Last year for x-mas my son got a 42" plasma for his gaming room. This year for x-mas I am thinking about getting him a surround sound system for the same room. I am looking for any opinions, below are the criteria that's important to me. Minimum of 5.1 surround sound No integrated DVD/blue ray player HDMI inputs - ideally 3 or more Easy/intuitive connection for I-touch Around $300 Thanks!
There are so many options out there these days, since it's for the game room I would just look out for what is being offered next Friday and then compare those. Good luck! -Kody-
Gaming room= Logitech Z5500 1000Watts of POWER...It's what I have it literally shakes the house in full volume so I limit my self to half...I have audiophiles friends and not one of them has said anything less then spectacilar about this system. He will love the bass, do a quick search on youtube to see what this system is capable of but it may go over the $300 budget by a bit I got mine for $450, but with the great deals you guys have there I'm sure you'll be able to find one within $50 of your price range. Good luck on the search just my .02$ EDIT: I just saw the HDMI clause, basically what I do is connect HDMI to my TV(PS3, Laptop, ETC...) and then one single optical goes from my TV to the tiny command center, so basically whatever is suppose to come out of the TV comes out of those speakers. If you just want the sound from the TV, just turn off the speakers.
Thanks Kody.... So far I have my eye on the below unit, I've had good experiences with Onkyo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882120182
Thanks hamza.... I have to think about whether or not I want my 12 yr old son to have the ability to shake the house.....lol But then again I do into the gaming room as well and I like it shakin!
z5500 doesnt have the integrated amplifier/receiver functionality =p but yeah onkyo is good, consider Yamaha too
+1 on what Aldric said The Z5500 is not for you if you want to set indivisual frequency levels but for me it's not about the sound quality it's about the quantity...if you want a high level of music reproduction then this system is not for you but keep in mind it is a GAMING room, and the chatter is you hear in movies and games is not as important as good visuals but you've got that covered. The reciever and remote is with the Z5500 is good enough if you don't like to many options, let me say it this way. If you grab a Camera and shoot on Auto then this system is for you but if you like all the buttons and setting on your camera then get a ONKYO I believe is has crisp sound, BTW Trust what Aldric says he's the biggest Audiophile on this forum (I believe).
im only a man of many hobbies LOL but yeah audiophile = go 2.0 or 2.1 actually, in music there isnt a need for 5.1 or 7.1 or 9.2, these are requirements for watching movies/playing games I am picky down to the wire used =p
Thanks Aldric! I am hoping that for the upcoming sales Yahaha units fall into the price range I want to stay in. Hamza: Believe it or not, my son doesn't like music/sounds to be overly loud. When he was quite a bit younger he used to say "too loud daddy"...lol. On the other hand, I think he may have inherited some of my preferences in terms of quality of sound. Thanks again.
Like others have said, look on black Friday to get the most bang for your buck. I used to run the installation dept. in a high end audio store (the only video we did was $4000 and up projection tv's and very high end plasma's ~$10000+). For the receiver, stick with brands like Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo at that price. Stay away from JVC, Panasonic, etc.
Jay, Does this mean your TV room is THE SHIT! because me and Bryan are coming over if that's the case.
I'm in the process of building it, the whole basement actually. It's funny how progress has slowed down since having a baby... Oh and the size of my theater room has shrunk since then too... :shakehead: You and Bryan are always welcome over, can you drywall? lol
I won't be doing anything too crazy. I build all my personal interconnects myself using high end, proven materials from a well known interconnect company that I have a good relationship with. I won't waste my money chasing voodoo... I had a customer that just had to have very specific custom made power cords for his mono tube amps (true audiophile set-up). I tried to explain that he could spend that money on something else which would be more of a benefit to his system, but he just had to have them... The cables were very nice, each cable was 3' long, plated hospital grade hardware, the usual twisting of wires for "noise" cancellation, a nice custom hand crafted silk lined walnut display box, etc...these cables were $3000 a piece. Yes, three thousand dollars each! This customer was so into the hype that he ignored the fact that the power line coming from the main panel in his house to the receptacles in his listening room were wired like every other house with cheap 14/2 copper wire. You couldn't hear enough of a difference even with a power conditioner to make it worth my money... my customer however was ecstatic.
Wait so he bough $3K wires because regular wires made a bit of a noise, hmm.... and I thought people who bought those power filter, the ones that filter electricity to be clean (who knew) to be extreme
Yeah, $6000 for the pair... :yikes: It's not that the regular wires are "noisy"...this starts treading into the voodoo category. Honestly you need to have the best of the best of equipment and a trained ear to possibly hear a difference. Basically it comes down to some customers wanting/needing to spend money for the sake of spending money (or showing off) and use the "hype" as justification. Similar to some of these uber pricey waxes I'm guessing.
3000 for one is way out of my budget LOL the furthest id go is prob make a power cable with furutech plugs i've only just started building my own interconnnects, gotta buy more RCA jacks and mini jacks and explore what these silver wires i ordered are capable of I was also starring at tube amps earlier for my headphones but man I currently got my eyes on Rudistor solid amps which may not be a good thing, but nonetheless i'll be finding time to test out more amps sometime after work in the next few weeks. oh think i can DIY Cryo with lots of CO2? LOL
True that... my dad is a pretend "audiophile" and I can only shake my head at the packages from audiogon coming in and out every week. BUT back on track.. you're a really cool dad for even considering giving your kid an awesome game room
Thanks GF... Yamaha and Onkyo are at the top of my list. Thanks - I have a great son - He gets all A' & B's in school, is active in sports, is respectful, honest and helpful so that makes doing cool things for him really enjoyable!
