Home theater systems
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
I suggest Polk speakers, a Velodyne sub, and Sony components. Not audiophile stuff, but outstanding for the amount you pay. Jon Sagara Sagara Software
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I suggest Polk speakers, a Velodyne sub, and Sony components. Not audiophile stuff, but outstanding for the amount you pay. Jon Sagara Sagara Software
Thanks, I'll check them out. I was also looking at Bose stuff, but the prices seem waaaay to expensive. Is it just my impression or are Bose over priced? :confused: (2b || !2b)
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
Well, if you want something really cheap for its quality, you should give a look at Creative's DTT 3500. Though not suitable for very large rooms (hey, who's got a large room nowadays?):-D It's quality is really good for computer sound and DVD movies.
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Thanks, I'll check them out. I was also looking at Bose stuff, but the prices seem waaaay to expensive. Is it just my impression or are Bose over priced? :confused: (2b || !2b)
Is it just my impression or are Bose over priced? Too rich for my blood! :) Jon Sagara Sagara Software
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Thanks, I'll check them out. I was also looking at Bose stuff, but the prices seem waaaay to expensive. Is it just my impression or are Bose over priced? :confused: (2b || !2b)
Take a look at Crutchfield. Their prices are ok, but the customer support and sales help you receive are superb. Jon Sagara Sagara Software
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Thanks, I'll check them out. I was also looking at Bose stuff, but the prices seem waaaay to expensive. Is it just my impression or are Bose over priced? :confused: (2b || !2b)
I recently heard a Bose system at the Ideal Home exhibition in London. A group of us sat through a demo that was amazing. We watched Matrix. You could really hear the bullets flying from one side of the room to the other. During the demo, the tiny bose cube speakers (3 inches square) were hidden in massive fake speaker boxes (about 4 foot by 1 foot). We all believed massive speakers were doing the work. At the end of the demo, everyone was amazed. The sound was so good that most of the people in the audience would have taken the system including those massive ugly speakers. Imagine our surprise when the fake covers were removed to reveal tiny Bose cube speakers! :eek: Of course, you'll need the bigger bass box - but you can hide that anywhere. Yes, Bose is expensive - but what I heard was fantastic. And if I can find about 4000 GBP, I'll buy myself a Bose Lifestyle 50 system. Having said all that, I haven't heard other systems - so can't compare them.
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
Our TV packed in recently, though being an electronic engineer I could have repaired it, but it was a good excuse to buy a new TV! :-D The one I got eventually was a Widescreen Panasonic 36" TX36PB50 @ £1400. Great if you're watching digital cable or DVDs, but terestrial TV does seem very grainy but then I did have a 25" TV before so it's just probably due to it being a bigger TV. As for sound it has DD5.1 and DTS with opical digital audio input that can come from cable boxes and DVDs. The TV comes with two built in speakers, and three minature external speakers that you can put where you want. Watching the matrix, and one of the latest Bond films you can certainly hear buillets etc going past. What is wierd though are some TV adverts that have DD encoded into them!!!! I'm sure this is not as good as a Bose system, but good for the price. Also it's a pain having to turn the TV on it you want to listen to an audio CD on the DVD palyer. :rolleyes: So I havn't thrown away my separates system yet.
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I recently heard a Bose system at the Ideal Home exhibition in London. A group of us sat through a demo that was amazing. We watched Matrix. You could really hear the bullets flying from one side of the room to the other. During the demo, the tiny bose cube speakers (3 inches square) were hidden in massive fake speaker boxes (about 4 foot by 1 foot). We all believed massive speakers were doing the work. At the end of the demo, everyone was amazed. The sound was so good that most of the people in the audience would have taken the system including those massive ugly speakers. Imagine our surprise when the fake covers were removed to reveal tiny Bose cube speakers! :eek: Of course, you'll need the bigger bass box - but you can hide that anywhere. Yes, Bose is expensive - but what I heard was fantastic. And if I can find about 4000 GBP, I'll buy myself a Bose Lifestyle 50 system. Having said all that, I haven't heard other systems - so can't compare them.
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
For the audio part of your system (receiver, CD-player, etc.) I highly recommend Marantz. Their whole business is based around the fact that people may actually like listening to music on their systems, rather than just hearing sound effects from movies. For video, I really like Sony Wega, with XBR being the ultimate in digital quality, but I found that Panasonic has several fantastic televisions out there, including a 32-inch that is high definition and several widescreen models. For speakers, it's much harder to choose. There are many good brands out there, and everyone seems to think that everything except the one they bought is trash. Personally, I like Cambridge Soundworks for have the best sound-to-price ratio. Their new Newton series is phenomenal, and I heard that next month they will be selling a version of the Newton for computers! *drool* Let us know what you end up with! If you have access to a Cambridge Soundworks store to use the listening room, or feel like visiting HiFi.com you can get more information about the various models of equipment they sell. -- Paul "I drank... WHAT?"
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Thanks, I'll check them out. I was also looking at Bose stuff, but the prices seem waaaay to expensive. Is it just my impression or are Bose over priced? :confused: (2b || !2b)
Ask almost any "audiophile" and they will tell you bose are pure crap. They are over priced, poorly made, and do not produce very good sound. However, one of the reasons they are so popular is because of the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). Not many woman like 3-4 foot speakers in their living room. For the money you can get something a lot better than Bose. I would ask your question on this forum http://www.digitaltheater.com/cfb/index.cfm?fuseaction=listings&CFB=1&forum=5 just be sure to name a price range. Otherwise it's kind of impossible to suggest a setup.
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Ask almost any "audiophile" and they will tell you bose are pure crap. They are over priced, poorly made, and do not produce very good sound. However, one of the reasons they are so popular is because of the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). Not many woman like 3-4 foot speakers in their living room. For the money you can get something a lot better than Bose. I would ask your question on this forum http://www.digitaltheater.com/cfb/index.cfm?fuseaction=listings&CFB=1&forum=5 just be sure to name a price range. Otherwise it's kind of impossible to suggest a setup.
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Ask almost any "audiophile" and they will tell you bose are pure crap. They are over priced, poorly made, and do not produce very good sound. However, one of the reasons they are so popular is because of the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor). Not many woman like 3-4 foot speakers in their living room. For the money you can get something a lot better than Bose. I would ask your question on this forum http://www.digitaltheater.com/cfb/index.cfm?fuseaction=listings&CFB=1&forum=5 just be sure to name a price range. Otherwise it's kind of impossible to suggest a setup.
Thanks for the link. :) (2b || !2b)
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
Look at Bang & Olufsen (even to drool over). A tad on the dear side but the sound and picture quality are fantastic. I've had my B&O for the over 2 years and it still never fails to astound anyone who walks into my room. http://www.bang-olufsen.com For my setup: http://www.bang-olufsen.com/product\_frame.php?product=12 Joe.
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
What's your budget? At the low end ($750ish) for receiver and 5 speakers, there are a few decent choices. I think the Cambridge Soundworks/Creative combos are pretty good for their price. Another option is Energy's Take 5 system (5 speakers and a sub) and a reasonable receiver, which has better sound than the Cambridge ones, but is a bit more money. I've noticed others mentioned Bose, which I don't like very much, as I find them lacking in midrange. In the same price range as the bose, you can find systems by Polk or Boston Acoustics that I think sound better. WRT the receiver, power isn't that important, especially if you have a powered subwoofer. Inputs are; figure out all the devices you want to use now and perhaps in the future, and then buy something that supports all of them. I've maxed out my Denon, which means I have no room for extra stuff. Of course, your needs may be different; I currently have: Laserdisc player DVD player SVHS VCR TiVo DirecTiVo which leaves me with no free video inputs.
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Hmm, been using Bose for 15 years (same speakers). Built like a rock. Sound great. But I will agree they are overpriced. Tim Smith Descartes Systems Sciences, Inc.
I was refering to the cube systems. The other speakers they make are pretty good.
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Hi people, I think its about time that I upgrade my sound at home, so I will be doing some shopping in the next few days. What do you guys suggest I buy? I need something with GOOD sound and GOOD price and GOOD quality. Am I asking for too much? ;) Thanks. (2b || !2b)
You're going to get a lot of conflicting opinions when you ask stuff like this. To be honest, Few people have actually done any broad range side-by-side testing of different products in their home environment. All they know is "I bought this, and it sounds good to me". Now, I recently spent about 3 months doing side-by-side testing in several environments. And I can tell you my results. The best "bang for the buck" speaker was most definately speakers manufactured by the Canadian company PSB. I had them hooked up next to B&W's (a very high end line of speakers), Martin Logans (a *VERY* high end speaker), Alon's (another high end speaker), as well as more tradition Infinity's, Bose, Polk's, Klipsch's, JBL's, and several others. The PSB's just blew me away, even in their "bookshelf" variety. Their design is really amazing. And they're CHEAP! I got my PSB 4T's for about $400 for the pair, but that was a really good deal. Retail they'll be closer to $750, which sounds like a lot.. but for good speakers, it's not. It's a steal. There simply isn't a better speaker deal. My personal reciever is a Denon AVR-3300, which is no longer made. But it was replaced by the AVR-3801 (IIRC). It's roughly $1000 (though I got mine for $500). It's got Dolby Digital and DTS, 5 video inputs, component video support, external digital support (both optical and coax), 140 Watts per chanel (6.1), multi-zone, etc... all very nice and a damn good price for what you get. If $1000 is too much, then you can step down a level. I'd recommend the marantz sr-5200 or sr-4200. I can't say enough good things about PSB though. They truly are the best performance for a modest cost. -- Where are we going? And why am I in this handbasket?