Q: Hi, I am in the process of purchasing a home theater system but I'm on a tight budget. I already have a television and I am seriously considering an inexpensive AV Receiver and some speakers for surround sound. I am really not quite sure what I should be looking for and I'm getting pretty overwhelmed. I'm just about to throw in the towel and buy one of those "Home Theater In A Box" units. Help!

A: My first suggestion would be that no matter how much you have or want to spend, be sure that you're getting a quality receiver. Don't be fooled by inexpensive receivers with boasts of big watts. Don't just go with brand name recognition, several big names in the electronics industry have gained their reputation in the field of video. That that doesn't mean that they are qualified to claim they're any good at audio. Many low cost receivers claim to crank out lots of wattage, but what they aren't telling you is that they came to those numbers by pushing the system to its limits and not for very long periods of time. The flip side to that is that you will see high priced receivers with unimpressive numbers listed for wattage. This is because the higher quality brands aren't trying to pad their numbers. They're giving you more accurate less misleading specs. Therefor, the sound that will come out of the inexpensive big watt reciever will be highly distorted when you barely turn the volume up while the higher priced lower watt receiver will remain clear at higher volumes, but also cleaner at lower volumes as well. Don't spend a few hundred dollars on something that ultimately you won't be satisfied with and may even damage your speakers by underpowering them. Also a good receiver should be pretty heavy if you slightly lift it up front.

Be sure that your speakers are evenly matched to the receiver. Remember that if you get better speakers than the electronics, then the speaker won't necessarily help make the system sound better, in fact it may reveal the short comings of the receiver. It's been said that a good rule of thumb for your home theater budget would be to spend the same amount on the speakers as you do your receiver.

The next thing that I find that people often underestimate or forget to factor into their budget are all the cables and connections. Don't settle for the cheap wire that comes in the box, those are only provided by the manufacturer for you to test out signal connection. Think about it, if it's free, how good can it really be? And it makes sense to get quality connections because the sound and picture will only be as good as it's weakest link. You're paying for this system, don't rip yourself off and not get the most out of the equipment that you will be using and have in your home for years to come.That said, keep the idea of at least 10% of your budget set aside for cables and connections.

If you are on a budget, the idea of an inexpensive Home Theater In A Box may sound alluring, but in my opinion, these systems tend to fall short if it's going to be your primary home theater system and don't allow for any growth later on down the line. In my experience of HTIB systems, the sound quality just isn't there. They tend to lack depth and sound "bright" or "tinny" and they may have a big boomy bass, but you miss out on the midrange information. So while the first impression may sound like they stack up, you lose a lot of the more subtle parts of the soundtrack.

My suggestion would be to spend $2000 if you can ($800 for the receiver, $800 for the speakers and $200 on the connections) If you don't want to save up for a bit longer, just remember this is the system you will be stuck with for awhile, do it right the first time. You get what you pay for. You will thank yourself in the long run rather than settling for an inferior system.