Sony home theater in a box

[pez2002]

Im thinking of buying one is it worth it i heard it in best buy it sounded good So should i buy one



I have an aiwa stereo hooked up to my dtv & dvd but it aint the same

[Rogueone]

well, this depends on how much you really want to spend. "boxed" surround systems can sound good, for what they are. They'll never sound as good a buying a quality receiver and some good quality speakers, but that is not to say it doesn't sound acceptable to the person considering such a system :)

The bigger question is do you have plans to grow this into a more robust system, or is the size/convenience the reason for getting it? If the latter, go for it. If not, read on :)

I used to work for a national chain electronics retailer, when we were paid commisions, and had to actually know something, unlike going into a BB or CC these days. During 4 years of day after day listening, making demo tapes, demonstrating various brands to customers, I made up a simply analogy for my customers, to help them understand where their purchase might fall if it were a car.

Sony/Kenwood/JVC/Pioneer/Technics etc. = Chevy/Ford/Honda/Toyota etc.
Denon/Onkyo/Yamaha/Sony ES/ etc = Lexus/Acura/Infiniti/Cadillac etc
Harmon Kardon/Nakamechi/mass produced lines of higher end makers = Mercedes/BMW

For products from company's like Adcom, Outlaw,and Sunfire, etc., while they are way better than the others I already mentioned, they are not made in a quantity that even comes close. So compare items like this to Rolls Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Porsche, etc. High ticket brands, produced in sufficient quantity to match demand, but that's all.

So, you're looking at a packaged system, speakers, amplifier source, etc., for half to a quarter what it would cost for the same kind of equipment if you were buying individual units of mid-level quality. It's kinda like buying a Kia or a Yugo. As long as you know what you're getting, and that's what you're looking for, then it's a perfectly fine system. If you want your seat to shake, and the floor to rattle, um then no, that ain't gonna cut it :)

The idea is, just understand what you're buying. I have a 2001 Hyundai Elantra GT, it was cheap, affordable, had a great warranty, and was loaded with features. For the same money, I could have bought a '97 or so BMW 318i, but I'd have had a car with 80,000 miles rather than one with 15,000 and 4 years/35,000 miles of warranty left. Sure the bimmer is better, but for my needs of a commuter car, the Elantra was the better value.

So if you have Lexus tastes, and you're looking for that in a Home Theatre, you'll find that boxed system lacking what you'd hoped it would be. If your desire is just to have surround sound, and have it replace an old mini system, then yea, it'll be better than that aiwa mini system you mentioned :)

[tlove]

I purchased a new HTIB about 4 or 5 months ago. I did a lot of looking on the web and posted many questions on multiple boards. I too was thinking about the Sony but ended up with the Onkyo HTS-760. This particular unit is 6.1 surround but does not include a DVD. There is another model just like this one w/ a DVD but I don't remember the model number.

My decision was based upon two things. Overall sound quality right out of the box and the ability to upgrade spekers later and still use the Onkyo receiver. Only thing I changed initially was the speaker wire, I think it comes with 16.

Last time I looked CC had it for $499. A couple of weeks ago I saw they had it at the same price but had some instant rebate of $40 or $50. This is a great system for the price.