Home Theater in Box

[hockeyboy]

My girlfriends son is 14. I want to set him up with surround sound for movies and games, music. Thier little media room is already completely wired for 5.1 but they have no speakers. I want to get him something he can take with him in a few years when he goes to college.

I promised my girlfriend I wouldn't spend more than $500 total. Although I know a good receiver would be probably an ideal investment, I am leaning toward a HTIB with an integrated receiver. That way he can take the speakers and receiver with him in a few years. Can any Polkheads advise what HTIB will give me the best bang for the buck, and sound pretty terrific?

[Sherardp]

Onkyo, Sony and Pioneer make some good ones, Im not sure of models though. Y not do a nice 2.1 setup instead. AVR, RTI4s, sub, should sound great, not to mention the guy is 14 right now.

[BaggedLancer]

I'm gonna agree with the 2ch assessment. There is no room in college dorms for 5.1 unless he gets an apartment(a bit early to know that). Not to mention the excitement factor of him knowing he has "2 bigass speakers vs 5 little dinky ones"

[Joe08867]

For about 500.00 bucks you can a bunch of different brands.

Off the top of my head for HTIB: In order of my preference for HT,

Panasonic cheaper prices then most. Pretty good from 299 up, real nice at 400 up. I prefer for HT because of there pre-packaged subs.
Onkyo gets good at 400 up
Sony good at about 400 up

For a two channel

Onkyo Most bang for the buck. IMHO,
Pioneer Usually warmer then most
Sony it's sony. You either like or don't like.

[AndyGwis]

My brother is looking to sell his Pioneer HTIB that I replaced earlier this year.

DD/DTS, integrated DVD player, decent size bookshelf speakers, etc. The classic 5.1 $500 setup from a few years ago.

It's silver, I can probably take a couple pics if you'd like. let me know if you might be interested. I think he'd want $150 - $200 for it.

[Ron Temple]

The Onkyo and Yamaha htibs are head and shoulder above the other brands...give you a real receiver coupled with underwhelming speakers and sub...$3-400 all day online. It's a good starting point and he can upgrade speakers and still use the AVR. The Onk 790-800 models have the 5xx series Onk AVR, you really can't beat that.

[auto_pilot]

This maybe a stretch...but do some of the HITB have pre-outs??? That way he can upgrade his power needs if necessary.

[Face]

Only Onkyo's $700+ receivers have pre outs. Most HK's have pre outs though.

[hockeyboy]

I kind of like the two channel idea which I guess never crossed my mind. I actually have a Marantz SR5001 NIB that I bought and never bothered returning figuring I could get it setup in my bedroom. That's probably a bit over the budget but then my GF can pick up a couple of speakers and setup a two channel.

[kuntasensei]

Hit shoponkyo.com. You can usually get a refurbished HTIB for WAY under the retail price.

[hockeyboy]

I never saw that site until today. They do have some good prices. Thanks!