I consider myself the type of person that will go out and research a product before I make the big purchase. But, I think this time I have gone and looked at so much stuff I don't know which way is up. I was hoping you could give me a few suggestions on some of the HTIB I have been looking at. Plus, if you have any other suggestions it would be great. My budget is around $700 with a little wiggle room.
Onkyo Black 7.1-Channel Home Theater System - HT-S5100B Onkyo Black 7.1 Channel Home Theater System - HT-S7100 Sony Black Component Home Theater System - HT-7200D
I currently have a Philips Plasma TV and an XBox 360 that I want to hook up. I dont have any HDMI components, but as the technology (HDMI and Blue Ray etc...) progresses I want my system to be able to handle it.
I am leaning toward the Onkyo 5100, but is the 7100 worth the extra money?
Just a personal thing but I would scratch the Sony immediately and if you want to be ready for upgrades and the latest technology the 7100 is DEFINITELY worth it. The HDMI "pass-through" on the 5100 is simply a switch in that if you connect a Blu-ray to it (for example) via HDMI you still have to connect another audio cable of some sort to get sound from the system. I have yet to figure out the scenario where that would actually be beneficial but I guess there has to be one somewhere.
"I have yet to figure out the scenario where that would actually be beneficial but I guess there has to be one somewhere."
The scenario was for those TVs like my old JVC DLP which does not pull audio through HDMI, or is it my STB that doesn't send audio through HDMI?! For that setup I have to connect audio through optical or analog. Go figure!