Home Theater audio

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Hi, I'm new here and I just heard about your site while I was searching for options for an audio solution for my home theater.

I have a budget of something like 540$ , I can take some more loss but it should worth it.

I do know that only a good receiver might cost me my whole budget so I thought maybe I can build up starting from receivers and 2 front speakers, but I'm just a newbie, so I guess I should just go ahead and tell you my uses for the home theater:

I will need 2 HDMI inputs at minimum that pass through audio and video , one for my Xbox 360 and one for my Xtreamer.

I want it to support atleast 5.1.

I'd rather have support for the newer kinds of formats that came with HDMI (TrueHD I believe and DTS-HD? something like that?)

Support for TrueHD isn't a must but if it can fit my budget well and not hurt too much I would like to have it too so I wont be that outdated few years from now.
Thanks for whoever help me or whoever doesn't.

 

[grdunn123]

Hi, just checking that it's Greenbacks you're talking about when you quote $$$'s?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm talking about United State Dollars.

if it's kinda too low I'm up for building up the system part by part .

 

[grdunn123]

If you can be patient then, longterm, it's the way to go. How much are you willing to spend after the initial outlay? I think you've already identified that you could blow this on a receiver which is probably the way to go. Being from UK I'm not really up on what, for instance, the Onkyo 608 receiver would cost where you are.

 

[Anonymous]

grdunn123:If you can be patient then, longterm, it's the way to go. How much are you willing to spend after the initial outlay? I think you've already identified that you could blow this on a receiver which is probably the way to go. Being from UK I'm not really up on what, for instance, the Onkyo 608 receiver would cost where you are.

I'm from Israel but I plan on getting it from the US, Stores are really greedy around here.

I've put my eyes on the Onkyo 608 Receiver but wouldn't be a bit sad for me to see a receiver without speakers connected to it?

If you have some recommended stores in the UK I might be able to buy from them instead, It might even cost me less because I'm pretty sure we use same voltage (220?).

I would be happy if you could help me make a wishlist for the complete setup so I'll see how I manage it.

Last thing, Any chance there's any cheaper way to go instead of Onkyo? My required specs aren't that high and I'm not much of an audiophile so any setup that pass my basic requirements would work for me.

Thanks for the help mate .

 

[grdunn123]

You could look at the Sony STR-DH800 or there's an 810 and 820 out too + these http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/jamo/a102-hcs5/jamo-a102-blk which will get you well on the way. However if you are prepared to go the long route and upgrade bit by bit then obviously you'll inherit better quality and longevity all round.

 

[Anonymous]

grdunn123:
You could look at the Sony STR-DH800 or there's an 810 and 820 out too + these http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/jamo/a102-hcs5/jamo-a102-blk which will get you well on the way. However if you are prepared to go the long route and upgrade bit by bit then obviously you'll inherit better quality and longevity all round.

I'm not much of an audiophile so I wonder if I go on the long route I'd feel the difference?

Also, Is the price diff between the Sony receiver and the Onkyo receiver really worth it? as Sony seems to fit perfectly for me, cost wise also,

 

[grdunn123]

It's up to you really. The long route isn't just about better sound quality but also about being more future proof. You may not want things like 3D now but who knows. I know how you feel, if it were me I'd want to get a system, get it home and use it right now.

 

[Anonymous]

grdunn123:It's up to you really. The long route isn't just about better sound quality but also about being more future proof. You may not want things like 3D now but who knows. I know how you feel, if it were me I'd want to get a system, get it home and use it right now.

I don't think I'll get 3D anytime soon, even in few years I don't think I'll have one.

Also it seems like the DHT-810 supports 3d and is even cheaper in ebay..?

I think I'll go for it if there's no real diff between it and the Onkyo one which will cost me 200$ more dollars :X.

But what about the speakers? will I be able to tell the difference between the speakers you suggested and other speakers? If it's not heavily felt I think I'll go for the Jamo speakers..

 

[grdunn123]

If you can run to it then these are worth a look (listen) http://whathifi.com/Review/Boston-Acoustics-Soundware-XS/

 

[Anonymous]

grdunn123:If you can run to it then these are worth a look (listen) http://whathifi.com/Review/Boston-Acoustics-Soundware-XS/

In another forum someone recommended me to go for Onkyo 308, Sony 510 or Yamaha 367.

Those seem to fit my budget pretty well, then I can get other speakers..?

What speakers and sub you recommend me to get if I'm getting one of the above specified receiver?

I've heard that Wharfedale is pretty good...

 

[Anonymous]

Are you only going to use it for Home Theatre or music listening as well?

Out of curiosity, what visual equipment (e.g. projector/tv/both) are you going to connect it to?

For Home Theatre, will you mostly watch TV/DVDs/Blu rays?

It will be easier to help you if we understand this.

 

[Anonymous]

mephistophelean:
Are you only going to use it for Home Theatre or music listening as well?

Out of curiosity, what visual equipment (e.g. projector/tv/both) are you going to connect it to?

For Home Theatre, will you mostly watch TV/DVDs/Blu rays?

It will be easier to help you if we understand this.

I'm going to listen to music a bit, but I will use it more for movies and I don't think I will be able to tell the difference between a system which specializes with music and a system that is more specific-built for home theater.

I'm going to use a Toshiba Regza TV with Xtreamer, Xbox, WII and non-hd cable box.

I will surely watch only 1080p content as I'm doing now, so Blurays.

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

AviramH:
grdunn123:If you can run to it then these are worth a look (listen) http://whathifi.com/Review/Boston-Acoustics-Soundware-XS/

In another forum someone recommended me to go for Onkyo 308, Sony 510 or Yamaha 367.

Those seem to fit my budget pretty well, then I can get other speakers..?

What speakers and sub you recommend me to get if I'm getting one of the above specified receiver?

I've heard that Wharfedale is pretty good...

AviramH

The Onkyo, Sony and Yamaha 'recommended' are at the absolute bottom-range of all three brands - they will never drive even a budget speaker package adequately. The specs would undoubtedly also be very basic.

You will grow weary of these very quickly. With a limited budget, I would look at the used market for a higher end/spec amp which will make better sense in the long-run.

Ronald

 

[Anonymous]

Ronald Archiebald:AviramH:
grdunn123:If you can run to it then these are worth a look (listen) http://whathifi.com/Review/Boston-Acoustics-Soundware-XS/

In another forum someone recommended me to go for Onkyo 308, Sony 510 or Yamaha 367.

Those seem to fit my budget pretty well, then I can get other speakers..?

What speakers and sub you recommend me to get if I'm getting one of the above specified receiver?

I've heard that Wharfedale is pretty good...

AviramH

The Onkyo, Sony and Yamaha 'recommended' are at the absolute bottom-range of all three brands - they will never drive even a budget speaker package adequately. The specs would undoubtedly also be very basic.

You will grow weary of these very quickly. With a limited budget, I would look at the used market for a higher end/spec amp which will make better sense in the long-run.

Ronald

Are you sure I will be able to tell the differences between the receivers?

 

[Ronald Archiebald]

AvramH,

I'm not sure about you but I certainly can distinguish differences easily.

Ronald

 

[Anonymous]

What about this deal? It looks too good, It contains SR-508 (Which should be better than the 308) , doesn't have HDMI 1.4 which I don't need and only 5.1 which is the max I need.

Opinions?

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