Suggestions on home theater system?

[FLBK7]

A lightning storm killed my stereo system today. We suddenly lost power with no warning, then the storm happened, and then when the power came back on I noticed the damage. The stereo powers up but plays nothing-----no sound comes out of the speakers. It's about 7 years old so most likely not worth fixing. It was such a wonderful little system and I'm going to miss it greatly.

Now, I cannot live without music so I need to find a home theater system very soon. I don't go out much and music is a passion, so it's a must-have for my sanity! I'm not looking for anything too fancy since my "home theater" is my living room, and I live in a 1000 square-foot 2-bedroom/2-bath condo. I don't intend to play very loud music either, but surround sound is a must. I'd like to spend no more than about $350 on this thing. Wireless would be perfect, but the wireless ones I've seen online are much more expensive. I'm afraid to spend money these days because of my job situation. Some of you may remember that my job is being eliminated in September and I'll have to go bump someone else off their position.

You guys were so great in recommending the Dyson Animal vacuum when my old one died, that I'd like to hear the opinions of those who have purchased audio systems recently. I've always bought Sony in the past with excellent results, but I hear that Samsung is also very good. Also JVC.

Thanks, guys!

[WhatMoney]

Midrange home theatre receivers - I like Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha. None of these are up to the old 1970-80's stereo tanks in terms of durability - but for a modern surround system I think the lower end ones are fine for a typical condo situation.

Pioneer VSX-518-K or Pioneer VSX 818V-K at Best Buy for $200 and $210 are solid low end units. Also Yamaha RX-363 BK at $200 good basic receiver.

No wireless but do you need it? Cables still work fine in a 1000' condo. I've drilled holes in my wall for cables connecting computer room and living room system.

Another site for recommendations:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=165424

You didn't say what exactly got burned up, so I assumed the receiver, and you still have the speakers, DVD player, CD player etc.
If this was one of those all-in-one rack systems, then I don't recommend any replacements - they are really low end junk.

[ssdsco]

A lightning storm killed my stereo system today. We suddenly lost power with no warning, then the storm happened, and then when the power came back on I noticed the damage. The stereo powers up but plays nothing-----no sound comes out of the speakers. It's about 7 years old so most likely not worth fixing. It was such a wonderful little system and I'm going to miss it greatly.

Now, I cannot live without music so I need to find a home theater system very soon. I don't go out much and music is a passion, so it's a must-have for my sanity! I'm not looking for anything too fancy since my "home theater" is my living room, and I live in a 1000 square-foot 2-bedroom/2-bath condo. I don't intend to play very loud music either, but surround sound is a must. I'd like to spend no more than about $350 on this thing. Wireless would be perfect, but the wireless ones I've seen online are much more expensive. I'm afraid to spend money these days because of my job situation. Some of you may remember that my job is being eliminated in September and I'll have to go bump someone else off their position.

You guys were so great in recommending the Dyson Animal vacuum when my old one died, that I'd like to hear the opinions of those who have purchased audio systems recently. I've always bought Sony in the past with excellent results, but I hear that Samsung is also very good. Also JVC.

Thanks, guys!

If you haven't already unplug the receiver from the wall, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in and power it up. Also check your users manual for a reset process or fuse that could be blown. Another thing to try is to unhook everything from your receiver, unplug it for 30 seconds, hook up the main speakers only and see if you can hear an AM/FM station.

Do you use an internet music service such as Yahoo ?

Do you use an MP3 player ?

Are you happy with the speakers you have ?

What's your main source of music....CD player ?

What's the rough percent of music versus TV/DVDs do you listen to ?

How old is your PC ? Desktop or lap top ? Do you know if the sound card supports surround sound ?

This info would help to determine what to buy next.

[Cali]

We use to have JVC and it was great. We have Bose now though.

I am not sure what is in the price range you are looking for.

[FLBK7]

If you haven't already unplug the receiver from the wall, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in and power it up. Also check your users manual for a reset process or fuse that could be blown. Another thing to try is to unhook everything from your receiver, unplug it for 30 seconds, hook up the main speakers only and see if you can hear an AM/FM station.

I did that. Didn't work. It's the receiver that burned out.

Do you use an internet music service such as Yahoo ?

No.

Do you use an MP3 player ?

No.

Are you happy with the speakers you have ?

They are okay, but very bulky. I really could use more modern, smaller and lighter speakers.

What's your main source of music....CD player ?

CD player, FM stations and DVD player (live concerts).

What's the rough percent of music versus TV/DVDs do you listen to ?

Oh, I'd say I listen to music 70% percent of the time. 20% is for DVD viewing. The remaining 10% is TV. I know, I'm a nerd.

How old is your PC ? Desktop or lap top ? Do you know if the sound card supports surround sound ?

My desktop PC is brand-new. My son built it for me for Mother's Day. Yes, it supports surround sound. My laptop is old and I use it only for business.

This info would help to determine what to buy next.

One more thing: I have, or had, everything hooked up for surround sound effects.

Thanks so much for your help!

[WhatMoney]

Maybe you have and are looking for the so-called Home Theatre In A Box type systems. Everything included. Speakers are the weakest link in these systems, but they do give decent surround sound for movies if you can't afford separate high quality speakers.

My friend bought a Sony HTIAB (HT-SS2000) for his HDTV living room. It sounds OK as long as it isn't played too loud. Subwoofer is little boomy without much sub bass, but all the cheaper systems are like that. All depends whether you want true fidelity sound as in separates with quality speakers (about $1,500 just for a good 5.1 speaker system), or the integrated box systems for much less.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/htib/sony-ht-ss2000
has more reviews and ideas on the box systems.

[FLBK7]

Midrange home theatre receivers - I like Onkyo, Pioneer, and Yamaha. None of these are up to the old 1970-80's stereo tanks in terms of durability - but for a modern surround system I think the lower end ones are fine for a typical condo situation.

Pioneer VSX-518-K or Pioneer VSX 818V-K at Best Buy for $200 and $210 are solid low end units. Also Yamaha RX-363 BK at $200 good basic receiver.

No wireless but do you need it? Cables still work fine in a 1000' condo. I've drilled holes in my wall for cables connecting computer room and living room system.

Another site for recommendations:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=165424

You didn't say what exactly got burned up, so I assumed the receiver, and you still have the speakers, DVD player, CD player etc.
If this was one of those all-in-one rack systems, then I don't recommend any replacements - they are really low end junk.

Thanks a lot, WhatMoney. Yes, it is the receiver that got burned. My DVD player and CD player still work (I tested them today on my son's stereo), and my speakers, although bulky, still do a pretty good job.

I'm going to check out the receivers you mentioned. I made the mistake of dropping by Brandsmart during my lunch hour today and walked out totally dazed. So much choice! And honestly, lots of bells and whistles that I most certainly do NOT need.

I retrieved my son's old boom box system from his closet and that will have to do while I do my research.

I sincerely appreciate your help, and will let you know how I make out.

[twuoo]

I have a 27" tv, a plan dvd player. I bought a $200 computer speaker system. Logitech. Comes with two speakers and a big subwoofer.

Sounds awesome!

I used to have a $5000 entertainment system. Of course, $200 speakers don't compare to that. But life takes you for changes and you just have to downsize and be happy or do without.

I found some of the home theater systems that were $200 didn't sound as good as the speakers I got.

Just an option.

I think I paid for a $7 part from radio shack so I could use the speaker outputs on the dvd player.

Don't have to bother with skimping on receiver, speakers, speaker wires etc etc

[WhatMoney]

FLBK7,
Well our posts crossed or I wouldn't have bothered with the system in a box post. But here's another HTIAB system by Yamaha that looks pretty good if you wanted to change your speakers as well. It does not have a DVD player included, which I call a good feature.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/htib/yamaha-yht-380

I think the new model for this is the YHT-390, which BB has here:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1202648988836

Checking more, Amazon has the YHT-390 for $312.55 and Free Shipping.
The YHT-380 is lower end and is $281.30 at amazon.

[ssdsco]

I'd recommend talking to your son about the capabilities of the sound and video cards in the PC assuming it's in the same room as the receiver. There's some pretty good sounding PC surround systems these days.

If that doesn't work out then it would off to craigslist for me. Any name brand 5.1, 80-100 watts per channel receiver should work. I like Denon, Pioneer Elite, Onkyo brands. There's a couple receivers on craigslist where I live for under $200 that sold for $800+ 4 or 5 years ago. These weigh in at 40-50 pounds due to the amps. A sign of a good receiver. If you don't have a separate subwoofer I'd pick up one on craigslist also.

I'd highly recommend looking at an internet music service. It's free to check out. Almost any artist or song is available. Create playlists with hours of music. Run the PC into your receiver as you would a CD or DVD player.

[FLBK7]

Update

I'm going to look at a complete stereo system on Sunday that supposedly is a top quality combo of Marantz, Bose and Onkyo components. The owner is a British friend of my niece's who is leaving the US to return to England, and in a hurry too. I wasn't told what price he's looking for, but I WAS told he's desperate to sell because he needs to vacate his rental apartment by Monday, June 30th.

Marantz alone is a synonym of great quality and high price, so this is probably way over my budget. But I'm still going to look at it Sunday morning.

I'll keep you posted!

[ssdsco]

I'm going to look at a complete stereo system on Sunday that supposedly is a top quality combo of Marantz, Bose and Onkyo components. The owner is a British friend of my niece's who is leaving the US to return to England, and in a hurry too. I wasn't told what price he's looking for, but I WAS told he's desperate to sell because he needs to vacate his rental apartment by Monday, June 30th.

Marantz alone is a synonym of great quality and high price, so this is probably way over my budget. But I'm still going to look at it Sunday morning.

I'll keep you posted!

Take some of your favorite music with you as a reference point. Just don't look to happy when you hear a whole new level of detail. Maybe he'll sell you just the components you need. Probably won't hurt to check craigslist and ebay for prices on used equipment to have some reference points. Because there's always a new bell or whistle electronics tends to depreciate pretty fast.

[PaKettle]

Thanks a lot, WhatMoney. Yes, it is the receiver that got burned. My DVD player and CD player still work (I tested them today on my son's stereo), and my speakers, although bulky, still do a pretty good job.

I'm going to check out the receivers you mentioned. I made the mistake of dropping by Brandsmart during my lunch hour today and walked out totally dazed. So much choice! And honestly, lots of bells and whistles that I most certainly do NOT need.

I retrieved my son's old boom box system from his closet and that will have to do while I do my research.

I sincerely appreciate your help, and will let you know how I make out.

Let me know what you buy and how you like it if you buy new.
I'm in a similar position. My job is ending (except I have no job prospects!) but my stereo receiver is starting to hum a lot and sometimes makes a loud ZAP noise!

So no matter what, I have to buy another receiver when this one blows. I also am a complete music maniac, I play music from the time I get up to the time I go to work and pretty much all the time that I am home and not watching a movie. But we also value our surround sound for movies and so a good receiver is probably one of the most important things in my life!

I swore I'd not buy another Sony when this one dies. I had to take it back 3 times during the first year, for repair and should have been able to trade it out for a new one under the Lemon provision BUT the jerks at GoodGuys cheated me out of it. So finally it worked well for a few more years but started acting up again a few months ago.

One thing you may want to make sure it can handle is digital tv and digital dvd signals as BluRay is coming up strong and digital tv is already the mainstay, so if you want great sound you will want the digital cable capability - 2 inputs and outputs, one for dvd, one for tv.

Also if you have or may have an IPod or other mp3 player you may want a receiver that has special capability for handling portable players.

Those are the things I am going to look for, anyway.

[FLBK7]

I lost an incredible deal -- because the apartment building's janitor bought the whole thing for $650 cash at 8 a.m. this morning. My appointment with the Briton was at 9:00 a.m. When I got there the janitor was just pulling up with a pick-up truck to haul his precious cargo away, so I got to see what it was all about. A Marantz receiver, a newer one, 7.1. All Bose speakers, including floor stands for some of them. And an Onkyo 3 DVD/CD player that the guy apparently kept from an old system. I couldn't talk to him much because there were people coming in and out hauling furniture away. The guy sold everything in 3 days because he needs to vacate his rental apartment by tomorrow, and needs to report to a new job in London on Thursday.

Oh well......

I'll keep looking for what I really need, which is a good receiver. I've set out a plan to buy one over the 4th of July weekend. There should be some good sales at that time, so between now and then I'll be doing my research.