Help me create my new entertainment system...

[RockyMountainOySker]

Wasn't sure if I should put this in the A/V or Tech forums but thought it might get more traffic here.

 

I am moving in with the gf in the next couple months and I want to re-do my entertainment system in our living/family room. I already have the television (Samsung LED SmarTV) and PS3 (bluray) taken care of but the rest is completely open. My first idea is to buy an Mac Mini along with a wireless keyboard and mouse to add a fully functional computer to the main room. The smart TV is great for streaming Netflix/Hulu/etc. but it is a painful process trying to surf the web.

 

With the Mac Mini I'll have full access to my iTunes library as well as Spotify.

 

Additionally, I believe I'll need a Home theater system complete with speakers and a receiver. My only real requirement is to be able to listen to music through the speakers while a game is showing on the TV.

 

I live in Chicago and our apartment won't be massive, meaning the space to fill with the speakers isn't huge. I'm looking for high quality at the lowest price possible. Additionally, we might buy so the condo could be pre-wired with speakers and I might only need the receiver. For the sake of this thread though, assume I need it all.

 

Thoughts or suggestions? Thanks for your help!

[Creighton Duke]

/thread

[husker3434]

I bought some speakers and a sub_woofer from this company about 5 years ago. They are really good, small company that will help you out. If you give them dimensions of the room where you will be using this info, they will tell you what and how many speakes to buy.

 

http://www.hsuresearch.com/index.html

[ADS]

/thread

With these two games:

 

 

[Creighton Duke]

/thread

With these two games:

 

 

Negative. Save 10 cents and get this one.

[ADS]

[GSG]

Negative. Save 10 cents and get this one.

 

[RockyMountainOySker]

/thread

With these two games:

 

 

Negative. Save 10 cents and get this one.

The force is strong with you.

[Ulty]

/thread

LOL, that's the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title.

[Ulty]

 

I am moving in with the gf

Doesn't matter what you do, the TV is mostly going to be used for "A Wedding Story" and "Dancing With the Stars" so don't splurge on speakers.

[RockyMountainOySker]

 

I am moving in with the gf

Doesn't matter what you do, the TV is mostly going to be used for "A Wedding Story" and "Dancing With the Stars" so don't splurge on speakers.

Good point. My girl is definitely all about those shows but we'll make it work. Mainly a large capacity dvr with ability to watch them in any room....hopefully. Directv Genie probably.

 

Any other real ideas?

[strigori]

If you want to use the TV for web browsing and what not, get a micro tower PC, for a fraction of the Mac price. Wire it to the receiver, and use play the music. And if you want both music and the game running, you should be able to have the game sound through the TV speakers. Look into the current Onkyo home theater systems that run the $500 list price or so. Generally going over that pricetag won't get you enough of a quality improvement for most people, mainly audiophiles.

[RockyMountainOySker]

If you want to use the TV for web browsing and what not, get a micro tower PC, for a fraction of the Mac price. Wire it to the receiver, and use play the music. And if you want both music and the game running, you should be able to have the game sound through the TV speakers. Look into the current Onkyo home theater systems that run the $500 list price or so. Generally going over that pricetag won't get you enough of a quality improvement for most people, mainly audiophiles.

 

Thanks, strigori. I looked into micro tower PCs but didn't find a very big price difference from the Mac Minis. All seemed to be $450-700 and I would most likely go with the lowest cost Mac Mini at $599. I'll definitely wire the computer to the receiver so I can have music playing but the tv showing a game (no sound). Basically thinking about making dinner (etc) while listening to music but not missing a game. Def not talking Nebraska games as I'll have the sound playing.

 

Thanks for the Onkyo suggestion. Seem to big good value for the price.