front channel speakers, then add on later.  That was the route I took; first bought some nice bookshelf speakers and stands, then later added a sub.  It's one sweet 2.1 system at this point, even still using a 15 year old receiver.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #2 –
I would recommend you to look (or better evaluate at the local shop) at japanese all-in-one systems, Panasonic for instance offers nice models, quite close to your budget.

Edit. The model name is Panasonic SC-PT150 or the renewed Panasonic SC-PT160 (not yet available everywhere in the world). (Link at Panasonic Argentina).

Also visit Panasonic Home Theater Global Site for their latest Digital AV products and technologies presentation  Good luck!

Edit2. Similar products are available in the USA, SC-PT650 and SC-PT660.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #3 –
Quote from: gib on
200 US dollars?  If so, yikes.  A truly good entry level sub is going to use up at least a good chunk of that budget all by itself.  So for 5.1 and a receiver too, that's a really tough situation.

I suppose there are some HTIB setups that would meet your budget, but they'd suck.  Upping the budget to, say, 350 would get you a better HTIB system, but even then it wouldn't be anything that special.

Perhaps you could wait until you have a larger budget to work with.  Or, alternatively, buy individual pieces over time to spread out the financial hit - start with the front channel speakers, then add on later.  That was the route I took; first bought some nice bookshelf speakers and stands, then later added a sub.  It's one sweet 2.1 system at this point, even still using a 15 year old receiver.


i totally agree with this.  200 will get you nothing good 5.1.  that's a START for a basic receiver at best.  i'd start a 2.0 set up and work my way up if i were you.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #4 –
Quote from: gib on
200 US dollars?  If so, yikes.  A truly good entry level sub is going to use up at least a good chunk of that budget all by itself.  So for 5.1 and a receiver too, that's a really tough situation.

Really? Are all this HT so bad? Cause all are less than 250:

Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System (Set of Six, Black) http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Channel-T...4874&sr=1-1

Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Surround Sound Speaker System
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-SKS-HT540-Surr...4874&sr=1-2

Polk Audio RM6750 5.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System (Set of Six, Titanium)
http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-Channel-T...4874&sr=1-5

Sony SA-FT1H Flat Panel Speaker System
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SA-FT1H-Panel-S...874&sr=1-13

Panasonic SC-HT40 Home Theater Speaker System
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SC-HT40-Th...874&sr=1-14

LG 1000 Watt 5.1 Home Theater System, LHT754
http://www.amazon.com/LG-1000-Theater-Syst...874&sr=1-17

LG LHT764 - Home theater system - 5.1 channel - silver, glossy black
http://www.amazon.com/LG-LHT764-theater-sy...068&sr=1-33

Considering that now i'm using a 50 dollars HT, i thought 200 would be good (i can even extend to 250, but i have to add about 100 dollars more for the transportation to argentina).

Also, note that i want the best i can get for 200/250, i never said i want a THX compatible HT

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #5 –
I looked at each of the systems you linked to and only one looks like it might be decent.

- The Panasonic uses a single full-range driver for the front and rear speakers.  Full-range drivers can sound good, but when a very cheap system uses small, full-range drivers that's a major red flag.

- The Sony uses tiny 3" "woofers" for the front speakers.  Not good.  That means the crossover between front and sub is going to be fairly high, which isn't very desirable.  Also it doesn't come with an amp, so keep that in mind.

- Both LG systems didn't list any information about the drivers used in the speakers.  That worries me.  However, they did mention that the power rating for the amp is at 10% THD.  Good amps/receivers are rated at .1% THD or even less, for comparison.  So even though the LG amps are rated at 155x5 for the main channels, the amount of clean power they can deliver will be much lower. 

- The Polk system, like the Sony, uses very small "woofers" in the front speakers and does not come with an amp.  Also, for what it's worth, I have actually owned a Polk sub, the PSW 12, and it was really disappointing.  Below about 40 Hz output really dropped off leaving only port noise, the sound of which was remarkably similar to an F3 tornado.  Suffice to say, that got returned.  heh

- That leaves the Onkyo system.  That system actually looks respectable.  5" woofers in the front should be able to go down reasonably low and the sub uses a solid 10" driver (and from what I've heard from other people, Onkyo subs in their HTIB systems are fairly decent).  This system does not include an amp, however.

If you're going to choose one of these, I'd go for the Onk.  At 260 it's already over-budget, though, and you'll still need an amp/receiver to power it.

That's my analysis of those setups.  But let me also say that when I put together my current setup, I had the goal of spending as little money as possible while also getting quality equipment that would provide enjoyment for many, many years to come.  I ended up spending about 450 dollars for the front speakers and sub, and I got an extremely good deal on the front speakers.  I was frugal, but also willing to spend enough to get some legitimately nice equipment.  My enjoyment when listening to music and watching movies has gone through the roof with this system.  And let me also say that it's unbelievable what a true subwoofer can do and how much it adds to the experience.

So anyway, that's basically my story/perspective.  Unfortunately, I really can't know what would be acceptable to you.  While I might find the ~200 dollar HTIB systems a waste of time, they might suit you just fine.  I suppose that's obvious, so I guess what I'm really trying to say is I hope this post helped you, but I'm not sure it did. 

Edit:  Clarity

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #6 –
Logitech Z-5500 is around $200 and is THX certified. I have the Z-2300 which is the 2.1 version and I'm pretty happy with the sound for the price.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #7 –
I just recently purchased Onkyo HT-SR600, which is pretty good for the money. I needed a system for my parents to give them a basic surround sound system for the living room. I connected it to their living room computer with a digital coax cable, so that all the sound coming out of that could be played on the HT system.

I would say the frequency response left substantial improvements to be desired, but since most of the stuff that comes out through that system goes through foobar2000 on the computer, I used a sound level meter and a set of test tones to measure the frequency response of the system, and configured foobar's equalizer in DSP to adjust all sounds accordingly. Now the system sounds pretty decent, and all for under $250 (I got it from crutchfield.com with a coupon from retailmenot.com)

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #8 –
Thanks all.

I haven mentioned that i want this HT for seeing movies and playing with my PS3.

I don't know if that would make any difference.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #9 –
Quote from: gib on
- The Panasonic uses a single full-range driver for the front and rear speakers.  Bose-esque.  Yuck.
The rest of your post was very interesting, but this line is just misleading. Many full range drivers (Fostex, Feastrex, Hemp Audio, and many others) perform exceptionally well for their price. My 2.1 system uses 6 inch Fostex full range drivers, crossing over to the sub at 90Hz. With the equalization filter I built for it, it's frequency response is great from 35Hz to 18kHz. Sure, a dedicated tweeter is a good idea - but when the budget is limited you can often get better overall sound quality from a full range.

The point is that rejecting a system out of hand because it uses full range drivers is not a good idea.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #10 –
kwanbis,

If you are already willing to go with the Onkyo SKS-HT540 for $270 on Amazon, I'd recommend going with the $299 Onkyo HT-SR700 instead.

Onkyo HT-SR700 on Amazon.COM
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-HT-SR700-Theat...434&sr=1-17


EDIT: (url was incorrect - fixed)


While the SR700 set is 5.1 versus the HT540's 7.1 setup, you get an amp/receiver with the SR700 for the extra $30 and "loss" of 2 speakers.  Besides, very little music and movies use 6.1 or 7.1.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #11 –
Quote from: cabbagerat on
The point is that rejecting a system out of hand because it uses full range drivers is not a good idea.
You are absolutely right.  To my defense, I wasn't trying to claim all full range drivers are bad.  Just that this particular, very cheap, HTIB system that uses small full range drivers is almost certainly going to have unimpressive quality. 

With the brevity of my comments on that system (and the shot at Bose, heh), I can certainly see how someone might think I was panning all full-range drivers.  That's my mistake for not being clear, and I'm going to edit that to fix it.

Edit:  I looked but never could find specs.  But where I failed, Egor succeeded (below).  Listing frequency cutoffs at -16dB and -10dB is a little unusual and not in a good way.  I wonder what the -3dB numbers would be.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #12 –
Quote from: gib on
[...] Just that this particular, very cheap, HTIB system that uses small full range drivers is almost certainly going to have unimpressive quality.  [...]

Here are the detailed speaker specifications for the SC-HT40 home theater, so everyone can judge based on numbers, not just looks:
Quote
Front speaker (SB-PF40)
Type 1 Way, 1 Speaker, Bass-ref.
Speaker unit
Full range 6.5 cm (2 1/2") cone type x 1, 4 ?
Input power (IEC) 90 W (Max)
Output sound pressure level 78 dB/W (1.0 m)
Frequency range 110 Hz to 23 kHz (-16 dB)
120 Hz to 21 kHz (-10 dB)
Dimensions (W x H x D) 92 mm x 270 mm x 95.4 mm
(3 5/8" x 10 5/8" x 3 3/4")
Mass 0.8 kg (1.8 lb.)

Surround speaker (SB-PS40)
Type 1 Way, 1 Speaker, Bass-ref.
Speaker unit
Full range 6.5 cm (2 1/2") cone type x 1, 4 ?
Input power (IEC) 90 W (Max)
Output sound pressure level 76 dB/W (1.0 m)
Frequency range 110 Hz to 22 kHz (-16 dB)
120 Hz to 21 kHz (-10 dB)
Dimensions (W x H x D) 92 mm x 135 mm x 95.4 mm
(3 5/8" x 5 5/6" x 3 3/4")
Mass 0.6 kg (1.3 lb.)

Center speaker (SB-PC40)
Type 1 Way, 2 Speakers, Bass-ref.
Speaker unit
Full range 6.5 cm (2 1/2") cone type x 2, 6 ?
Input power (IEC) 220 W (Max)
Output sound pressure level 82 dB/W (1.0 m)
Frequency range 110 Hz to 22 kHz (-16 dB)
120 Hz to 20 kHz (-10 dB)
Dimensions (W x H x D) 270 mm x 92 mm x 95.4 mm
(10 5/8" x 3 5/8" x 3 3/4")
Mass 1.3 kg (2.9 lb.)

Passive subwoofer (SB-W40)
Type 1 Way, 1 Speaker, Bass-ref.
Speaker unit (Woofer) 16 cm (6 1/2") cone type, 6 ?
Input power (IEC) 220 W (Max)
Output sound pressure level 78 dB/W (1.0 m)
Frequency range 31 Hz to 500 Hz (-16 dB)
38 Hz to 400 Hz (-10 dB)
Dimensions (W x H x D)
182 mm x 392 mm x 266 mm (7 3/16" x 15 7/16" x 10 1/2")
Mass 3.7 kg (8.2 lb.)
[/size]

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Egor on
Output sound pressure level 76 dB/W (1.0 m)
Frequency range 110 Hz to 22 kHz (-16 dB)
120 Hz to 21 kHz (-10 dB)
76dB/W? And it's not clear from the specs where they cross in the sub, but I would guess it's probably around 150Hz. Based on these specs, this system probably should be avoided - but I suppose you can't expect much from six speakers and a receiver for so little money.

gib, thanks for editing that post - as it stands now it's a pretty nice summary of low end HT systems.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #15 –
No problem, cabbagerat.  I knew what I meant in my mind, so if you didn't point things out to me I wouldn't have realized my comment could be interpreted in an unintended way.  So thanks to you too.

And yeah, the 76dB sensitivity rating baffled me as well. 

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #16 –
Quote from: Egor on
Here are the detailed speaker specifications for the SC-HT40 home theater, so everyone can judge based on numbers, not just looks:

Thanks, but is like chinese for me.

Is it a good thing, or a bad thing?

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #17 –
Quote from: kwanbis on
Thanks, but is like chinese for me.

Is it a good thing, or a bad thing?

Well, one can tell that those speakers neither perfect nor excellent, but will be ok for a small to medium apartment room. The general explanation for SPL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_power_l...audio_equipment

You can ease your decision by comparing receiver's features (e.g. speaker distance setup, supported audio formats, etc), package contents (if you would need to buy additional cables), warranty/service information for your country. It is good idea to skim through "user manuals", which may be freely available for downloading before you buy.

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #18 –
Quote from: Egor on
You can ease your decision by comparing receiver's features (e.g. speaker distance setup, supported audio formats, etc), package contents (if you would need to buy additional cables), warranty/service information for your country. It is good idea to skim through "user manuals", which may be freely available for downloading before you buy.

What you mean by supported audio formats? Isn't it just a 5 speaker, and a soobwoofer? It would be just electricity.

Problem is that even if i wanted to read the manuals, i don't understand the terminology, so i won't understand.

Also, to put you in contest, this is what i'm using right now:

http://oferta.deremate.com.ar/id=13531713_...s-de-garantia-p

http://catalog.ebay.co.uk/Ozaki-Nuke-6-5-1...7336961QQ_tabZ1

Home Theater Recommendation

Reply #19 –
Quote from: kwanbis on
What you mean by supported audio formats? Isn't it just a 5 speaker, and a soobwoofer? It would be just electricity.

Problem is that even if i wanted to read the manuals, i don't understand the terminology, so i won't understand.

No, a receiver is rather sophisticated entertainment device, it can be used not only to amplify or switch analog sound sources, but it also decodes movie's audio track and performs relatively high-quality digital to analog conversion (DAC), equalization and surround effects processing. Receiver can often act as a radio FM/AM receiver.

DVD movie's audio track is usually encoded in DolbyDigital or DTS format, and a player can send that track unaltered to your receiver, then the receiver decodes and amplifies sound.

You'll need a fiber optical cable (also known as TOSlink or "optical S/PDIF") to connect a receiver to your PS3 console (I suppose you'll use it also for movie playback).

I have also sent you a PDF version of SC-HT40 operating instructions to the gmail.com address.