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By: Richard Del Cazzo
Web site: http://www.hdtv-hdtv.com
Not long ago, if you wanted theater style sound in your
home, you had to set some money and time aside to pick out
a good receiver, some speakers and speaker wires then spend
the weekend setting it all up. Sure it gave you great sound,
but most of us decided the two speakers on our TVs
were good enough. Enter the age of easy to set up home theater
systems.
The idea for a home theater in-a-box is simplicity: everything
you need is in the box; speakers, receiver, amplifier, cables
and often times a DVD player. And generally, the cost of the
box of everything is cheaper than each piece individually.
When youre shopping for a home theater system, there
are a couple things to consider. First, make sure the set
up fits your needs (That is, do you already have a CD player
you like, a DVD player or some other equipment you plan on
keeping?). Also, check connection options, some set-ups include
cables that have plugs on one end or both, limiting the spots
you can place your speakers. Worse, should the plug be on
both ends, youre stuck with those speakers for as long
as you keep the system (maybe thats not bad, but what
if you break a speaker?). Last, when comparing price, make
sure youre not cutting yourself short. Often times,
the model that features a DVD player is only $25-50 more.
If you dont have a DVD player, or want a second one,
you wont find a DVD player for that price. Also, consider
all in one units, those that have one component
with the DVD player, tuner and the like all together. Should
any of those items fail, the entire device needs to either
be fixed or replaced, as opposed to just one component.
One of the two systems we showed this morning, the Yamaha
DVX-S120 has a built in DVD player and good sounding speakers.
The system is on the inexpensive side, and was painless to
set up, the color coded wires helped that. However, those
color coded wires featured plugs on one end, so the speakers
could only be as far away as the included wire. Once set up,
the sound was impressive and the DVD player had all the high-end
output options (digital and coaxial output) needed for hooking
into new higher quality TVs.
Inexpensive, easy to set up, good sound.
Cable connectors, all-in-one unit.
$499 Suggested Retail
Higher end, this slick looking system booms. The device set
up quickly, and included the color-coded cables needed which
werent plugs on either end. The speakers looked different,
so it might not fit into some decors, but the sound might
make it a desirable change. On the expensive side, the only
other complain I had was, again, its one unit. Should the
DVD player fail (or the amplifier), youd have to replace
or fix the entire unit. However, the output options were also
high end, so hooking into a nicer home entertainment center
will be easy.
Slick design, great sound.
All-in-One, Expensive
$999 Suggested Retail.
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