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Home Theater In A Box

J

jklps

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 23, 2007
205
38
Once Leopard comes out and I order my 20" iMac I'm going to move my current G4 Mac Mini to my HD tv and use it mostly for music purposes.

Currently I don't have any speakers out there and really don't want to go all out to create a system from scratch(ie I don't want to set myself back 2K-3K on a speaker system).

These are basically my requirements

1) Front speakers with stands
2) an option for the rear speakers to be wireless
3) 2 optical audio inputs(one for mac mini from my usb digital audio out, other from my comcast dvr box)
4) IF there is a dvd player that it upscales to 1080i like my current dvd player. If it doesn't have a dvd player, then 3 optical audio inputs.

Any advice from the Macrumors bunch? I realize that my requirements may lead me into the $500-$700 territory of mid level HTIB and that is ok with me.
 
I would definitely go for a system without a DVD player to come up with a higher quality system at a lower price. I bought an Onkyo receiver with 5 speakers and a subwoofer for about $300 two years ago. A similar system is probably even cheaper now. The sound quality was definitely better than a similar Sony receiver. (Thanks to Circuit City for not charging a restocking fee.) It had one optical and one coax digital audio input. My DVD player had coax digital audio out, so that worked out well for me. I can use another optical input now, but at the time it was all I needed.

Why don't you use your Mini as a DVD player? DVI output would basically function as your SD-to-HD upscaler.

RadioShack used to sell coax-to-optical and optical-to-coax converters, so the number of digital audio inputs may be more important than the type.
 
I'd say the Onkyo HT-S790 7.1 system ($499) would be perfect EXCEPT that 1) it doesn't come with stands (do any but Sony systems) and 2) it doesn't have the option of rear wireless speakers ... BUT it is exceptional quality for the money.

Honestly, I don't know of a good HTiB system, or one that I would recommend, that has wireless rear speakers.

If it doesn't have a dvd player, then 3 optical audio inputs.
Click to expand...
Any receiver worth it's salt will have at least 3 optical audio inputs. Also, don't forget that a digital audio coax output/input will give you the exact same quality as any optical output/input and many, if not all, dvd players have digital coax outs (even my $30 RCA dvd player has one). Any coax cable will work (even an RCA one), they are dirt cheap and are much more durable.
 
theBB said:
I don't think you can go wrong with Onkyo in terms of audio quality, but I don't know anything about their DVD players for image quality or durability. If your Mac mini can handle 720p, why do you need a DVD player anyways?
Click to expand...

Already own the upscaling to 1080i DVD player since I bought my tv pre-football season. No reason to sell it, I can't imagine it would sell for very much as it was like 120 to begin with.
 
rgsaunders said:
Try the Logitech Z5450, digital and analog inputs, wireless rear speakers, etc.
http://www.kingstoncomputerplanet.com/products/?cid=08&scid=03&pid=080300020
Click to expand...

Does anyone else have any experience with this product? This seems perfect for what I'd like to set up, but I haven't heard much about using systems like this for a home theater, just for use with computer setups. Any input would be appreciated. Sorry if I'm hijacking the thread, but hopefully we can get some opinions, and any other suggestions, because I'm in the same position that the OP is. Thanks.
 
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