Home theatre under $1000

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themale

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#138522 7-Jan-2014 20:41

Hello everyone,

I am looking for a home theatre under $1000. I have a samsung 55 inch led tv and would like to use the home theatre for movies and music. I actually bought a sony home theatre model-990w for $950 (cant remember but I guess around 8 months back), and after attaching it - didn't like the sound (also didn't go as loud as I want) and had additional problems like couldn't see the volume bar on youtube etc.

I have absolutely no knowledge about home theaters. I would like to buy new but I don't mind buying second hand as well. One of my friends recommended to buy following from amazon (please keep in mind he is a noob too :D), :

Polk RM85 5-Channel Home Theater System, Denon AVR-591 5.1 Channel A/V Home Theater Receiver, Polk PSW110 sub. (--What do you think about this combination)

All suggestions are welcome, please don't hold back. I have been looking for one year now and exhausted.

cheers

Dunnersfella

4085 posts

Uber Geek

#962757 7-Jan-2014 21:09

That's fine for under a grand... but where abouts are you located? New Zealand?

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themale

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#962760 7-Jan-2014 21:15

Thanks for your reply, yes I am in New Zealand. I also can get onkyo sfk800 floor speaker from a friend but not sure what receiver would go with the onkyo floor speakers and polk small speakers mentioned above?

BTR

1527 posts

Uber Geek

#963847 9-Jan-2014 13:20

I haven't heard good things about Onkyo speakers. Their receivers are good but have heard the speakers are mediocre.

D.W

723 posts

Ultimate Geek

#964344 10-Jan-2014 10:19

There is a high chance any receiver you order from Amazon will be 120v, not 240v.

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#964487 10-Jan-2014 13:17

where do you want to end up? very good sound? then maybe invest in a 2nd hand proper set from trademe ... mght need to buy in a few goes

i have a feeling you will also be disappointed by the Polk RM85 system ... just a guess

let me know if you want to look further

themale

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#966743 14-Jan-2014 12:26

Thankyou everyone for your replies.

BTR: I haven't heard good things about Onkyo speakers. Their receivers are good but have heard the speakers are mediocre.

You are right. I have been reading same thing in user reviews.

D.W: There is a high chance any receiver you order from Amazon will be 120v, not 240v.

I did not know that, that means I need to buy a receiver either from nz, or look for a 240v specifically if buying from overseas?

joker97: where do you want to end up? very good sound? then maybe invest in a 2nd hand proper set from trademe ... mght need to buy in a few goes

i have a feeling you will also be disappointed by the Polk RM85 system ... just a guess

let me know if you want to look further

I am also being towards second hand set, my family doesn't want big speakers all around the room so I was thinking maybe small speakers for mounting around the room and couple of floor speakers and/or bookshelf speakers( I guess I could hide them behind tv and tv cabinet) . I have been listening to wharfdale and klipsch , both are nice but klipsch is more bright and more to my taste.

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek

#966758 14-Jan-2014 12:55

themale:

D.W: There is a high chance any receiver you order from Amazon will be 120v, not 240v.

I did not know that, that means I need to buy a receiver either from nz, or look for a 240v specifically if buying from overseas?

Not always a problem Most modern equipment is voltage selectable 120/240 or auto sense so just check specs before you buy. You could use a step-down transformer 240 - 120V.

Dunnersfella

4085 posts

Uber Geek

#967207 14-Jan-2014 23:08

I don't know of many receivers that are 120/240 compatible... the step-down transformers are an option, but the freight on amps out of the US often kills the deal. Speakers aren't cheap to ship either... not compared to picking up a secondhand Trademe deal locally!!!

Regs

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Snowflake

#967228 15-Jan-2014 02:55

B1GGLZ:
themale:

D.W: There is a high chance any receiver you order from Amazon will be 120v, not 240v.

I did not know that, that means I need to buy a receiver either from nz, or look for a 240v specifically if buying from overseas?

Not always a problem Most modern equipment is voltage selectable 120/240 or auto sense so just check specs before you buy. You could use a step-down transformer 240 - 120V.

last time I was in a electronics store in the US, TV's and small appliances had only 110v dc power supplies. not much use without a bulky and expensive transformer

themale

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#969590 19-Jan-2014 10:50

Thankyou everyone for your replies. That means I need to buy a receiver either from nz, or look for a 240v specifically if buying from overseas?

I was thinking of buying klipsch quintet or klipsch hdt-600, from what it looks like klipsch quintet is better but I am not sure (I can buy either of these from amazon), though I need to buy sub-woofer and receiver with that, and later I can hunt for klipsch floor speakers or bookshelf speakers.

(klipsch quintet - http://www.klipsch.com/quintet-home-theater-system/details)
(klipsch hdt-600 - http://www.klipsch.com/high-definition-theater-600-home-theater-system)

(These also look good, Klipsch Icon Bookshelf Speakers -> http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/tv-and-audio/audio-and-home-theatre/speakers/klipsch-icon-bookshelf-speakers.html)

What do you guys think of the two choices above , or something else that would be better than these two. (I am not sure about the sub-woofer and receiver choice either). Recommendations/suggestions.

Thanks.

33coupe

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Ultimate Geek

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#971842 21-Jan-2014 20:02

I saw on trademe that a Wharfedale Diamond 5.1 set up (9.5's & 9.1's) sold for $600, so there is stuff out there.

Sorry, not much use to you now though

jonathan18

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#972144 22-Jan-2014 11:36

Are you sure 1. you can ship speakers from Amazon to NZ? 2. the postage price, if you can ship them, isn't exhorbitant?

Even purchasing amps overseas, as someone pointed out above, is expensive due to high shipping costs. And, given your price point, it makes even less sense to ship a receiver to NZ, given that the shipping costs will be such a high proportion of the overall cost. If you're patient, shops like JB Hifi can often do some amazing prices on receivers - I picked up a mid-level Onkyo (7.2 / 2 zone / networked...) for not much over $500, - it' was amazingly good value, and has proven to be a great purchase, relative to its cost.

Given your budget, I totally agree with what many earlier posters have recommended - look for second-hand, via Trade Me or similar avenues (although in my experience places like Cash Converters are often expensive). An important point is that it pays to be patient - subscribe to the emails for the relevant categories on TM and just see what's available and what they sell for. Wait for the right thing AND at the right price, rather than wanting it all quickly and at the same time.

Another key advantage of this is that the upgrade cost is relatively low and efficient - having bought second-hand, you lose little (and indeeed sometimes gain!) when selling a product as part of an upgrade to a better component. Similarly, if something doesn't work out to your satisfaction, it won't cost much to move it on.

Personally, I think a $1000 budget for a full HT setup is pushing it - that is, unless you want to go the wait of HTIAB (in a box - one of those all-in-one sets), but I wouldn't touch these with a barge pole (especially at the lower end of the market). Indeed, I know I've read many threads both here and on other sites where the message to those wanting their cake and to eat it too is: be realistic!

One way of making it more affordable - or at least up-front - is start with some components and add others over time; clearly, the minimum is an amp (or receiver, most likely in your case) and front speakers. That said, as the previous poster noted you'll often find good prices on full speaker sets like Wharfedale Diamonds on TM (or even new sometimes from places like LV Martin). These are a tried and true range, and you'll get excellent value for money from even the earlier series. I have two sets of 9.1s for rears, both bought s/h of TM. These are wall-mounted (on brackets also bought off TM), but given your comment re speaker size, such speakers can still dominate a room.

Therefore another speaker set option is the Kef eggs - new, JB Hifi often has them down to about $1000; assume they'll be less second-hand. We have these for our smaller HT set-up, and they're fine, relative to their size/convinience (can be easily mounted on the walls, put on the [expensive] KEF stands, or placed on /attached to a flat surface), but there is a definite trade-off re sound quality. Still, I don't know of other similar small set-ups that offer the same level fo value for money. It's just that, especially with a low budget, there are inevitably significant compromises to be made between size, age, quality, features etc. - you just have to work out which of these are more important to you.

Anyway, there are many other posts on this same topic (best cheap HT) that you could probably find if you dig around.

Cheers
Jonathan

sidefx

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#972152 22-Jan-2014 11:49

themale: Thankyou everyone for your replies. That means I need to buy a receiver either from nz, or look for a 240v specifically if buying from overseas?

I was thinking of buying klipsch quintet or klipsch hdt-600, from what it looks like klipsch quintet is better but I am not sure (I can buy either of these from amazon), though I need to buy sub-woofer and receiver with that, and later I can hunt for klipsch floor speakers or bookshelf speakers.
Recommendations/suggestions.

Thanks.

Personally I was very happy with the Klipsch HDT-500 pack when I had it (and I think the HDT-600 has reviewed better)

For me it was a great way to get into 5.1. With the 5 satellites and sub all included, the upfront the cost wasn't prohobitive, and I bought it in NZ. The Klipsch speakers also don't need a highly powerful receiver so you can save money there. I got my receiver + HDT pack for I think pretty close to $1000 (on sales)

Once I had the set I upgraded to floorstanding speakers in stages. E.g. first I upgraded the front's to klipsch floorstanders, then center, then sub and finally rears. During the upgrades I kept using the other bits of the HDT-500 pack, and when everything was upgraded finally sold it for a decent price.

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33coupe

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#979005 2-Feb-2014 19:10

Another Wharfedale speaker set (poss with cables?) went for $1000 on TM.

Seemed pretty cheap to me

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=689644712