DigitalDevil
Member
Okay, first off let me say I am not interested in:
buying a bunch of pieces separately and putting them together. I want to get box, unpack a box, set it up, and have a basic home theater setup.
What I have currently:
A relatively large space (20x20) with hard wood floors. A built in cabinet which is holding my 42" LCD TV. I don't really have a "space" for a receiver/subwoofer/etc.. but I don't mind having an eyesore if it gives me good sound quality.
An old Sony system.. my wife swears it's awesome and I guess it gives off pretty good sound, but it doesn't have HDMI output (digital was the best it had), the center speaker doesn't work, and the annoying long wires made it prohibitive to set up the "surround" feature (so the two rear speakers aren't even hooked up). It is probably 6 years old and has a separate receiver and dvd/cd player.
What I need:
A set up that gives me surround sound with a subwoofer. Ideally I'd like a dvd/bluray drive to accompany it but that isn't necessary.
What I want:
A good sounding system that will make movies/music/gaming more exciting.
What I have done:
A minimal amount of research that has really gotten me nowhere. I can read reviews until I'm blue in the face but the fact remains that unless you are knowledgeable at these things, it is difficult to look at specs and be like OH THAT'S WHAT I NEED!
What I want to spend:
$300 max. Like I said, I am looking for a basic system, not something that is going to blow me away or make my neighbors want to kill me.
Halp?
Here's a pic of the built-in if it helps.
*****UPDATE*****
Here's what I ended up getting...
Bose Cinemate Series II
Obviously, I went a bit above my $300 budget. When I actually got to the store and started listening to the $250-$300 setups my wife and I were horribly disappointed. The audio sounded tinny and scratchy on even major brand names like Sony.
I got this for $599 and while it wasn't on sale or anything we are really pleased with it. I was able to set this up in 10 minutes which is amazing IMO. Plus, no wiring to the back of the room and it fills our needs perfectly with amazingly improved sound that fills the whole room.
We love it.
buying a bunch of pieces separately and putting them together. I want to get box, unpack a box, set it up, and have a basic home theater setup.
What I have currently:
A relatively large space (20x20) with hard wood floors. A built in cabinet which is holding my 42" LCD TV. I don't really have a "space" for a receiver/subwoofer/etc.. but I don't mind having an eyesore if it gives me good sound quality.
An old Sony system.. my wife swears it's awesome and I guess it gives off pretty good sound, but it doesn't have HDMI output (digital was the best it had), the center speaker doesn't work, and the annoying long wires made it prohibitive to set up the "surround" feature (so the two rear speakers aren't even hooked up). It is probably 6 years old and has a separate receiver and dvd/cd player.
What I need:
A set up that gives me surround sound with a subwoofer. Ideally I'd like a dvd/bluray drive to accompany it but that isn't necessary.
What I want:
A good sounding system that will make movies/music/gaming more exciting.
What I have done:
A minimal amount of research that has really gotten me nowhere. I can read reviews until I'm blue in the face but the fact remains that unless you are knowledgeable at these things, it is difficult to look at specs and be like OH THAT'S WHAT I NEED!
What I want to spend:
$300 max. Like I said, I am looking for a basic system, not something that is going to blow me away or make my neighbors want to kill me.
Halp?
Here's a pic of the built-in if it helps.
*****UPDATE*****
Here's what I ended up getting...
Bose Cinemate Series II
Obviously, I went a bit above my $300 budget. When I actually got to the store and started listening to the $250-$300 setups my wife and I were horribly disappointed. The audio sounded tinny and scratchy on even major brand names like Sony.
I got this for $599 and while it wasn't on sale or anything we are really pleased with it. I was able to set this up in 10 minutes which is amazing IMO. Plus, no wiring to the back of the room and it fills our needs perfectly with amazingly improved sound that fills the whole room.
We love it.