Home theatre system

[Flames_Gimp]

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=8547&SID=

What do you guys think of this system? Wireless rear speakers... DVD with DivX compatibility.....

get it or pass?

[red '00]

I would never have something like that in my place, but then again, I'm a bit of an audio and home theatre snob... See all those fancy specs? I'm willing to bet most are extremely misleading. It's that way with most of the stuff the "main brands" put out. Phillips is no different. Let's just say for example you buy a new stereo that says "1000 watts of power". Ok. What that really means is "1000 watts of complete distortion. They don't mention it peaks off around 200 watts when taking into account a little thing called quality, and even then it sounds poor to someone with a trained ear for this stuff.....

But, like I said, I'm very very picky for these sorts of things. If you wanna look at good brands, check out stuff by Harman/Kardon, Macintosch, Polk Audio, Dynaudio, Boston Acustic, Rotell, Infinity, even Bose... Pioneer has some decent stuff, but it's not quite up there with some of the others I mentioned. (Hell you can even go with Yamaha if you want something decent, cheap and a crap load better then Phillips, Hony, etc ect)

Price range is key though, and from the looks of the Phillips unit you're willing to spend around a grand... You can find some stuff from the brands I mentioned around that range, but if you want some real deal class A stuff, be prepared to spend a couple grand. (I spend a few on my stuff, and I gotta say I'm pleased...)

Now if you're rich, then go buy yourself some top of the line stuff... I'm talking 100K PER speaker, and 300k on your amp...... ( I wish...)

[Kjesse]

You should be really look into whether the wireless speakers reproduce high quality sound.

I have yet to find a set of wireless speakers that do not sound "muddy".

I haven't looked in about 3 or 4 years though, so newer technologies might have fixed things. Even Sony's top-of-the-line wireless headphones from a few years ago sounded crappy. (Then again, I hate Sony stuff.)

I've bought/built 4 home theaters in the last 8 years or so, and I'm not a fan of the all-in-one solutions. If you custom pick your components you will absolutely get a better system for a comparable price.

It really comes down though to whether you want something to just listen to, or to rival (and even exceed) what you experience when you go to the movies. I put together a system in my parent's basement last year for about 1200 bucks and it sounds really sweet, ended up being more bang than I expected for the money spent--- that was a receiver and 6 speakers including subwoofer. Once I had it together, I realized I overdid it for what they need, but then again I enjoy it when I visit

The poster above has some good comments, be suspicious of the rated specifications.

Unlike the poster above, I have a huge dislike for Bose products, but all of those other brands are great. I'd add Onkyo to the mix if you want a really good but inexpensive receiver (similar to Yamaha).

If you want to spend some money, move into something from Outlaw, Rotel, or some of the more elite brands. I picked up a Sherwood Newcastle receiver last year to replace my Onkyo and the thing is amazing.. I'll get 10 years of use out of it before I look for something else.

But this is a hockey forum. If you want to get info from some people that really know their stuff, check out www.hometheaterforum.com.

[Kjesse]

Here's an example of a receiver rated at 75 watts per channel that would blow that philips receiver/home theater unit out of the water in terms of sound volume and sound quality, and its only $300:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Onkyo_TX_SR5...-31431599.html

You'd still have to buy speakers, and you could get a dvd/divx player for $50.00.

To give you an idea of how power ratings can be misleading, check out this excerpt from the review:

"To get more of a handle on the SR503's sound, we compared it with Pioneer's VSX-515 A/V receiver ($275). Even acknowledging the 515's on-paper power advantage--it's rated at 110 watts per channel--we give the nod to the SR503. It performed better when we pushed the volume up--sounding richer and fuller on James Taylor's JT SACD, for instance--while the Pioneer's soundstage was flatter and smaller in every dimension."

OK I've been editing too much here, here is my final edit before I stop adding to these posts: Signal to Noise ratio means nothing if they don't tell you the output level the noise is occurring. So the Philips' specs mean nothing. Look for specs where the company tells you what the Total Harmonic Distortion is at a certain output level. If they tell you that, it means they have nothing to hide. Typically, it will read like, "less than 0.09% THD at ____db".

[return to the red]

pass in the wireless stuff reason being as Delgar said the muddy quality of the speakers as well you have to have perfect line of sight for it to work. Blocked signal means no signal at all ( at least last time I was hsopping around for the stuff). Also as mentioned each company is better at some things then the other so I would recommend piecing together your system.

The most important thing about your home theatre system though is make sure YOU are happy with it. Everyone has their own personal experiences, preferences, uses and most importantly budget

[Mightyfire89]

Originally Posted by fotze

I have never been able to distinguish from an swesome $5000 sound system and a low range blah system. If you get a mega system, likely the most satisfaction you will get is when friends come over and you try to fish jealousy out of them. "Do you hear the crispness, the low end power, the high range blah blah" while your friend is thinking, good thing I am listening to that Pizza 73 commercial in Dolby Surround 5.1.

I got a HTIB from Memory express and it fits my need perfectly. Also the true test is wtching Jurassic Park and when the T-Rex steps, does it shake your house.

And that's just it, Fotze, it all depends on the person. If you're happy with the 'Home theatre in a box' that you bought, then that's all that matters...you're the one spending the money, so no one else should be able to criticize you for your choice.

I'm a bit of an audio snob myself. I wouldn't own a 'HTiB' because I don't like the way they sound. But, that's just me.

Something that's important to be aware of is that certain companies are far better at marketing their products than they are at making them. A case in point is Bose. Their products are average at best, but they have been successful at building their name into something that is recognized as 'Elite' in the mass consumer audio world. They are successful as a company because so many people don't educate themselves about the products they're buying. For the price of a Bose HTiB, you could put together a system that would absolutely blow it away, and still have money left over.

Another company in this vein is Monster. They do make quality cables, but the prices for them are outrageous, and all out of proportion. The cables you can buy for $20 or $25 at Walmart will likely work just as well. Again, they have been successful at marketing themselves as an elite brand.

There's really nothing wrong with what these (and other) companies are doing, because hey, it's capitalism, baby! But it's good to educate yourself and know what your buying.

As for the system in question, wireless speakers still have not been perfected, and usually sound somewhat lacking to me (and they're usually not truely wireless because you still need to plug them into a wall socket for power) . But again, if you can get a chance to listen to the system and it sounds good to YOU, then you should go ahead and buy it.

[Flames_Gimp]

actually i've decided i'm getting Bose acoustimass 16 speakers and a harman kardon amp

[ken0042]

Cue the "anti Bose" people in 3.....2.....1......

Now, you already know all my stuff is Bose. But to be fair, be sure to bring in your own CD when you get a demo of the speakers. They aren't for everybody, and it's best to have something you are familiar with to have a listen. Make sure you bring something with a lot of mid-range.

[Flames_Gimp]

my buddy has acoustimass and a HK amp, sounds great. you got acoustimass ken?

[ken0042]

No, mine are the 01 series. 701s for fronts and 501s for rears. Then a VCS10 for the centre channel.

Unfortunately Bose got out of the tower speaker market; which is too bad because I think they were their best products.

[Flames_Gimp]

i found a crazy good deal on the acoustimass series 16....no way i'm paying the $1750.00 at bestbuy/futureshop

[Kjesse]

Bose is one of those companies that do not post their specs so you can't compare them objectively to other speakers.

If it sounds good to you, that is really all that matters.

But the outputs can be objectively measured.

I'm not posting this to bash Bose, I'm posting this to help people get the best bang for their dollar.

Here's a well researched (but over the top in terms of use of language) article on a Bose product from 3 years ago:

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

Edit: Good call on a harman/kardon amp, that will be a quality piece.

[Azure]

I think Bose is the way to good too.

Best quality from what I've seen, and heard.

[sadora]

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

http://www.memoryexpress.com/index.p...ctID=8547&SID=

What do you guys think of this system? Wireless rear speakers... DVD with DivX compatibility.....

get it or pass?

Personally I would not buy that system only because like some others here I'm a bit of a film snob...my system consisting of a system that can play DVD & 16mm prints. That's not to say that the system you're considering isn't a decent system.

Here's a link to a home theatre site that may be able to provide some more info for ya.

http://www.hometheatermag.com/

[Flames_Gimp]

its cool I decided against that system, i mean I love the way it looks, but thats all. I already bought the Bose speaker system..Now I have to wait 10 days for shipping

[Flames_Gimp]

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...on=L&langid=EN

screw it, i'm gonna get this receiver..

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Check this one out...Onkyo 790...you can get it for well under $1k

[Flames_Gimp]

lol i already bought my system

[RW99]

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

lol i already bought my system

haha. Well I'll add my 2 cents for anyone else thats in the market and reads this thread....

Don't buy the Samsung HT-TQ85 HTiB. Slow audio switching, loss of audio, no on-the-fly DVD changing and a poor USB/data DVD interface have all led me to regret my purchase

[Old Yeller]

Bumping an old thread instead of creating a new one.

I've got a Yamaha amp, two 5 year old jbl floor speakers at the front and a 3 year old polk audio center channel. We use the theater system almost exclusively for TV/Movie watching... I think our system sounds reasonably good but I'd like to have a bigger "movie" experience so I'm looking at getting a subwoofer.

I'm definitely no audiophile but at the same time I'd like to know I'm getting a good bang (or boom) for my buck. Also I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount as I doubt I'll notice a huge difference.

The problem is I don't know anything about subs so I'm just looking around randomly for a good deal and have no idea whether this $300 polk audio "web deal" at futureshop

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0055931&catid=

Is a good deal or why it's only $300 as opposed to a $550 one of the same brand and size:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0086833&catid=

(I'm just picking polk audio subs as I like my center channel but I'm open to other brand suggestions)