I've had an old Sony Dream-something-or-other system for the past 15 years. It was an inexpensive system that was perfectly adequate for me. It's starting to crap out so I need a replacement.

Yes, I'm fully aware that in the audiophile world, these bundled systems are GARBAGE. Yes, it's like asking a Wine Connoisseur their opinion of Welch's grape juice. Please indulge me though.

I'd like to keep it under $400 if possible. I'm looking for a bundled package that comes with the receiver and speakers (5). It will be installed in a fairly small room so my preference would be for the small, cube speakers.

As you'd expect, Amazon reviews are all over the place because of varying degrees of expectations. This is a serious passion for some people and I get that. However, I'm reading a lot of reviews where the equipment dies within a year or two. I don't expect my new system to last the 15 years my old one did but I'd like to get at least 5 years out of it.

So, any recommendations?

So it sounds like you are just looking for the audio portion of a home theater setup?

Based on your budget I'd be looking at a good soundbar with sub to pair with whatever you have for visual.

AVSforums is a great resource.

Cheers~

Have you thought about buying used? I know it's a little more work but that has always worked for me. You can get a decent used surround receiver for a couple hundred bucks and then just get whatever you want for speakers in your budget.


I've done that for years and found great deals. Look for Denon, Yamaha, Marantz, Pioneer.

quote:

Based on your budget I'd be looking at a good soundbar with sub to pair with whatever you have for visual.

Except he wants the surround channels... There are plenty of all-in-one systems out there that include the amp and all the speakers in that price range, but he's right, they're pretty crappy.

Years ago I had a Denon Boston Acoustics System that was nice, but it is no longer packaged. Ebay could be a cheap option but a lot do not support 4k if older.

Look at these two maybe but note some receivers have limited 4k support, particularly with menus if that is a concern:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/y...2589.p?skuId=6352589

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/p...6504.p?skuId=6336504

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

quote:

Based on your budget I'd be looking at a good soundbar with sub to pair with whatever you have for visual.

Except he wants the surround channels... There are plenty of all-in-one systems out there that include the amp and all the speakers in that price range, but he's right, they're pretty crappy.

Considering the fact our 5.1 cost system 3-4 times that many years ago, and we already had capable front right and left mains to which we were able to match surrounds and center: I'd think so.

But, even at a mere $400, it'd have to be better than a TV's built-in amp and speakers.

pessimist, if you can't find good recommendations here, I'd suggest heading on over to AVSforum. (Actually, probably wouldn't hurt to do so, either way.)

For your budget, you can't really expect much. A decent soundbar w/ subwoofer for a small room might fulfill your needs. It will make for a much cleaner setup too.

This may not answer your question directly, but I’ll recommend going to Costco if you are near one. They have sound systems and sound bars at great prices, great warranty too.

Costco will guarantee many things to your satisfaction, including receivers and sound systems, for an indefinite period of time, just return it if you’re not satisfied.

TV’s are an exception to that. All tv’s from Costco have a 1 year warranty and they automatically double that so you have a 2 year warranty. Then, if the TV is under $500, you can pay $34.99 and get 3 more years warranty, for a total of 5 years.

If you have a Costco near you, go talk to the TV department folks.

Good luck to you.

FYI, it is known as a "home theater in a box."
Yamaha seems to rate consistently high in these searches.

https://www.google.com/search?...ceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

AND 3 LINKS FROM THERE:
https://www.lifewire.com/best-...-kits-to-buy-4062692

https://www.businessinsider.co...-home-theater-system

https://householdnow.com/best-home-theater-in-a-box/

Get a sound bar with wireless rear channels and a wireless sub. Up your budget a little bit to make it happen and it will be worth it. I run Sony soundbars with wireless rear channels and wireless sub in my home office and living room and they are excellent for what they are. If they don't have wireless rear channels, I don't care how snazzy the marketing is on a sound bar it sucks. But I'm an audiophile to a degree.

For your budget Yamaha is what you seek!
Yamaha Yht-4950U 4K Ultra HD 5.1-Channel Home Theater System with Bluetooth https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S..._api_i_00yyEb36FFFHV

I have one that is probably 15 years old and going strong in my shop now.

I also have 2 Yamaha sound bars with subs and a desktop radio. They all give a fantastic sound for what they are.

For under $400 and without the complications of a tuner, there's a pretty big variety of soundbar packages that are now available that offer 5.1 audio quality. Costco has a handful if you want to make it easy, probably better checking Crutchfield and some AV forums.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
For your budget Yamaha is what you seek!
Yamaha Yht-4950U 4K Ultra HD 5.1-Channel Home Theater System with Bluetooth https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07S..._api_i_00yyEb36FFFHV

I have one that is probably 15 years old and going strong in my shop now.

I also have 2 Yamaha sound bars with subs and a desktop radio. They all give a fantastic sound for what they are.

This looks like the winner. Supports 4K w/ DolbyVision and Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio for the sound.

The above Yamaha

Thanks, folks. It looks like the Yamaha is the winner.

I was shopping in Costco recently but I didn't see any systems which I thought was odd. I'm not sure how I could have missed them but I may take another run over there. This time I may actually ask an employee

Just to add...

I'm not opposed to buying decent quality used goods but I did some brief checking on ebay and I'm out of my league. There's thousands of pieces of equipment for the suggested brands and I have no idea what I'm looking at.

I'm going to stick with new so I'll at least get a warranty (whatever that's worth - there's some disappointing reviews of that Yamaha system on Amazon). Also, I may have less compatibility issues with the newer tech.

quote:

Originally posted by pessimist:
Thanks, folks. It looks like the Yamaha is the winner.

I was shopping in Costco recently but I didn't see any systems which I thought was odd. I'm not sure how I could have missed them but I may take another run over there. This time I may actually ask an employee

Not all Costco's are equal with their inventory, some are better for premium food stuffs, some better alcohol, some better for electronics others are just a basic store.

Holiday season is really when you want to shop for electronics so, you just missed the golden opportunity by a few months. That said, online is where electronics thrive due to the slim margins, as there's few AV brick n'mortars left.

Not sure if you were able to fill your order, but I stumbled across this.

Pair these with a nice receiver - I prefer Yamaha and you should be good to go.

https://www.jbl.com/CINEMA610A...11ea806e009a0a1c0e10

Cheers~

quote:

Originally posted by pessimist:
Just to add...

I'm not opposed to buying decent quality used goods but I did some brief checking on ebay and I'm out of my league. There's thousands of pieces of equipment for the suggested brands and I have no idea what I'm looking at.

I'm going to stick with new so I'll at least get a warranty (whatever that's worth - there's some disappointing reviews of that Yamaha system on Amazon). Also, I may have less compatibility issues with the newer tech.

For the future: Klipsch, Harman Kardon, Bose, Cambridge Soundworks & Polk are always a safe bet. And one big thing with surround sound speakers is always go high quality on the center channel speaker and use whatever is left in the budget for the rest. The center channel handles the lion's share of the work in surround sound and will make the biggest difference.

Might pass thru a few pawn shops before you buy new just to see. Just a thought.


Rick