New Here, Need a little advice

[AlexWolf]

This is my first post, and I am just venturing into serious home theater. We are building a house, and the builder has already poured a 15*25 angled slab for a theater. I went to several "high end" places locally, but I am now more confused than ever. The first place basically told me that I couldnt get anything good for less than $50k. Realistically, my budget is around $8-10k for equipement and labor. This is not including the room construction, thats already taken care of. My questions:

I want something truly impressive. I think we decided on a DLP projector, the consultant recommended a Sharp. We want the screen to be 100" or so.

I was thinking of going with the RF-15 system with an additional pair of RS-25, but that gets pretty pricey. Doesnt leave much room for any other gear.

I was told to get the Integra 6.5 receiver, any ideas? I found a few nice Denon's for around $1k.

The consultant wants $500 for plans, plus labor to install and tune everything. Is this a fair price?

Thanks in advance for all your help!

Alex

[rplace]

Klipschorns 2,000 - very impresive to listen to and to look at.

5 Heresies 1,000 - probably less

LCD projector 2,000 (lots to choose from check out the Panasonic 700)

DVD player free - I bet you got one...you will upgrade down the road

Carada screen 700 - As good as anything I have seen 1/3 the price of Stewart

A bunch of Blue Jean cables 300

That leaves you 2K for a A/V receiver...I vote you up the budget to 10 leaving you 4K for decent separates. Put the money into amps they last forever and you can upgrade the Pre/Pro as new features become available.

Welcome to the forum. This should get you going. Use the search feature and you will find tons of info. I just spend the last year building my room so drop me a line if you have specific questions.

EDIT: I thought 8K was your limit. At 10K you are ready for a seperate pre/pro and amps already.

[Cal Blacksmith]

Welcome to the forum!

You can get a very nice system for your budget. If you are handy, you

can spend the money on equipment and do the install yourself. It really

is not hard to do. The biggest thing is planning it out.

I went with a LCD projector and we love it. There is a big difference

between HIGH END price, LIST price and what you can buy things

for. The high end dealer I consulted with wanted $3000 for my

projector. I looked a bit and found it for $1900 all over the place and

with a little luck, I was able to buy it used with 2 hours on it, in

the box with warranty for $1250. So shopping is a big money saver. Our

picture is just over 100 inches but will be at 100 inches when I make my

screen (we are currently viewing on the wall) Again, much less

expensive than buying the screen ready made, even ready made screens

can be bought reasonably priced.

Reference speakers are a great turn-key way to go. My system is all

heritage and extended heritage speakers. Again, bought used but in

great shape. Heritage takes up more space than Reference so that may be

a factor for you.

My receiver is a Yamaha but Dennon also makes some good units as well as the higher end.

It kind of depends on how much shopping you want to do, time you

have to get the system together, how much work you want to do but you

can have 90 to 95% of the quality of that $50, 000 system well in

your budget if you shop carefully and take your time and do it

yourself.

[MrMcGoo]

Cal hit the nail squarely on the head. All that I would add is that newer receivers do acoustic room correction automatically. You listen to your room as much as you listen to yor speakers.

Pioneer Elite started the room correction/auto setup trend. Their new line of receivers, the VSX-7 series, is just starting to become available. They have the best room correction IMO. Denon and Yamaha are now followers in receivers.

I have the Reference 7 speakers with the RSW-15. You can usually buy from authorized dealers at a discount of 10% to 30%, if you shop carefully. The 7 series is very hard to beat for home theater. Music is very good as well. The 7 series benefits from robust amplification due to low minimum impedances.

The Heritage speakers require less power, but need super clean power in the first watt.

Bill

[AlexWolf]

Thanks for your advice. I just met with the HT guy out at our house, and he was saying that the projector will have to be upgraded beacuse of the slope of the slab. Basically, its probably a 4-6' drop from top to bottom, and he was saying that in order to get the screen in the right spot, we would have to drop it from the ceiling on a 4' pole. Well, the wife killed that idea. She wants it so its not visible, meaning built in the back wall or in a box on the ceiling.

My other problem is time, both my wife and I work full times jobs, and we own a retail saltwater fish store which is open until 9pm. I really think im going to end up having to bite the bullet and paying an installer to hook it all up and configure it.

[RM1111]

Hey Alex, You don't need to spend 50K for a great home theater. Try to get all 7 speakers for the RF 15 setup for around $1600 without tax. MSRP is around $2000. Thats around 20% off. One option is to add 2 RB 15 instead of 2 more RS 25. Use the RB 15 for the sides and the RS 25 for the back. People like this setup for music, but it adds 200 more dollars. You have to listen to different receivers. Some people here like Denon, Harman Kardon, Pioneer, Marantz. I like my HK. You can get the HK 7300 for around $1300 online from a authorized dealer. I really haven't looked into separates that much and they can cost a lot more. I really haven't looked into projectors and don't know how much they cost for a good one. You probably have a dvd player already. Also do a search on the forum to look for what amps,receivers, projector/ tv's other people are thinking about buying. Alot of people like the RF35 setup, but it cost more then the RF 15 setup. The best is the RF 7 in the Ref. series. I don't know if $500 is a good price for setting up the equipment.

Speakers- 2000

Receiver- 1000 to 1500

Projector-3000 to 4000

Install- 500

Thats around 8000 or so.

[HatTrick66]

I'll do it for $40,000......[]

These guys hit it on the head. With a little effort, you will end up with something better for far less.

[BS Button]

Just about anybody on this board can give you a much better bang for the buck for 10K, rather than this other bozo's 50K, but of course you'll get all Klipsch gear. You might wait to see what Klipsch will be introducing or re-introducing soon? I have no idea of what it might be, but it'll be full of value, you can bet on that

[colterphoto1]

I really think im going to end up having to bite the bullet and paying an installer to hook it all up and configure it.

If you go this route, it will cost 50 big ones. I've seen great systems for one fourth of that. Just be patient, read and learn, then ask lots of questions.

Michael

[Dirk Diggler]

I agree 90% of RPlace recommendations. I would buy the screen material and make your own for under a hundred bucks to leave more monet for electronics or add a video scaler to get igh end video out of a mid-priced projector for pennies on the dollar. The Panasonic 700 is an amazing projector for the money. Combine it with the DVDO i-scan HD scaler for a street price of $750 and you have an amazing video combination.

Go with heritage speakers (khorn, la scala, heresy, cornwall, etc.) They are the best speakers Klipsch ever made, most are plywood rather than MDF, and they hold their value better than any speaker on the planet.

Combine with a good Processor and Amplification (Sunfire, NAD, Integra, Rotel, Denon, Sony ES, McIntosh) and you are all set.

My $0.02

Good luck..

[wheelman]

With your price limit I doubt you would want used, and hey you can help keep the Klipsch corp. alive. Which is a good thing or we wouldn't have this place to go to. So buy new it helps them a great deal than us cheap skates buying used all the time. I agree with everyone. I may have seen some really good deals on projector screens at tigerdirect.com usually computer stuff there. They send me catalogs like there life depends on it. I don't know what is up with that.. If you descide on a receiver personally i'd look into NAD, or ARCAM, B&K, Rotel. In my opinion try to avoid integra/ onkyo it's good but it may be to fatiguing in the long haul for your ears. I probally would go with Heresy II's all the way around regardless of my price limits ( more placement options, smaller in size, and you get the heretage sound), and maybe two Klipsch, thx subs. Seperates will definetely yeild a better sound, but if it's a bad match with Klipsch it won't sound as good as your expectations. It would be great if you could just setup two speakers at first and try different amps/ brands to see what combo you like on a trial period ( not always an option but it would be nice). This way you know you like the sound, and you didn't do any custom work around a pair of speakers that later on will be upgraded. Just a thought, welcome to the forum by the way. Like Michael said stick around and you will learn alot, and I'm sure you will have alot of fun doing it. Plus if you do it yourself if something goes wrong most likely you will have the know how pinpointing the problem.

Bill

[Cal Blacksmith]

Thanks for your advice. I just met with the HT

guy out at our house, and he was saying that the projector will have to

be upgraded beacuse of the slope of the slab. Basically, its probably a

4-6' drop from top to bottom, and he was saying that in order to get

the screen in the right spot, we would have to drop it from the ceiling

on a 4' pole. Well, the wife killed that idea. She wants it so its not

visible, meaning built in the back wall or in a box on the ceiling.

My

other problem is time, both my wife and I work full times jobs, and we

own a retail saltwater fish store which is open until 9pm. I really

think im going to end up having to bite the bullet and paying an

installer to hook it all up and configure it.

My projector is about 6" from the ceiling and the image on the screen

is centered nearly 2 1/2 feet down. This was done with verticle shift.

The projector can shift the image 2/3 it's height up or down and 1/2

the screen width for side to side. This should take care of your

alignment problems even with a built in projector.

[Cal Blacksmith]

I was just thinking, if you went with a wide screen rather than a 6x9

like most people use, an option you might like to have since you have a

dedicated theater room is a constant height setup. This is what the

movie theater use. The image is zoomed in (a power zoom on the

projector REALY helps) or out depending on the format of the movie so

that the height is always the same. This means that the width will

vary and the "frame" around the screen is adjusted by a set of

curtains. This is exactly what happens in a theater house and will

maximize the movie experience for you.

Our theater is a combo living room and theater so it is not practical

for us to do but you would get a great improvement with it. You could

have power curtains if you like. Keep them closed when the projector is

off and move to a pre-set opening width for each ratio of movie you are

showing. Another option would be to just have them manual and adjust

them after you turn the projector on and set the zoom.

[AlexWolf]

Whew! Lot of information, tough to take it all in

I was recommended the Infocus 7200 or 7205 projector. Seems good to me, but I dont know a lot. As for speakers, what about this combo?

2 RF-5s<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

1 RC-7

1 RSW-15

4 RS-7s

The Denon AVR 3805 seems to be a good value for dollar, around $800. So.
Projector $3000
Speakers $4200
Receiver $800
Screen $???

Then of course having someone run the wiring and misc things such as the rack, remote, projector mount.

[MrMcGoo]

Alex,

Your proposed setup is very good on the audio side. The Denon 3805 will be challenged by the minimum impedance of the Reference speakers. You can solve that "problem" by adding a separate amp later.

The RSW-15 will provide plenty of thump for most folks including myself. If you want more thump, the THX Ultra2 subs would be a good way to increase subwoofer output.

Others will be in a better position to give advice on the projector.

Bill

[RM1111]

Hey Alex, that is an excellent speaker combo, you will be very happy. I do not know much about installation, but try to call around and get a price from several dealers/ installers. Does your dealer that you are buying the speakers from, do install , if they do, maybe you can do some negotiating about doing a install for a cheaper price because your buying all those speakers.

[Shade]

That speaker combination should be great. It's good that you're looking

at the RC-7 instead of the RC-3, the RC-7 is one heck of a center. I

had one with RF-5 mains for a while & loved it.

One thing I would suggest is to listen to a setup using

direct-radiating surrounds (RF-5s, RB-5s, etc.) instead of the wide

dispertion RS series, if you haven't already. Personally for 7.1 I

prefer direct radiators, but thats just my opinion. Not sure what the

MSRP is on the RS-7s, but I would think you could get some decent RB's

or maybe RF's for around the same price. Again though, whether you

choose direct radiators or wide dispertion, it's just personal

preference.

BTW, you don't happen to work for SBC? There's a gentleman in our building with the same name.

[AlexWolf]

No, I dont work for SBC. I do internet auto sales in San Antonio and own a retail Saltwater fish store.

I found the entire set for $4k including shipping. It broke down pretty much like this:

RC-7 $520

RS-7 $619/pr

RSW-15 $1359

RF-5 $1017/pr

I really woulndt mind going the used gear route. I dont have all the cash to lay out right now, I need to purchase over the next month or so. I have heard to wait on the projector until after CEDIA on the 8th, that prices should come down.

The projector is where I am really lost. I dont have any idea which way to go.

I have attached pics of my room. The problem I have run into is the popup ceiling vs. projector mounting. I wanted to have a popup with rope lighting, but most decent projectors I found (Infocus, BenQ, Sharp, etc) require 8-12' throw, which puts it hanging smack in the middle from a pole. Very tacky.

[AlexWolf]

I should also mention that I am all ears if anyone has recommendations for receivers!

my interest was also peaked by the 2.35:1 ratio, sound like a cool thing to do, especially with a dedicated room.

[Olorin]

A couple of thoughts. I agree with Shade regarding the direct vs.

reflecting speakers. Consider saving some money and getting (IMO)

a better soundfield by using two pairs of RB-35s instead of RS-7s.

For the receiver, I can only recommend what I have heard. I have

a Harman Kardon AVR-235 that I think is terrific. H/K and Klipsch

are two great tastes that taste great together. The 435 and 635

offer a bit more power than the 235, while the 7300 offers a lot more

power.