Home Theater

[TopSpeed]

I'm planning to purchase my first ever home theater setup. With a $500 budget, does anyone have any recommendations? I don't have a receiver. 

 

Are the all in one units any good? The ones that don't require a receiver such as: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SC-BTT190-5-1-Channel-1000-Watt-Blu-Ray/dp/B0078GCLRY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

[TheBLOODYTOXIC]

Buy and all-in-one unless you look for something in common. Maybe Pioneer, Focal, JBL or Onkyo and 5.1 is as good as it gets, 7.1 is pure nonsense.

[Jamdude]

I've got the older version of this which is great, I haven't heard anything come close to this home theatre system yet.

[Torg73]

I have a Samsung HT F5530 all in one system and a nice setup, turns my 4 year old TV in to a Smart TV with Netflix/Lovefilm/Youtube and other stuff as well as a 3d Blu Ray player http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-HT-F5530-Blu-ray-Theatre-Speakers/dp/B00BQ80QLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389005539&sr=8-1&keywords=samsung+ht+f5530

 

There's plenty of good all in one home theatre systems for budget, if you what one from a brand to match your TV there might be one out there for you.

[Dark_Nemesis]

Dont know where you live, so I won't make assumptions on what stuff costs there, but where I live in Finland, that sounds like a pretty narrow budget id you're looking at a home theater. I would strongly advise against the all-in-ones, unless you absolutely positively need to buy brand new stuff. 

A good quality amp that's a few years old, is a freaction of the cost of a new one, and same goes for speakers, read  some reviews on speakers and check online if you can find any nearby. Also if you can't afford it all at once, i'd suggest going for amp and fromt speakers first, and advance to rear, sub and center as funds allow. It may take a little longer to complete, but the end result will be a lot better. Plus, more high end AVR's have a long lifespan, whereas (some of the) cheaper all-in-ones tend to be lower quality.(not being judgmental, but the retail price reflects the price of the components in the device)

Either way go for a known brand, and happy listening! =) 

 

// i'm no expert,just an enthusiast. I don't have too much money to spend, so I try to spend it as smart as possibe =)

[roman83]

I would recommend the spf series from pioneer(http://www.soundandvision.com/content/pioneer-sp-bs41-lr-speaker-system). If you substitute the towers for bookshelves you might be able to come in under $500. This is one of the best 5.1 systems you can find for around $500.  I would never recommend an all-in-one system unless it was from a REPUTABLE SPEAKER COMPANY i.e. Deftech/Cambridge Audio,etc.

[knight_40k]

All-in-One or Home Theater in a Box (HTiB) units give you a basic surround sound experience at the cheapest possible price point. They do not sound very good or come close to the performance of a proper system using a receiver and full sized speakers. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but $500 is not enough to start a multichannel home theater. Unless you are very space limited or simply don't have the budget, there is no reason to go with a HTiB. You are better off to use that money and start with a 2 channel system and slowly build over time because even an entry level receiver/speakers will sound better than any Sony/Bose/etc box system. A HTiB may keep you happy at the start, but I guarantee in a couple years you will have an itch to upgrade.

[mr moose]

If budget is the major constraint then the one advantage of a HtiB is the fact you can start straight away with average quality, then upgrade the parts one by one as you do get more money,  I.E new speakers this time, new sub next time, then after that a new amp and finally your source.

 

This way you are not just getting your feet wet so to speak but you can a least go for a swim and in the long run end up with a full size pool without have to wait or blow all your cash in one hit.

[mealto]

Here is a good read. @knight_40k contributed a ton of great info to this thread. Good luck: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/74678-tips-to-start-your-next-home-theater/