What's the right surround sound system for my family?

Question

I am planning on getting my family a surround sound system for Christmas, but I have no clue what to look for or start with. We have a 53" Mitsubishi t.v. and I am looking for it to be in just one room. I would like to figure out what I need to hook it up to the t.v. and so forth. Or if their is just a single package that I could buy that has it all and would fit my specific t.v. Certain surround sound models and brands would be great. Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

You dont need any specific system to mate with that TV.

In fact - the superior home theater systems are usually a mix where the speakers, sub, receivers, dvd player all come from different companies that are respected.

Yes - you can buy a HTIB (Home Theater in a Box). There are some cutsey crappy ones, and some that are decent and offer an upgrade path.

Here is the trick: Buy a HTIB where all the parts look like they could be sold separately:

- Receiver should have LOTS of jacks in the back to handle things other than the included DVD player.
- DVD player should be separate/stand alone
- Speaker should be small, monitor-style box's. Cheap enclosures are fine as long as they all tone-match
- Subwoofer should be self-powered and accept an RCA cable for the input

Yamaha and Denon both make decent HTIB's you can find at Best Buy or sears or Circuit City. Kenwood also makes some nice units.

I cannot give you specific models as the last system I bought (last Christmass) from Dennon has been replaced by a slightly different one and I am not up on the models. Hit Circuit City and BestBuy and see what they have. Expect to pay between $500-$800 for a nice system.