Save or splurge: The living room

To get the most for your money, you need to know two things: when the good stuff is worth paying extra for and when the economy choice is plenty good enough.

By Money Magazine's Andrea Bartz, Ismat Sarah Mangla, Noah Rothbaum and Wilson Rothman

JVC DVD digital theater system<br>TH-D50 | $400 (comes with DVD player, five speakers and subwoofer)

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Theater

JVC DVD digital theater system
TH-D50 | $400 (comes with DVD player, five speakers and subwoofer)

Save or spend: Save

To get the coveted surround-sound that's part and parcel of HDTV and DVD movies, you need a surround-sound setup.

You could buy all the pieces separately and pay $400 for the receiver and $600 to $6,000 for speakers. Or you could get an entire home theater for $400 total.

JVC's comes with a DVD player built in, has spacious sound and is idiot-proof in terms of setup and use.

Major brands deliver similar quality on one-box systems; just look for at least 800 watts of sound for a 20-foot-by 20-foot room.

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