Good DTS Home Theater systems for $500 or less?

Can anyone recommend a good home-theater-in-a-box system that has both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 for $500 or less? I'm in college right now, and am paying off my financial aid loan, so I'm on a really meager budget. I don't live in a dorm, so system size is not a problem. I'm open to any and all suggestions and comments. Please help?

Thanx!

starwarstrek

[Reaver]

By Home-Theater-In-A-Box, does that mean you also need a DVD player? Or, will all of the money be going toward the sound system?

[EM3]

If you don't need a dvd player look for the Onkyo HT 650. It can be found for $529 and sometimes $499 at Circuit City. Black finsh wood speakers that are a little larger than most HTIB. I own it and really like it. You might be able to find a refurbished one one their company website. I can only suggest this one since it is the only one I have. Before buying any system audition it in store if at all possible and take something you like to listen to so you know how it should sound both dvd and cd if at all possible.

[Reaver]

That's what I have. Got it from Circuit City for $500 (before all the new cables, that is), and I absolutely love the system. Big powerful speakers, wonderful depth of sound, and plenty of inputs. For $500, you cannot do better.

I have three DVD players (my stand-alone player, plus my Xbox and my PS2), so all I need is a Dolby Digital/DTS receiver-and-speaker-package.

[tomdkat]

I bought the Kenwood HTB-205 for a friend and she loves it!

Here is the product page for the unit:

http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/pr...productId=2447

This is NOT a sophisticated system, but DOES get the job done.

Peace....

Well, sounds like a good deal, tomdkat. I went to your link, then clicked on Kenwood's dealer locator. Best Buy sells it, and seems to have it in stock at my location. Might just take my Fellowship Of The Ring: Extended Edition over there today and give the system a test run!

P.S.: I don't need a sophisticated system. As long as it does what Kenwood says it does, I'm totally cool with it. I, myself, have been accused of being completely unsophisticated, but I take it as a compliment !

[tomdkat]

Originally posted by starwarstrek
Might just take my Fellowship Of The Ring: Extended Edition over there today and give the system a test run!

I actually did that myself, except I used Star Wars Episode II. I took my portable DVD player to BestBuy and connected it, via optical digital audio cable, to the Kenwood and used the built-in screen for the video. I forget which scenes I played but I damn near blew out the passive sub due to having the volume too high...

After adusting the volume, everything else worked just fine.

Good luck!

Peace...

[Reaver]

Originally posted by starwarstrek
Well, sounds like a good deal, tomdkat. I went to your link, then clicked on Kenwood's dealer locator. Best Buy sells it, and seems to have it in stock at my location. Might just take my Fellowship Of The Ring: Extended Edition over there today and give the system a test run!

P.S.: I don't need a sophisticated system. As long as it does what Kenwood says it does, I'm totally cool with it. I, myself, have been accused of being completely unsophisticated, but I take it as a compliment !

Don't get that Kenwood system. Get the Onkyo. Here is the site for it:

http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=...ss=minisys&p=i

Then go to Circuit City and pick one up immediately. You can also go here to see what people have rated it:

http://www.epinions.com/Onkyo_HT_S65...splay_~reviews

I can't say enough good things about the system, and the price is a STEAL.

[tomdkat]

Originally posted by Reaver
Don't get that Kenwood system. Get the Onkyo. Here is the site for it:

Don't get that Onkyo, get the Kenwood...

Seriously, see if you can audition BOTH systems and choose the one that works the best for you for the money you want to spend.

Peace...

Just got back from Best Buy......and......
......
......
......that Kenwood system is THE BEST DEAL!!!

I looked at all the other HTIB systems they had there for $500 or less, but nothing else even came close to the features and sound quality of the Kenwood. And, MAN, that DTS soundtrack on Fellowship Of The Ring......
I thought it sounded good enough on my current Dolby-Digital-only system, but I HAD NO IDEA what I was missing out on!!!

Next paycheck, I'm heading on back over to Best Buy, and I'm bringing me home a Kenwood, because, in the words of Austin Powers, it was very shagadelic, baby, YEAH!!!

[Reaver]

"You chose poorly."



I hope you enjoy it.

[jonathan_little]

I own the Kenwood VR-605 receiver which I think is similar to the one in that Kenwood package.

I think it's a fine receiver for its price range, though it has one quirk I don't like: The "tone" (bass, treble) controls only work while the receiver is in stereo mode. My speakers are a bit too bright and I just wish I could bring the treble down a bit when listening to music in 5.1. It does have a mode named "CinemaEQ" that works in both stereo and surround modes and makes movies sound great. It also has a "subwoofer remix" option which sends low frequencies of any input to the subwoofer no matter what size the speakers are set to.

So, besides the crippled tone controls, I really like this receiver.

Originally posted by Reaver
"You chose poorly."



I hope you enjoy it.

I don't see it that way. Even before I went to Best Buy today, I also, in the past few weeks, have visited The Good Guys, Circuit City, Sears, Fry's Electronics, and, hell, even CompUSA. Out of all the systems at all those places, the Kenwood, in my opinion, is the best system for the best price ($300). Therefore, it is the right one for me. To further your quoting of the Medieval Knight from "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade", "You have chosen......wisely!". And, I have chosen wisely!

P.S.: Thank you! I will enjoy it!

[Reaver]

Originally posted by starwarstrek
I don't see it that way. Even before I went to Best Buy today, I also, in the past few weeks, have visited The Good Guys, Circuit City, Sears, Fry's Electronics, and, hell, even CompUSA. Out of all the systems at all those places, the Kenwood, in my opinion, is the best system for the best price ($300). Therefore, it is the right one for me. To further your quoting of the Medieval Knight from "Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade", "You have chosen......wisely!". And, I have chosen wisely!

P.S.: Thank you! I will enjoy it!

I was being jovial and sarcastic. No offense intended. If you're happy, then that's all that matters.

Oops, sorry! I thought you were trying to be either mean or really persuasive. For that, I apologize. I didn't mean to offend!

[Reaver]

No problem. I was hoping the smiley would help me out, but sometimes they don't. S'okay. As the kids say, "It's all good."

[EM3]

Enjoy your new system. I know with my Onkyo I have watched almost all of my movies again and listened to as many cd's as possible. Now I am waiting for the new cheaper SACD/DVD Audio combination players to come out. But having a new toy is always fun. I hope it serves you well.