I'm looking to get a small home audio system for my apartment for under $500. I'm not looking for perfection, just something that gets the job done. Some things I'm looking for:
At least 5.1. DTS decoding and all that good stuff.
~100 W/Ch
Ability to hook up Multiple game consoles to it.
Component switching.

So far I'm leaning towards the Onkyo HT-S780.

http://www.crutchfield.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=37600&I=580HTS780B

It's a bit of overkill with the 7.1 speakers but I couldn't seem to find anything for any cheaper that has component switching.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good setup in this price range? They have them at Circuit City for $449 (which strangely enough beats the best Price I could find online by about $30).

[Edited on August 10, 2005 at 7:07 AM. Reason : I wish I could spell recommendations.]

8/10/2005 7:06:57 AM

Onkyo is by far the most bang for your buck.... They are not the most aesthetically (sp?) pleasing, but they sound great (plenty of power and good speakers), are feature rich, and "just plain work".

8/10/2005 10:27:21 AM

Onkyo is def the best for the money

8/10/2005 11:49:51 AM

I disagree. Denon is better. I had an Onkyo that was stolen during a move (yes, the movers stole it) and replaced it with a Denon after talking to many many people and spending a few hours at different electronic store listening rooms.

But if you're looking to spend $500 total on a reciever AND speakers, well get whatever you want because at that level, sound quality isn't going to be worth worrying over. And I would bet that 110 W/Ch isn't, just like my car stereo head unit doesn't put out 65 W/Ch.

In the end, it's all about getting what you pay for. I'm not trying to sound like a snob, but Onkyo definately isn't the best for the money in my opinion.

8/10/2005 2:56:08 PM

In my research two names kept coming up for best bang for your buck, Onkyo and Denon.

But I couldn't find a Denon system that was anywhere near that price range and had the features of that Onkyo system. If you can point me to a specific Denon setup that is under $500 that has everything I need and sounds better, then I am interested.

FWIW there are about 30 reviews on CircuitCity.com for the Onkyo system and all but 1-2 are positive. It ended up getting an average rating of 4.6/5. Yes I know there aren't a lot of audiophiles that shop at Circuit City, but like I said, I'm just trying to get the basics covered for the time being.

But goalielax, I really would be interested if you could point me to a specific Denon system that you think would be better for me.

[Edited on August 10, 2005 at 4:46 PM. Reason : oops]

8/10/2005 4:29:52 PM

i'd check ebay for used yamahas/denon/onkyo

i picked up a yamaha natural sound htr-5460(iirc) for $100 shipped. it's worked flawlessly for over a year and does everything you require.

8/10/2005 4:39:28 PM

Yamahas are quality audio systems.

Their cheap speakers aren't as good though.

8/10/2005 4:41:09 PM

I got the model right below this for about $120 shipped. http://www.ubid.com/actn/opn/getpage.asp?AuctionId=10465535
I like it a lot, suits my needs and does just about everything I could ask for except I can't control it from the network and it doesn't upconvert. A very good deal.
I built a nice sub for ~$130 and I got a set of kenwood 6.0 speakers (100w each) for $40 shipped from ubid. if you're going onkyo, I'd get the HTS-760 or 770 from amazon, they're ~$300

8/10/2005 4:55:35 PM

Just ended up buying the S770. Cheapest I could find it was for $326.74 shipped from ecost.com.

Thanks for the input. I think I'll be happy with this setup for the time being and it'll make a pretty decent secondary setup later on down the road.

8/11/2005 11:08:48 AM