Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Sanzuo
May 7, 2007

mutata posted:

I'm moving and getting married, and in so doing, I'm entering the wonderful world of living in a place long enough to actually set up a nicer system. On the other hand, I'm on a tight budget.

I'm planning on getting a nicer LCD or plasma tv, and I already have a dvd player. Additionally, I have a small computer that I'm turning into a digital picture frame/stereo system. It'll run Windows XP Media Center, display pictures, and I have a remote to run the interface so we can listen to mp3s stored on a hard drive. Essentially, my entertainment system consists of 3 devices so far: the TV, the DVD player, and the computer.

I've found a nicer-ish, cheap, refurbished JVC speaker system, but I know NOTHING about receivers. Any help in understanding or finding a cheap one that will suit my needs and be able to plug these speakers in to work with all of these devices would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Those speakers look like they'll be sufficiently functional, but I wouldn't worry about getting a receiver with a huge watt output unless you plan on upgrading the speakers later.

For receivers you need to get a surround receiver with Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby DTS and all that good stuff. My favorite, FAVORITE receivers at those price points come from Denon. If you're on a budget I recommend the Denon AVR-1507 for $330USD. I own the AVR-1907 as of writing this and it's awesome. The setup is intuitive and it has auto-calibration, which is really convenient. (Read your owner's manual!)

The fact that the sub woofer in that JVC system is self-powered is good for you. Never buy a sub that isn't self-powered.

If you have any question about set up I'm still lurking around.

Edit: Regarding TVs. If you are on a budget DO NOT buy a cheap plasma. It will suck and break. You're better off buying a cheaper LCD. On the other hand if you have money to spend on video; nicer, more pricey plasmas are actually pretty reliable despite bad press.

A good 42" inch to 50" plasma should cost between $3,000USD and $6,000USD. Pioneer Elite is ok, but Runco Plasmas are very reliable and competitively priced right now. If you can't spend that much, get an LCD with the best warranty you can find.

Sanzuo fucked around with this message at 19:11 on May 17, 2007

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply