best home theater out there?

Please find a great answer from one of our Blue Electronics Crew expert:

In order to recommend a home theater system, more detail is necessary.  Among the questions you should ask are: 1) What kind of application will the home theater be used for? (gaming, movies, sports, etc.); 2) Do you or your household have a brand preference?  3) Do you need/prefer wireless speakers?  4) Do you want Blu-ray capabilities?  5) What is your budget/price range?

While Sears.com carries a full assortment of the top home theater models and brands laden with the latest/most desired features, information gained from the above questions will help tailor a recommendation.  The best advice regarding which home theater system to purchase is to go to a local Sears store and look at the home theater systems in-person.  Visiting a store will allow you to discuss the above questions with a knowledgeable Blue Crew associate, view the styling of the different home theater system offerings and, most importantly, listen to the sound produced by each individual unit.

Good luck on your decision!

SHC-Martina said…

Please find a great answer from one of our Blue Electronics Crew expert:

In order to recommend a home theater system, more detail is necessary.  Among the questions you should ask are: 1) What kind of application will the home theater be used for? (gaming, movies, sports, etc.);  all of the above 2) Do you or your household have a brand preference?  samsung or sony 3) Do you need/prefer wireless speakers? wireless rear 4) Do you want Blu-ray capabilities?  not necessary 5) What is your budget/price range? less than $400

 

any help is appreciated!

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Dear smitty72502,

Here's another answer from our great Blue Electronics Crew:

Based on the information you provided, several home theater systems carried at Sears (and Sears.com) meet the criterion you specified.  From Sony, the DAV-HDX589 (98209) @ $429.99 (everyday retail) contains all features that you require.  From Samsung, the HT-Z520 (98669) @ $379.99 (everyday retail) contains all features that you require.  I would encourage you to consider the following points before making a decision among the two home theater systems: 1) view the actual footprint of each home theater system as space constraints (or preferences) might dictate the smaller of the two systems; and 2) view your current TV- is it Sony or Samsung?  This may be important because both Sony and Samsung home theater systems have embedded features that allow all like-branded components (ex: Sony TV and home theater system) to be controlled by a single remote, eliminating the clutter associated with multiple remote controls. 

Finally, I would highly recommend visiting a Sears store to listen to each home theater demo system in-person.  Bring a favorite/well-known CD that you have listened to in the past in order to demo each home theater system using familiar content.  This will help you notice any subtle differences in sound due each system's use of different speaker cone material. 

Good luck in your decision.

The best home theater for the money : Panasonic SC-BT300 7.1 . right now you can buy it for $399.00 and free s/h in B&H photo video or J&R.com. You can also read the review at cnet.com.

eugene

good luck and happy holidays

CR recently placed the Onkyo and Yamaha systems at the top ratings for HTIB systems. Generally, the more expensive the better if you want features like TrueHD but even the midpriced systems beat out the other candidates.

Sears only carries Yamaha, they should carry Onkyo, but frankly the best way to find the system you like is to visit a store and pick out the one that sounds best to YOU. Everyone's tastes are different.

Finally, Sears you suck. At the very least let us know we may have to go through an annoying authentication process before I write out this long post.

If I have a blu ray player and want a surround system, which is the one to go with? I purchased a surround system a year ago and it does not support the blu ray, we can hear the music portion but not the voices in the movie that has to come through the television. Thanks

crzyv63 said…

If I have a blu ray player and want a surround system, which is the one to go with? I purchased a surround system a year ago and it does not support the blu ray, we can hear the music portion but not the voices in the movie that has to come through the television. Thanks

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Often times, this can be a settings issue. 

The Blu-Ray players usually have an option in the audio menu to choose PCM or Bitstream.  Depending on your surround sound system's available options for flavor of surround (Dolby 5.1, DTS, DTS-HD, etc), one will work well, and the other wil not. 

The other thing is that when you insert a disc, you should also choose your audio setting as a 5.1 audio setting.  Then go back to the disc's main menu and press PLAY MOVIE.  This will tell the Blu-Ray player to play an alternate audio track, and may provide a solution for you. 

Let me know if this helps.  If you still would rather get a new system, that's always an option too!

I was reading this over and I feel a need to add my own opinion to this. I currently use an Onkyo 7.1 Reciever, Polk Audio Tower Speakers (L&R), Klipsch KSW10 Sub Woofer, Bose center channel, and Polk rear channel. So far I am very happy with the sound output. If you are looking for great sound you are better off using high end speakers bought as pairs or singles. You can go with a HTIB but while you will pay a lot you won't get as great a sound as you would with building your own system.

Mizaun - with a setup like that, I'l be the sound output is close to theater quality. 7.1 is awesome. 

I agree, you can construct a theater system that will provide audio that is richer than entry-level HTiBs (although, there are some really good HTiB systems out there recently), but for an easy, one-step solution, a HTiB is a great option for people who are wanting to try, or who are new to the technology, or on a budget.  And they're pretty easy to set up, even if you don't have much audio experience.

George Lucas often says that, "sound is 50 percent of the motion picture experience" (and probably why he spent so much time creating the THX quality assurance system), so your point is right on.