What box? - Page 2

Vizio gets mixed love around here so you might want to do a little more research if you've narrowed it down to a particular model.

I have a Yamaha system and have been very happy with it. Conventional wisdom says that you are always better off buying separate components, but that can get very costly very fast. Depending on how discriminating your hearing is, speakers do, and will, make all the difference in the world. You might find that the little speakers that come with your Yamaha HTiB (Home Theater in a Box) are sufficient. But that all depends on your listening environment, furnishings, etc. Generally speaking, it's always better to spend a little more on the speakers than the receiver. Do you want bookshelf-sized speakers or floor standing? Which Yamaha system did you look at?

I wouldn't worry too much about data transfer rates because most all new routers by the major mfrs have the capability of high throughput. The deciding factor is your ISP (what's the download/upload speed, kind of connection, etc) and your living environment. What is between your router and the tv/receiver can make a big difference as well, unless you are not going WiFi and are going wired, then it's a moot point. Thanks for the Buffalo offer but I'll have to pass

You might want to make a series of purchases, instead of all at once.

Spring for the LG 55" 7600 first (or it's cheaper brother 6700). This has all the streaming you will need...so you dont need a box.

And get yourself a Wireless N Router. This should be rather easy....just follow the crowd and focus on ease of use and reliability.

Then a cheap Blu Ray Player, like the Sony BP-185.

Then start auditioning speakers. I agree with Otto, speakers are important to the sound, moreso than just about anything else. If you dont know where to start, you are going to have to take someones advice. The inexpensive Energy Take 5 system is very popular and for good reason. I like the Realistic Minimus 7 and Minimus 77, too. There is also the Boston Acoustics HD-7....another one I like. Generally what you are looking for is a 2 way speaker with a 5" to 8" woofer and a tweeter. I personally like soft textile dome tweeters, especially silk. Very smooth. But then again, Film soundtracks have somewhat different requirements than music listening. Often metal domes are favored for Home Theater duty. All that being said, anything will work, really. And personal taste comes into it. But just know that you dont have to spend a fortune to get good sound, and sound that you personally like. And that is what matters most, that YOU like it.

A good plan is to get a less expensive used HTIB, to get you started and then shop for speakers at your leisure. Then shop for the perfect A/V receiver to power them later, after youve picked out some agreeable speakers and replaced the HTIB's included set.

I wouldnt spend money on calibration. Instead you can burn a freebie disc like the AVS 709 or Getgray. Or the Avia disc is pretty inexpensive. Or Disney Wow! for BluRay (though you really dont need a BluRay disc to calibrate the settings). Follow advice from people in the LG 7600 thread with regards to advanced settings, and change those before going through the disc.

The Display & Router should come first. Get a BluRay for it's quality source ability. Then work on the sound.
Edited by EscapeVelocity - 12/18/12 at 8:48pm

you'll still have the same problem, only with one less ethernet cable.

Here is a nice deal on a quality product...

Onkyo TX-NR509 5.1 Channel Network A/V Receiver $173.50 + Free Shipping

EscapeVelocity's comments are excellent. I'd like to add the MLT2's as nice bookshelve-sized speakers. This is a lot of info for you to digest so just take it one device at a time.

I love my new RX-V473 Yamaha 5.1 receiver mated to 6 Polk Audio speakers including subwoofer. Thought about an Onkyo or Denon then my financial conservatism (i.e. cheapness) kicked in and I saw the light while saving a couple hundred bucks compared to the ones I was considering.

By the way, I use Mediabridge HDMI cables also.

That is a nice deal on a quality 5.1 set of Martin Logan speakers, though, it has been around $400 regular for a couple of years now. Very popular.

You can save money on cables at Monoprice, which has anything and everything you may need. Also they have inexpensive mounts, that are very popular.

I have the RX-V371 (a "smaller" one than BoilerJim's) paired with the Yamaha speakers that came with it. It sounds really good but have auditioned the MLT-2s with the receiver and it sounds awesome, so they are on my buy list after the holidays. All cables are MediaBridge. The blu-ray player is the Panasonic BDT-210 and the router is an Apple Extreme Base Station.

Just throwing htis out there. Amazon has another deal on an Onkyo.

Onkyo TX-NR809 7.2-Channel 3D THX Network A/V Receiver $449 + Free shipping

This one closer to the Top of the Line. The other one being Middle of the Line.


Im an Onkyo fan from way back since the 80s. My brother is a Yamaha fan. Yamaha is good, I like the way they are confident in going their own way....like using their own developed DACs, as just one example.

You cant go wrong either way. Denon is good too.

Im just throwing this out there. Buying the A/V receiver first isnt the best plan, IMO.

To be honest, if your hearing is not what it used to be then you may be fine with whatever speakers come with the HTiB systems, be it Yamaha, Onkyo, or Denon. Speakers can always be upgraded later especially if you don't buy an HTiB that has "special" speaker connections (of which the three mentioned usually don't). Just look for 5-way binding posts and you're good to go. It would save you a little money initially, and once you get it all setup and figured out, upgrading the speakers, should you choose to do so, is a piece of cake. And yes, I too have been to a Patti Smith concert and it was really good, and loud

Yeah, a decent HTIB is probably all you need. Especially if you arent into picking out your own speakers and are just going on advice from others in that regard. Try to make sure that they have separate tweeters though. It makes a big difference over a full range single cone job.

5 way binding posts are referencing standard 2 speaker wire hookups (but for 5 different speakers), I believe. Some cheaper sets use non standard hookups/wiring.

Youll have to do your best researching any HTIB purchase. Im sure there are references to the drivers number and size in reviews and chat about them. Many cheaper sets use one small full range speaker for each unit....like a 3" Full Range driver.

5-way binding posts can take just about any speaker connection be they bare wire, banana plug, etc. My receiver has the binding posts but the speakers that came with it use wire clip-ins. You just don't want to get a receiver or speakers that have a proprietary connector because you won't be able to swap out your speakers without making any modifications (i.e. cutting the wires for bare wire use or adding your own connectors). Some of those Bose systems you see at Costco for example have proprietary connectors that are made just for that particular system. As far as separate tweeters, the basic speaker specs should say something like "2" driver with a 1" tweeter", etc. If it just says 3" Full Range driver like EV said, then that's something you don't really want. Deals on HTiB systems aren't quite like tv's. The best time to purchase a tv is either now (the two weeks before Christmas) or around late January/February when the new year's models are being leaked and the previous year's models need to cleared from inventory. Black Friday deals aren't what they used to be so I wouldn't even waste my time with that. HTiB systems do go on sale now but if you find what you want, and can wait, they may get cheaper after the holidays.

I live in the deep South and for that reason alone would never put a Plasma in my house. It;s a giant heat radiator.

So I never had to make that decision with any seriousness. I can appreciate Plasma's strengths on the PQ front, but ultimately it's the FUll White field luminosity limitation that I really find offensive, sort of a aversion to the most objectionable thing and accepting the less objectionable (IMO) flaws/limitations in comparison to Plasma of LCD. Hope that makes sense. That being said, this issue has improved greatly over the last couple of years, though I think at the expense of greater heat output.