Theator in a box verus a/v receiver

[kael]

I just got my hd 52'' jvc tv now i want the the sound experience to go with it. where do I go from here 1)do I the home theater in a box 2) do I buy a a/v receiver and add speakers. 3) Should I say with JVC for my components and if not who else should I stay away from? thank for any help that any one can give

 

[Chado]

Congrats on the TV, bro!! Thats a big step towards improving your home entertainment experience.

I hate to throw more questions at you, but it may help everyone in assisting you.

1. What are you willing to spend?
2. What do you have besides your TV that you will want to hookup? DVD, VCR, TIVO, Satellite, Game Consoles, etc.
3. How do you envision your speakers to be mounted. Floor, bookshelf, ceiling??

Most important, welcome to the forum!!

 

[Carl B]

Some HTs in a Box are probably adequate sound-wise for an upgraded sound experience in the average family room (they aren't really for the $20K basement home theatre). But, the included receivers are usually lacking features and may not support the inclusion of other hardware you own or plan to buy. The only HT in Box comparitive reviews I've seen have been in Consumer Reports. CR has been OK for electronics reviews and, in my experience, quite good at finding best buys in speakers.

 

[TheTimm]

When I was first getting into it, I went with a HTIB -- around $750 for a JBL deal from Best Buy (5.1, receiver, DVD changer). It was way, way, WAY better than just using the TV's speakers, and didn't break my budget. I still use the receiver, but have since upgraded to a universal DVD changer (actually, I still use the JBL, too, but just for CD's), and have bought all new speakers and subwoofers as money allows. If money isn't a concern, you can get better sound by going with an a/v receiver (Denon, Onkyo, Harmon Kardon are all quite popular just to name a few), and full range speakers (mine are Athenas and I've been quite happy with 'em but speakers are completely subjective -- just go around and listen to a million sets till you find something you like at your price point), and a subwoofer or two (I went with a DefTech Supercube and love it, but like speakers there's millions of options). Buying everything seperately just kinda gives you more opportunity to custom choose products that are better suited to your wants/needs/room/likes with the features you want and styles you dig. But it'll be pricier than an HTIB and require a little more homework and research and footwork. Any way you look at it you got oodles of fun in your future! Good luck and have fun.
Oh, and while there's no reason for staying away from JVC I wouldn't necessarily limit yourself to them just because that's the TV you bought. I own a Sony TV, and it's the only Sony product I have.

 

[DarrellP]

I just got my hd 52'' jvc tv now i want the the sound experience to go with it. where do I go from here 1)do I the home theater in a box 2) do I buy a a/v receiver and add speakers. 3) Should I say with JVC for my components and if not who else should I stay away from? thank for any help that any one can give

It's up to your budget and how "killer" of a system you want. Stay away from anything Bose. Though I owned a pair of Bose 901's back in the 70's, they were great stereo speakers, but their surround systems suck and are way overpriced.

As others have stated, set a budget and work from there. Personally, I have an A/V receiver with the works, but a HTIB can work quite well if you get the right unit. I would look at spending around $1,000 to get something decent.

 

[kael]

Thanks so much guys this has really been more help the you realize. To answer chado question I have a dish 921,and a samsung dvd-vcr combo unit, and a nintendo gamecube to conect to my set. Any due to the size and shape of my living room I had tought of ceiling mount. my budget is $1,200, I've been saving for over a year and 1/2 to get the TV and system lots of overtime. Tanks again for all the help.

 

[satelliteinstaller]

I would never get the in the box stuff, most of them systems can do very little as far as input output.

 

[goaliebob99]

I got a nice little pansonic from wall mart for 500 that rocks my apt and has the neigbors on all sides pounding when i turn on a good movie.. But who cares about the neigbors anyway???

 

[hometheaterman]

I'd go with a/v reciever and speakers seperate as usually going that way you get more inputs outputs like said above. For speakeres Energy makes some pretty good speakers imo if you have a lot to spend but they arn't super cheap. For that price you could get a nice reciever and some decent speakers from crutchfield or somewhere.

 

[jbcheshire]

If you are planning on adding different stuff as you mentioned that you really want to have the surround sound experience, then make sure you have plenty of inputs for digital and/or optical audio.

I have my dvd player and OTA antenna hooked up using my only two available digital/optical inputs, so if i want to add something else for surround sound then I will have to either get a new A/V receiver or find someway to combine expand these on my current system...

If a dvd player is not a big need now, then I would leave it out and concentrate on the A/V receiver and the speakers like the others have stated.

 

[Carl B]

I'd get a decent DD5.1 A/V receiver (around $300 to $400) and an inexpensive (<$500) HT speaker set like that offered by Polk Audio (if you shop you usually can get one of these sets for 30% to 50% off list). You will thrilled with the sound. As finances and desire allow/require, you can upgrade elements of that system over the years to enhance your listening pleasure. Meanwhile you will have adequate A/V capability to grow the components in your system w/o losing DD5.1 capabilities.

 

[bsr2002]

Pioneer VSX D510

Sorry posted in the wrong place.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

Whats your budget and what kind of experience are you after??

 

[Kevinw]

I am with Carl
The New Onkyo 503 or 602 if you want powered zone 2-- Polk speakers

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/systems/subsatsystems/
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR503&class=Receiver&p=i

 

[riffjim4069]

If you change the first line in your thread to read Wine in a Box, then I think you will have your answer. Wine in a box is cheap and will get you drunk---which is fine---but you may eventually want something better. It all depends on what you want and how much you are willing to spend.