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General discussion

A home theater system that may or may not exist.

by mwhunter85 May 25, 2009 9:36AM PDT

I know what I want in a home theater system, I'm just not sure that anyone makes it.

I am looking for a quality system made by a reputable company, the likes of Polk, Yamaha, Bose, Infinity, Sony, etc,. I don't specifally favor any brand, but want quality by a company who's been around awhile and knows what they are building. There is 'alot' of junk out there.

I'm not into 5.1 systems with alot of speakers and wires all over the place.

What I am looking for is a quality multi-speaker 3.1+ Soundbar system with some decent output wattage that can be wall mounted under the flat screen; with a built in DVD/Blue-Ray player and with a separate powered subwoofer with HDMI connections.

I also want multiple digital HDMI and optical inputs in a system that is at least somewhat tunable by the user.

I realize alot of you guys out there know these systems inside and out and thought no sense in me reading all these stats on various systems when I really don't know what I am reading.

So does a system like this even exist?

On a somewhat related topic: What's your opinion between the
Sony CT-100 Soundbar system VS the Yamaha YAS-71 Soundbar system?

Any help would really be appreciated...

mwhunter ~ New Mexico

Discussion is locked

3 Posts
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Not meaning to rain on your parade, but many of us
by NM_Bill May 25, 2009 12:01PM PDT

traditionalists are not prone to come around to the very idea of sound bars. After all, who seek to use only simulated surround sound or just its addition to ambiance, when one can have either terrific setups whether 3.1 (which can sound very fine) or old fashioned stereo or adding enough amplifier channels to power whatever level of surround sound.

Okay, I have noticed some professional reviewers have given some praise to some sound bars.

You seem to want to be referred to some brand of HTIB (home theater in a box) that does the job. On top of that you want it to it UNDER your flat screen & to be a combo with BluRay player. For decent quality you do NOT want a combo anyhow.

There is some jargon & C/NET tutorials is a good place to get used to some of those key words. Yes, some threads here have posters talking rather involved about how components internally have "hand shakes" & interpret the source material.

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No rain, just looking for ideas
by mwhunter85 May 25, 2009 2:42PM PDT

Thanks Bill. Appreciate the input, and if it were I alone, I'd probably have some 10 speaker top end system with high end components that would dazzel even the most talented ear.

However, and life is always full of howevers, this system would be in the wife's domain, other wise known as the living room, and little black speaker boxes, electronic components and wires in every corner of her Southwest influenced interior design simply isn't going to happen. Besides, we're retired, and those days of spending thousands of dollars on hobbies (been there ~ done that) are over.

So I'm looking for a simple quality system as I've described in my first post that's easy to mount, easy to set up and won't blow our budget.

If this forum is simply for audophiles only putting together several thousand dollar systems of only the best components, then maybe I'm on the wrong forum, but it was my belief from reading other posts here that there are alot of people as far in the dark about home entertain systems as I, but I appreciate your input.

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No, you're not at the wrong forum.
by NM_Bill May 26, 2009 12:25AM PDT

I am a senior citizen who has been into music & it reproduction for nearly 50 years now. As such, I am a small time audiophile. Also, being subject to four kids, etc., it is only in recent years that I squeezed out several thousand for my system. I felt guilty to spend on the big boy toy, but I appreciate having a fine system. But, that's a life long experience.

As mentioned before, I have no qualms that 2.0, 2.1, 3.0 or 3.1 can provide very nice sound. I just wouldn't bother, especially if you have a decent sub woofer in the setup. They do cost a bit, but the benefits do last for many years. The best are made by sub woofer specialists such as Hsu & SVS.

You might think of NOT having a center channel because, by introducing a center, its purpose is to anchor the vocal close by the screen. If fact, the world is set on end because a center then typically hogs 65% or so of all the audio info. Rather than splitting up the money or the extra speaker, buying a bit better front left & right is better in my book as there will be more stereo separation.

As always, for more specific recommendations & advice, we need to know your realistic budget.

As always, for more specific recommendations

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