What kind of surround sound should I buy?

Question

Which is better and affordable for a regular house with a regular 37" TV -expensive ones with no wires or less expensive with wires that I have to pay someone to install so I don't have wires showing? How much should I pay for any of the options above?

Answer 1

Get a surround sound system that is good sounding as well as discreet, but wired. If you can afford to have the wires installed in the wall, great. But you can just run the wiring along the floorboard for a lot less in installation costs.

Look to brands like Onkyo and Pioneer Elite and Yamaha for the receiver, Pioneer Elite for a good universal DVD player, and Hsu Research for surround speakers and powered subwoofer choice.

H a p p y
H o m e
T h e a t e r i n g !

Answer 2

Since you asked which is better - wired or wireless, I'll focus on that.

Wired is ALWAYS better (and not necessarily more expensive)since wireless suffers from limited bandwidth, and therefore compromised sound.

The issue for you appears to be visibility of wires. There are several ways around this -- some of which may be more or less appealing -- including:
- flat speaker wire is available that can be stuck to baseboards or walls and painted (for one example see link 1)
- wires can be hidden behind baseboards and/or run along or behind quarter round
- choose wire in a non contrasting colour --- you really won't notice it in most places, and it can probably be covered in those areas if you really think about it. For example, - a "U" shaped brass carpet strip can be used to decoratively cover wires across doorways. It is rare that "most" wiring can't be hidden or disguised relatively easily.
- Concealed wires can be run under carpets, under floors, above ceilings in attic spaces, in heating ducts, and even in closets. It is easy if you can drill a hole through a floor above a basement or into an attic space through a closet and run the bulk of the wire in the exposed basement space or attic.
- finally, you could compromise and use wireless speakers for the back speakers since they are the least critical. But remember they are not really "wireless" since they will still need somewhere to plug in since they have to have power for their internal receiver.

Even a professional hiddel installation job --- although definitely more work -- isn't beyond a handy homeowner.

This may be done by cutting slots (about 1"x6") into walls and "fishing" the wire through the wall between these openings (note holes are usually too small to provide sufficient manuverability, and it isn't any harder to patch a slot than a hole) with a "fish tape". If necessary holes can be drilled through hidden studs using a 6 ft flexible drill bit.

Thinking three dimensionally and even incorporating techniques suggested above can often reduce the number of holes required sinificantly.

Once wires are in place the slots can be patched and repainted. This consists of cutting a close fitting plug of drywall to match the shape and size of the slot, inserting a piece of 1x2 longer than the slot behind the drywall and screwing through the wall on either side of the slot into the wood to provide a backer plate for the plug -- which is then screwed to the backer plate. The area is then filled with drywall mud and sanded 2-3 times until the wall is smooth enough to paint.

Bottom line, a job like this appears overwhelming, but with some planning and basic skills it can be something you can do and point to with pride. See the article at the 2nd link to judge the level of installation you may be comfortable with.

The 3rd link is to an interesting article that may be helpful.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Are you going to buy the components separately or are you going to buy the "home theater in a box?" Whatever you do, stay away from BOSE. No matter what anyone else might tell you, it's garbage. You can build a better system, cheaper, by buying components separately. It also depends on how much you want to spend on the system. You can get a really good system for pretty cheap ($5k) if you check out places online or go to stores and look for discontinued models. www.audioadvisor.com the reference line of Boston Acoustics speakers for about half of what they were because the models are discontinued. This doesn't mean that they're no good (the reference line was their best), it just means that there's newer models of them out now, the warranty will still be in place.

Answer 4

Try the Bose AM6 series... should fit your budget and easy to install yourself. Also the wires and long enuf for you to hide. You dun get wireless for these.

If ya have a higher budget, go in for any of the Bose Lifestyles. Awesome sound.

Answer 5

Hi,
I shop a lot and I always use cheapest prices search engine for all they offer. Almost every regular store and online merchants is listed there, lots of consumer reviews and a lot of other ways to save time and money.
I hope I helped you and good luck to you.

Lisa

p.s. check out the consumer written reviews, they should really help you!