# Looking for new Home Theater within $500



## swatkats (Sep 17, 2013)

Hello,

I am pretty new to this HT environment. I was always keen on getting a HT for my home. However, I am looking for a system very much within the budget. I went through few brands such as Denon, Yamaha and Onkyo and have shortlisted few of them. Below are the few models I feel are good within the budget I have decided.

Room Area:
14x10 Sq. feet room

HT:
Denon DHT-1312XP
Onkyo HTS3500

AVR:
Onkyo TX-8050
Onkyo TX-NR616
Denon AVR1713

To start with, I was looking for a complete set of HT however, this gets a bit costly considering my budget for a 5.1 system. If someone could please suggest on the above systems as to which are preferable and would be good for a few years usage.

Few of my friends even suggested that I should lookout for a good AVR and buy speakers separately. May be end up with a good 2.1 for now and later upgrade to 5.1 with the same AVR.

Awaiting suggestions/feedback.

Regards,
Swatkats


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

With your current budget, my suggestion would be to start with a low cost receiver (check here) and a pair of front L&R speakers. Something like these. From there get a matching center channel or add a sub for 2.1 as you suggested. BIC subs are a good value. Just my suggestions.


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## natescriven (Jan 12, 2011)

swatkats said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am pretty new to this HT environment. I was always keen on getting a HT for my home. However, I am looking for a system very much within the budget. I went through few brands such as Denon, Yamaha and Onkyo and have shortlisted few of them. Below are the few models I feel are good within the budget I have decided.
> 
> ...


Maybe this sub would be a good start. http://www.jbl.com/estore/jbl/us/products/ES250P/ES250P_JBL_US

You could try http://www.accessories4less.com/ for a receiver

Cheap speakers that are generally well regarded are pioneer and energy. You could also shop for used on Craigslist perhaps.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I can promise you that with a budget of only $500 this Onkyo HT-S8400 will be impossible to beat. It has a great receiver thats got alot of power and the speakers and sub are very good quality for the money.


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## swatkats (Sep 17, 2013)

Hello Tony,

Thanks for the suggestion for Onkyo HT-S8400 however, I dont find it available in the market though.
If you could suggest me some other product with few HDMI ports, USB and Wi-Fi connectivity or at least Ethernet port to it.

Could you suggest some good model ? I can extend my budget a bit for entire HTS and if not, a good Receiver would do too.

Thanks,
Karan


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Are you able to find any of the Onkyo HTIB packages in India? They all get good marks for over all quality for the money.


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## swatkats (Sep 17, 2013)

Hello Tony,

These are all thats available from Onkyo.
HT-S9300
HT-S5500
HT-S3400
HT-S3500
HT-S4505
AVX-390
LS-3100

Kindly suggest some other brands like Denon, Yamaha or JBL for the requirements I asked earlier.

Thanks,
swatkats


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Well, if your budget is firm the Onkyo HTS3500 that you have listed will work well. Other suggestions would be the Denon DHT-1312XP I dont really care for the lower end Yamaha HTIB systems as they use proprietary connections that dont allow for any future upgrades.


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## swatkats (Sep 17, 2013)

yep, these were the 2 models i precisely added when I started this thread. I did add few AVR's. Let me know if those are good considering future upgrades.

Regards,
swatkats


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## swatkats (Sep 17, 2013)

Hello,

I just did some research last weekend on the products suggested so far and seems I am in a crunch situation..

Denon 1312-XP --> Its not available in the market anymore.
Onkyo HT-S3500 --> out of stock since a month now and only HT-S3400 available with a price difference of 2K Indian Rupees.

The place I went to had Onkyo HT-S3400 vs Yamaha YHT-299 setup. HTS3400 priced at 31K and YHT299 priced at 37K Indian Rupees. I heard both the systems and found that YHT299 had much bass and surround sound effect than HTS3400 however, HTS3400 beated it at its crispness. Very minute sounds were much clear with HTS3400.

Considering I am pretty new to Home Theaters, I would like to know if I should go with either systems or should check some other options considering their prices ?

Also, I am aware that HTS3400 has a USB feature diff with HTS3500. But does it have a quality difference too ?
Also, the shop had Yamaha YHT196 available which didn't amuse me that much.

Kindly advise more on this.

Regards,
swatkats


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Hello there,

With HT the ultimate best system is what sounds best to You in your own home. See if you can listen to the two you have found that fit your budget in your home and pick the one that sounds best to you, nothing else really matters. The quality in those two at the level you are looking at are very comparable.


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## swatkats (Sep 17, 2013)

Helloozzzzzz....

thank you everyone for the suggestions... I finally ended up with Onkyo HT-S3500. Got a good deal and received it 3 days back and I am in love with it. Its my first HT and it really sounds nice. Enjoied the movie back home.

Yayy....

Thanks,
Karan


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## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

Congrats on your purchase.. Let the fun begin, it's the hobby that never ends


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