You don't have to own maracas to play the game though. This seems to be a common misconception. Works perfectly fine with the standard controller, although it's not as fun that way.
For a receiver, Yamaha is without a doubt the best in that price range. Get one with pre-amp outputs and you can add an external amplifier later, when budget allows.
Speakers are what really makes the difference though. Stay away from Bose. I don't know why people think they're so good. They must not have heard quality speakers before. Personally, I have Energy speakers in my theater. They're an older series though, not available anymore. I don't find their new speakers as pleasing to listen to. You'll need to decide if it's going to be only a theater or a theater/audio room. If I was going for a strictly theater setup, I would look into Definitive Technology speakers. They're not cheap, but speakers is where you want to put your money. When Super Dolby Digital 20.5 or whatever comes out, you'll toss the receiver, but keep the speakers.
A sub is VERY important for a theater. You could spend a ton of money on a Velodyne, but it would be money wasted. The absolute best sub for the money, or for 5 times the money for that matter, is a Hsu Research http://www.hsuresearch.com Anybody that tells you to buy another sub hasn't listened to a Hsu. I'm using a Hsu TN1220HO right now and it is simply amazing. Visit http://www.audioreview.com and check the ratings for the Hsu subs. Last time I checked, they were perfect 5.00s across the board.
As an owner of both a 93 Eagle Talon TSi AWD and a 95 Eclipse GST, I would have to say the reliability of these cars has been pretty high for me. Having owned several Hondas before purchasing these cars, I have something to base my opinion on.
A lot of people think they're unreliable because the internet DSM mailing list seems to have a lot of posts about problems and how to fix them. However, you have to understand that a DSM owner fixes their own car in their garage, rather than the average Honda owner who drives it to their local dealer. They're lot like Linux users - find what's broken and hack till it works. My cars have never had any problems at all and the 93 has 108k miles on it now.
As far as the comparison to the GSR, a non-turbo DSM is no match. Buy a turbo if you're gonna buy one and you'll thank yourself later. My 93 has been slightly modified (exhaust, air intake, boost set to 14psi) and can do 0-60 in 4.9sec on normal everyday street gas. There aren't many cars that can compete in a race from a red light (just ask any V8 owners where I live..haha). AWD is awesome! I would highly recommend it.
For the ultimate guide on DSMs in general go to Club DSM. I don't think there's a more knowledgeable group anywhere else on the internet.
Slashdot Mirror
You don't have to own maracas to play the game though. This seems to be a common misconception. Works perfectly fine with the standard controller, although it's not as fun that way.
For a receiver, Yamaha is without a doubt the best in that price range. Get one with pre-amp outputs and you can add an external amplifier later, when budget allows.
Speakers are what really makes the difference though. Stay away from Bose. I don't know why people think they're so good. They must not have heard quality speakers before. Personally, I have Energy speakers in my theater. They're an older series though, not available anymore. I don't find their new speakers as pleasing to listen to. You'll need to decide if it's going to be only a theater or a theater/audio room. If I was going for a strictly theater setup, I would look into Definitive Technology speakers. They're not cheap, but speakers is where you want to put your money. When Super Dolby Digital 20.5 or whatever comes out, you'll toss the receiver, but keep the speakers.
A sub is VERY important for a theater. You could spend a ton of money on a Velodyne, but it would be money wasted. The absolute best sub for the money, or for 5 times the money for that matter, is a Hsu Research http://www.hsuresearch.com Anybody that tells you to buy another sub hasn't listened to a Hsu. I'm using a Hsu TN1220HO right now and it is simply amazing. Visit http://www.audioreview.com and check the ratings for the Hsu subs. Last time I checked, they were perfect 5.00s across the board.
As an owner of both a 93 Eagle Talon TSi AWD and a 95 Eclipse GST, I would have to say the reliability of these cars has been pretty high for me. Having owned several Hondas before purchasing these cars, I have something to base my opinion on.
A lot of people think they're unreliable because the internet DSM mailing list seems to have a lot of posts about problems and how to fix them. However, you have to understand that a DSM owner fixes their own car in their garage, rather than the average Honda owner who drives it to their local dealer. They're lot like Linux users - find what's broken and hack till it works. My cars have never had any problems at all and the 93 has 108k miles on it now.
As far as the comparison to the GSR, a non-turbo DSM is no match. Buy a turbo if you're gonna buy one and you'll thank yourself later. My 93 has been slightly modified (exhaust, air intake, boost set to 14psi) and can do 0-60 in 4.9sec on normal everyday street gas. There aren't many cars that can compete in a race from a red light (just ask any V8 owners where I live..haha). AWD is awesome! I would highly recommend it.
For the ultimate guide on DSMs in general go to Club DSM. I don't think there's a more knowledgeable group anywhere else on the internet.
Brian