fabian

are home cinema systems really worth the money?

aquariancore

I have always hooked up my TV to my stereos. I don't know how much better you can get.

RoxyMoron

Being the queen of "I'll get it if I need it" I usually get everything piece by piece, when I find it on sale. I guess it can be worth the money if you get all the features you want!

chrispenycate

Worth the money? They cost almost nothing relative to what they contain.
Still, "worth" is dependent on your needs; if you're not going to use them, spend time enjoying the experience, then even given away they're too expensive; as a status symbol?
Of course, as a sound engineer, I consider that changing the loudspeakers for something at least as good as your previous hi-fi system (and more of them, to boot) essential, and the three screen speakers alone could cost more than you paid for the entire packaged system (and you don't want to know what the studio speaker system cost, believe me) But the experience of seeing and hearing the film as intended (well, as close as most cinemas) is impressive.
How much time do you spend watching DVDs each week? How critical are you about picture quality, sound quality, sound localisation? (I'm spoilt)
And how often do you go to the cinema, for the comparison (I always used to reccomend Hi-Fi systems relative to music styles and concert attendence)
5.1 - 6.1 can be superb, but the majority of home cinema packages bow to the WAF (I'm not having five loudspeakers that size cluttering up my living room) and don't even approach the potential results.

aquariancore

Sound and pic are important to me but my stereo system does a great job and I can never have a screen big enough.

tater03

We just recently got surround sound and I am loving it. I really didn't think I wanted it but I am glad we got it now. I say if you have the extra money go for it.

RoxyMoron

Yeah I don't really care much how the sound works as long as I am able to hear it, as for picture I'd like a big clear picture because I'm used to having a small tv and I have kind of bad eyes. Blah!