Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget
One of the fun parts of being an authority on home theater gear is that friends, family, and even friends of family are always asking me for advice on various equipment. Through trade shows, reviews and hands-on installations of home theater equipment all the way from low-budget to cost-is-no-object systems, I've been exposed to many home theater receivers and speakers and have developed favorites in each price range.
While there are many brands of receivers and speakers that offer excellent value, below are my current recommendations for low cost/high value home theater receiver and speakers. Links and pricing are all valid as of January, 2008 but offers do change over time. If you notice an offer that has changed or a link that no longer works, please let us know.
Don't Be Afraid to Mix and Match!
Many people don't realize that for just a bit more than the cost of a bland single-brand "home theater in a box" (HTIB) system, in fact for even less than the cost of some of the pricier HTIB systems, you can get great audio and video performance and flexibility by pairing a high value home theater receiver with a home theater speaker package.
With very few exceptions, you're going to be better off buying a receiver from a company that specializes in electronics and buying speakers from a company that specializes in loudspeakers. It turns out that good receiver makers rarely produce good speakers and vice versa. Specialization is good!
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| Polk Audio's RM6750 Home Theater speaker system offers an excellent value in entry-level home theater. |
5.1? 6.1? 7.1? How many Point Ones Do I Need Anyway?
5.1 Surround is the standard format of both Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound - the most common surround formats on DVD and in HDTV broadcasts. It's called 5.1 because there are 5 main channels (front left, front center, front right, surround left and surround right) plus 1 low bass or "LFE" channel (low frequency effects).
To reproduce 5.1 Surround, you need a digital source component like a DVD player, Blu-ray Disc player or Digital set top box connected via a digital audio cable (typically fiberoptic or coax RCA style connector, or an HDMI cable) to a 5.1-channel capable receiver. The receiver then drives 5 main speakers plus a subwoofer so you get discrete multi-channel surround sound. 5.1-channel Surround Sound is fine for most small to medium listening rooms, or in rooms where seating is fairly fixed.
Recently, home theater systems have been enhanced with additional optional surround channels. In a 6.1-channel system, there is a rear center channel speaker that handles the rear-most surround effects. In a 7.1-channel system, there are two rear surround channels to handle the rear channel duties and the standard surround channels are placed along the sides of the listening space. There are also a few DVD titles that are "enhanced for 6.1" which means they add in a rear channel that is encoded or "matrixed" into a standard 5.1-channel DVD so you do actually hear a different set of surround effects and audio coming from the rear channels. These movie titles are all backwardly compatible with standard 5.1-channel receivers so they'll play back just fine on a 5.1-channel home theater system.
If you have a large home theater, or an irregular seating arrangement, then 6.1 and 7.1 channel systems make a great deal of sense because they can help all viewers/listeners get the best sound out of their movie-watching experience. But the fact is that a 5.1-channel system can decode true multi-channel surround from any surround sound DVD or HDTV source and is perfectly acceptable for most purposes. On the other hand, it never hurts to be prepared for the future and to buy a system that can grow and be upgraded over time. So our usual recommendation is to buy a
receiver or processor that supports 6.1 or 7.1-channel surround, but start out with a
5.1-channel surround sound speaker system.
Any 6.1 or 7.1-channel capable receiver also supports a standard 5.1-channel speaker system. You simply have to disable the "rear surround" channel in the receiver's speaker configuration menu to make sure the sound gets distributed properly. If you decide later that you want to experiment with 6.1 or 7.1-channel surround then you can simply buy one or two more speakers, change your speaker configuration in the set-up menu and let 'er rip!
The Receiver - Centerpiece of The Home Theater
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| The Onkyo TX-SR605 home theater receiver is available in silver or black for about $400. |
The home theater receiver is the control center of your entire system. It's where you plug in all of your sources such as a DVD player, cable box, DVR, Blu-ray Disc player, video game system and/or wireless media hub. The receiver then routes the appropriate video signal to your display and provides amplification for the audio portion of the system.
Key features in a budget home theater receiver include having enough inputs (particularly component video inputs and digital audio inputs for HD and DVD sources), ample power for your room, and sufficient audio processing modes so you can accomodate all current home theater formats. Recently, with the advent of Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD players, as well as upconverting DVD players, the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connector has become popular. With HDMI, you get digital audio and video on a single cable, which makes life much simpler (mostly).
Higher end receivers support HDMI connections, but not all do it the same way - some simply pass the HDMI source to the display with no processing of the audio. Some HDMI-switching receivers do support audio but are limited to HDMI version 1.1 or 1.2 so they lack support for the latest surround sound formats, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Ideally you want a receiver that supports all of the current features of HDMI 1.3 (audio and video) and, if you can get it, look for "HDMI upconversion of analog sources" - this gives a receiver the ability to accept all of your audio/video sources (analog and digital) and convert them all to HDMI so you only need a single cable between the receiver and your television.
Companies such as Denon, Outlaw Audio, Yahama, Sony and Pioneer all offer affordable performance-oriented home theater receivers but my current high-value pick is the Onkyo TX-SR605. It's currently available in either silver or black finish for under $400 from Amazon.
The TX-SR605 occupies the entry to mid-level of Onkyo's receiver line and includes all the essentials as well as a lot of nice goodies normally only found in more expensive receivers: HDMI switching with audio support and analog video upconversion, DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD support, Audyssey 2EQ auto-calibration, HD-capable component video switching, XM and Sirius satellite radio-readiness (just add their plug-and-play antennas plus service), 7.1-channel surround support plus compatibility with Onkyo's advanced DS-A2x iPod dock. At around $400 street price, it's a great bargain and an excellent performer.
In April, 2008, Onkyo is introducing the TX-SR606
as a replacement to the TX-SR605. The 606 includes 4 HDMI inputs, and
does 1080i analog upconversion addressing two of the few weaknesses of
the TX-SR605. The TX-SR605 should be available at a significant
discount while on close-out and the 606 should be a killer
replacement (see "Where to Buy" links at the bottom to find deals on these receivers).
Hook Me Up!
I've mentioned HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) support as being something you want in a receiver. The newest high definition source components (such as Blu-ray Disc players) require HDMI in order to pass full 1080p high definition resolution and the latest surround sound codecs. But just because HDMI is "new and improved" over traditional analog connections, it doesn't mean you have to pay through the nose for the cable itself. Some big box electronics chains only stock expensive HDMI cables.
In most cases, super-expensive cables are not really necessary and you'll get the same results with lower price (but high quality) cables from lesser known brands. We've used Cables-to-Go's basic HDMI cables (around $10-$12 each on Amazon.com) and gotten great results. There are some cables that are even cheaper, but we can say from experience that these ones are good (and affordable).
Speakers - the Voice of Your Home Theater
As important as selecting a flexible and powerful home theater receiver, choosing a good set of home theater loudspeakers is critical in putting together an enjoyable home theater system. Generally speaking, the smaller your speakers are, the less bass they can put out, though this can be mitigated with a good subwoofer (see more on subwoofers below).
Most budget home theater packages are comprised of four identical speakers called "satellites" for the front and rear channels, plus a center channel speaker that is usually a bit larger to accomodate the dialog or vocals.
You can choose a complete system (satellite speakers, center channel and subwoofer) from a single manufacturer, or you can specialize even further by choosing one brand for the main speakers and another brand for the subwoofer.
Good affordable home theater packages are available from companies such as Mirage, Atlantic Technology, Cerwin Vega, Athena and others, but my current high-value choice is from American manufacturer Polk Audio.
Polk's RM6750 system is comprised of 4 satellite speakers, one center channel and a powered subwoofer. It lists for $599 but is available from J&R Music World for $250, which is an outstanding value. Their small size (6.5 x 4 X 5 inches) makes them among the smallest high quality entry-level home theater speakers available. Also, if you wish to upgrade to 6.1 or 7.1 channels, you can buy the RM6751 satellite speaker individually in black, titanium or white colors.
Even though the Polk system is small, it's still important to carefully note the measurements of these or any speakers and bring a measuring tape into your home theater or living room to verify that they'll fit in the desired space. Otherwise you may be in for a rude awakening when your newly aquired center channel speaker doesn't quite fit in your cabinet or your satellite speakers dominate your small living room!
How Low Can You Go?
The Polk system above includes a powered subwoofer, but some value-priced systems do not. If the system you choose does not include a powered sub, then you'll need to add one if you want decent bass response. The powered subwoofer is an essential part of any home theater system as it provides the low-end foundation of the system, giving not only explosions and gunshots their proper weight and attack but also giving everyday sounds and music a believable sonic heft.
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| Polk's PSW10 subwoofer is a great complement to an entry-level home theater package and is available for about $150 on Amazon. |
Some of the value-oriented brands to look for in the subwoofer market include Polk Audio, Cerwin Vega, Velodyne and Outlaw Audio. And although size does matter (a 12-inch woofer in a large cabinet can generally put out deeper lower bass than an 8-inch woofer in a smaller cabinet), it is possible to get a relatively small subwoofer that will perform well, particularly in a smaller space.
Because bass frequencies are non-directional, a subwoofer can usually be tucked into a corner or placed out of sight without hurting its performance. Some even make nice end tables, just watch your drink during those cannon blasts! For help setting up a subwoofer, read our detailed tutorial, "How to Set Up a Subwoofer for Home Theater."
Remote Possibilities
Your final consideration when completing a budget home theater system is how it's all going to operate. Most home theater receivers, such as the Onkyo above do include "universal" remotes that can operate multiple components, like DVD players and TVs. But you'll still have to press a lot of buttons to get everything powered up and probably will need to keep a "cheat sheet" around for the family members to get it all up and running.
For true home theater ease-of-use and integration, we'd recommend an intelligent home theater remote such as the Logitech Harmony 880 (see full review here). The Harmony 880 remote allows you to associate complicated home theater operations with simple activity buttons like "Watch TV" or "Watch a DVD." Press one button and the remote will power up your DVD player, TV and receiver, switch the inputs on all devices to the right settings and start playing a DVD for you. Press another button when you're done and it will shut down the whole system. Just the thing to promote peace and... well... "harmony" in the household. In 2008, the Harmony 880 is being discontinued and replaced with the Harmony One which appears to be even easier to use.
Have Fun with It!
They say well begun is half done, so instead of agonizing over your choices, just get started and get your feet wet. Buy an inexpensive DVD player, receiver and speakers, and start experimenting. A moderate investment in equipment and time will generate immense enjoyment as you immerse yourself, your family and friends in your favorite movies and music. And once the home theater bug bites, don't forget to check back with Big Bicture Big Sound for our latest home theater and HDTV news, reviews and recommendations.
Detailed reviews of items mentioned above:
Where to Buy:
Additional Articles of Interest:
