[1ofakind]

Hello all, I just started building my first home setup

Bought a 42" Hitachi LCD 1080p 120hz from Sam's Club for an awesome price so I have a few hundred I can put towards my first HTIB.


I have a PS3. I play video games, use netflix DVDs and BDs and stream pandora.


I'm looking for an HTIB that will take advantage of my PS3's abilities.

As I understand it, the PS3 is a fairly capable receiver. I don't know the specifics however, so I would like to know what I could do with my PS3 and what HTIB would be a good match for it. I do want it to be of the latest technology HDMI. I read the sticky about different kind of signals.


Also, my room is not very big, maybe 15x12, but I do want a powerful system. 5.1.


Lastly, I would like to keep it under $400.


Thank you so much for your help and suggestions!

 

[1ofakind]

If there is any other criteria or things I can add to facilitate suggestions please let me know. I'd really appreciate it!


I've seen some nice blue ray HTIBs at sam's and walmart, but I don't really know how they compare with everything else out there. price was they are about ~200 to ~300 dollars.

I don't really want to get another blue ray player if I don't have to since the PS3 will do blue ray. unless there are valuable reasons to get a different BD player.


Thanks again everybody.

 

[crazyrob425]

 http://www.accessories4less.com/make...od-Dock/1.html

 

[afrogt]

you want a system for $400? Receiver, 5 speakers and subwoofer. Am I right?

 

[1ofakind]

yes sir. I would like to hook up my PS3 to the receiver and use that as the DVD/Blueray/Music player.


Just to make sure, I should be able to simply connect the PS3 via HDMI cable to the receiver and receiver to TV via another HDMI cable and have awesome 5.1 sound yes?

Those walmart/sams club ones I mentioned seem well priced but I don't see the point of the fancy blue ray player if I have the PS3? I rather have better louder and better quality sound. Unless I'm really missing something with the PS3 that I'm not aware of.

 

[1ofakind]

crazyrob that onkyo looks great! any downsides to it? Any real difference between 5.1 and 7.1?


Does this have the latest HDMI capabilities? I don't know much about it, but I've noticed there's different versions and kinds of signals it seems.

 

[Tulpa]

The PS3 works as well as any other Blu-ray player. The only reason to get a dedicated player is if you game and watch movies constantly and want to save wear and tear.

 

[1ofakind]

Thanks Tulpa!


Looking at the Onkyo S5300, why doesn't everyone have this? lol. Any drawbacks or nice features it doesn't have? Can I do stereo sound using rear channels too?

 

[steven_mckenz]



Quote:
Originally Posted by 1ofakind /forum/post/19571978


Thanks Tulpa!


Looking at the Onkyo S5300, why doesn't everyone have this? lol. Any drawbacks or nice features it doesn't have? Can I do stereo sound using rear channels too?

1ofakind,


You can't go wrong with the HT-S5300. I just purchased it a few days ago, and just finished getting it tweaked (for now) tonight, and I couldn't be happier! I replaced a 6-year old Durabrand Wal*Mart cheap system, and the difference is amazing.


Yes, you can do stereo sound using the rear channels. It has what it calls "All Stereo" mode, where it mimics stereo using all available channels. So, if you have 5.1, it uses the two left as Left, and two right as Right, 7.1 uses 3, etc. In addition, it also has what it calls Zone 2, which allows you to use the additional two speakers, and hook them up as a second zone, that you can then use to play analog audio out from. This is great, if you want to hook up some speakers outside, or in a different bedroom, or anything, and be able to run them simultaneously with someone watching surround sound in the livingroom.


As far as the reason not everyone has this set, is due to a number of factors. One, this set has a few minor quirks, that have pushed some people away (firmware bug, some HDMI dropping, etc). The firmware bug has been fixed by now, and I haven't experienced any of the dropping issues, but YMMV.


In addition, some people prefer to buy the receiver and speakers individually, as they are not fans of the Onkyo speakers. Without being exposed to super-awesome speakers, I would have to say though that the Onkyo speakers themselves do sound extremely nice, and you would definitely be happy with them, especially for under $500!

 

[afrogt]

the Onkyo 5300 is probably the best choice in your price range.


I'm not really big on the speakers but for a complete system for $400 its not bad.

 

[1ofakind]

Thanks a lot for your input steven_mckens!

The only thing I am unclear about is the HDMI dropping. What do you mean?Also, you mentioned tweaking your system. What kind of process did you go through? Hopefully its pretty straight forward?

I think I'm definitely getting the HT-S5300. I looked on accesories4less which has a very attractive price but the shipping cost is pretty wild. Any suggestions of other possible places to purchase? Unless I missed it, shoponkyo doesn't show the S5300 anywhere. If I could get the same price as accesories4less and get free shipping cause it's over $100 I'd buy it right now

I think I'm gonna be very happy with this setup, just need to find the best possible place or site to buy from.


Thanks again!

Quote:
Originally Posted by steven_mckenz /forum/post/19572106


1ofakind,


You can't go wrong with the HT-S5300. I just purchased it a few days ago, and just finished getting it tweaked (for now) tonight, and I couldn't be happier! I replaced a 6-year old Durabrand Wal*Mart cheap system, and the difference is amazing.


Yes, you can do stereo sound using the rear channels. It has what it calls "All Stereo" mode, where it mimics stereo using all available channels. So, if you have 5.1, it uses the two left as Left, and two right as Right, 7.1 uses 3, etc. In addition, it also has what it calls Zone 2, which allows you to use the additional two speakers, and hook them up as a second zone, that you can then use to play analog audio out from. This is great, if you want to hook up some speakers outside, or in a different bedroom, or anything, and be able to run them simultaneously with someone watching surround sound in the livingroom.


As far as the reason not everyone has this set, is due to a number of factors. One, this set has a few minor quirks, that have pushed some people away (firmware bug, some HDMI dropping, etc). The firmware bug has been fixed by now, and I haven't experienced any of the dropping issues, but YMMV.


In addition, some people prefer to buy the receiver and speakers individually, as they are not fans of the Onkyo speakers. Without being exposed to super-awesome speakers, I would have to say though that the Onkyo speakers themselves do sound extremely nice, and you would definitely be happy with them, especially for under $500!

 

[steven_mckenz]

Do you have Amazon prime? You can buy it from them for $449.00 right now. They had it for $429.00 a few days ago, and occasionally for $399.00. I bought it locally the other day for $379.00 (plus tax). But if you can get it from Amazon for a decent price, and have Prime, you get free 2-day shipping. If you don't, you can get prime for $80.00 / year. That may be worth it depending on how much you buy through them.


As far as "tweaking" my system, I've just been messing with it, listening to it by ear and making it sound better to me.

 

[1ofakind]

very nice, thank you!

I don't have prime, don't do enough Amazon shopping right now to get it i think. It looks like accesories4less seems like the best place to buy from now even with their insane shipping charges.

Does the system come with a sound calibration cd or mode or anything of the like that would facilitate the tuning for my specific space?