Who's good with home audio?

[Vossy 10+ year member]

Alright, my neighbor came over to me and wants a new home stereo hooked up in their house. They're going for straight up SQ and didn't even know what a sub was. They're older ladies and I'm assuming don't know what to expect. They wanted not the lowest but not bose price either.

Budget = $400-$800

Needs a reciever, with at least 2 rca audio inputs (It comes through TV and blu ray player)

Needs 4-5 speakers WALL MOUNT AND BLACK.

And a subwoofer also.

To sum it up, SQ surround sound that wall mounts and is black 400-800 budget

Click to read more...

 

[dafobbishon3 10+ year member]

bigaudiofanatic's got a home audio for sale, great stuff, PM him.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Look into ONKYO.. Easiest, cheapest, best surround sound HT you will get

edit: however I would look into getting a new subwoofer if you do get ONKYO

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

I'm gonna update my home theater setup soon

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

HT-S7200 Onkyo 7.1 Ch. Home Theater System with HD Audio Decoding Plus Powered Zone 2 & iPod Dock *Closeout*

Special Features HDMI v1.3a Repeater (4 inputs, 1080P compatible)

1080i Upscaling powered by Faroudja DCDi Edge

TrueHD, DTS-HD Decoding

7.1 speaker system featuring front Tall-boy speakers and a 290W powered subwoofer

Powered Zone2

Includes RI iPod dock

Amplifier Channels 7.1

Total System Power 1200W

Power (6 ohms, 1kHz, 1%)/Ch 130W/ch x 7ch

Sub Power 290W

All Discrete Amplifier Circuitry

Speaker A/+B Zone2

Processing DOLBY Decoder TrueHD, DD Plus

DTS Decoder DTS-HD Master Audio, NEO:6

Dolby PLIIz

ONKYO GAME Surround Modes

Audyssey Dynamic EQ

Audyssey Dynamic Volume

Music Optimizer

Connectivity Audio I/O 7 / 2

Digital Audio IN (OPT/COAX) 2 / 2

Composite I/O 5 / 1

Component Video I/O 2 / 1

Front-Panel Portable input (stereo mini jack)

HDMI I/O 4 / 1

HDMI Version V1.3 Repeater

Analog To HDMI UpConversion (DCDi)

Powered Zone2

iPod Ready (iPod Dock included)

HD Radio Ready (Optional UP-HT1)

Miscellaneous Pre-Pro/Learning Remote

On Screen Remote Programming

Free iPod Dock Included

Color-Coded Speaker Terminals

Auto Speaker Calibration W/Mic. (Audyssey 2EQ)

OSD Out (GUI)

Warranty 2 YEARS

Regular price: $799.95

Closeout: $595.95

HT-S7200 Onkyo 7.1 Ch. Home Theater System with HD Audio Decoding Plus Powered Zone 2 & iPod Dock *Closeout*

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

better than /\/\/\/\

ONKYO

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

HT-S7200 Onkyo 7.1 Ch. Home Theater System with HD Audio Decoding Plus Powered Zone 2 & iPod Dock *Closeout*

Special Features HDMI v1.3a Repeater (4 inputs, 1080P compatible)

1080i Upscaling powered by Faroudja DCDi Edge

TrueHD, DTS-HD Decoding

7.1 speaker system featuring front Tall-boy speakers and a 290W powered subwoofer

Powered Zone2

Includes RI iPod dock

Amplifier Channels 7.1

Total System Power 1200W

Power (6 ohms, 1kHz, 1%)/Ch 130W/ch x 7ch

Sub Power 290W

All Discrete Amplifier Circuitry

Speaker A/+B Zone2

Processing DOLBY Decoder TrueHD, DD Plus

DTS Decoder DTS-HD Master Audio, NEO:6

Dolby PLIIz

ONKYO GAME Surround Modes

Audyssey Dynamic EQ

Audyssey Dynamic Volume

Music Optimizer

Connectivity Audio I/O 7 / 2

Digital Audio IN (OPT/COAX) 2 / 2

Composite I/O 5 / 1

Component Video I/O 2 / 1

Front-Panel Portable input (stereo mini jack)

HDMI I/O 4 / 1

HDMI Version V1.3 Repeater

Analog To HDMI UpConversion (DCDi)

Powered Zone2

iPod Ready (iPod Dock included)

HD Radio Ready (Optional UP-HT1)

Miscellaneous Pre-Pro/Learning Remote

On Screen Remote Programming

Free iPod Dock Included

Color-Coded Speaker Terminals

Auto Speaker Calibration W/Mic. (Audyssey 2EQ)

OSD Out (GUI)

Warranty 2 YEARS

Regular price: $799.95

Closeout: $595.95

HT-S7200 Onkyo 7.1 Ch. Home Theater System with HD Audio Decoding Plus Powered Zone 2 & iPod Dock *Closeout*

that is very tempting

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

PM sent op

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

better than /\/\/\/\ONKYO

Why is this one better besides price ?

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Why is this one better besides price ?

HDMI 1.4, and cheaper. Just doesn't have built in front speaker stands.

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

My recommendation to you is to either go with something like that onkyo that was recommended or a better start would be start from scratch.

First off the heart of your system is your receiver also known to us as a head unit. You want something that does not just meet your min requirements but exceeds them. This is important in case you decide to upgrade in the future which trust me you will. Look for a receiver that puts out around 105-120 watts per channel. Onkyo is a great start so is a used pioneer Elite which would be great and you can find them reasonably priced on ebay or the list. HDMI is probably something you want but something you might not know you want is pre outs, this will allow you to expand your system at a later date to include bigger external amps to run better fronts such as the polk lsi25's.

After finding this I would grab what I have for sale I have a BNIB set of polk monitor 60's that will be able to keep up with things you upgrade to in the future. I bought them for 230 but am selling them for 160. I also have a center JBL this has been with me sense I started HT. But it is time to upgrade because it can not keep up with my Martins.

80% of your vocals and main sound comes out of your center it is important to have a good one. I bought one on a wing because I needed one. Also you will want a sub again look at the used market. Worry about getting a good base setup first than worry about upgrading in the future and cables worry about last no real reason to upgrade to blue jean cables when you only have a set of lower end speakers. I can sell you my monitor 60's jbl center and what i do not have listed but will see my monitor 40's in black all for 400 this is a steal and trust me it is a very good start for you. Here is a link to my setup what it started as and what it is now.

My work in progress Take two - Club Polk

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

Look into ONKYO.. Easiest, cheapest, best surround sound HT you will get
edit: however I would look into getting a new subwoofer if you do get ONKYO

I would not say they are the best you can start getting into adcom, audio research, B&K and so on. But they are good bang for the buck. A lot of us on the home audio forums prefer the Pioneer Elites over the Onkyos as they seem to put out a fuller and smoother power than the onkyo's that seem to be flat.