Theater Amplified Receiver
What are the top brands of the home theater systems on the market?
Question:
I am not talking about home theater - in -a box (pre-boxed) systems like sony or panasonic that are usually under $500.
I am talking about the ones you usually put all the components together yourself. I have zero knowledge as to who makes the best home theaters systems.
It would great if you list down several brands and top websites that sell them.
Answer: You should probably check out Amazon (link below) for most of these, as they offer free shipping on most AV receivers and can generally take $100 or more off the price of a receiver. I actually spoke with an AV pro at Circuit City the other day, and here were his feelings on receivers:
Top of the line: Denon (and some Sony's). They just make the highest quality receivers that are capable of doing pretty much anything you want. However, he did forewarn me (and I believe it) that setting up a Denon system is not for the faint of heart of the inexperienced. He said he's seen people struggle with it for days before calling in an expert.
Pretty good: Yamaha and Onkyo (and Harmon Kardon). Both make similar style receivers that are fairly (moderately) intuitive to set up. I know Onkyo provides a microphone that is supposed to optimize the sound quality and the point where you put the mike. I don't think Yamaha's have that on their mid-range receivers.
After that: Sherwood and other makers. Just not the kind of product you want to buy if you're looking for quality. These are more of the "just-scraping-by" style recievers. I'd spend the little extra to make sure you got a quality product that will last you more than a year or two.
For someone who's just looking to get into the market (which it sounds like you are), you may want to look at the Onkyo TX-SR605 style reciever. It has up-converstion, meaning that you can run one single HDMI cable to your HDTV, and all other video signals will be formatted to work. It has 2 HDMI inputs, 3 component video inputs, and 4 digital audio inputs, which should be plenty to last a while. The set up is fairly obvious on the entire receiver and provides plenty of power to the speakers. Most importantly, you can find it (right now) for $400-$500 USD at several retail outlets, including Amazon. A great receiver if you're just getting into them.
Also, speakers are a different subject. You don't want the brands I listed above, you want to look into Boston Acoustics, Polk Audio, Bose and JBL, to name a few. The sound quality and speaker make up will be much better and last longer. You want a cone (the part that makes the sound) that is not paper, but ceramic, plastic and/or part titanium.
Hope this helps! Check out the link below Amazon (CNET) for more comprehensive reviews of everything you're looking for.
 PHILIPS 300W SOUNDBAR HSB2313A THEATER SYSTEM VURTUAL SPEAKER SUB z1 ss11 US $102.50 
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 Awesome Used Denon AVR 2808CI Receiver US $389.99
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The shape of your home theater is a very important decision. A properly shaped room will dramatically improve the acoustics and help you get the most out of your sound system. Often, audio problems such as difficulty understanding the dialogue are a result of improper room design. With these simple tips you'll be able to design the properly sized room, achieve the most out of your audio system, and build an affordable home theater.
If you've ever done research on acoustical science and optimal room setup you'll quickly become inundated with technical jargon and discover that many companies want to charge you a fortune to configure your room. You don't need to hire a pro to get the best results... In order to keep your home theater in budget all you need to do is follow this simple rule and you will be off to a great start. The key is this: avoid building your theater in a square-shaped room. Sounds simple...well it is. When your room is a square, the sounds emitted from your speakers "build up" and bounce off the walls, creating an effect similar to "singing in a shower". However, if you don't have this option and you decide to keep your room square you can minimize this affect by placing acoustical panels, furniture, or other padded surfaces in the correct locations which will absorb this reflection and dramatically improve your sound quality. And...you should always carpet your floors! Hard, flat surfaces should be avoided, as they will also contribute to standing waves. If you can go the rectangular route, the ideal ratio for your room shape is as follows
Room width should be 1.6 times the height and the length should be 2.6 times the room height...
This acoustic room ratio is deemed the perfect ratio by many and it will give your room the very best acoustical properties. The dimensions of my home theater are 22 feet long, 12-14 feet wide, and 8 feet high. Using the perfect ratio, it recommends my room width be 12.8 feet (1.6 times my 8 ft ceiling) and my room length be 20.8 (2.6 times my 8 ft ceiling). My room is pretty close to these measurements; I'm about a foot longer in recommended length and my room width is right in the middle. I've minimized the hard flat surfaces with several techniques. I've broken up the large side walls by making the front of my theater narrower than the rear and incorporating trim on the walls which breaks up the flat surfaces. The ceiling height also varies, ranging from 6 1/2 to 8 feet. I was able to accomplish this by the use of a rear riser and creating two boxed ceilings surrounded with perimeter soffits. These simple and effective design considerations tremendously contributed to my room's acoustical properties; and I was able to save money in the process by doing it myself.
Achieving good room acoustics does not need to be a budget breaker. By following these simple rules on room shape I was able to design my theater properly and achieve amazing results. The room size allows me to comfortably seat 7 and also accommodates a large 100" screen with two rows of seating, the second row seating 4 on a 12-inch riser platform. The screen size is proportional to the room size and the acoustics sound amazing! In fact, I had a friend bring over his high-end speakers and I did not even notice a difference (he calls my speaker's entry level)... I hope you find this article informative. Other important considerations we'll discuss include speaker placement, screen size, and how to determine the proper seating distance.
DIYMovieRooms.com is one of the best resources on the web for DIY Home Theater construction. DIYMovieRooms.com will teach you how to build an affordable, high end home theater. For more information visit http://www.diymovierooms.com
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Filed under: Surround Sound Speaker Systems
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