I have limited time and currently limited websites to go to but a friend whose budget is about $1000 wants my help in buying a system.

Most likely I think we're limited to HTIB because of the budget but I think it's possible that buying in pieces may work.

He knows nothing about home theater and I'll admit that compared to some on here, I too as less than informed. I want him to get a decent system that he'll be happy with. Does anyone recommend a good all inclusive receiver + speakers package for a smaller sized room? I looked at Onkyo and Denon packages online. they seem nice. But the people reviewing them may not be as discerning as some of us. So I'm real curious to know about any recent HTIB purchases you may have made recently and your experience with them.

TIA.

Try this Hsu setup.

Or Outlaw's sub with Ventiloquist system.

Should leave enough funds for receiver, cables, etc.

If the small form factor loudspeakers are important, ignore what I'm about to say ...

Best of the bunch is the Onkyo HT-S790 for the receiver/speakers/sub combo. Installed similar pre-S790 Onkyo system for a friend on low budget but using 12-guage speaker cable bought on 250-ft bulk roll instead of the cheap stuff supplied, couldn't be happier for the bucks. We chose to go with our own choice of DVD/SACD/DVD-A/(and more) universal player instead of buying the more expensive Onkyo bundle that had an Onkyo player included. Also added well-made, mid-grade interconnects and kept the total budget under $1K. The larger drivers in the Onkyo HTIB loudspeakers outdo the smaller speakers of similar and somewhat more expensive systems, IMHO.

If you wish to push the budget to $1.5K, use the Onkyo supplied subwoofer in a bedroom system and buy an Outlaw LFM-1 or LFM-1 Plus to use with the Onkyo 7.1 system for bass 'that won't quit' before the rest of the system reaches its limits. If he ever upgrades to separates and better speakers, the Onkyo sub can rejoin the original set for use elsewhere and the Outlaw LFM goes with the new upgrade separates/speakers as his main system.

Just wanted to thank you guys. The HSU systems look very intriguing, especially w/ that pricing. I wish I would have had a chance to hear that before I dropped the money on the Atlantic Tech 2200's in my living area. (Not that I'm disappointed.) I think though that including a good receiver, this busts the budget if it's a firm $1000. Also, I know my friend likes a lot of heavy metal / hardcore music, so I'm concerned on his behalf that the smaller ventriloquist speakers may falter in the music department.

Based on the Onkyo suggestion, I looked up that system. It's pretty cheap! However, I looked at some closeups of the satellite speakers and imho the speaker construction looked somewhat suspect. But I will keep this in mind. I see that Crutchfield is setting up preorders on the Onkyo HT-S907 which is a nice looking all in one HTIB for $999.99 that has some nice HDMI switching features and is 7.1.

The HSU Ventriloquist setup has intrigued me for a long time now - the cost is remarkably low, and what I've read is pretty complementary. You could even do a Ventriloquist setup with one of the smaller HSU subs ( such as this package for $518 ) and have a nice setup. At that point, one of the Panasonic digital receivers (like the XR55, available for $218 from J&R and which I keep hearing are a good value for the money) would have you up and running. You could even add a good universal player like the OPPO 970HD for $150 . You'd still need some cables and such, but the hardware would come in under $900 before shipping - and if he already has a DVD player, it'd be under $750 before shipping. An extra $80 or so on the receiver (moving to the XR57) would get you an HDMI input, which might be a worthwhile move. I don't know how the Panasonic would compare to the receiver in the Onkyo package, but it's certainly interesting.

thanks Gonk. I think we're going that route - We'll do the Perf 2 setup ($520) with the digital Panasonic HDMI receiver ($280) and the OPPO 970 for under a thousand, leaving money for wall mounts and a DVI/HDMI cable from Outlaw. His Samsung DLP doesn't have HDMI so this is a great way to put together a nice entry level system. Thanks guys!

Let us know how it sounds when you're through - I've got a co-worker who has been itching to pull the trigger on something for close to four or five years now (he even used my old Model 1050 and Panasonic DVD player for close to two months back in 2002). A tried-and-true package for under a grand might be enough to get him to take the plunge.

I will definitely let you know. He's pulling the trigger soon. Late February should be when I report back on this thread. I'm pretty curious myself how these speakers sound by now. My only concern is the Panasonic receiver may not have enough power for a medium sized room but that's just past experience talking w/ a smaller Samsung receiver I experimented with a couple years back.

Thanks again for your help.

While I've read about the Ventriloquist speakers and found them interesting, I'm in favor of the Onkyo’s larger speaker format. You may have noticed that to help their small satellites' mid-bass performance, the Ventriloquist center speaker's mid-bass drivers operate not only on the center channel speaker signal, but with the front satellite speakers' signals also going to the center speaker.

This is from the VT-12 owner's manual (italic emphasis is my addition, the words are from Hsu):
Although I do applaud the innovation, I think that the Hsu felt the need to compete in the small form factor speaker market and is indirectly admitting to small speaker sound output problems by having to come up with the 'ventriloquist' compromise in an attempt to achieve sound partially like larger format speakers. And note that the rear speakers do not even have the ‘ventriloquist’ option unless you buy an extra ‘center channel’ speaker to install in the rear.

I can say that with regard to loudness in my friend's living room, with only about $1K invested, one can operate a rather noisy shop-style vacuum cleaner in the room and almost not know it's running if you turn up the audio system loud enough (full-blend pop music, not classic symphony) - and, no, the audio system is not glaringly distorted at this point. I just don't see how several 2-1/2" drivers are going to do as well as several 5-1/4" and 4" drivers. Mathematically, it would take four 2"-diameter radiating areas to equal one 4"-diameter radiating area. (A 2-1/2" driver does not have a 2-1/2"-diameter moving surface, a 4" driver does not have a 4"-diameter moving surface, etc.) Even with the 'ventriloquist' feature on, a front main speaker is going to share two 2-1/2 drivers, about half the radiating surface of just one of the Onkyo drivers (5-1/4" and 4"), and each front Onkyo box has two of those - four times the radiating surface for mid-bass (Onkyo model HT-S790) in just one of Onkyo’s loudspeaker cabinets up front. As for the surrounds, one Onkyo surround still has about four times the mid-bass radiating surface of one Ventriloquist surround - unless one buys the extra Ventriloquist center channel for the rear, which would mean that one Onkyo surround would still have about twice the mid-bass radiating surface.

After so many words, I’m going to slightly counter myself by saying that the Hsu sub packaged in the Performance 2 system will likely be better than one included in the Onkyo system, although both have 10” drivers.

Sorry if I seem to be pushing hard in one direction, I’m not really pushing – but I think you said that a good amount of sound output was important. And in the end, the Hsu gives you a 30-day trial, so it’s certainly worth trying. In some ways I’d like my thoughts on this to be wrong and find out that micro-satellites really can do as well.

Thanks for the input B4TB...

I doublechecked w/ my friend on whether his intention was primarily to provide a home theater experience or did he plan on "rocking out" with this setup, and he admitted that smaller was better in this case (taking into account a wife's wishes) and that he leaned more toward this being a home theater, so I suppose that in effect detracts from the necessity for the system to playback full range music in an authentic manner. The 30-day money back on Hsu's package is a good selling point and I reinforced to him that buying all this at once and demo'ing it asap is really important. I look forward to providing you guys w/ feedback.