Home Theater - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Smackre · 10-25-2005, 12:00 PM

How much do you need to spend to get a reasonable prices home theater system. Im building a room to watch movies in and need quality sound. im not talking about perfect sound. Im saying sounds that aint horrable but is good. The room is going to be a 14x12 room so it aint going to be huge.

canuckguy · 10-25-2005, 03:27 PM

Well how much you need to spend is very hard to determine. I would really go with, whats your budget, or how much your willing to spend. For the sound side you need.
1. Receiver
2. 5 speakers
3. 1 subwoofer
4. cables to hook it all up

and possible if you don't have them.
5. dvd player
6. big screen tv.

For the receiver, if your looking just for a simple surround sound system, I would go with an entry level model, probably around 200-300$.

Speakers, you can either go with buying a surround sound package (you'll get all the speakers you need, you'll normally see these packages on sale) for around 400-600$ for a entry level, the sound would be decent, and if you've never had a big system before it would still blow your pants off.

I think one of the most important parts of a system is the subwoofer, it will play all the bass, explosions..etc when your watching a movie or listening to a cd. Most of the surround sound packages have a cheap subwoofer. Because with a home theater, you should not only hear the sounds, but feel the vibrations as well. Were not talking shake the earth type, but if you go to any hi-fi shop or even a big store like best buy you can tell instantly if the subwoofer is any good. Most times I would recommend getting a set of 5 speakers and get a seperate subwoofer that can produce that amount of bass you would like.

Most people who buy those surround packages are disappointed in the sound, but its usually only the bass that is missing. Tell us more about your budget and such and we'll see if we can make any suggestions or tips. good luck!

Smackre · 10-26-2005, 09:23 AM

What i ment as home theater is sound system. I already have the dvd player and stuff. And im using a projector i built as the big screen TV. Which i must add im very impressed by the picture quality on my homemade projector. But the sound coming from the cheap 50$ surround sound system i barrowed from a friend just aint cutting it on dvd's.

soccerchamp76 · 10-26-2005, 11:30 PM

Well, first we need a price range.

Smackre · 10-27-2005, 05:04 AM

i was hoping to stay between 200-300 if thats possable w/o being disapointed.

soccerchamp76 · 10-27-2005, 07:57 AM

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1122655043280

Smackre · 10-27-2005, 08:53 AM

Thank you soccerchamp and brian1975.

skinnymofo · 10-29-2005, 03:45 AM

just bought a yamaha yht-360 from bestbuy for ~390 with tax. cheap and sounds beautiful. thats fairly close to your range

shortynickel · 10-29-2005, 08:49 PM

r u looking for an all in one system for 2 to 300? or just a receiver for that price?

Smackre · 11-01-2005, 08:34 AM

im looking for it all.

shortynickel · 11-01-2005, 08:44 PM

imo if ur looking to get an all in one system for 300, then you would be better off keeping the system (as crappy as it maybe) for a while and spend a lil more.

if i could suggest, that is if you can afford it, jvc receiver and then possibly a set of jbl speakers

my setup here at my house: kenwood receiver, 2 floor standing jbl speakers, center channel and 2 infinity surround sound speakers. i slowly built my system i used to have just the kenwood and 2 jbl bookshelf speakers in the front(50 each, late 90's). also i have all monster cableing, I have had this setup for a few years, total i prolly spent about 700 without tax and shipping(for some of the items). I am not trying to brag just saying that with the above system, with say saving private ryan in, it sound like you are in a movie theater!

this is my suggestion to you if you would like to have a decent system without costing alot of money.

Smackre · 11-01-2005, 09:31 PM

well short is it possable to get the receiver and some of the speakers and then go and buy the rest at a later date? id like to be able to use in sometime around next month. I am finishing up my projector the next weeks and still gotta work on the screen. So it will be a few weeks till i am in need. But the 550$ price tag on that entire system is just to much to fork out right now. and next month i am going to need something and this system i have now just dont cut it.

the biggest problem with this system is the fact its my parents and they let there dog eat the remote. and i mean eat it. the dam dog chews everthing up. and because of that you can only use 2 speakers and the sound is realy bad like that.

shortynickel · 11-04-2005, 08:45 PM

i actually bought my receiver and center channel from crutchfield and my first 2 speakers from montgomery wards(think they are gone), it was prolly a good year or two til i got my floorstanding speakers and it wasnt til about 2 years ago til i got my current surround sound speakers. so if you have a budget right now, i would suggest getting a receiver for the price that you can afford and just hook up the speakers u have now to it. that is if they have the right connection! I would suggest getting a center channel before a sub or surround sound speakers. I have yet to get a sub and i dont think i really need one(i also live on main st, so would prolly disturb alot of ppl).

as for the dog eating everything i would suggest getting speakers that you can hang or put up so the dog doesnt have a chance to get them or knock them down.

if you can afford spending $398 or more by the end of the year, i would check this crutchfield deal out. for about 400 you could get a full set of speakers! Whatever speakers you end up getting just make sure they are video shielded, otherwise you would be wasting your money if you are trying for a good inexpensive system.

10-25-2005, 12:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	Home Theater How much do you need to spend to get a reasonable prices home theater system. Im building a room to watch movies in and need quality sound. im not talking about perfect sound. Im saying sounds that aint horrable but is good. The room is going to be a 14x12 room so it aint going to be huge. __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

10-25-2005, 03:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
canuckguy I read your emails. Location: earth	Well how much you need to spend is very hard to determine. I would really go with, whats your budget, or how much your willing to spend. For the sound side you need. 1. Receiver 2. 5 speakers 3. 1 subwoofer 4. cables to hook it all up and possible if you don't have them. 5. dvd player 6. big screen tv. For the receiver, if your looking just for a simple surround sound system, I would go with an entry level model, probably around 200-300$. Speakers, you can either go with buying a surround sound package (you'll get all the speakers you need, you'll normally see these packages on sale) for around 400-600$ for a entry level, the sound would be decent, and if you've never had a big system before it would still blow your pants off. I think one of the most important parts of a system is the subwoofer, it will play all the bass, explosions..etc when your watching a movie or listening to a cd. Most of the surround sound packages have a cheap subwoofer. Because with a home theater, you should not only hear the sounds, but feel the vibrations as well. Were not talking shake the earth type, but if you go to any hi-fi shop or even a big store like best buy you can tell instantly if the subwoofer is any good. Most times I would recommend getting a set of 5 speakers and get a seperate subwoofer that can produce that amount of bass you would like. Most people who buy those surround packages are disappointed in the sound, but its usually only the bass that is missing. Tell us more about your budget and such and we'll see if we can make any suggestions or tips. good luck! Last edited by canuckguy; 10-25-2005 at 03:30 PM..

10-26-2005, 09:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	What i ment as home theater is sound system. I already have the dvd player and stuff. And im using a projector i built as the big screen TV. Which i must add im very impressed by the picture quality on my homemade projector. But the sound coming from the cheap 50$ surround sound system i barrowed from a friend just aint cutting it on dvd's. __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

10-26-2005, 11:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
soccerchamp76 Go Cardinals Location: St. Louis/Cincinnati	Well, first we need a price range. __________________ Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department. Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

10-27-2005, 05:04 AM	#5 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	i was hoping to stay between 200-300 if thats possable w/o being disapointed. __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

10-27-2005, 07:57 AM	#6 (permalink)
soccerchamp76 Go Cardinals Location: St. Louis/Cincinnati	http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1122655043280 __________________ Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department. Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

10-27-2005, 08:53 AM	#7 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	Thank you soccerchamp and brian1975. __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

10-29-2005, 03:45 AM	#8 (permalink)
skinnymofo Addict ed to smack Location: Seattle	just bought a yamaha yht-360 from bestbuy for ~390 with tax. cheap and sounds beautiful. thats fairly close to your range

10-29-2005, 08:49 PM	#9 (permalink)
shortynickel Addict Location: Central PA	r u looking for an all in one system for 2 to 300? or just a receiver for that price? __________________ What type of... "Parents have forgotten how to be parents" Aaron Lewis "Get your ass back here, your a white boy walking thru the ghetto" - at the end of a bachalor party said to the bachalor while walking home.

11-01-2005, 08:34 AM	#10 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	im looking for it all. __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

11-01-2005, 08:44 PM	#11 (permalink)
shortynickel Addict Location: Central PA	imo if ur looking to get an all in one system for 300, then you would be better off keeping the system (as crappy as it maybe) for a while and spend a lil more. if i could suggest, that is if you can afford it, jvc receiver and then possibly a set of jbl speakers my setup here at my house: kenwood receiver, 2 floor standing jbl speakers, center channel and 2 infinity surround sound speakers. i slowly built my system i used to have just the kenwood and 2 jbl bookshelf speakers in the front(50 each, late 90's). also i have all monster cableing, I have had this setup for a few years, total i prolly spent about 700 without tax and shipping(for some of the items). I am not trying to brag just saying that with the above system, with say saving private ryan in, it sound like you are in a movie theater! this is my suggestion to you if you would like to have a decent system without costing alot of money. __________________ What type of... "Parents have forgotten how to be parents" Aaron Lewis "Get your ass back here, your a white boy walking thru the ghetto" - at the end of a bachalor party said to the bachalor while walking home.

11-01-2005, 09:31 PM	#12 (permalink)
Smackre Addict	well short is it possable to get the receiver and some of the speakers and then go and buy the rest at a later date? id like to be able to use in sometime around next month. I am finishing up my projector the next weeks and still gotta work on the screen. So it will be a few weeks till i am in need. But the 550$ price tag on that entire system is just to much to fork out right now. and next month i am going to need something and this system i have now just dont cut it. the biggest problem with this system is the fact its my parents and they let there dog eat the remote. and i mean eat it. the dam dog chews everthing up. and because of that you can only use 2 speakers and the sound is realy bad like that. __________________ Intel® Pentium® M Processor 730 (1.60 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB) 17 inch UltraSharp™ Wide Screen XGA+ Display 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm 256MB NVIDA® GeForce™ Go 6800

11-04-2005, 08:45 PM	#13 (permalink)
shortynickel Addict Location: Central PA	i actually bought my receiver and center channel from crutchfield and my first 2 speakers from montgomery wards(think they are gone), it was prolly a good year or two til i got my floorstanding speakers and it wasnt til about 2 years ago til i got my current surround sound speakers. so if you have a budget right now, i would suggest getting a receiver for the price that you can afford and just hook up the speakers u have now to it. that is if they have the right connection! I would suggest getting a center channel before a sub or surround sound speakers. I have yet to get a sub and i dont think i really need one(i also live on main st, so would prolly disturb alot of ppl). as for the dog eating everything i would suggest getting speakers that you can hang or put up so the dog doesnt have a chance to get them or knock them down. if you can afford spending $398 or more by the end of the year, i would check this crutchfield deal out. for about 400 you could get a full set of speakers! Whatever speakers you end up getting just make sure they are video shielded, otherwise you would be wasting your money if you are trying for a good inexpensive system. __________________ What type of... "Parents have forgotten how to be parents" Aaron Lewis "Get your ass back here, your a white boy walking thru the ghetto" - at the end of a bachalor party said to the bachalor while walking home.