I've got an entry level system. It's a Kenwood HTB-505 (http://www.crutchfield.com/S-PnyzS5hq0M3/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?i=113HTB505). For the price, I continue to be very pleased with my purchase after many months of use. Nice solid unit. Throw in a DVD such as Fast And The Furious and listen to that subwoofer bang. For the price, this system does rock!

Speaker wires are chinsy (I upgraded them) but other than that, excellent value. I also invested in some nice speaker stands to get the speakers "ear level."

I'm sure others have much better systems. So let's hear about them or any advice members may want to share with others. ;)

60" Toshiba Theatreview TV
Harmon/Kardon AVR35 Receiver
1 Boss center speaker
1 Velodyn bass speaker
4 Boss speakers for surround sound
Monster cable throughout

Total home theater : $7000.00 (approx $4800 US)

Awesome system. Wish I took the time to enjoy it more than I do...

Vito

Heh, mine's nothing to brag about (cheap) but it shut up the neighbors before they moved. ;) :D

19" Samsung TV (I dont watch much TV so this is ok)
Technics SA-G78 Receiver (120 watt... I need to replace it cause the left preamp is screwed up)
Technics 12" 3 way speakers (220 watt)
Technics standard surround speakers (rear and center channel)
Optimus 250 watt Subwoofer w/ custom bypass (This baby willl strip the paint off a wall ;) )
Technics Equalizer SH-GE50
Technics Full Logic Cassette Deck RS-TR180
Technics 60 CD Changer sL-MC59
RCA 4-head VCR (Very good picture, 13 micron head)

Optimus 6 CH Audio mixer w/ echo and tone controls
Optimus 3 Mic 2 line/phono mixer
Radio Shack Video enhancer/ mixer
Sima VS-500 video titler/ processor, mixer
Radio Shack Single cassette player
RCA 10 band equalizer /w spectrum display
Expert MaxVision SVGA to NTSC output converter

All my stuff is hooked up through my stereo and my computer and other items are run through my PS, and N64. I used to use my equip for recording "movies" and recording local bands and friends.

Total Cost: about $2,100

Curtis, you whipped out the big bucks on that $500 system. I stuck to the cheaper $300 range and it was a choice between the Kenwood and the Sony system (if you read reviews on the $300 systems, I'm sure both will come up as they also seemed to be the most popular).

The Sony sytem I have has dropped to $250, which is a great deal for what you get. Mine was the slightly less powerful version of this one: http://www.mpsuperstore.com/Electronics/indexMy.htm?discr18816.htm

Edit:
This is it: HTDDW740
http://www.mpsuperstore.com/Electronics/indexMy.htm?discr18816.htm

When I got it, I lived in an aptment and couldn't really crank it up. Now that we have a house, I regret not getting something with a bit more power, but that only means I'll have to go shopping again! :D

I dunno when he purchased it, but the Kenwood HTB-505 he has can be found for less than $300 now. Crutchfield has a habit of jacking the prices on a lot of their items.

Yeah they do, so why can't I find these suckers for $5-$10 somewhere? http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-1uAMEFgrzIu/ProdView.asp?i=138AB1W&id=morephotos&a=0&s=0&cc=01

Kenwood HTB-505 is nice one. I hook up the Bose Ultracompact 3-Speaker DVD/CD Surround System to my TV. Don't have much room. *sign*

Originally posted by Chicken
Yeah they do, so why can't I find these suckers for $5-$10 somewhere? http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-1uAMEFgrzIu/ProdView.asp?i=138AB1W&id=morephotos&a=0&s=0&cc=01 I dunno. Cheapest I found was $11.99.

Originally posted by Phrozen
I dunno when he purchased it, but the Kenwood HTB-505 he has can be found for less than $300 now. Crutchfield has a habit of jacking the prices on a lot of their items. I bought the HTB-505 when it was first released.

Chicken. Sony? C'mon. :o No comparison.

I have a Bose Lifestyle 28. Absolutely love it.. sounds great!

check out avsforum.com, great place for the HT enthus.

Originally posted by Curtis H.
Chicken. Sony? C'mon. :o No comparison.
I did at the store and "no comparison" seemed to be the case. In my youth, maybe I could tell the difference. I used to make sure all my recordings were perfectly tuned, no noise, etc. Now that I'm old, a bit of tape hiss doesn't bother me. IMHO, today's current systems coupled with a DVD layer pretty much blow away anything anyone has heard in the past. I'm sure there are better, even for $300, but I wouldn't be the one you'd ask about that.

Chicken has a turntable and original Beatles albums (from when they came out), though he wasn't the one who bought them (he isn't that old).

Originally posted by RackMy.com
check out avsforum.com, great place for the HT enthus.
I browse hometheaterforum.com (http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/index.php) from time to time.

Originally posted by Chicken
I did at the store and "no comparison" seemed to be the case. In my youth, maybe I could tell the difference. I used to make sure all my recordings were perfectly tuned, no noise, etc. Now that I'm old, a bit of tape hiss doesn't bother me. IMHO, today's current systems coupled with a DVD layer pretty much blow away anything anyone has heard in the past. I'm sure there are better, even for $300, but I wouldn't be the one you'd ask about that.

Chicken has a turntable and original Beatles albums (from when they came out), though he wasn't the one who bought them (he isn't that old).
I hear you guy. I'm in my mid 40's so I am not so picky but when shopping for a HT, I went to the usual local stores and found that many offered the same units. I also didn't want to mix and match peices.

I asked Best Buy why they didn't carry Kenwood HT's and I was told they were planning on doing so but that never happened. At least not the last time I was in the store.

I went to Circut City. They had a floor model so I did get to see the unit and hear it compared to others. But around my area and even out of state. Online also. You couldn't find a new Kenwood HT at the time I bought mine. Luckly Kenwood released the HTB-505 which is a HTB-504 with a better remote control if memory serves me correctly.

As others have posted, many have much better systems. But for what I paid and got, combined with a nice DVD player and TV, I'm very happy and would suggest this system to anyone who wants to get their first HT system.

Sony Projector Screen (84'-120') - you can change the size
Multiple Sets of bass speakers / receivers (Sony)
2 - Pioneer 18" Subwoofers with tweets / mids
Kenwood 500 CD Change
Sony 5 Disc DVD Changer
DirecTV - all channels except pay / pr0n
Backup 30" Sony TV when we dont want to turn projector on
Computer == hooked up to everything to play MP3's / VCDs
85 and a 45 Gallon Fishtank surrounding it all.. makes it really cool

Cost = I will cry if I add it up


I am in my young 20's , so what else am I going to do except invest and put my $$ into this crap hehe

... I am moving out soon so I may rebuy everything to make it all be the same brand. I hate mixing and matching. If you are buying do all the same product. I found some really nice speakers last time I was out in LA on business that are the completely flat ones but they had amazing sound. A friend of mine picked up a pair but I want a better deal I think he paid $6-7k just for the speakers.

you should def. look into some of those :)

Originally posted by jic
Sony Projector Screen (84'-120') - 84-120 feet!? :eek: