After you've gone to the store and grabbed a couple of the model numbers of components you're interested in, you need to separate the good from the bad. This is relatively easy to do, and requires only a few visits to a couple of web sites.
Narrowing Your Choices
To find out if what your looking at is any good, there is an awesome consumer
review web site you can check out: http://www.audioreview.com.
This web site is simply a consumer message board, wherein consumers post warnings,
gripes, and applause for HT gear they've purchased.
How To Use Audioreveiw.com
As with any consumer review site, you will always have people that just want to
brag about what the purchased. With this in mind, it's a best bet to simply gloss
over the positive postings, and instead focus entirely on the negative posts.
It's through these negative postings that you can find out if there is a recurring
problem with a specific model your looking at, or if the issues are isolated one
time events. No product is perfect, and manufacturers work out many of the kinks
as the product is continually rolling off the line, so allow for some isolated
issues.
One thing to filter out is the brand bashers. Certain people just like posting about how much they hate certain brands. It's usually best ignore these close-minded people unless you find what they say to be of value.
The "Real" Price
After you've narrowed your choices down to the right piece of gear, you need to
find the "real" price. To do this you simply go to Cnet.com,
and type in the brand name followed by the model number of the product your looking
for. Cnet.com will display a list of online
vendors and their cheapest prices.
Now you don't want to buy gear online due to manufacturer warranty void, return policies, and zero tech support if the product breaks. What your using the online vendors for is to see how much your local retailers are jacking up the price.
For example, a Pioneer Elite RPTV that goes for $8,000 retail is only $4000 online. This shows a tremendous markup. Compare that to a Mitsubishi RPTV that retails for $4500, and can be found online for only $4100. That's an adequate markup that balances out after you allow for shipping costs.
Using Cnet as a price gauge to see if one brand's product is tremendously overpriced is the way to go. If one of the products is just simply too high in price, it's usually best to go with an alternative or try to find a store that can give you a more reasonable price.
After you've narrowed your choices down, and found the "real" price, it's finally time to bring the HT gear home.