I am new to this and on a budget. I've been trying to make heads or tails of all the reviews and message boards for two weeks. After two weeks I think I've finally narrowed it down. But... I have a few more questions.
Based on a suggestion from the message board I looked into the Onkyo SR501. Which led me to the Onkyo HTS650. The system is complete with speakers and received great reviews. However, I've found from the HT message board that there is a consistant problem with LFE(?). This led me to the Onkyo HTS760 which I am leaning towards.
My question is this... Is the Onkyo HTS760 better than going with a separate receiver HK AVR 225 or Pioneer VSX-D711 with Fluance AV-HTB system speakers?
I will be hooking this up to Sony's DVP-CX875P and am more concerned with music than movies.
Thanks in advance for any advice on this.
MrHorspwer
Posted on
The Fluance systems seems pretty nice, espically for the price. I have personally never heard any of there speakers, so take what I say about how they may sound with a grain of salt. The only thing I find it lacking is a subwoofer. The front floor standing speakers included in the Fluance system will work great for musical reproduction. However, while watching movies, the lack of a subwoofer will mean you miss out on all the sound from the LFE channel. If you want a true reproduction of a movies soundtrack, you need a sub.
I own the Onkyo HT-S760 and am quite pleased with it. I don' think there is a HTIB that can match it for the price... possibly even ones that are more expensive. Movie soundtracks sound great. Music sounds alright when compared to a good dedicated stereo... great when compared to many other HTIBs. The 760's main speakers aren't the greatest when it come to bass reproduction. The subwoofer helps alot, but creates what I find to be a slightly unnatural sound. Pink Floyd and Greatful Dead sound great... but it gets a bit worse with more bass heavy music. This is not to say it sounds bad, it still sounds very good... just not great.
My best advice would be to listen to both systems and decide from there. Many people will give you recommendations based on their own experiences or the reviews of others... take their (or mine for that matter) advice to an extent, but don't base your purchase on a recommendation without actually hearing the system. Listen to a system BEFORE you buy it. You are the one who has to live with the system and your musical preferances many differ widely from those of others.