# Retiring to Caribbean, want to set-up home theater.



## Guest (Oct 6, 2008)

My name is Dan Tanner. I am 67 and retired. My wife Ruth is about to retire too. We have built a house in the Commonwealth of Dominica (in the Caribbean between Martinique and Guadeloupe). The house is made of reinforced concrete. The room where we will have the theater is rectangular, and measures about 11' by 25' with no ceiling (being in the tropics, it opens up to inside the pitched roof). We will have our 47" TV (an Olevia LCD) at one end centered along the 11'wall. We will sit about 12' away, leving half the area to be our dining room.

Dominica uses UK-style 240VAC/50Hz single-phase power. That's one reason we bought the Olevia; it uses runs on ac voltages from 100 to 240 and 50/60Hz.

We will have access to fibre-optic Internet.

We want to be able to enjoy TV (including DVDs or BluRay disks) with 5.1 sound. We have a library of CDs that we want to be able to listen to without the TV being on. The CDs have, at best, stereo sound. We would also like to be able to listen to local FM/AM without the TV being on. We would like to be able to view & hear media via our PC. And we would also like to be able to receive Internet radio without the TV or, if possible without the PC, being on.

We won't need capability to get Sirius, because coverage is not offered in Dominica. Also, we have no need to stream Netflix movies because Netflix prevents that to locations outside the USA & Canada. Finally, we are not "audiophiles".

Thank you for reading all the boring preface! Now, we don't know where to start. We have no receiver, no speaker, and only a 5-year-old Windows XP notebook PC. We are open to suggestions. As to budget, we would like not to exceed a "moderate" range.

Please help by suggesting a receiver, a 5.1 speaker set-up, and a media PC. And please don't forget the AC power requirements!

Thank you.


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

dantanner said:


> ... we don't know where to start. We have no receiver, no speaker, and only a 5-year-old Windows XP notebook PC. We are open to suggestions. As to budget, we would like not to exceed a "moderate" range.
> 
> Please help by suggesting a receiver, a 5.1 speaker set-up, and a media PC. And please don't forget the AC power requirements!


How do you transalet that "moderate range" in $$$??? ...$500, $1000, $2000, etc :bigsmile:


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I am certian that most if not all better receiver companies have receivers with voltage selection so There are several that i would look at. Yamaha, Onkyo and Denon all have great units. Now comes the ultimate question, How much do you want to spend as that will be the deciding factor here. Your receiver is the heart of the system so about half your budget should go to that (approximately $500-800).


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2008)

Tony, I found some home theater in a box systems at sites that we've used to buy US appliances set up for 240V. What do you think of:

a) Yamaha YHT-185 ($359)
b) Sony DVA-DZ150K ($400)
c) Pioneer HTZ363 ($400), HTZ161 ($290) or HTZ262 (375)

I think that I can get Internet radio thru them using my PC's speaker output w/a splitter and RCA audio cables if necessary.


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2008)

$500


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Hi Dan, I really try to discurage people from going the HTIB way rather then me repeat myself have a look at this post here.
The only HTIB system I recommend is the Onkyo HT S990 as its the only system with enough power and decent speakers available in a sub $800 range.
With a room the size of yours the others simply wont fill the space properly.


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

dantanner said:


> a) Yamaha YHT-185 ($359)
> b) Sony DVA-DZ150K ($400)
> c) Pioneer HTZ363 ($400), HTZ161 ($290) or HTZ262 (375)


If you have to choose from this options ... I'll go with Yamaha :yes:

The others use a DVD player/amp to run/connect the speakers ... and if you want to upgrade in the future, you'll need to get a receiver :yes:

In the other hand, Yamaha has a receiver already, and if you want to upgrade speakers in the future you can ... just get them and connect them to AVR :bigsmile:

Take a llok at this  Onkyo S6100  and  Onkyo S5100  that are a good option too (like Tony said ... I'm sure they have a switch fro 110/240 volts :yes


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2008)

OK. I figured out what 7.1 is -- not bad because I just learned what 5.1 is two days ago. I have looked up the Onkyo HT S990 and HT S5100 manuals in PDF and found they give US/European AC power specs, but don't explicitly state that they are switchable. The would have to be, because I can't order 240V-powered units in the US.


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## Guest (Oct 6, 2008)

Dominica does not offer good access to many quality DVDs or BluRay disks. I was thinking of using our PC to play them (and CDs too). Is that OK?

Or should I also look into a player/changer?


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

A computer with a blu-ray drive could work to play both blu-ray and regular movies as well as your CDs. Your laptop may not have the soundcard needed to output 5.1 or 7.1 to the receiver. (And it might, too.) It's unlikely it has a blu-ray drive. You'll need to check the manual and specs.

By the way, congratulations to you and your wife on getting to retirement, and being able to enjoy in a sunny, warm place.


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## eugovector (Sep 4, 2006)

Out of curiosity, how fast will you fiber internet be?


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2008)

My present laptop can play CDs or DVDs, not BluRay. I may get a new PC, but am not in a hurry because there is no place on Dominica to get decent movies. But any new PC that I get would have good media attributes and ability to play and write BlueRay/DVD/CDs. Thanks for reminding me to check the sound card specs for 5.1 or 7.1. Thanks also for congratulating me. Rules on the site won't let me post my URL or e-dress, but call me at 508-366-7980 and I can tell you how to get to our site and see slide shows about Dominica, where the 2nd/3rd Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed. Our village of Calibishie has the beach where the Black Pearl was filmed aground.


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2008)

I don't know, but fast...


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2008)

David, I checked into the Onkyo systems. The problem is that no US supplier can get me a unit with a UK (240V/50Hz) ac input power supply. They are not switchable power supplies -- it can have one power supply or the other. And, no European supplier can ship me one to the US. And I know I can't get one in Dominica. I could use a transformer on one with a US power supply, but that is unsightly, costly, and wasteful of power. And it may not work because the transformer steps the voltage down, but the frequency input would be 50Hz to a power supply that expects 60Hx. Also, taking a unit out of the country voids any warranty (although I don't think a warranty is very effective where we're going).

So, I will probably get the Yamaha YHT-185. I can get it from Sam's Stores (on-line) in a 240V/50Hz version for $359. It has a portable player input jack but doesn't dock an I-pod, but we don't have either a portable player or an I-pod nor do we expect to get one. When we walk or go to the beack we want to hear the sounds of nature. We only want the system for living area and in-house sound. It is 5.1, not 7.1, but we're used to the TV's or radio's speaker, or stereo.

Your advice is very much appreciated. Please surf to www.dan-ruth-tanner.com


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## Guest (Oct 7, 2008)

We have decided on the Yahama YT-185 HTiB. Now we need to choose a PC. I've searched and the recommendations for are (#1) HP Pavilion Elite m9400z or m9400t or (#4) the Dell XPS420.

HP has very annoying phone contacts and a lousy Web site and the people I have spoken with don't know much at all! I am about to call Dell.

This forum now lets me post our URL. It is www.dan-ruth-tanner.com (and then click "our travels" and then "Dominica" to see slide shows). My e-mail is [email protected]. My phone number is 508-366-7980. THANKS!!!


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