Home theatre package under $1000

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sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#65655 5-Aug-2010 07:31

Hello
i currently have all in one type dvd home theatre system and want to upgrade better home theatre system (AV receivers & speakers) . what are my options if my budget is $1000 , am dreaming ?

i found few packages on jbhifi within my range and whats your comments on this models.
see first two packages on this link
http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/home-theatre/systems/

OR do i have any other options ? Thanks for the advise.

I've currently blu ray player & freeview recorder .

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4086 posts

Uber Geek

#363488 5-Aug-2010 09:46

Those Onkyo and Yamaha packs are brilliantly cheap.
Without listening to them, I'm picking they'll sound pants though.
Can you track down the specs from JB's? Being able to buy the receiver, then upgrade the speakers at a later date could work for you.
Oh yeah, don't forget to budget for speaker cable + sub cable.

sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#363518 5-Aug-2010 10:25

specs for the model they are selling. http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR346711

you mention cabling ,is that going to cost quite a lot ? cant i use the cable came with my existing home theatre system?

sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#363523 5-Aug-2010 10:33

btw i've got cabling done in the house and dont need to run any cables on the floor. 4 speakers (front ,rear) can go on the wall & receiving end is at the back wall of TV .

JimmyC

726 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364062 6-Aug-2010 09:37

sqlpro:
OR do i have any other options ? Thanks for the advise.

I know you already have a BD player but here's something that may interest others on a budget. I've been using a set of Logitech Z5500's for surround at my place for about 3 years now. I've yet to find a HTiB type set that will match them for price\performance.

They also have a set of analogue inputs, a nod to their PC heritage I guess, but I've teamed them with a Panasonic BD80 for its analogue outs. BD80 handles all the decoding, and hey presto, copious amounts of HD surround audio for circa $1000 all up. It's surprisingly impressive.

sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364078 6-Aug-2010 09:52

I know you already have a BD player but here's something that may interest others on a budget. I've been using a set of Logitech Z5500's for surround at my place for about 3 years now. I've yet to find a HTiB type set that will match them for price\performance.

They also have a set of analogue inputs, a nod to their PC heritage I guess, but I've teamed them with a Panasonic BD80 for its analogue outs. BD80 handles all the decoding, and hey presto, copious amounts of HD surround audio for circa $1000 all up. It's surprisingly impressive.

i already have dvd home theatre system that takes analog inputs only. i thought digital inputs will give better performance on sounds. if not then using my existing system or logitech wont make any difference right, Jimmy ?

JimmyC

726 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364130 6-Aug-2010 11:14

My understanding is the amp does not need to process the signal when you feed it via analogue inputs, it just sends it to the speakers. If you feed the amp a digital signal, it has to decode it, so if you send it a digital HD audio stream the amp has to know what to do with that.

The benefit of analogue outs on blu-ray players are really for 'older' amps\speaker systems that don't have an HDMI port and\or cannot decode HD audio by themselves.

You can then decode HD audio using your blu-ray player, use the analogue connections and get all the benefits of HD even tho your amp is not aware of what HD audio is. I can definitely tell you that DTS-HD over analogue sounds incredible compared to standard Dolby over optical or HDMI, even on a $600 set of 'PC' speakers.

So you've got the system with analogue inputs. Assuming it doesn't already handle HD audio, you'd need a blu-ray player with analogue outs to complete the picture.

sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364135 6-Aug-2010 11:25

Thanks Jimmy, i did not know that.very useful info.

Yes my existing home theater system has analog inputs (red,white) and BD player also has analog out (red & white) . and this is what am currently using . so does it mean that am already getting good sound ? any other setting need to be done on BD player (bw850)?

the reason all came up because ,if i put dvd in to my dvd home theatre system i hear quite few surround sound but if i play same dvd thru BD player even though it sounds good i feel i dont hear those surrounds. hope all this makes sense.

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JimmyC

726 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364167 6-Aug-2010 12:08

Ah... red and white mean just stereo (left and right). The BD80 for example has 6 analogue outputs - Front L&R, Rear L&R, Sub and Center channels. Your amp will need to match with corresponding inputs if you want 5.1 channel surround.

Sounds to me like you're just feeding your system a stereo signal and your amp is doing what it can with it.

sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364236 6-Aug-2010 13:44

Sounds to me like you're just feeding your system a stereo signal and your amp is doing what it can with it.

it seems so . the front speakers sound great but dont hear much from rear speakers .

Jaxson

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#364242 6-Aug-2010 13:59

I'm sure this was talked about here somewhere a while back. Home Theatre in a box type systems are vary rarely able to accept surround sound from external devices. The thinking being, if you have the system with a DVD player, why would you want anything other than stereo from anything else?

If a component fails, or technology marches on (as in the bluray player case), then you are stuck with the old system. That's the downside of the HTIAB system. The best you can get from your current system is stereo from the Bluray player, which means no centre or surround info, (unless your HTIAB system tries to guess these for you, which will most likely sound crap).

If the whole DVD system still works, you'd be better to try and sell the whole thing off. If you already had a bluray player, you'll just need an amplifier from somewhere and some new speakers. As mentioned above, you'll want an amplifier that can handle the newer/more modern full HD audio formats, and you'll need new speakers most probably as HTIAB systems are notorious for supplying low ohm speakers that are not compabitle with 'real' receivers.

Nety

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#364273 6-Aug-2010 14:49

Jaxson: I'm sure this was talked about here somewhere a while back.

This thread by chance...

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=64865

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illicit

553 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364453 6-Aug-2010 21:06

Dunnersfella: Those Onkyo and Yamaha packs are brilliantly cheap.
Without listening to them, I'm picking they'll sound pants though.

I can confirm - both these systems do sound crap. (have installed a few of each)

My recommendation ( the same that has been mentioned on these types of threads by many others) = BUY DECENT GEAR.

ie: Get a decent amp first, then save for speakers. or vise versa (assuming you can use your current speakers with a new amp)

I would keep saving until September (GST rise in October = big sales are very likely) buy new gear then.

Dunnersfella

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#364460 6-Aug-2010 21:19

As an aside, a lot of HTIB arrangements from Samsung seem to come with 2 HDMI in's.
Which is kinda cool for a HTIB option...
No substitute for a proper HT receiver, but still, it's far more flexible than the models that you could buy previously.

sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#364548 7-Aug-2010 06:52

ie: Get a decent amp first, then save for speakers. or vise versa (assuming you can use your current speakers with a new amp)

I would keep saving until September (GST rise in October = big sales are very likely) buy new gear then.

Thanks illicit. seems i cant use existing speakers (low OHMs) thats why am looking into whole packages. anyway thanks for your advise .

sqlpro

516 posts

Ultimate Geek

#365192 9-Aug-2010 07:27

Hello Guys
any ideas on this model (Onkyo HT-S6200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package) ?

at Harvey Norman priced at $1500 but might it get it for $1000

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