Home Theater in a Box Systems vs. Components
 

Convenience or performance, which would you choose?

You're thinking about home theater. To get a real movie theater experience in your living room, a DVD player and your dinky TV speakers just aren't gonna cut it. You need a home theater audio system. There are two ways to get a home theater audio system: "all-in-one" systems, or separate components (DVD player, multichannel receiver, etc.). Here's a quick comparison to help you choose what's best for you.

you outta use the quotes around that

im using a HT system from samsung out of the box right now
its good enuf for my apartment

if i have a house, i would probably shell out a couple grands for a complete high end system
projector, Onkio amp, some nice floor speakers, bluh bluh

All-In-One systems shouldn't be considered home theatre systems, if you ask me. They don't provide a theatre-like experience. Real systems require real components. Sure, it can be pricey to use real components. Right now I'm stuck with a mid-range receiver (high end by most people's standards - 30 amps of current [in comparison Sonys and Pioneers and such are in the 6 to 8 amps range]). In a couple of years, though, when I can afford it a little easier, I'd like to go with Krell, or similiar components (tuner, preamp, amp) but those start at around 8 grand. I guarantee you that it will crush any boxed system.

for 8 g's, it had better crush any boxed system....

Yeah, especially if you put them together with a pair of those $40K B&Ws, I'd say you would shatter the speaker housings for some of those systems.