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For this page, we will assume that you are hunting for a surround sound audio system WITHOUT integrated Blu-ray Disc player, and instead prefer a stand-alone surround receiver with HDMI inputs for connecting and switching among multiple A/V components such as a separate Blu-ray/DVD player, PlayStation 3, and/or HDTV tuner/DVR using HDMI cable, and an HDMI output to send to your HD television.
Three HTIBs to consider that are each available for under $500 include the Onkyo HT-S5300 pictured to the right, the Denon DHT-391XP pictured bottom right, and the Yamaha YHT-593 pictured below. All three packages feature a 3D-ready home theater receiver with Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio decoding with four 3D-ready HDMI 1.4 inputs.
While Onkyo's HTS5300 includes an eight-piece 7.1 speaker system instead of the six-piece 5.1 speaker systems included with Denon's DHT391XP and Yamaha's YHT593, the four side/rear Onkyo surrounds are 1-way design speakers instead 2-way surrounds that come with the Denon and Yamaha. The Onkyo and Yamaha systems include an iPod/iPhone dock, unlike the Denon.
►If you prefer that the receiver be able to up-convert all non-HD video to 1080p via HDMI output to your TV, you should consider slightly raising your surround sound system budget to six hundred bucks or less. |