Buying surround sound

[CleBrownsfan]

need some help buying a surround sound system? I already have a progressive scan dvd player so I looking to package a decent receiver and speakers.

I'm looking to spend $500.00 or less...

What I found so far from my research is:

Onkyo 5.1-Channel Pure Component Home Theatre System with 5 Satellite Speakers and 150-Watt Subwoofer for $399.00 got some pretty good ratings.

Also, I like - Sony DVD Dream™ 600 Watt Home Theatre System with 5-Disc Progressive Scan DVD Player for $499.00

Any of you have any experience in sound technology? If so, are these two selections good quality and value?

Thanks in advance for your response!!

[gstelmack]

The biggest thing to watch for with the bundled systems is the number and type of inputs. Many bundled systems are for watching DVDs only (one Dolby Digital input), but if you add a satellite dish and XBox (both with Dolby Digital out) you're hosed and have to buy a new receiver.

As a result, I'd buy the speakers and receiver separately. Unless you are an audiophile, you're not really going to notice the differences between most receivers and speakers (except for my RCA subwoofer which makes an annoying sound when it shuts down after 10 minutes of inactivity). Make sure the receiver supports the inputs you are going to need now and in the near future, and buy some reasonably priced speakers.

I'm a big fan of Sony components as they always just seem to work well, any time I've picked up something from someone else I've been disappointed (my RCA subwoofer mentioned above, a Panasonic DVD player that didn't want to play music CD-Rs, an RCA DirecTV receiver that sucked in too many ways to mention, etc).

[Fidatelo]

I've always found that while Sony is generally decent, for every type of product there is a competing product that is one of two things:
a) Better quality for the same price
b) Similar quality for a better price

The key is you have to research each component and figure out which products are the deals.

[Sloan]

I've always found that while Sony is generally decent, for every type of product there is a competing product that is one of two things:
a) Better quality for the same price
b) Similar quality for a better price

The key is you have to research each component and figure out which products are the deals.

I agree. I worked at Best Buy a few years ago and this always the case. It didn't matter whether you were buying a TV, VCR, stereo, or CD-ROM.

[primelord]

I guess it all depends on what you want to get out of your system, but I wouldn't buy a bundled system like that. I would save up your money and spend it on quality equipment that will last you a long time and you will get far better performance out of. Again if you aren't really serious into home audio then just whatever sounds fine to you at the store should be ok. However I have watched most of my friends try to go the cheaper route and then they get the system home and after a few months aren't satisfied with it and upgrade anyway costing themselves more money in the long run.

To get a real quality receiver though is going to cost you atleast the $500 you were wanting to spend by itself. Probably more. I am very fond of the Yamaha and Denon receivers. Something like the following would be excellent:

Yamaha RX-V2400 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/RECEIVER/RX-V2400.htm)

Of course it is $1000. But you could move down in that line until you found something closer to your price range.

Speakers are another issue entirely. Again you would be better off buying speakers seperaely because you would be able to listen to them all and decide which ones sound best to you as opposed to just taking what comes bundled with the system. All speakers sound different to everyone. Again I am a huge fan of Boston Accoustic and Paradigm, but they can be a bit pricey.

If you are hard set on only spending $500 on the entire system then this enitre post was useless. And I apologize for wasting your tiem. :D

[gstelmack]

I've always found that while Sony is generally decent, for every type of product there is a competing product that is one of two things:
a) Better quality for the same price
b) Similar quality for a better price

The key is you have to research each component and figure out which products are the deals.
So far that research has either failed me (either I got bad information and ended up with a bad product that ended up getting replaced by a Sony, or I couldn't find the info), or has just plain taken too much time. That said, I've found the reviews on CircuitCity.com to be very useful for electronics shopping.

And I dare you to find a TV that does this for my Sony 36" HDTV. My jaw just dropped when I was in the store comparing quality, even compared to the multi-thousand dollar plasmas sitting right next to it.

[gstelmack]

To get a real quality receiver though is going to cost you atleast the $500 you were wanting to spend by itself. Probably more.
I think there are a lot of receivers in the $300 range that work great for non-audiophiles. Here's a sample system that I would likely get were I redoing my setup:

Receiver: http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-8021&qp=008403227&oid=69793 ($270)

Front speakers: http://www.circuitcity.com/display_review.jsp?c=1&b=g&OID=60379&catoid=-8023 ($60) (I even threw in a Pioneer item just to show I can branch out if I need to :) )

Surround & center speakers: http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-8023&qp=008403227&oid=70186 ($100)

Subwoofer: http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-8023&qp=008403227&oid=70293 ($100)

That's $530 total, so yeah you're going to over a bit but you can do it for pretty close to $500. And the speakers I mention can be swapped out for whatever brand/special you can find. The key is most of these are going to sound just fine unless you are super-picky about your sound quality (I'm just somewhat picky and have had good luck).

[primelord]

I don't have much experience with Sony equipment. So I don't want to put that receiver down other than to say I would bet there is no way it sounds anywhere near as good as that Yamaha. And I don't think it's just an issue for audiophiles either.

Like I said I have friends who went out to Best Buy or Circuit City etc and bought similar systems to what was originally posted. They were happy with them until they came over to my place and heard the difference between my system and theirs. After that they just were not satisfied with the performance they were getting and ultimately ended up spending more money upgrading again.

I just have never seen the point in going to the trouble of putting in a surround sound system and not putting in a quality system. (Granted I am a bit of an audiophile). I know everyone has their own budget and if you don't use the system a lot then it doesn't make much sense to invest a lot of money it. However if you don't use the system much then I think it is a waste to put in a sound system at all.

To each his own of course, but I think if you listened to that V2400 against your average system at Best Buy you would hear a huge difference. It also depends a bit what you want to get out of the receiver. For example Denon's strength is in home theatre applications. They excel with DVD's etc where as the Yamaha's sound much better with music than the Denons do.

[yabanci]

I think Primelord is definitely right. I have Denon components, though you certainly can't go wrong with Yamaha. However, my mom wanted a simple home theatre system, basically just an improvement to the sound coming out of the TV. I went to Best Buy looking for a receiver/speaker combo for about $300. Most of the combos are dvd player/speaker combos, but there were two receiver/speaker bundles. One was a Yamaha receiver and speakers and the other was a Sony receiver and speakers. The Yamaha was better IMO, but for the same price I bought the Sony, simply because we're talking about my mom here and she already had a Sony TV and DVD player, so uniformity was more important in my purchase decision. I had pretty low expectations, but it sounds very good, much better than I expected. It definitely doesn't sound as good as a high end system, but for $300 I was very impressed.

My point, I guess, is if you are going for a truly superior receiver/speaker combo, you won't get one for less than $500. But you can get a suprisingly nice system for $300-$500. You might try to find that Yamaha receiver/speaker combo at Best Buy and check it out.

[Vaj]

Ah, a subject dear to my heart.

I agree with Primelord. At this price point, most multichannel systems will be junk. I would allocate no more than $200 on amplification, and spend the balance on a pair of bookshelf speakers. These will get you the best sound for your money, as less money is devoted to the cabinets and, believe it or not, the packaging, and more is spent on the drivers. Smaller speakers are also easier to optimally place in your room (a challenge for multichannel), and, while a sub will likely be noticed while watching some movies, it will add surprisingly little to most music. As you can sink more money into your system, you can add a subwoofer and/or rear speakers.

Besides Paradigm and Boston Acoustics, I would also recommend checking out speakers by PSB and Sound Dynamics. I won't recommend one brand over the others -- your ears and preferences will determine that for you. If you can, audition a pair at home -- that's the only way you'll know if the speakers and your room are a good match. If you have to compare speakers in a store, make sure the levels are matched, as the louder speaker will usually sound better to you.

Best of luck in your shopping!

[Craptacular]

I agree that you can find a good receiver in the $300 range. I've had a couple of Yamahas in the past, and just recently bought a Denon AVR 683 on closeout. It's got everything you need ... Dolby Digital / DTS; plenty of inputs and outputs, including digital coax and two optical inputs, two component video inputs (although you should go straight to the TV if you can); plenty of power and sound options.

I know speakers have improved quite a bit, but I'm always wary of the speaker packages that give you 5 identical speakers. Buy nicer, separate front speakers that sound good for music or stereo TV programming. The surround speakers aren't nearly as important.

[kingfc22]

I've worked at Good Guys and Best Buy and must say that Denon and Yamaha are excellent for receivers and they have a very wide selection on their line. One thing about those one box systems you want to look out for is THD%. This stands for total harmonic distortion and must one box systems have tons. For example, a stand alone receiver may have .06-.7% THD while the one box receivers put out 10% THD. Basically this means that you are losing a lot of quality from the time the signal goes to your receiver to the time it finally reaches your speakers.