Buying a home theatre system - need advice

[deaner]

Hey guys. I put a deposit down on a Toshiba 52"lcd and yamaha/celestion home theatre system at a&b sound last week. Thinking maybe I should have shopped around more. The TV is 1080p 120hz, 10 bit panel, and I got it for 2400. I think that is a decent deal?

The main part I am wondering about is the stereo. The guy put together a system using two smaller celestion towers, 2 bookshelfs for the rears, a center, and an Energy sub. The reciever is a Yamaha and its supposed to be better than 7.1 (some kind of new technology that is supposed to take over???) Altogether this stuff is 1400 or 1500. Im kind of wondering if I should spend a little more and get a real kickass system? (ive been waiting for a while to get one) Any brands to lean towards? Any place you know to get a better deal? The main problem is, I dont trust any of those sales guys. They could be pawning off complete crap and I wouldnt know the difference. Plus when they have speakers on sale for 70% off, you know there is a bit of markup on the stuff.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Alberta Boy]

I spent a lot of time researching stereo equipment and ended up buying Energy system through A&B... wasn't cheap but got really good sounding stuff. The system wasn't insane money but I think for the $2500 it sounds better than most $5000 systems. I have a Yamaha 7.1 system with Zone 2 control and a 55" Hitachi Plasma. 12" sub with front and center speakers being mini towers and 2 rear bookshelfs. And most importantly, the wife thinks that they look cool!

TV is a pretty good price A&B (if you grind them) can give you good prices (in my experience)

 

[maluchm]

You can't go wrong with Bose! See if you can find a Bose retail store near you that has the demo room.

 

[Snoman69]

Not familiar with A&B, but IMHO, you can find way better deals on line. I purchased a Yamaha receiver about 6 months ago, then signed up on this forum! I was able to find the exact same receiver online for ~ $150 cheaper.... Just a thought.

The key with home AV systems is to research the **** out of it and find what works for you.

 

[Himark]

You can't go wrong with Bose! See if you can find a Bose retail store near you that has the demo room.

Simplist answer yet.

I know you can make a hobby out of electronics and get a better sound etc.. etc... but if you are like me I dont have time for that so I went with the Lifestyle 48 and it runs all my TV stuff, stores Umusic, runs my outside home on patio speakers and can do this simutaniously while kids using it to watch a movie. I also added a Apple Tv to it and you can get all your PC music at touch of a button in your living room while it is playing your sled pics on your tv in a random mode. No need to make movies it just plays whatever you downloaded to your pc, but be careful of some New Years eve pics...wife gets cranky seeing those.


***Best part, I plugged it in and it worked***total plug and play.

 

[dmkhnr]

Denon reciever and Jamo center/L/R/600 watt Sub with speakercraft rears is what I have in my home. Sound is better than a movie theater.

There is nothing wrong with the Yami reciever. For speakers, do online research. Don't nesissarily make your speaker decision on cost, as your going to live with it for along time. (so much info available online)

As far as bose goes. My father has it in his home and has had nothing but problems with it. It's been in for warranty on several occasions (of which they say cannot find a problem). Sorry guys, but he asked for some advice.

 

[raysxc700]

my mom got a bose system i can not beleave how good that thing sounds

4 speakers smaller then a dollar bill and a sub real clean sound
kinda pricey 1400$ i think she give for it

 

[sd900climber]

You can't go wrong with Bose! See if you can find a Bose retail store near you that has the demo room.

Most audiophiles have a couple good sayings for BOSE. One is an acronym, BOSE or Buy Other Sound Equipment. My personal fave is "No Highs, No Lows, must be a Bose."

Now, don't get me wrong, BOSE makes decent equipment and they are definitely refined looking stuff, but dollar for dollar, there are systems that give you a better bang for your buck.

 

[deaner]

Have you guys heard of Celestion? They sure sound awesome. We compared some energy and yamaha speakers off of the same reciever, and I thought the celestions sounded way better. I guess they are a british speaker. They come with a five year warranty. I am thinking of upgrading to the bigger towers up front, and then using the smaller towers for my rears. Then I dont have to buy stands for the rears. Do you think there would be any advantage to having small towers for rears? Or am I better off with just the bookshelfs? Im not sure how much sound is sent to the rears, or if it is mostly the fronts with the rears just used for effect. If I do this it will bring the cost of the system up to around 2100. For that price I wonder if I should look at a higher end name??

Any idea where to buy this kind of stuff online?

 

[ScubaSteveSK]

Hey Deaner,

Never though my first post on this forum would be about home theatre. I actually install home theatres on the side but don't worry I'm not going to try and sell you anything, just throw out some knowledge.

Display
Basically any panel made by a reputable manufacturer is good these days. The only real difference is going to be plasma vs. LCD. People can argue for days over which is better but the bottom line is they both look good. 1080p and 120hz means it's going to be fairly future-proof.

Audio
Heres where things get really interesting. Steer clear of Bose, seriously. I can debate this with whoever wants to argue but they are simply not full range speakers.

The celestion system the salesperson put together is going to be decent, and will easily blow any home theatre in a box out of the water. It is a true full range system with a proper receiver.

If your looking to bump up the audio a bit go to www.axiomaudio.com and buy the most expensive 5.1 setup from them you can afford, seriously. They are Internet direct with free shipping (even to Canada). Stick with the Yamaha amp you were looking at. 7.1 is overkill in my opinion as it is not a supported format and will not be for a long time. Stick to 5.1 for more bang for your buck.

If you have any more questions just ask.

 

[maluchm]

Most audiophiles have a couple good sayings for BOSE. One is an acronym, BOSE or Buy Other Sound Equipment. My personal fave is "No Highs, No Lows, must be a Bose."

Come on now..... you can do better then that!

Now, don't get me wrong, BOSE makes decent equipment and they are definitely refined looking stuff, but dollar for dollar, there are systems that give you a better bang for your buck.

I heard other systems that cost a lot more. Most of them give you those huge speakers that take up so much space, have that bling factor and simply don't perform as well. IMO

 

[dmkhnr]

Most audiophiles have a couple good sayings for BOSE. One is an acronym, BOSE or Buy Other Sound Equipment. My personal fave is "No Highs, No Lows, must be a Bose."

Now, don't get me wrong, BOSE makes decent equipment and they are definitely refined looking stuff, but dollar for dollar, there are systems that give you a better bang for your buck.

I was actually looking for a nice way to put it when I made my post about my father having problems with the Bose. I just didn't want to hurt anybodys feelings as sound systems really are unique to each individual.
I do have a bose system in my car, and it does sound pretty good, but If I had to pay money to have it put in, I'd be listening to something else.

 

[sd900climber]

I was actually looking for a nice way to put it when I made my post about my father having problems with the Bose. I just didn't want to hurt anybodys feelings as sound systems really are unique to each individual.
I do have a bose system in my car, and it does sound pretty good, but If I had to pay money to have it put in, I'd be listening to something else.

Like dmk said, sound systems are such a personal thing that the best thing you can do is listen to several options in your price range and pick what sounds the best to you. BOSE may be a great option for you, just not my personal taste. There are lots of brands out there. One forum that is good for TV/Audio/Video is www.highdefforum.com. You will get a ton of information for what you are looking for there.

 

[dslayer]

My .02

First off your 27, what type of music do you listen to? Buying speakers is a personnel decision. How loud will you play it, can your rears be mounted beside you up on a wall. How big is the room, lets assume you own your own house. What about multi Zone?? Zone 2 ??? Denon, Yamy, Good choices. Bose, they make a great kitchen radio. But they do lack mid range and a bit lower. imo To small of a sat speaker for me. Check out PSB, good bang for the buck, polk audio, energy..... At least a 12 inch sub. I like the velodyne my self. I think any tv is good samsung, toshiba, sony.... What will be the format, shaw digital, bell, star choice..... As always

 

[deaner]

The main thing I am looking for is something that sounds good for listening to music. Not blaring loud, but something I can listen to throughout the whole house. Im in a 2200 sq/ft 2 storey that is fairly open. As far as watching movies, I think any system is going to sound pretty good since I havent had one before. For music.....mainly rock. Soundgarden, Seether, Audioslave, Rage against the machine, Metallica, etc.............

 

[Need4Speed]

Spend a couple bucks on a line conditioner too, don't plug it all into a cheap outlet strip.

Look up Powervar on ebay.

 

[deaner]

Well, I took ScubaSteveSK's advice and bought a decent sized system from axiom. Couldnt find a bad review on their stuff. Ended up spending about 2000 more than I had originally planned, but it should last a while I guess.

Thanks a bunch SS. Hopefully we can hook up and do some sledding so I can buy you a cold one for all your help

...oh and you werent kidding about the good deals on cables and stuff at monoprice.com!!

 

[ruffryder]

Well, I took ScubaSteveSK's advice and bought a decent sized system from axiom. Couldnt find a bad review on their stuff. Ended up spending about 2000 more than I had originally planned, but it should last a while I guess.

Thanks a bunch SS. Hopefully we can hook up and do some sledding so I can buy you a cold one for all your help

...oh and you werent kidding about the good deals on cables and stuff at monoprice.com!!

Where are the pics? Don't forget your address and a schematic of your house!