6 Comments

1. 

   not a good one, no. but, if you are patient and buy a couple pieces or so at a time. you can end up with a great sound system. start with a good receiver and 2 speakers at first. a good reciever and 2 good speakers will cost you more than $500 alone. than you can add the other speakers & a sub one or two at a time. it will take a while but you’ll end up with a kick *** sound system. if you don’t care much than you can get away with a goo all-in-one home theater in a box system. get one that comes with a receiver, 5 speakers, & a subwoofer. panasonic is a great brand to get a nice package at around $500. the packaged systems are fine for movies. they are just not that good for actually listening to music, (even if you go Bose) you will find that the speaker packages sound great for movies but are not too good if you like to listen to music. so if u just want good surround sound for your movies, than a speaker & receiver package will do fine. don’t go wireless! and for $500 price range panasonic, onkyo, and JBL home theater packages are the brands i highly recommend.

   Comment by LpG — December 17, 2006 @ 9:34 pm

2. 

   Whatever you do, don’t get an HTiB. This price point is typically littered with a lot of shoddy equipment that is either very proprietary or just thrown out to make a profit at the expense of quality. Usually the lights on the electronic side will distract you long enough that you won’t notice that the speakers are lighter than air or there is almost nothing inside or behind that electronic box. It’s really not that much more difficult to put together a receiver and a speaker package.

   My favorite suggestion for around $400 is a Haman Kardon AVR-254 receiver and the Energy ACT6 speaker system.

   The ACT6 speakers are not the greatest speakers you’ll ever find but I can guarantee that they’re better than the speakers included with any $400 HTiB - at least they don’t seem like a waste of precious natural resources. However keep in mind that these are small speakers and, like any other small speaker HTiB, they won’t produce the best sound in a huge room. But in a small to medium size space they will be pretty darn good.

   These speakers are well constructed and made from aluminum rather than plastic. In case you haven’t heard of Energy speakers they have been around for a long time and is a well respected spec developer/manufacturer of speakers from budget to high-end. These are a bit older and have been on closeout for a while, but that’s why the price is so good. Also, silver is less popular than black.

   When the ACT6 first came out it got a few good reviews:
   It’s actually impressive to find a serious review for a speaker system this cheap.

   The Energy ACT6 can be found at:
   eBay from Acoustic Sound Design ($220):
   They might accept a ‘Best Offer’ of $160 (for $200 shipped total) since it looks like they just started that option and may want to blow these out.

   The Harman Kardon AVR-254 receiver can be found at:
   Amazon ($250) or Electronics Expo ($244):
   B&H ($250):

   It might be a little bit over your budget but I think it’s worth it. If you absolutely can’t go above the $400 limit then you might consider a factory refurbished AVR-247 or AVR-146 receiver from the Harman Kardon eBay store where they sell at auction. The AVR-247 is a better receiver and it typically goes for about $200 at auction. The AVR-146 is an older model and has one less HDMI input than the AVR254 but it is almost equal in connectivity – it typically goes for about $150 at auction.
   The Harman Kardon eBay store is here:
   I almost prefer a refurbished receiver for its savings and because, in my opinion, electronics are generally reliable and these things aren’t very complex. Plus, it’s direct from the manufacturer and comes with a valid warranty.

   There are other capable receivers that will put you below your $400 budget but I think the HK looks nice, sounds nice, matches the ACT6, and has better connectivity for the future than other, cheaper receivers.

   Comment by Zippy P — December 18, 2006 @ 4:42 pm

3. 

   There are a few HTiB systems you can buy for that price, but what probably makes more sense is a quality sound bar. Easy to set up and provides a reasonable simulated surround sound environment. Some come with wireless subwoofers to give you more sound depth. Take a look at the new Pol Audio bar referenced below. There were many others announced at CES this year as well. They should start hitting the market this spring.

   Comment by Brian B — December 21, 2006 @ 4:49 pm

4. 

   I’m all about value, so I made a list of products (on Amazon) with the purpose of producing an HD-capable home theater system on a budget.
   =

   You won’t be able to do HD under about $600, but you could get an entry-level HTIB for under $400.

   Comment by Peter D — December 23, 2006 @ 3:53 am

5. 

   Garage sales, flea markets, auctions, etc. If you are crafty with $500 you can put together a system that will destroy anything you can get at BestBuy.

   The only thing i would get that is newer then 1990 is a surround sound processor. This accepts digital spdif and outputs 6 channel analog surround.

   The left and right front go to your stereo equalizer to your stereo amp to your speakers. The left and right rear go to your stereo equalizer to your stereo amp to your speakers. The subwoofer goes to your mono equalizer to your bridged stereo amp to your subwoofer. So you need 3 amps, 2 pairs or speakers, and subwoofer. Something like that, you get the idea.

   The most important part is to use equalizers! You buy a SPL meter and you can make your system flat from 20hz-20khz on all channels or else it will sound like ****. Old stuff is better then new stuff but you have to know what you are doing (and have the space)

   Comment by Masteropie — December 25, 2006 @ 10:41 am

6. 

   yea maybe look here…..sharp-lc32d64u.com you can compare prices and see a wide selection!

   Comment by mike g. — December 28, 2006 @ 2:32 pm

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