[tmbz]

New to this forum and even more new to the area of 'Home Theaters' (never owned one, never had need for one!).


I recently purchased a Samsung ln52B750 HDTV and need to add some sound. Doesn't need to be 'blow-me-away-knock-me-down' loud (wife actually hates it loud...I love it loud!), rather good quality sound (whatever that means). Connected to this system will include TW DVR cable box, Bluray DVD (Pan DMP-BD60), and a Wii (not HDMI). At the moment, that's pretty much it.


Room size is approx. 14x23 with vaulted ceiling...carpeted. TV is new, stand is new so there is available space both on the stand and left, right, and behind (corner location).


I'm looking to put together a 5.1 system, but don't intend to get rear speakers for some time...so I need some suggestions for a reasonably good receiver, sub, center, and fronts (rears later). Willing to sacrifice (if able) one of the above initially to get better quality in another.


Budget? Hard to say, but lets start with around $650+/- (is this reasonable starting point?

)


Any suggestions welcome....just be gentle...I'm 110% home theater noob.

I'm very likely to take your suggestions to heart and simply go with that since I have nothing else to go on...so it'd be nice if there were some consensus...I've read quite a few threads already and the more I read, the more I'm convinced that there is way too much tech out there for me to learn...so I'm bringing it here to the experts hoping they just steer me right...so thanks in advance.

 

[JOHNnDENVER]

If your going that far, I'd surely suggest throwing a couple of surround speakers into the mix.



Tough price point, not impossible.



I'd suggest just getting two really nice front speakers for now if you not going to put any surround speakers on.



The amount should get you two really nice front speakers and a little nicer AVR then would otherwise be possible.

 

[rick240]

$650 is a very small budget for a 5.1 plus receiver.


I suggest you split it:


- $150 - $200 AVR

- $200 sub

- $250 - $300 speakers


Look in the speaker, subwoofer and this area for threads in those price ranges to get some ideas. In the speaker area there are threads discussing 5.1 for $500.


You're probably looking at:

- Energy or Polk deals for the 5.0

- H100, F12 or PA-120 for the sub

- there are some AVR deals less than $200


Increasing the budget if you can would certainly help.

 

[Oz Man]

I would suggest starting out with a Home Theater in a Box. Sense you are a noob, this might be your best start. Equipment and speaker buying can be nerve racking and more so for a first timer. A HTB provides everything you need to get started and some decent ones in your price range. I started out like that and for a noob, this should satisfy your needs for starting out. A year or 2 down the line would be a good time line for upgrading once you pass the Noob title to novice. Good Luck

 

[cornhulio]

The Energy Takes 5.0 for ~$200 shipped from newegg are hard to beat.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1186671

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/s...classic-review

 

[JOHNnDENVER]

Oz Man is right on....


Now choosing equipment for A/V geeks, ooops I mean hobbyists is actually considered the fun part.

So relax and try to get the best and most you can for your buck. With prudent googling, I think you would be surprised at what you could come up with for the amount you have to spend.

 

[Selden Ball]

A room that's 14x23 with vaulted ceiling is large. Be sure you get efficient speakers (> 93 db sensitivity). Otherwise you'll be blowing tweeters when you turn up the receiver's volume to be loud enough for you. With a large room and inefficient speakers, that's likely to be in the range where its amps start clipping, which is what causes tweeters to burn out.