# Sony vs Panasonic Home Theater



## rahangopal

Hi everyone,

Im planning to buy a home theater. my budget is $500. i looked up for two home theaters. I'm not sure which one is good and better to buy. I searched in internet but could fond right suggestions and feedback or reviews. I'm not sure which one is better over the other. Quality is my priority. As they two different companies there is no place i can compare the features. definitely, Panasonic has 2d to 3d conversion. i don't have a 3d tv to use that feature. 

Panasonic-SC-BTT770-Channel-Surround-Entertainment

Sony-BDV-E780W-Blu-Ray-Player-Entertainment

Please suggest me which one to buy


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## eugovector

At ~$500 the Denon/Boston Acoustic combos (591 or DHT-1312) are your best bet. These come with interchangeable components that allow you to upgrade the AVR if new codecs/features come to market, or upgrade the speakers/sub if you want better performance/move to a bigger home.


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## tonyvdb

Hi and welcome to the Shack!

I agree with Marshall, but if your set on the two you listed the Panasonic is a much better system. Sadly Sony does not excel in the home theater department. The make great TVs, Digital cameras/video cameras and the PS3 but thats really all they do well.


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
I too agree with Marshall.
Cheers,
JJ


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## GranteedEV

Hi. The Panasonic and Sony options have a few issues that you need to be aware of:

1) Wimpy Subwoofers that are more annoying than they are outstanding.
2) Inability to fill a large room with memorable dynamics.
3) Speakers that aren't very good in general.
4) Sub-par electronics that compromise in many ways and leave little flexibility for upgrading in the future.

I'm going to be honest with you here, getting 5.1 surround sound with good fidelity is a difficult task with such a weak budget. Throw in the need for a blu ray player and I don't know if you should even "expect" quality with your budget.

My suggestion is to buy a truly robust receiver from a real audio company that will leave you open for the future. These include Pioneer, Yamaha, Denon, Marantz etc. Begin with good 2.0 sound, then add a separate subwoofer, and three more speakers, later with a larger long term budget. Do it piece by piece and you'll find out just how much better your system is. You'll find that what you love about your system isn't corny surround effects, but an immersive experience with strong vocal clarity, poignancy in film scores, and relaxed special effects that add, not distract from, the experience.

So for starters I would be looking at a 7.1 receiver. It is the soul of your system, it brings everything together, it gives power to your speakers, it balances your speakers, and it decodes surround sound, and it even compensates for room acoustics to an extent. It's the "hub". Once you've got a receiver you can add just about any decent $70-100 blu ray player - what you'll likely find is that the receiver is doing the audio decoding and the video is just being digitally passed via HDMI to your TV or Projection Screen. Since the blu-ray player isn't doing much, you just need to make sure it's well built and has HDMI. The newer 3D blu ray players have dual HDMI outputs that allow you to use an older "2D" receiver and "3D" TV at the same time... keep that in mind as it will give you more flexibility in purchasing a receiver as you can always upgrade blu ray players. I never recommend a blu-ray player built into a different device as it's never a good idea to have one electronic doing too many things at once, especially not a low cost electronic. 

The receiver I would recommend would be this:

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...w-X-7ch-Home-Theater-Surround-Receiver/1.html

There's a few reasons I recommend it. It has a strong amplifier section, it has Audessey MultEQ, it can decode any blu-ray audio, and has high quality preamplifier outputs should you ever wish or need to upgrade to a separates amplfiier. It's a factory refurb from an authorized dealer, so when it says the MSRP is $799 and you're getting it for $300 it's truly a great deal. 

There's plenty of quality blu-ray players out there. I'd get whatever has a good warranty and build quality. I use my Sony Playstation 3 for blu-rays and DVDs.

Then buy two speakers. What you can't expect with smaller speakers is strong effects during explosions or gun shots. You need bigger speakers for this. So what I recommend is to start with something simple, with strong vocal clarity, neutral voicing, and a solid stereo image. Eventually these will be your surround speakers, but they should be good enough to tide you over in the meantime. Meanwhile you can start auditioning or researching speakers to eventually use as your Left/Center/Right in the future. 

A few speakers you can consider starting your journey with include:

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/details/542283824/pioneer-sp-bs41-lr
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/htm200/htm200.html'
http://www.aperionaudio.com/product/Intimus-4B-Satellite-Speaker,113,90,261.aspx
http://www.emptek.com/e5bi.php
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Reveal601p/
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/details/544012176/jamo-s606hcs3
http://www.accessories4less.com/mak.../4-Bookshelf-Speakers-2-way-black-pair/1.html

I think any of the above should make great starter speakers. Then, when the time comes for purchasing better Left/Right/Center, I recommend larger speakers that can go louder and deeper, but still sound good. We'll give you recommendations on these, as well as subwoofer, when you feel ready to take the next step for your system. 

If you're in for a little bit o DIY, you could try throwing together one of these:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-702

and get great results.

Now, regarding 2D to 3D conversion, I wouldn't even worry about it. These "fake special effects" rarely have positive results... they end up just looking tacky. 

The above might cost you 500-700 dollars total, and still doesn't cover subwoofer(s) or three more speakers, but it leaves you with a system that, right now, will impress you more than either that sony or panasonic system, and someday, will be something you can come home to any time and get a smile on your face. I know how tempting it is to jump straight to something with "a whole lot", but that isn't what makes a good home theater enjoyable. It makes a great home theater even better, but there's a difference between quantity and quality...."a whole lot of something that isn't that great" still won't be great. Take it one step at a time and you'll thank yourself later :innocent: :T :hsd:

For wire/connectors, I recommend looking at www.monoprice.com and Blue Jeans Cable.


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## rahangopal

Hi, 
Thanks for your responses. I agree that there are better sound systems out there in that price range. i m looking for not only a sound system but also cd/dvd/bd player + internet streaming + sound system. if it was only sound system i would have chose bose may be. but i have to buy the player and other things separately which will raise my budget. so i looked up online and just chose the following two. im not sure which one is better over the other or best to buy. i dont want to run wires in my house. i dont have bigger room either. my living room size is 15x14. so portable is always better as i always move house. definitely denon, yamaha, pioneer loko great and offer great sound but they come with players. with all the features, i m sure these best branded ones rate will go up. can you please look at the following links which give you technical specs about the systems. please suggest me. you want me to final panasonic i will go ahead and but then.. 
please suggest.

panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Audio/Home-Theater-Solutions/model.SC-BTT770.R_11002_7000000000000005702#tabsection

sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666294425#features


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## rahangopal

Hi,
Thanks for your responses. I agree that there are better sound systems out there in that price range. i m looking for not only a sound system but also cd/dvd/bd player + internet streaming + sound system. if it was only sound system i would have chose bose may be. but i have to buy the player and other things separately which will raise my budget. so i looked up online and just chose the following two. im not sure which one is better over the other or best to buy. i dont want to run wires in my house. i dont have bigger room either. my living room size is 15x14. so portable is always better as i always move house. definitely denon, yamaha, pioneer loko great and offer great sound but they come with players. with all the features, i m sure these best branded ones rate will go up. can you please look at the following links which give you technical specs about the systems. please suggest me. you want me to final panasonic i will go ahead and but then..
please suggest.

panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Audio/Home-Theater-Solutions/model.SC-BTT770.R_11002_7000000000000005702#tabsection

sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666294425#features

Read more: Sony vs Panasonic Home Theater - Home Theater Forum and Systems - HomeTheaterShack.com


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## browndk26

You could buy this;

http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=HT-S5300&modelid=56&group_id=1&detail=1&ext_war=0

and then add a blu ray player that has built in WI-FI.


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## rahangopal

Wow.. Its $899  + player


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## GranteedEV

> i m looking for not only a sound system but also cd/dvd/bd player + internet streaming + sound system.


What you're getting is a cd/dvd/blu-ray player and internet streaming...for $500 the rest isn't worthy of being called a sound system. You're as well off using the built-in speakers of you television. I can't under good concious recommend either of what you're looking at.



> if it was only sound system i would have chose bose may be.


Bose is not quality. It's about as bad as the Sony and Panasonic speakers.



> but i have to buy the player and other things separately which will raise my budget.


As I said, what I recommended will barely, if at all, raise your budget in the present. I suggested a receiver, a blu ray player, and two speakers. Blu ray players are dirty cheap and you do NOT want them integrated into your receiver. You do not want the brutal receivers offered by Panasonic or Sony, nor do you want those dismal speakers.



> so i looked up online and just chose the following two. im not sure which one is better over the other or best to buy.





> i dont want to run wires in my house.


You can hide wires under baseboards. FWIW Aperion Audio offers wireless surrounds.

Expensive though. You need to pay if you want luxuries though, and wireless is a luxury.



> i dont have bigger room either. my living room size is 15x14. so portable is always better as i always move house.


That's understandable, and will make speaker purchasing easier. It won't make those sony and panasonic speakers decent, though.



> definitely denon, yamaha, pioneer loko great and offer great sound but they come with players.with all the features, i m sure these best branded ones rate will go up.


First of all - You do not want a player integrated into a receiver. If one part goes bad you need to replace the whole system. It normally lowers build quality and raises heat.

Second, I already linked an excellent, $800 Marantz receiver which you can purchase for $300. This is one of those things which, when you buy it once, you may not need to replace it. 



> can you please look at the following links which give you technical specs about the systems. please suggest me. you want me to final panasonic i will go ahead and but then..
> please suggest.


Now, you're asking me whether the panasonic is better than the sony or vice versa. Reality is, neither is worth your hard-earned money. I love panasonic televisions and microwaves. I'm a huge fan of sony blu ray players and mp3 players. But the products you are looking at are simply no good, no getting around these facts.

But if you want me to look at specs, i'll look at specs for you. 

The Panasonic



> Dolby® Digital Decoder Yes (Dolby® Digital Plus/ Dolby ® TrueHD)
> DTS™ Decoder Yes (DTSTM-HD Master Audio Essential/ DTSTM-HD High Resolution Audio)


This is good. Except for the fact that you won't get to hear the amazing fidelity of a trueHD or DTS MA track on speakers that bottleneck you and make everything sound like a 1980s boombox, minus the output.



> Front: 60W x 2 (120Hz-20kHz, 3ohms, 1% THD)


Let's see. 120hz is a very high point for a vented speaker to roll off. This will make the subwoofer localizable and royally obnoxious. There is no indication of +/- 3db response tolerance, no frequency response graphs, no polar response, no power response, no sensitivity, no FFT spectrum... what else? It says 3 ohms but this is nominal impedance... it does not state a true impedance Z-chart. For reference, take a look at what a speaker spec sheet is supposed to look like.

-Most people consider 1% THD to show up as a clipped signal. More honest companies will give you 0.1 or even 0.05% THD ratings, and at these ratings the "watts" are a good 60% or so of what they are at 1%. that's of course, amplifier THD. I really doubt those tiny drivers have less THD. The dual woofers which run down to 120hz is 1-3/8" x 4" - such small woofers will surely have offensive distortion in any real room at any meaningful distance, which includes your room. I presume of course, that you sit 6-8 feet away from your TV like most people. 



> Center: 90W (120Hz-20kHz, 3ohms, 1% THD)
> Surround: 60W x 2 (120Hz-20kHz, 3ohms, 1% THD)


More of the same. Of further note is that the horizontal center likely has some level of horizontal lobing. 

The surrounds are a simple 2.5 inch full range driver and thus also likely full of distortion in the octaves from 100hz to 400hz. Maybe it'll do for cheap effects..though you could make something better than this by yourself for about 25 bucks. 



> Subwoofer: 100W (45Hz-120Hz, 3ohms, 1% THD)


A 6.5 inch woofer extending to 45hz will not likely be very sensitive so, fed about 70-100 watts you will get some but not much bass and not likely very clean though a pair of decent bookshelf speakers could probably produce just as much. Of course, bass down only to 45hz is dismal from a subwoofer, and not many of us here would run a single sub crossed over at 120hz, either. I wouldn't even call this a subwoofer. In your size room, a 10 inch sub fed about 200 watts, such as this one, should be the bare minimum.. Like I said, some of the bookshelves I suggested earlier will have as much bass as this panasonic sub, without any issues of localization. A single sub solution is rarely a high fidelity solution in real rooms either, but i won't get into that here. 

Sony System



> DTS-HD MA : Yes (via HDMI™ Input)
> Dolby True HD : Yes (via HDMI™ Input)


This is good. Except for the fact that you won't get to hear the amazing fidelity of a trueHD or DTS MA track.

Sony does not even list frequency response. So as bad as the panasonic specs are, at least they tell you the response. 

This is the only valid amplifier spec they give:



> Front (Rated FTC 1%) : 60W+60W


Again 1% THD. 60W. This is weak, though of course again likely not as bad as the speakers.

My advice, if you don't care about sound, then don't spend 500 dollars on the system. Spend 80 bucks on a blu ray player and leave it at that. You'll be happier in the long run. Otherwise you need to be willing to piece it together with a real receiver, and real speakers.


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## Jungle Jack

Hello,
You could get the Fluance 5.0 Speaker Package for 299:http://www.fluance.com/fluan5speaks.html
You could get a Dayton Sub120 for 159:http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-SUB-120-Watt-Powered-Subwoofer/dp/B000C9NV78
Then a Onkyo TX-SR608 for 299 (599 MSRP) :http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...hannel-3-D-Ready-Home-Theater-Receiver/1.html
And finally you can find Blu-Ray Players for 75 Dollars at Best Buy at their Website for Refurbished Blu-Ray Players. Moreover, you can find that many are available for 100 Dollars Brand New.

This system will trounce a HTIB and still cost about the same amount.
Cheers,
JJ


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## eugovector

Or the Denon DHT-1312 + $75 Blu-ray + $7 HDMI from Monoprice = $550-$700 depending on where you shop.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...a=X&ei=nNAITtXeIoacsQPW1OTcDQ&ved=0CD8QgggwAA


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## browndk26

browndk26 said:


> You could buy this;
> 
> http://www.shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=HT-S5300&modelid=56&group_id=1&detail=1&ext_war=0
> 
> and then add a blu ray player that has built in WI-FI.


It looks like that deal is no longer available. It was $339 refurbished when I posted the link.


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## nova

Might I suggest an alternative to the HTiB systems you are looking at. The following system fits your budget at about $619.43, gives you much more flexibility and will outperform the HTiB.

Onkyo TX-SR508 - $189.99
Sony BDP-S480 - $179.99 can probably find it on sale for much less.
Dayton Audio B652 x 3 pr. - $89.70
Dayton SUB-120 HT - $159.75

There are better options than HTiB systems available to you, just takes a little work to find them.


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## Jstslamd

Just my two cents but, I believe that the best bang for the buck would be the onkyo htib route. They are based off of a stand alone receiver to start and the speakers/subs aren't bad. Remember though you only get what you pay for.


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## rahangopal

Thanks GranteedEV. you provided good info. in your review you didnt finally say which is better over the other. sony or panasonic?


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## Theresa

+1
Just get a Blu-ray player and hook it up to the television. There is nothing worthwhile available at $500.


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## rahangopal

*Re: Sony vs Denon Home Theater*

i feel its right. i guess it should be Yamaha vs denon.
i just found this one
usa.denon.com/us/Product/Pages/Product-Detail.aspx?CatId=cc7dfcda-d437-4d6e-a0ac-c30d24b2a940&ProductId=cee5855f-0e05-454b-bee2-4009dddcf46d

please let me know your thoughts. is this good. what is your opinion. i was thinking to buy this and a bluray player. its confusing, it has symbols, can i see netflix and play dvds and bluray discs.
Is yamaha another option (yht 393bl) or any other model?


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## eugovector

I'd say buying that Denon and an inexpensive blu-ray is far and beyond a better choice.


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## rahangopal

*Re: Denon vs Yamaha Home Theater*

thanks. can you please let me know if this denon model has wireless speakers? otherwise i have to run wires all over my house. will yamaha have wireless speakers. please let me know your thoughts.or any other other system which has that feature too.

is onkyo product an option to choose?


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## eugovector

You can add wireless rear speakers to the Denon or any other system with a product like this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketf...kuId=9370824&st=wireless rocketfish&cp=1&lp=2

Onkyo is an option, yes. Basically, you want a system with a seperate AV receiver, standard speakers, and a powered subwoofer.


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## soulsky1986

WOW I THINK SONY:innocent:


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## rahangopal

hi Shackster
do you own a sony home theater? which model? what do you think abt sony bdv-780w?


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