Budget 'Home Theater' Without a 'snakefarm' of cables?

[Mini_Owl]

Hi, folks. This is my first forum post to 123Macmini.

I'm on a fixed income and, with that in mind, I'd like to set up a 'home theater.' I put that in quotes because said theater would consist of the speaker system; my Mini 1.42/512 MB RAM; and my recently-purchased Dell 2005FPW. I don't want to go the 'home-theater-in-a-box' route, if possible, and going wireless would end up costing a fortune in batteries. So, could anyone recommend a sub-$200 home theater speaker solution for me (THX-certified surround-sound, if possible)? If it helps, my apartment is 300-400 square feet in size.

Many thanks in advance.

[druber]

The mini can't pass 5.1 audio on its own. You need a ~$100 device for just that. On your budget, I'd suggest a solid 2.1 computer speaker system. I like my old Yamaha set, which was sadly discontinued. Head to a local computer store that has lots of computer speakers set up and test them out. I don't know that THX-surround can be had with the mini for that price.

[Mini_Owl]

Thanks, druber. I'm leaning toward the JBL Creature II's or JBL Invaders, but it seems there are many 5.1 options (Logitech, Creative Labs, Altec Lansing, etc.) in my price range, based on what I see in the 'User Setup' gallery on this site.

Thanks again for your suggestion.

[Bandit Bill]

[Mini_Owl]

Thanks, Bandit. The Creature II's and Invaders seem to be popular on this site, but how do you get surround sound with those?

[Bandit Bill]

[Mini_Owl]

I've been advised against buying so-called 'HTIB's,' as well as the inferiority of Logitech & Creative Labs. Also on this 'Don't waste your money' list are Boston Acoustics and Cambridge Soundworks. Is this advice sound (no pun intended)? The first two have some rather enticing 'HTIB' packages available. As of right now, that narrows my list of candidates to: M-Audio (at the higher end of my budget); JBL Creature II; Bose Companion 3; Event PS5; Soundsticks II; JBL Encounter; Bose Companion 2; Alesis Monitor I Mark 2; Altec Lansing 3.1; Altec Lansing FX6021; Apple Pro speakers; Harman Kardon 'Champagne.'

Comments?

[druber]

Mini-Owl, surround sound is not possible without an extra USB device to decode and output a surround-sound signal. Plugging a THX-certified 5.1 speaker set into a Mac mini won't give surround sound. Simple as that.

To get surround sound, you need a device like M-Audio's Sonica Theater, which costs $100. If surround sound is really important, save up for this and check out reviews by folks who have it--see what speaker systems work well with this. If not, get whatever 2.0 or 2.1 system sounds best to you. There's no review of speakers that will give you better information than listening to them yourself. What one person finds very satisfying, another person finds unlistenable.

[Silver Samurai]

I believe the best you can get would be Dolby Surround Pro-Logic.
Thats the equivalent of what the GameCube can do since it does not have an optical output.
HTiB is prob the best overall bet, but the USB dongle is prob. what you are looking for.
Enjoy!
_________________
20" iMac G5 2.0

[Mini_Owl]

OK, I'm not ready to buy yet, but I went 'window shopping' with my ears today. At this time, it's a toss-up between the Klipsch Quintet III's http://tinyurl.com/8j7qf and the Klipsch SLX's http://tinyurl.com/8embk .

[solomalee]

[Mini_Owl]

I ended up buying the JBL Creature II speakers...not the home theater experience I wanted, but oh, well...sufficient for now.