limited space for Home Theater

[cmartz]

I am looking for some recommendations for a fairly inexpensive (i.e.
<$350) HTIB but I am very restricted by a piece of furniture. The
stupid Armoire that we bought for our TV, etc. Has an opening for VCR
/ DVD player that is only 14.7" wide. This is very hard to come by.
The only thing I've seen is the Panasonic SC-DT100 or sc-dt300 which
has a split component structure. I have found it impossible to search
for a system based on it's dimensions. Does anyone have a
recommendation for me?
Thanks,
..Chris

[neilnewsgroups@hotmail.com]

Have you thought about just taking a ruler to local dealers and
measuring the gear? That's what I do. You'll need to also measure the
height and depth; some of the narrow DVD players and receivers are
pretty deep.

I'll add that Denon, JVC, Pioneer, TEAC, and probably some other brands
I'm forgetting make DVD players and receivers that are much narrower
than the standard home gear. A few examples from JVC, although these
are stereo systems:

http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?productId=PRD2200000&pathId=11&rld=home

http://www.jvc.com/presentations/exa1/

http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL027211&pathId=11

If the above URLs don't work, look for JVC's EX and FS series gear.

Denon:

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/products.asp?l=2&c=16

I think Sears (and probably other places) sell this one:

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/photo.asp?s=spec&p=D-M51DVS&f=DM51DVS.JPG&c=16

I think I've seen this one on eBay for $200, BTW:

http://www.usa.denon.com/catalog/photo.asp?s=spec&p=ADV-M71&f=ADV%20M71S.jpg&c=16

You could get the above for $200 and then use some speakers you may
already have, or buy some inexpensive speakers.

And here's some TEAC gear. They have several lines of narrow HT gear in
their Reference series:

http://www.teac.com/consumer_electronics/ReferenceSeries.html

Kinda pricey, however. BTW, I think TEAC may also have some compact DVD
and receivers that aren't listed at the above. Try searching eBay and
the web. For example, here's a stereo TEAC DVD system:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3272&item=3874852997&rd=1

You'd have enough money in your budget to add a powered sub and (if you
wanted) other speakers that might sound better to you.

Pioneer has some narrow HTIB systems:

http://www.pioneerusa.com/pna/article/0,,2076_15019894_134382286,00.html

Also, look at back issues of Consumer Reports and other magazines that
have reviewed HTIBs. The reviews should give you the dimensions you
seek.

Another thought: If you have access to What HiFi? and other UK
magazines that are sold on larger newsstands and at places like Borders
and Barnes & Noble, they often review smaller gear, which the US AV
press tends to ignore.

BTW, I feel your pain. I have a somewhat similar problem with gear,
only my problem is caused by limited height and depth in my furniture,
not by width.