Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Samsung AS730 HTIB system


Samsung AS730 HTIB system

For most people making their first foray into HT gear, springing for a full-blown audio rig to go along with a new TV is just too expensive, and while starting out with just a pair of speakers up front might fit the budget, it doesn't deliver the surround sound thrills that make on satisfied with the new purchase. That's exactly why HTIB systems like Samsung's new AS730 that get you going quickly but don't immediately "dead-end" your system make sense. For $500, you get a 7.1-channel receiver and a 5.1-channel speaker system with a powered subwoofer. With three HDMI inputs, three Toslink inputs, the requisite iPod dock (with analog video support), auto calibration and even 7.1 channel analog audio inputs, you can unbox this package and be set up before the popcorn is ready; better still, there's room to grow with this system. At this price point, some tradeoffs have to be made -- your Blu-ray deck will have to decode any Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA to LPCM, but that's just picking nits, isn't it?