I'm a novice, idiot and dumb as far as home theater component is concern. Please! help me on what to buy for my 1st and the best home theater component. Scenario to be considered...I live in a townhouse, prefer small speakers (Bose?)not to overwhelme my small dig. Thanks! from the new Billy the Kid confused:

Reading postings in this forum will, if you are like me, whet your appetite for things you can't afford.

Are you starting with zero? No TV, speakers, receiver, etc.? If so, give us some details on budget, room size, listening tastes, etc.--a $1000 budget for a small living room will result in different recommendations than a $10K+ budget for a dedicated grand-scale home theatre.

[Not to start anything, but please, please, please listen to some speakers other than Bose before buying.]

Thanks for the quick reply, michaelstano.

I have a TV,DVD/CVR, no speakers but I want start from scratch. My Budget is around $3000 for the home theater alone. The theather will be set on a 15 ft x 13 ft. area. My listening taste varies with my mood...i can go rock, classical, & jazz.

Batibot,

For speakers, you want the best bang for your buck? Get kit speakers. Check out this saloon: http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000280.html

Based on discussions in the saloon, Bose may not be a wise choice.

No Bose!! Don't go down that evil path!

------------------
Play it LoUd!!

Just to put my 2 cents in, I just got done upgrading my speaker system. I now have 4-Jbl S-38II's and a JBL S-CenterII.(I already had a JBL sub) These speakers are top noch. Check out the reviews at www.audioreview.com. JBL is starting a new product line this year and are clearing these out cheep!! They listed for $600 a pair when they first came out but they can be had much cheeper on eBay $245 a pair. I went out and compared speakers from Polk, Klipsch, Boston, and many others and none could keep up with the S-38II's for twice the price!! I would highly recommend giving them a listen Hope this helps.

Lasher

Thanks for the valuable input on the speakers!!! How about the amplifiers and preamp/processor?...do I need both? and what model to I need for the room size of 15'x13'?

Thanks for your patience, guys

Well with a $3000 price range and you wanting to upgrade everything. I take that to mean a new TV also. If so then an amp and pre/pro might push you way over your price cap. This being a new hobby to you I would recomend trying a home theater reciever first. You can get a pretty good one for alot less money than an amp pre/pro setup. I use a Yamaha and have been very pleased with it for 3 years. You can pick up a pretty nice one without breaking the bank
Let us know what you go with.

Lasher

Gee, let's see. . . .if I had to pick a receiver or pre/pro, what would it be. . . .

Here's an idea: What about Outlaw? A 1050 to cut costs and serve as an intermediate step (because it has pre/pro output) to separates when the budget allows. Then (or now, if the $$ are there), a 950 + amps (Outlaw or others).

Need a pro for the pre?: Yes.

Speakers? I'm a Klipsch fan (they sponsor a board/forum that rivals Outlaw), and I would start looking on eBay and Audiogon for 6 or 7 identical or timbre-matched speakers--in older smaller models, maybe KG 2; in newer models, maybe Quintet.

Batibot:

Assuming you are not looking at a new TV or projector purchase with the 3 grand, I would recommend setting aside about 60% of your budget for speaker purchase ($1800). Why? Cause that's where the buck stops! Speakers will have the biggest influence on how your system sounds versus all else you will add. You might want to look for "home theater speaker packages" that many manufacturers offer- they will include a left/right/center and 2 surrounds- and sometimes a sub woofer. These systems are usually well balanced and can offer substantial savings over peacemeal purchases. Of your remaining $1200. I would look at spending up to 60% ( up to about $750) on a receiver. The Outlaw 1050 receiver would work well here. With your remaining $450-$700- consider a new DVD/CD player that you like and of course-- new wires and cables. If you still need a sub- use your current DVD player and look to spend $300-$500 on this item. I won't recommend any particular speaker brand-- only because what sounds good to me may not be your cup of tea. Something to consider--there are some nice speaker systems offered by internet only sales manufacturers- their advantage-- you can listen to them at home where it counts most! If most of your time spent with the system will be for HT- $3,000 should get you great sounding results. I don't believe you need to go overboard for HT-- at least not yet . Have fun and happy hunting!

Bose suck.

http://home.earthlink.net/~busenitz/bs.html

http://www.intellexual.net/boseframes.html

Do yourself a big favor and get some real speakers. The 2nd link includes some actually well performing alternatives.

So, KCB....why don't you tell us how you REALLY feel?

Batibot,

I agree with steves on spending a good amount on speakers. That's what actually produces the sound.

I used to own a pair of JBL N-38 (similar to S-38II) for main and they are good speakers for the price however, there are better ones. I'll bring up kit speakers again because they are well worth a consideration. Assembling is not that hard.

Here's how you can get excellent 5.1 speaker system for about $1,400.
Go to http://www.madisound.com/
- 3 Vifa A/V kit (center & pair of main) = $646.50
- 2 Vifa Solo kit (surround) = $350
I own these and I am impressed with the sound quality (soundstage, imaging, clarity & detail). Refer to my comparison result in this saloon http://ubb.outlawaudio.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000280.html

For a subwoofer, go to http://www.adireaudio.com/home_audio/loudspeakers/exact_series/rava.htm
-Rava subwoofer kit = $399.
I've built my own sub using the same driver (Shiva) and I could not ask for more. Its really good! Clean, powerful and tight bass. To get the same performance from a sub, you'll have to spend at least $1K. My friend's Klipsch sub priced at $1,200 didn't perform as well as my homemade one.

All the above will run you $1,395.50 plus shipping.

-For an alternate sub, try this at a similar price range.
http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/subwoofers/complete_kits/

I have not but if you can find anyone not liking the SOUND QUALITY of kit speakers, please let me know. I'd like to hear what they have to say.

As for the receiver, if you decide to go with Outlaw's 1050 which would be wise, you will want an extra Solo kit ($175) for the rear channel.

Good luck.

[This message has been edited by Spiker (edited October 11, 2003).]

BoB- Hee, hee.

But they have an incredible marketing machine.