Need advice on Home theater systems

[prostuff1]

My dad and I have been talking and we think we are probably going to get a Home theater system for our Hitachi 42 in widscreen HD TV we got last year. My dad is anal about his things matching so i have been searching the Hitachi website and found that they "support" Denon for the home theater systems. So my dad has been looking at that brand. Unfortunantly they are kind of expensive and i dont really know how well they perform.

What we would like is:

At least a 5.1 setup
possibly wireless speaker setup (maybe only the back ones)
And we only need the reciever because we have a DVD/VCR combo player
not sure on watts (but the more the better )

Thats about it.

Probably would like to spend around 500 and not much more for the setup.

So what would be suggested??

Thanks

 

[edge540]

Are you thinking of spending 500 for the whole set up? Reciever and speakers? If so your not going to get a very nice set up at all. For a good reciever you are looking at spending around 500 - 600 for a decent starting Denon/Onkyo reciever. Their good recievers start around 800 dollars for a nice one that can really power anything you throw at it.
Then for speakers, if you want good sound... your looking at spending around 1000 dollar for the 5 speakser and who knows how much more for a subwoofer.
IMO if you are looking for something in the 500 dollar range you should look more into home theater in a box type setups.
Sometimes you can find really good deals on recievers on jr.com, for example... i found my Onkyo 702 reciever. Which normally retails for 800 or so, for 400 dollars. It was refurbished for minor cosmetic defects... but there really is nothing wrong with it... it was one of the best buys i have ever had.

 

[kbonnel]

Check out ecost.com, as they are an authorized dealer of refurb. Denon equipment. I have a Denon 2900 and it is a fantastic DVD player (plus more).

"found that they "support" Denon for the home theater systems"

Not sure what this means. You can build your home theater setup with anything you want (Sony, Onkyo, Yamaha, Panasonic, etc). The only thing your TV is going to have in connection with the rest of your setup is the video cable to it (and maybe audio if you use/can use your TV as the center speaker).

As for speakers, there are some good setup's out there for around 500 - 700, or you could purchase individual speakers and hold out on the bass if you really could not afford it. (though I would not recommend it, as the bass really does help the experience out)

Kimo

 

[crazyeyes]

Yeah that price range is sort of tought to get anything really good. My dad has a $30,000 surround system downstairs and i have a $2500 Stereo system up in my room. So i have been around sound for quite a while. Now for a decent sounding system you could look into one of the Bose systems, I know if you have a Sams Club around you they used to sell them. I just went and checked bose's site and their Acoustimass 6 Series III is $649. That comes with 5 speakers and a powered sub. I believe you would still have to add an amplifier to that as well but that may be a best bet. I am not sure off the top of my head i will also look around at some of the other brands and prices and let you know.

 

[crazyeyes]

You may also want to consider this Polk Audio set here as well. I think if i were looking at the Polk Audio and the Bose i would end up buying the polk.
Anyway here is a link for the system it is $599 for 5 speakers and a powered sub. http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/systems/subsatsystems/rm6750/