So. It’s a longish story (and I doubt anyone cares), but I’m getting a bonus of about $2000 from work, and I’m looking to get a surround sound type system for my living room. I used to housesit for my sister, who had a Bose system, which I really liked, and my brother knows a guy who works for Bose and can get me a discount, so that’s kind of my default choice, but I thought it would be smart to at least ask around for some recommendations.
I already have a DVD player, VCR, and TV, so I’m looking at getting a receiver and a set of speakers (though I know a lot of systems come with DVD players, which I can deal with if it comes to that - I’d rather have too many DVD players than too few…). And I’ve had enough problems with compatabilities in the past that I’d like them all to be from the same company if possible. I’m not a hugely discriminating audiophile - I just want a nice, reliable, quality system. I want to be able to hook up all my accessories to it and have them all work with a minimum of remote-fiddling.
Oh, and just out of curiosity, are there any receivers out there that have TV tuners built in? My parents’ system, for instance, uses the VCR to change channels, which is a huge pain. It’d be nice to use the same remote to change channels and adjust the volume, after all.
Bah, I’m starting to ramble. I can’t type coherently at 1 am after a 10 hour shift at work. You guys get the idea. Go to it!
If you want decent cheap speakers, Paradigm Atoms are surprisingly good for the price. I’m not sure about bass extension speakers in that price range, though. You might want to check into Rotel for electronics–they’re known for having decent quality at decent prices.
My recommendation would be to get a Paradigm speaker system. If you need small sizes, they have a new ‘Cinema’ series including dipole surrounds, a center channel, mains, and your choice of several different subwoofers. I absolutely guarantee that these will kick the ass of any equivalently-priced Bose system.
Or, you could get the Paradigm Atoms or Titans, matched all around, with a subwoofer. This also would be a fantastic system. That would also leave you enough money left over to get a Yamaha RX-V1400 receiver, which is a really good quality receiver for the price. It has THX-Select certification, multi-source video switching with up-conversion, good sound quality, and has full amplification channels for 7.1 speaker setups. Really nice receiver. In your price range, you should also look at the Denon 2803, or the Harman-Karden HK230 or HK330.
*video upconversion means that you only have to run one set of cables to your TV, even if you have multiple video sources of different resolutions, and the receiver will handle it all. For instance, you might have component video coming out of your DVD player, S-Video from your cable box, and a composite cable from your VCR. If your receiver doesn’t have upconversion and component switching, you have to run a composite, S-Video, and component cable to your TV. Then when you want to switch from the VCR to Cable, you have to switch the receiver to the cable input AND use your TV remote to switch your TV to the S-video input. With upconversion, you just run one set of component cables to your TV, and leave the TV set to that input all the time. Then when you switch your receiver from VCR to Cable, it upconverts the cable to component and sends that to the TV. Very, very handy. It also saves a bundle on cabling, especially if you’re going a fairly long distance. It also reduces the rats-nest of wires going to the television and makes it easier to hide them. I don’t know of another receiver under $1500 that has this feature.
I’m the third avoid Bose person. Personally I favor JBL speakers, but there are lots of good speakers. It’s as much a matter of taste as anything else.
You say you’re not a big time audiophile, and just want a decent sounding system. There are a lot of decent “home theater in-a-box” in the $400-600 price range that you would be happy with. I’m very happy with my Onkyo system, though my particular model is a couple of years old and no ;onger sold. Google “Home theater in a box” and select favorite brand name, you will almost certainly be happy with it so long as it has the requisite inputs and decoders. Right now, that means Dolby 5.1 and DTS, both 6-speaker systems. There is an even newer version 8 speaker encoding that I saw on the Lord of the Rings DVD, IIRC, but I can’t recall the name. With that system, you have the additional pair of speakers several feet behind your ears and to the sides.
So my suggestion is that you either save yourself $1500 or consider replacing other components.
If your DVD player can’t decode DTS or Dolby 5.1 Surround, or lacks a digital audio output, replace it. If your DVD player lacks Progressive Scan, replace it. You can get very good machines with all these features for under $200. You might also consider getting a multi-disc player, as it will function very well as not only the sound system for your TV, but as the primary player for your home music system. You’ll find yourself starting to collect SACDs and Music DVD, and your own CD collection should sound excellent through the same system. Even with all this, you’re still looking at an under $300 expense.
I suggest you look very seriously at an HDTV if you don’t already have one. I can go into more detail about that if you like.
IMO 2K is WAY overspending for a “decent” system for a non-audiophile. Also, IAMA media technician, for whatever that’s worth.
I have a Bose system (AM 15) at home and I think it’s awesome, I get huge sound out of a tiny set of speakers, it looks great, there seems to be a huge anti-Bose movement (especially on the net) but I tend to think that it’s the basic “hate the big guy” thing, while it’s true that Bose products are overpriced I think the quality is top notch and I have been exposed to a wide range of “audiophile” grade equipment (Polk, Carver, Sunfire, Vandersteen etc.).
Yamaha RX-V530 amp, with DTS 5.1 sound (or the current version of this amp)
4 each B&W DM 303 speakers, made for movie audio, with steel stands
1 each B&W LCR-3 center speaker
1 each B&W ASW 300 subwoofer
B&W makes some of the best speakers on the market, and these are within your purchase range. This setup will blow you out of the room without a problem, if that’s your thing.
Or it could be because the Bose designs range from mediocre (their “subwoofer” putting out sound well into the midrange) to laughable (the whole “direct/reflecting” philosophy–they’re deliberately introducing significant distortion), while putting out misleading advertisements and charging too much money for their products.
This FAQ provides a basic summary of the issues around the perennial Bose debates.
Just one more thing: avoid those packaged surround systems that include everything in one box. Generally, the subwoofers are subpar and will “fuzz” on you at even moderate volume, the amps are cheapo and the sound will vary from poor to sorta good. If you do want one of these, go first to Best Buy and have a listen to the ones they have set out.
I have the B&W setup mentioned above and it’s terrific.
