+1 for viewing distance

Hey guys, I am just about ready to get myself a nice home theatre system, now that I have every other component.

I have a 32" Toshiba LCD, A PS3, and an XBox 360 Elite.

The TV has 2 HDMI inputs in the back, which the PS3 hooks into and the 360 is hooked up using the component cables (I think that's the one, with the green, blue and red).

Now I'm hoping that'll be enough background for answering my question which is...

What will be my best choice for getting the best audio out of both systems? I'm shooting for a 5.1 system, but I'm not sure what is better, getting a home theatre in a box, or buying a reciever and speakers seprately. Plus, I'm not sure what features I'm looking for to get the best system I can.

Now, I know there are some amazing systems out there, but I'm on a budget (preferably under $500, even better under $300). I don't need anything too crazy, this is for my bedroom, I just want something that is gonna make playing games even more fun and immersive and be the best bang for my buck.

The reason I'm on a budget is because I'm only 15 and have really put a nice dent in my bank account by buying the previous things stated plus other things such as a computer and everything else.

If it helps any (Don't think it would but...) you can see my set-up by looking at my Images.

Thanks for any help,

TBone998

T-Bone998

1) You can't get "the best audio out of both systems" for $500.

2) Buying a receiver & speakers separately is a better deal than a HTIB. HTIBs are generally very poor sound quality. Tiny, tinny speakers with a very high crossover and cheap, sealed-box subs that don't go low orplay loud, and are sluggish, boomy and distorted.

As noted, the Onkyo 605 is a great receiver for you to consider. While you don't need HDMI 1.3 & HD codec decoding, since the PS3 can decode TrueHD and output LPCM (and may possible be able to do DTS-HD MA in a later firmware update) and can also pass up to 7.1 ch LPCM, you do need a receiver with HDMI that is capable of taking a 5.1 LPCM signal to get the most out of your PS3, for a 5.1 setup. To get the most out of the 360, you just need optical/5.1 DD. The Elite can only pass 2-channel LPCM over HDMI. The Onkyo is still a good price though if you want an HDMI receiver.

My recommendation would be to buy the receiver and maybe just the front two speakers. Then buy the center and surrounds when you can afford them. Then buy a sub when you can afford that. Or you could buy a speaker package deal. Check out internet-direct companies for good cost/value.

You don't have a 1080p TV anywayso it doesn't even matter for the PS3 either. You could use component on both the PS3 and 360 and you wouldn't see much difference.Regardless of whatSony hyped the PS3to be it falls a bit short. I'm notsaying it's a bad system, quite the contrary. Just don't believe all the hype. HDMI is only nice for convenience on anything less than the best equipment.

cspiffo

Not sure what Sony over-hyping has to do with this. However, I own both the PS3 and 360, and I can tell you that the PS3 takes a lot better advantage of it. I wouldn't be getting uncompressed HD audio for both games and movies on my 360 with or without HDMI. The Elite can't even do more than 2 channels of LPCM so no HD sound from an HD-DVD add-on either. I'm also sure you know that - even if it is marginal - there is a difference in PQ between component and HDMI. Otherwise, my eyes are fooling me when I switch between inputs from my Moto 3416 HD-DVR/Comcast feed (on my 720p TV). Certainly, even without touching "audiophile"-level equipment, the bottom-of-the-line of the new models of Onkyo HDMI receivers doesn't constitute the "best equipment". Nor do HTIBs with HDMI.So, I would argue that HDMI is more than a convenience.

lol any 50 in plasma you get for $2000 is gonna be very low end manufacturer

Koralan

Right. Because Panasonic, which can be found for $1800 or so, is low end. :roll:

You really need to state a budget because if you want *awesome* sound, I would tell you to go get Veracity HT3s at $4000 a pop from salksound.com, but that probably doesn't help.

I think you should be prepared to spend at least $1000 on speakers. I also recommend spending your entire budget on 5 speakers, and adding a sub later when you have another $600 or so to buy an SVS or Hsu sub.

TimothyB is right on with av123 from everything I've read. You may also want to check out Hsu (andmaybe evenEpos.) One thing the av123s have going for them though is the 8 Ohm impedance. I believe the Epos are 4 and the Hsus I think are 6. You could also check out Norh (what I have) but returning them would probably be costly if you didn't like them, and they are probably over your budget since I would recommend going with at least the 4.0s. One issue with the Hsus, though, is the horn design. It can make it more difficult to have proper imaging. Still, a lot of people really like Hsu, although they're better known for really nice subwoofers.

Whatever you end up doing, a general rule of thumb is that youwill find a lot better cost/value relationship from Internet Direct retailers, as TimothyB mentioned too.

Amplifiers don't have specs that include A/V inputs and signal processing. You have two choices. You can either 1) get an integrated A/V Receiver (sounds like what you were thinking of) or 2) get individual components, which include either a processor, a preamp as well as amplification (which could either be integrated or not...) or a preamp/processor and an integrated amplifier.

Depending on your budget, you'll probably go with an integrated A/V receiver, or a preamp/processor & integrated amplifier, because I don't get the impression you're going to be bi-amping speakers, using monoblocks and vacuum tube preamps...

What kind of speakers are you using anyway? (Because there's not much of a point in getting something too nice if you're not using speakers of a commensurate quality...)

I'd suggest you look at brands like NAD, Cambridge Audio, Outlaw and Krell but I think they've been slow to add HDMI inputs, except for the Cambridge Audio,so you might end up looking at something like a Denon, Marantz or Onkyo.

Not too sure about the features on their remotes (other than Denon, which I have, and is serviceable) but I would just buy a Harmony 880 or something before seeing remote functions as a deal-breaker.

ok, but do those speakers work with vga and all? i mean, the monitor is going to be about 7 feet away from the 360, so would that work?zaman48

and also, say i wanted to just get stereo audio, would typical computer speakers work with say an average receiver?zaman48

My knee-jerk reaction is to suggest you save up $800-$1500 tp get something a little nicer, but here's something close to your price range: