Colonel Goeth Posted July 3, 2008 Posted July 3, 2008 Haro, My popcorn hour A-100 video/audio player is about to arrive so I want a cheap home theatre to go with it and my elcheapo 42" Hisense LCD TV. Popcorn hour can stream internet audio and has coax digital out so I figure a reciever and speakers would be good for that in my living room. I was considering spending a bit on something like an Onkyo 606 or Yamaha 863 or 1800B but if I go down that path I'll end up spending well over 2 grand by the time I buy good speakers to go with it. Since I'm only living in an apartment I figure I should be able to get away with a much smaller, cheaper setup. I like the specs of the Sony HTDDW7000 Muteki but it looks like it might be a bit bulky and out of place for my apartment. So I was also considering the Sony HTDDWG800. The main thing I want is at least 2 HDMI inputs, a coax digital and optical in and the ability to decode most of the dolby digital stuff. Yamaha packages are also an option. Anyone had expericence with these? I've seen the Muteki advertised for about $1130, and the HTDDWG800 for about $750. Any recommendations? Thanks
Digitl Posted July 5, 2008 Posted July 5, 2008 I'm also considering the HTDDWG800 for a small sized room, mainly for movies and gaming. So far I haven't found much discussion about it (a few threads on avforums) but it looks like a decent HTIB. The manual can be found at the UK Sony site. A few contradicting things I did notice in the spec sheets on different sites; * assignable HDMI & component - NO * variable A/V sync - NO I'll have to go through the manual to confirm the above. Is there really a need for variable A/V sync? The rest of the specs look pretty good, especially the inputs. http://www.sony.com.au/homecinema/catalog/...sp?id=HTDDWG800 The minimum features I'm looking for are 3 HDMI, 2 component, 2 opt audio, both video/audio to be carried over HDMI including PCM from the PS3. Does anyone have any opinions or thoughts?
Colonel Goeth Posted July 7, 2008 Author Posted July 7, 2008 I ended up getting the Sony HTDDW7000 (Muteki) at Good Guys Lutwych for $1066. It actually comes with a pretty good reciever. The only thing I find lacking is that it doesn't seem to be able to convert analoge component in to HDMI out. So when I want to use a component device I have to switch to my TV's component input. A slight inconvenience. However it does have 3 Compnent in that map to one component out. It has 3 HDMI in which should be all I'll ever need. Also has 2 optical and one digital coax in. Works quite well with my new popcorn hour A-100. Watched Okinawa yesterday and the battle scenes sounded great. The speakers are a bit bulky for my small living room but I figured that the better reciever and speakers were worth the extra ~$350 over the HTDDWG800. For those who don't want to spend $2,000+ on components I think this is a pretty good compromise.
jmtheo1503560626 Posted July 11, 2008 Posted July 11, 2008 (edited) I ended up getting the Sony HTDDW7000 (Muteki) at Good Guys Lutwych for $1066. It actually comes with a pretty good reciever. The only thing I find lacking is that it doesn't seem to be able to convert analoge component in to HDMI out. So when I want to use a component device I have to switch to my TV's component input. A slight inconvenience. However it does have 3 Compnent in that map to one component out. It has 3 HDMI in which should be all I'll ever need. Also has 2 optical and one digital coax in. Works quite well with my new popcorn hour A-100. Watched Okinawa yesterday and the battle scenes sounded great. The speakers are a bit bulky for my small living room but I figured that the better reciever and speakers were worth the extra ~$350 over the HTDDWG800. For those who don't want to spend $2,000+ on components I think this is a pretty good compromise. Sounds good mate. I've been sniffing around this one too! You got a good price by the sound of it. What came close to it sound-wise when you were out testing? PS - How did you go setting up all 7 speakers in the apartment?? I was thinking that if I got this system I'd only use a 5.2 setup for my 4x3.5m room. PPS - Looking at the subs and fronts, do you reckon it's possible to sit the fronts on top of the subs to save floor space?? Edited July 11, 2008 by jmtheo
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