Home theater system sans DVD

February 13, 2007 4:14 PM

Looking to buy my first home theater system. Seems most systems come with a DVD/CD player. Thing is, I already have a Sony DVP-NS975P DVD player which I am more than happy with. The DVD player has HDMI output and I would also like to run my Xbox 360 (HDMI) through the receiver. Any recommendations in the sub-$1000 range?
posted by sharksandwich to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

Buy separate components. There are a slew of much better stand-alone 7.1 receivers. Onkyo has a nice line. The TX-SR604 is around $450.00 with 1080p hdmi switching. Don't cheap out on the speakers. I have the old Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble to which I added extra speakers for 5.1 and eventually 6.1 (I don't have room to go 7.1)
posted by Gungho at 5:56 PM on February 13, 2007

Along the lines of what Gungho suggested, the only reason you can't find a "home theater system" without a dvd player is because you are looking at the all-in-one's. Component set-ups are far more flexible and customizable.

Data points: I've got a pioneer reciever (amp, am/fm tuner, eq), kenwood 5 disc cd changer, and a cheap toshiba dvd player.
posted by philomathoholic at 6:25 PM on February 13, 2007

oh yeah, and I've got the 5.1 speaker setup also.
posted by philomathoholic at 6:27 PM on February 13, 2007

Onkyo still sells home theater systems without CD/DVD, but those lower-end models don't have HDMI.

OTOH, they do have the HT-S907, which is $800 at Amazon and comes with the TX-SR604 receiver that Gungho mentioned above. You still end up buying the CD player, but you don't have to use it since it's a separate component. Maybe eBay?

Given that, you should probably buy a speaker set plus a receiver. The home theater systems are intended for those who want everything one box and you're not them.
posted by smackfu at 6:55 PM on February 13, 2007