surround sound systems

[rocky]

Its time for my next home electronics adventure. With a dvd player on the way out, its a good time to invest in surround sound to accompany my 50inch panasonic tv

The room is pre wired for surround sound. FWIW walls are white. It would be very easy to go out and pick up a all in one box panasonic system for under $600 but what would I be missing with such a system?

[oogie]

HTIB systems can be 'OK' if that's all you are looking for. If you just want a little surround sound to accompany your TV. But if you really want some decent sound, getting closer to replicating some serious home theater experiences (and some rocking commercial soundtracks) - there are some really decent opportunities to get well-priced seperates. I would highly recommend SVS as a company to provide you speakers. Match that to an Onkyo 605 or 606 receiver and you are ready to go! http://svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm

You can get the speaker system in at about $1,000 and receiver for about $400. Your $1400 system is sure pricey compared to a $600 HTIB ... but it would in no way compare sound-wise. Check out the SVS site or avsforum.com to get excited about spending money on electronics.

[macphanatic]

If you go the HTIB route, make sure that it has enough inputs, including digital audio. My buddy wound up replacing his relatively new system because it had no optical in and his cable dvr only had optical out for 5.1/6.1 audio.