[Visaster]

Thanks a lot SAMURAI, that was one awesome read.

Lot of terms and technology i came to know of.
Will definitely help me in designing my / updating my home theater.
You will hear more of me from now onwards.

Are you still researching into HT ? any idea of the average mans best AV receiver ?

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Visaster

Thanks a lot SAMURAI, that was one awesome read.

Thanks, but do realise I wrote this article in 2003.

Originally Posted by Visaster

Lot of terms and technology i came to know of.
Will definitely help me in designing my / updating my home theater.
You will hear more of me from now onwards.

Are you still researching into HT ? any idea of the average mans best AV receiver ?

Unfortunately, I didn't bother keeping up with latest stuff. Once my HTS was ready, I have only been enjoying the movies on it since then.

The WDTV has taken over the role of DVD player since 2009.

[naj]

HI!

@SAMURAI

Your this very thread inspired me to build my HT. 2.1 is complete till now of the 7.1.

In fact all the information is like a crash course to atleast understand what is happening and acts as a solid foundation for further reading.

Thanks Sir.

Cheers,
Naj

[neel385]

Great read!! But moving on to specifics, can the gurus please suggest any good buys in the $1000 range?

[NetfreakBombay]

Buying from India or US? What you can buy for $1k depends a lot on that.

[neel385]

@Netfreak, planning to buy in India as of now. Not a techie you know!

[NetfreakBombay]

In that case you have two options in 45k range:

1. Buy used amplifier/avr + New speakers. Bit more work but bang for buck
2. Buy all in one package from Onkyo


For option #1:
This AVR is available for 11K.
For Sale pioneer 7.1 av reciever

You can get a decent Blu Ray + Media player for another 11k.


That leaves you with approx 20k for speakers etc.

[neel385]

@Netfreak, I was looking at the Onkyo HTS 5205 package. Any idea as to how good they really are?

[esteem_lover]

I wonder how this thread got buried over the years. Everyone owns a HTS these days. But to choose the right one for their needs is a very specific ask.

Originally Posted by Samurai

Thanks, but do realise I wrote this article in 2003.

Ah-hmmm. T-BHP started only in Feb 2004, I guess you posted this article only in 2005 if i am right. lol

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Ah-hmmm. T-BHP started only in Feb 2004, I guess you posted this article only in 2005 if i am right. lol

Before LOLing, read the first 3 lines of this thread.

It was originally published in R2I forum on MSN boards, which is now defunct. I had called it RFC for Home Theatre then, you can see it being referred here: http://www.r2iclubforums.com/forums/...5394#post55394

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by neel385

@Netfreak, I was looking at the Onkyo HTS 5205 package. Any idea as to how good they really are?

Its a decent system. Good sound, clear bass and clear dialogues. Can't go wrong with it for DVD movies. And has HDMI, so only one cable from DVD player to HT and HT to TV.

Downside is cost. At this cost it does not support Blu Ray formats (DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD), so if you purchase a Bly Ray player in future, sound output would not be HD.

Two questions, what do you plan to do with this HT? E.g.

do you mostly watch movies on "original" DVDs (or High Quality Rips that are 3 - 4 GB +)?
do you mostly play FM / MP3 ?
do you listen to Music on Audio Cd ?

And what is the price you are getting this for?

[neel385]

@Netfreak, my movie viewing is pretty limited. However, I plan to upgrade to a plasma in the near future and those are not really known for their sound, so a HTS would make sense I guess. Otherwise, my "audio" requirements are essentially limited to music of the rock genre mostly.

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Its a decent system. Good sound, clear bass and clear dialogues. Can't go wrong with it for DVD movies. And has HDMI, so only one cable from DVD player to HT and HT to TV.

Downside is cost. At this cost it does not support Blu Ray formats (DTS HD and Dolby TrueHD), so if you purchase a Bly Ray player in future, sound output would not be HD.
....

Not necessarily true ..
You can route the video via HDMI directly to your video source. For the Audio all players do have an optical/digital co-axial out. So the audio can be routed to the AVR and you do not miss out.

As for the DVD/Blue ray player you should be able to configure it such that audio is not routed via the HDMI cable.

[NetfreakBombay]

Optical and Co-axial can't carry HD audio. Max bandwidth available on these is just sufficient for 5.1 DTS or 5.1 Dolby (AC3).

To get 7.1 HD Audio from Blu Ray, HDMI is required. This system does not support HD Audio.

Usual wiring is:

Blu Ray --[ HDMI ] --> AVR --[ HDMI ] --> TV (or projector)

AVR --[ 6 or 8 Analogue audio cables ] --> Speakers

Originally Posted by neel385

@Netfreak, my movie viewing is pretty limited. However, I plan to upgrade to a plasma in the near future and those are not really known for their sound, so a HTS would make sense I guess. Otherwise, my "audio" requirements are essentially limited to music of the rock genre mostly.

What is the source of music. I.e. Audio CDs, or MP3/ FLAC or TV ?

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Fillmore

Not necessarily true ..
You can route the video via HDMI directly to your video source. For the Audio all players do have an optical/digital co-axial out. So the audio can be routed to the AVR and you do not miss out.

As for the DVD/Blue ray player you should be able to configure it such that audio is not routed via the HDMI cable.

You'll only get AC3/DTS this way and not lossless Dolby TrueHD/DTS Master Audio. The difference between the two is audible even on cheapo receivers like my Onkyo TX SR578.