# Looking for a Home theatre in a box



## Guest (Oct 13, 2007)

Hi,

I would like to purchase a decent "In a Box" 7.1 surround sound system. One that will be future tolerant. Here is my present set-up:

1- Preently I have a 27" flat screen TV with Component and S-Video inputs. I will probably get a 50" 1080P in the next year.

2- My living room is 12' x 22' with cathedrel ceiling. With furniture and all the room is tight so I would like to have as small speakers as I could afford (can't afford Bose).

3- I have a SONY DVD/VHS combo player. The player has component and S-Video video out, Digital audio out in both coaxial and optical. It has composite line in/line out video and audio. 

Most systems I've researched have similiar features like front panel inputs and such.Here are some features I am looking for:

1- A system that naturally sounds crisp and that I could crank fairly loud and not hear clipping or distortion. 

2- A wireless rear would be nice (not a must), however, the one's I've seen don't seem to have as many features as a wired system. 

3- A good lite-up learning remote 

4- The right features to handle todays and tomorrows features.

5- Fairly small speakers. The speakers on the Onkyo HT S990 THX look too big and bulky although the system looks good. 

6- I would like the price of the system not to exceed $1,000.00.

Some questions I have are as follows:

What features do you feel are a real must? 

What wattage would be good to crank for my size room (12' x 22')

Should I use my present DVD/VHS combo (it's 4 years old) or get a system that has a matching DVD player? 

Can anyone recommend such a system? I was looking at the Onkyo HT-SP908. It has 90 wts. per channel. Although no wireless rear or lite-up remote, Onkyo has a good reputation and the system seems like it can handle todays needs and tomorrows. Although no wireless rear or lite-up remote.

I made a previous thread but this one is more complete as to what I am looking for. Thanks for those who responded.

Thanks for any replies.

Don


----------



## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

affiatati7 said:


> Some questions I have are as follows:
> 
> 
> What features do you feel are a real must?
> ...



That's a loaded question -- what would be important for me may not be that big of a deal to you. That being said, the front three speakers are the most important part of any HT system IMO. You can get away with lesser surrounds. Also, with the budget you stated, stick with 5.1.
Wattage is overrated to a large extent. A 75watt/channel receiver is almost as loud as a 150 watt receiver (the 150watt receiver is only 3dB louder). Given that, anything around 100watts should do you just fine. More important is the speakers you buy. That will have a much bigger impact on filling a room with sound.
If your current DVD player is working fine, keep it. The only reason to buy a new one would be if you were going to go with either a Blu-Ray player or an HD-DVD player. Neither would really help out until you get a bigger tv.
I haven't had a listen to any of the recent HTIB systems, but I do remember that Onkyo was better than most back about 8 years or so. It does have HDMI, so that'll help when you're ready to go to Blu Ray or HD-DVD or some other new component. Take a listen -- if you like it, your gold. If not, audition some other models/brands.

All that being said, you may be able to find a "better" system by going outside of the more mainstream systems. If you can swing the SVS system, I think you'll find it's a significant improvement over the Onkyo speakers. You can get the overstock silver system (or white) for $799 and then buy a separate receiver. Figure about $150 for shipping and another $250 for an entry level receiver and you'll have an AMAZING system for $1200.

Anyway, that's what I think.

JCD


----------



## chas (Jan 28, 2007)

I agree with JCD. My first system was an Onkyo HTIB...and it was great for a start but I was ready to upgrade in about three months. For just a couple hundred more you can put together a nice system that will keep you happy for a much longer time. That overstock SVS deal would be near the top of my list...and it comes with a sub that will put any HTIB sub to shame. Your dvd player should be fine for now, and you can pick up a nice learning remote any time.


----------



## bob1029 (Feb 26, 2007)

JCD said:


> I haven't had a listen to any of the recent HTIB systems, but I do remember that Onkyo was better than most back about 8 years or so. It does have HDMI, so that'll help when you're ready to go to Blu Ray or HD-DVD or some other new component. Take a listen -- if you like it, your gold. If not, audition some other models/brands.


The s990 does not have hdmi inputs on the reciever. It only does digital audio and component video switching. That being said, it is a great starter system. I have personally configured a few for customers and they sound great in any room. The easiest thing to do would be to run all your video sources to the tv, and run the optical audio out from the tv to the reciever on opt1. This way, all your video switching is done through the tv, and you can leave the reciever on DVD/TV unless you want to listen to tuner/cd.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I was in Costco the other day and they have a Yamaha system that is simply a Yamaha receiver and a set of speakers including sub all for one price (less than $500). The advantage to this was that if you dont like the speakers you can simply replace them as time goes on without replacing the receiver.
I agree with the above post thats says just stick with 5.1 as there are no real advantages with going 7.1. The most you will see on DVDs at this time is 6.1 and they are few and far between.


----------



## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

I would also say that you should go 5.1, and get a system that comes with a standard receiver that can be used with other speakers down the road.

My first surround system was a sony HTIB, and long after the speakers were gone, I was still using the receiver. And to this day, my friend is still using that receiver.

It's a smart upgrade path, and both Yamaha and Onkyo are pretty well regarded fro having good performing equipment at their respective pricepoints.


----------



## Guest (Oct 23, 2007)

I just bought the system Onkyo HT-SP908 and I love it. Thank you all for your contributions.


----------



## chas (Jan 28, 2007)

Looks like a great system! Is the remote control ok?


----------



## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

bob1029 said:


> The s990 does not have hdmi inputs on the reciever.


Agreed -- the sp908 does have 2 HDMI inputs though. Sorry if I was unclear to anyone. :sad:



affiatati7 said:


> I just bought the system Onkyo HT-SP908 and I love it. Thank you all for your contributions.


That's all we wanted to hear. :T
Glad you like your new toy! :yay:

However, you're not done yet. 
Pictures? :foottap: 
Review? addle:

JCD


----------



## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

> That's all we wanted to hear. :T
> Glad you like your new toy! :yay:
> 
> However, you're not done yet.
> ...


Relax ... they will come sooner or later ...:surrender:

I'm sure he's :yay::yay: (having fun installing the new toy) :bigsmile::bigsmile:


----------



## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

lol... I hit him up in his Onkyo HT-SP908 thread as well.


----------



## Guest (Oct 23, 2007)

The remote control learned all my peripherals (cable, DVD, VHS, TV) without a problem. All these selector buttons light up! The system sounds great and is very flexible and user friendly. I called tech once and they were helpful.
Two things that came up:

1- The volume display is on a scale from 1-100. When I played Star Wars III and cranked it to #75 or higher I did notice the center speaker crackeled a bit when someone yelled. Is this what they call "Clipping?" I had used the original speaker wires that came with the system. Would upgrading to Monster wire solve this?

2- The receiver does get very hot! Almost not to touch. I do have the receiver in a cabinet. Back is open. Front has glass door which I keep partially open. Any chance of this thing blowing prematurely on me?


----------



## chas (Jan 28, 2007)

> 1- The volume display is on a scale from 1-100. When I played Star Wars III and cranked it to #75 or higher I did notice the center speaker crackeled a bit when someone yelled. Is this what they call "Clipping?" I had used the original speaker wires that came with the system. Would upgrading to Monster wire solve this?


Sometimes this is just a flaw in the recording.


----------



## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

affiatati7 said:


> ... and cranked it to #75 or higher I did notice the center speaker crackeled a bit when someone yelled. Is this what they call "Clipping?" ....Would upgrading to Monster wire solve this?


Going to 75% on the volume is most likely causing clipping as I doubt that the amp can drive that system that loud. You need to use caution here as running it that hard will damage the speakers as well as put undue stress on the amp. Your room is quite large and to fill a room that size is not going to be easy for a system that you have.



> The receiver does get very hot! Almost not to touch. .....Any chance of this thing blowing prematurely on me?


Heat is going to be an issue if you run the system that hard, over time this will cause failure of the components. Thats the big issue with Home theater in a box systems as they generally do not have the guts to run at a decent volume level.


----------



## conchyjoe7 (Aug 28, 2007)

What Tonyvdb said...


----------



## acommonsoul (Jan 30, 2008)

Also take a look at SVS's HTIB...well not quite, it doesn't have a receiver or dvd player, but its a great bunch of speakers and a great sub...then just pick up a halfway decent receiver and your set


----------

