MooseMan3000

Well, not me. But I'm helping a friend out.

What she has: a room with a large hole in the wall, audio cables in 4 corners of said room, and a large collection of CDs, mp3s, LPs, VHS tapes and DVDs.

What she wants: a (roughly) 60 inch TV to go in the hole. I imagine it would have to be flat to fit. Also, the hole is wide. Make it a widescreen. 60 inch is about as big as it can be, but a little smaller is alright.

An mp3 player that can hold her several thousand songs and add more easily (she's not too computer savvy), has a CD player, and has jacks for a record player.

A record player.

A DVD player/VCR.

Small surround sound speakers. No ginormous tower speakers here. Preferably in white, if they can be found. (I'm thinking Bose here.)


Budget: Keep it within reason. I don't want a $1000 RCA flatscreen, but we probably don't need to spend $15,000 on it, either. Something with respectable quality but not top of the line. Projection is a possibility, as long as the picture is good. The less it costs, the better, but I want to maintain quality.

Mitsubishi 62" Microdisplay Projection HDTV - $4200


Bose Acoustimass Series III White Home Theatre Speaker System - $1000


Toshiba Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Combo - $100




So that's basically what I'm looking at so far. I know I'll need a receiver to plug everything into, and I also need to get the mp3 functionality added in. I'd prefer to have a separate mp3 player in this system, rather than attach her computer to it. I also need to find a record player (What do you kids call them these days... turntables?)

filtherton

Your friend should get one of these.
http://www.gizmag.com/go/3271/

I know it's not what your friend wanted, but, goddamn!

sixate

Oh god no.... Don't get fucking Blose speakers. They may be the most overpriced pieces of shit out there. My Polk speakers, which I paid less for, sound way better than that Blose system. My girlfriends uncle has that same system, and it fucking sucks a horses cock. Circuit City has a great sale on speakers right now, and for a grand you can piece together a setup (sub, bookshelf, and slim towers) that'll kill that Blose crap. It won't be white, but white is ugly anyway.... So make sure you convince her just how ugly white is. I almost forgot to mention how cheap those Blose speakers look. Also, don't even consider Sony speakers. They suck!

As for MP3 players. Get something that's at least 20GB. I connect my 30GB Nomad to my receiver with one of these: Mini-to-RCA adapter. The best part is I connect it to my receiver then take it to my car and connect it to my head unit, and I always have at least 500 albums on me.
Now I don't even use my 100 disc CD changer, probably gonna sell it.



Maybe it's just me, but I would never buy a projection TV. I have never seen a projection screen TV that comes close to the picture quality of a conventional TV. Eh, everyone's different.

brandon11983

First off, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD do not put some fucking $100 piece of shit DVD player (much less one with a VCR in it for $100) on a TV like that. I am even more steadfast in this than being anti Bose with sixate. Putting a piece of shit DVD player like that on a TV of the caliber your friend is looking is an offense that should be punishbable by crucifixion. I would say go with a DLP from Samsung or LG to save a little money. 99% of the viewers out there won't be able to see any discernable differences between those at the Mitsubishi. I would take the money she can save there and invest in a good (read: real) DVD player. I would recommend the $1499 DVD-3910 from Denon. This DVD player is basically an upgraded DVD-5900 inside but sells for $500 less than the 5900. For those not familiar with the legendary 5900, it was known as the single best performing DVD player for many years running. It's performance has been surpassed by only one model to date, the DVD-3910. This is the single best performing DVD player available for under $3500. The only thing I would recommend above it is the ultra flagship DVD-5910 from Denon, which gives the best possible DVD picture available until Blu-Ray and HD-DVD models become available. I would be more than happy to explain the intricate details that make the Denon vasly superior to that Toshiba "progressive scan" unit. Just ask. Just please, don't choke a TV of that caliber with a fucking Best Buy special DVD player.

I won't spend much time on a VCR, because frankly, the technology hasn't changed in 10 years. Pick up a $200 S-VHS deck from JVC (the only manufacturer that makes a VCR worth a fuck anymore) and call it good.

MP3 player: Of course you could just do something simple like an iPod. It's kinda hackish with a system of this caliber though. Cambridge Audio is coming out with a CD/HDD player soon which is going to kick much ass. It shares the chassis with their Azur series CD players, but comes with a 160 GB HDD inside. It can rip to MP3, WMA (bleh), WAV, and uncompressed PCM. It can play most everything else, including my beloved AAC. It has an ethernet interface so it can be networked and accessible from any other machine on the network, 3 USB ports which can be used to make it wireless, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports for manual title entry, it accesses the Gracenote and Muze databases for title and album art lookup, digital coax and optical outputs, and multiple video out options. Here is a comparison of the Cambridge and its competitors:


Speakers. This is sort of subjective if she wants to keep them small. Nothing is going to be life alteringly good if she wants them "Bose" small. There are some nice systems from KEF, Mirage, Athena, Vienna Acoustics, and JMLab. You can get a lot in the $800 to $1500 range.

Turntable. If you ask me, the Music Hall mmf-5 is the best bang for the buck table available. It usually sells for around $600. There are less expensive tables out there of course, and a decent one will run you around $350. I would also recommend she set aside a few hundred bucks for cables too.

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MooseMan3000

So explain this to me. If you're going to cut corners on the TV because "99% of the viewers out there won't be able to see any discernable differences between those at the Mitsubishi," then why, for the love of God, would we buy a $1500 DVD player? Those two sentences simply don't work together. The only reason I can possibly see to get a DVD player like that is if we have the absolute top of the line TV, which we've already established we don't have. Give me some evidence as to why it's needed and I'll think about it. Besides:

She's not a videophile. She's an old lady.


And what's with all the anti-Bose sentiment? My experience with Bose speakers has been nothing but good. Of course, that is generally with older systems... I haven't bought good speakers in 4+ years. Maybe things have changed.

Also, small speakers are a must. White is a very close to must. Large black speakers, even "slim towers" aren't gonna fly. This isn't MY choice, remember, so don't try to convince ME. Besides which, these speakers are going into an existing configuration, where the wires hang out the wall near the ceiling. Towers don't fit that equation.


... Where's the comparison?

I'm curious about that unit, though. It sounds very much like what I was thinking. I couldn't, however, find it on the website. Model number/release date?

Regarding the turntable, I don't think we need to spend much on this. She wants to be able to play her old 33 LPs. She's not going to DJ with it, though. I imagine it's more of a nostalgia thing than a music thing.

I was planning on adding $100-200 for cables, depending on what was needed.

soccerchamp76

Speakers: Another vote against Bose. They may sound decent for music but for movies and such they are not very good. Incredibly overpriced as well.

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doubleaught

in my experience...

- don't get bose. They boost the treble and bass in the crossovers and give me a headache when I listen to them.

- since you're not being too picky here buy a second gen dlp Sony Wega: guaranteed good picture. Yes there are plenty of other worthy sets out there, but if you buy any Wega at this point in time it's gonna be a good buy (excellent performance, options, etc).

- for speakers, again there ARE plenty of good options. Best advice I can give is go into a specialty shop (NOT good guys or the like) with your own music and listen to the speakers, buy the one you like the most. If I had to recommend something out of the blue I'd go with:
http://www.definitivetech.com/loudsp...os/mythos.html
or
http://www.definitivetech.com/loudsp...diocinema.html
I have a couple sets of their towers and simply love them, but I can't recommend those since they're probably too big. You won't be disappointed, trust me!

- Personally I've had a number of DVD players die on me. I had a $430 player die a while ago and I replaced it with a $80 Sony - while not as good in many ways, the picture is just as good. Just make sure you hook it up with component video cables (three cables for the video signal) or better (hdmi or dvi). The one thing that has changed recently is dvd players that are able to upconvert their signals to hdtv, so if you want the best picture spend the money and get one of these!

Good luck!

brandon11983

I think my two statements absolutely go together. I think (read: know) the extra money she would spend on the Mits TV could be better spent on the DVD player. I would consider a DLP of that size to count as a "top of the line" TV for most viewers. Top of the line is all relative. To me, top of the line is an $80,000 Runco front projector. To most, it is a TV like she is looking at. I personally love DLP TV's and think she is definitely on the right track.

Back on Bose: if budget really is a concern, this is an absolute no-no. Money can be spent on MUCH better systems. Look at the KEF KHT 1005 system. It sells for $799, sounds better than the Bose ever could, is silver and matches DLP TV's. The Mirage Nanosat system. Also $799, silver, small, sounds incredible.

On the Cambridge unit: I thought I hosted a pic for it, but it must be showing up for me only. The unit in question is the 640H, and can be seen here: http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/content.php?COID=16

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brandon11983

Sony has never done anything with DLP technology. They are making LCD projection sets though. They are also doing something with the LCoS technology which they call SXRD. I haven't see one of these yet, but I really want to.

And on the DVD player, wait till you see what a real upconverting DVD player can do. I would almost swear that Spiderman 2 on a Denon DVD-3910 looks HD.

I didn't touch on the Def Tech mythos speakers because they are probably too big for her application. Those babies sound amazing though!

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doubleaught

Yeah my bad on the DLP stuff. I was combining my feeling that 2nd gen dlp stuff is the best display technology (combining price/performance/life) out there at the moment, and the feeling that Wega equipment tends to be of high quality. I'm not in the market for an hdtv so my knowledge of current model offerings has obviously suffered.

iawtp on upconverting dvd players, I have seen spidey 2 on one and had a similiar sentiment - looked like hd at first glance. Good stuff.

vinaur

What do you guys think of Pioneer HTD-540DV? I could get it for $170. Do you think it's worth it, or is there anything better for a not much bigger price???

dirtyrascal7

seems decent if you can get it for $170, but they look about the size of most computer speakers... how big is the room you'll be using it in? if it's any bigger than a dorm room, i'd suggest saving up for something better.

vinaur

The room is rather big (the whole basement), but the area that the home theater will be in is about 15' by 15'. I think I might use different, much bigger speakers for the front ones, and use the front ones as the rear ones. You think that would work?? Besides the speakers, what do you think of the receiver/player?

jujueye

I wasn't gonna touch this one, but have to.

I'm with Brandon.

1) Balancing out the DVD and tv combination is a worthwhile investement of your time. The tv will only look as good as any thing connected to it, so a $100 DVD player just won't cut it. I Promise. If you're thinking $1500 is too much, then go lower. Peronally, my $1500 DVD player makes the $499 tv it is connected to look surprisingly good. (my bigger tv died)

2) If you want to play MP3s, consider a $199 CD player that will also do MP3. Everbody has CDs still, dn't they?

3) If you do get a turntable, remember that you'll need a phono preamp in line between the table and the preamp, unless you're using a receiver with a built in phono stage. I recommend Music Hall turntables.

4) No Bose. There are hundreds of other speaker mfrs who spend more on R&D and less on advertising than Boso. This usually translates to better sound and compatibility.