Just wandering what most people think: Are the all in one a/v recievers better than getting individual components? What would be the cost difference between the to types?

I am just curious. I am looking to be purchasing a home theater in the near future. I don't realy want to spend money on a system with bells and whistles I will not use, so that is why I am kinda straying away from the a/v recievers. On the other hand I don't know if I have the money for all the other components.

any help would be apprieciated.

thanx in advance

timmy

Hey modock,

You should specify what you're looking to spend and if you're adamant at sticking within a budget. Will this budget include speakers? You should also specify what you like and how much music/HT ratio you listen to. Typically, separates will run you more than an a/v receiver. Of course there are some exceptions depending on the receiver and separates you're looking at. With regards to bells and whistles, the latest gears will pretty much have the same features with only slight differences. You just need to make sure that the speakers mate well with whatever component you choose.

modock,

this is very debatable. Some seperates aren't high quality, and some AV receivers are. The reverse is also true.

Most people believe seperates will bring them better sound because they are more expensive. I can't say I have ever heard a real difference, except in the amp power if you have very inefficient speakers (Axioms are VERY efficient), or a very large room, or have a hard time hearing. Most AV receivers don't have super powerful amps, but you can get seperates or monoblocks that do.

how much are you looking to spend and what's your listening situation?

email me if you want
crowchild7@yahoo.ca

Thanks for replying so quickly. Here are the details: The theater will be in a basement with no windows and controlable ambient light. The space is about 14' wide by 32' deep by 7' tall. I am wanting to use 16' of the depth to use as a theater, and the rest is for a game room. I am thinking of using a sony vpl-hs10 front projector to project a 16:9 image that is about 8'wide. This will roughly put the projector 16' from the screen. The seeting will be placed about 12 to 14' feet from the screen. So essencially I have a theater room with three sides, the 14'wall is concidered the front where the screen will be, and 16'feet of wall on both sides. There is nothing to seperate the theater from the game room. I am considering buying some of Axioms: M60's for front, vp100 for center, qs4's for suround, ep350 for the sub, and maybe a qs4 for the center if I decide to go with a 6.1 system. Leaning more toward just a 5.1 system because there is no real place to mount a center rear speaker, or I could go with a 7.1 and mount them on either side of the projector.

So with a projector and screen running about 2,500.00, and speaker pakage running at about 2,000.00 with a buget of about 6,000.00 that leaves me with about 1,500.00 to spend on a the other equipment, I want to alot about 500.00 for cabling an speaker wires, so I am ultimately left with a 1,000.00. I already have a cd and dvd player. So the last thing I am looking for is a reciever or an amp and suround processor?? Any sugestions for a good reciever for around 1k? I was hoping that it would be compatible with at least 6.1 sourond.

Wow that is a lot of info! Thanks again for all your help.

Timmy

Timmy, the thought that strikes me is that you're somewhat skimping on the center and surrounds and allocating an unrealistically high amount for something as simple as wiring. If you want a horizontal center, consider the VP150 and for surrounds the QS8s. A receiver would give you more bang for the buck and the Pioneer 55TXi or Yamaha 2400 should be considered.

Timmy,

Yes, an AV receiver will be entirely adequate for your proposal, and it will be the most inexpensive (and cost-effective) way to go. I second JohnK's suggestion of the Elite 55TXi or Yamaha 2400. Both of these receivers (as well as most others) have lots of features, but you WILL actually use many of those features -- I don't think your money will be wasted on something you don't need.

Incidentally, Sony has announced the successor to the HS10, called HS20, which will come to the dealers soon. I understand that it is a vast improvement on the HS10. Also, Panasonic just announced the AE500, the 720p version of the popular AE300. You should definitely consider these new LCD models, too.