[Miami Guy]

I have a friend who saw my Onkyo/Infinity system and now want some kind of system in his place. He's not too techy but he wants to have a Blu-Ray player, amp. and speakers for no more than $2,000.


Any advice?

 

[crazyrob425]

Size of this room?


Does he care about type of speakers?

 

[Tulpa]

A two grand budget is best spent on separates. Get the minimum Blu-ray player and receiver with the features he wants. Splurge the rest on speakers and sub.

 

[Miami Guy]

The room is pretty big and open to one side since it's a living room, but we're stationed overseas it's only temporary. I'm focusing on the same thing; priority on the speakers, then receiver and last BR player. I was just wondering if there's anything out there that is a good buy for the money.

 

[Tulpa]

Not any package deals.


Look at the baseline receivers, like the Onkyo TX-SR308 (a good, entry level 5.1 receiver) and comparable receivers from other companies. If it doesn't have enough features, move to the next higher one, and so on. More expensive receivers might get you some cool doodads (like Internet features, multiple zones, preouts) but don't expect a huge increase in sound quality every time you move up.


Same with the Blu-ray players (does he want Netflix added? Does he want some other specific features) and get the cheapest.


That should leave about $1000-$1500 for a really nice set of speakers and a powerful sub. Although keep in mind the shipping costs of getting that stuff to a new place.