Allen in Texas Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Building a new house, and have a HT drawn in at the top of the stairs (only thing on the second floor). The dimensions are 20 feet long, by 13 feet deep by 9' ceiling. It is drawn with a step up in the very rear that measures 6 feet deep the remaining 14 feet are naturally one level. I do not have any equipment yet as I know it depends on room dimensions. There will be 2 pilasters sp? on the long wall and 4 windows on the other long wall (which will be completely blacked out when room is in use) I would really appreciate any comments as to your personal preferences knowing these dimensions...screen type...I know I'm getting a HD DLP projector and I'd like to do the paintable screen, it will have a hardwood floor with area rugs...other than that, I don't have anything nailed down... If anyone has software that I could use to help with potential sonic problems, that would be great Really just looking for any ideas or advice from a very informed group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Any sort of info on budget would be helpful. Do you have any existing equipment you plan to uses? The reason I ask is because most people already have a CD and/or a DVD player. Also will this be movies only or 2-channel music as well? What about multi channel music? My room is not too much different then yours with the exception of the step up. Mine is 13.5 X 17. I also have my screen on the short wall. I wish it could be on the long wall in order to place the speakers farther apart. When you get around to the screen please give strong consideration to the aspect ratio of the screen. I strongly suggest you do NOT buy/build/make one with the 16:9 aspect ratio. But we are getting way ahead of ourselves. If you are thinking Klipsch there are three options that come to my mind. THX Ultra II, Reference, and Heritage (I'll assume since it is a dedicated room and a new house you want more the Synergy line would provide). The Ultra stuff is supposed to make a phenomenal theater, however I have not heard it so can't comment personally. This would make sense if it was a higher budget option and you want it mainly for movies. The Reference line would be great for both music and movies and lots of people here will have all sorts of advice. The Heritage line is what I have and has a huge following on the forum here for both movies and music. Budget will be a key factor. You could spend $500 on a theater in a box system, $5,000 on a nicer then most system or $50,000 and still not have the end all be all of everything. Heck, you could spend about 50K on a projector if you tired. Welcome to the forum, stick around and enjoy the fun. Sorry to answer you question with more questions...but we need a little more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Heck, you could spend about 50K on a projector if you tired. Heck, I'd have to be pretty "tired" to spend that kind of money on a projector. [] LOL, Buddy! [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Yep a bit more info is needed for us to properly spend your money[] As has been said, what are your goals? budget?, WAF? The more you help us, the more we can help you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rplace Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Jeff, When I am rich and famous I will hire you to be my proof reader. [] Problem with spell check is that it only finds the misspelled words. If I could teach my computer to do what I want it to NOT what I tell it to do I would really be on to something. BTW have you ever seen a HT with at $20K-30K projector. It is like the difference between Blows cubes and a properly set up system with khorns only visually instead of sonically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Jeff, When I am rich and famous I will hire you to be my proof reader. [] Problem with spell check is that it only finds the misspelled words. If I could teach my computer to do what I want it to NOT what I tell it to do I would really be on to something. BTW have you ever seen a HT with at $20K-30K projector. It is like the difference between Blows cubes and a properly set up system with khorns only visually instead of sonically. Rplace, I just couldn't resist because the "tired"/"tried" typo in a sentence talking about $50k projectors. By all means, feel free to get me back - but do it in good taste, please. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen in Texas Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 OK, first and foremeost...thank you for those who have responded, I really appreciate it. What room will be used for: Movie and regular television viewing along with intermittent 2 channel music listening, but I would suspect very little and no multi channel music. What I have: 7.1 channel yamaha receiver, SONY DVD player, cd player, vcr and HD DVR cable box...I do not have the screen, projector or the speakers. Budget: For the screen, projector and speakers I'd like to spend 6k. What I'm looking at is the Mitsubishi HC 3000 projector at 3k which would leave 3k for screen, speakers and amps? I realize this may not be as much as some would suggest, but I have to stick to my budget as best I can. My goals are to watch great movies and maybe as important to be able to view great television. These are paramount, with music secondary. Hope this helps with you guys "spending my money"...love that line Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eq_shadimar Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Hey Allen - Where in TX? In the DFW area there are lots of us that can help you out with equipment demos etc. Will respond to the rest of your questions after giving them some thought.Laters,Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raybart Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 What's wrong with the 16:9. I am getting ready to install. My room is 11.5 x 18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen in Texas Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 EQ Shadimar, I'm in Waco TX...demos would be awesome... you can e-mail me at echomakr@grandecom.net thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkot Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 with your 6k budget a painted screen will leave you with more to spend on the rest of your system. you should check out the sony hs51 projector, as it gets great reviews and is supposed to have the best blacks in its price range. then folllow with the 7 series reference stuff for the front three channels and go with the 35 series in the rear. this should fit you budget and will sound awsum. you can always add amps and stuff later. one thing to remember, for more than a few of us here ht is like a good hot rod (its never done!!!) jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Welcome to the forum Allen. Klipsch is in the process of rolling out new speakers in their acclaimed Reference line and none of us (as far as I know) have heard them yet. That being said NOW is the time to try and find the last of the old Reference line before they are gone. I can't imagine the new line being head and shoulders above the old, because the bar was already set high. Unfortunately, several months ago I went to all the Klipsch dealers in the DFW area to audition speakers and check stock on upper end Reference--No one had NIB, RF-7's RB-75's, RF-5's or the RC-7 in stock. Those are the speakers to mix and match for a Home Theater. There is a post today from "HTexpert," who evidently is a Klipsch authorized dealer in California and he posted prices on what he is willing to sell his remaining inventory for. I would take his list and call the dealers in our area ( list found under "Dealers" on Klipsch site)and see if they can give you a similar deal. [] Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 What's wrong with the 16:9. I am getting ready to install. My room is 11.5 x 18. Nothing, as far as it goes. There is a school of thought though that a HT should be a constant HEIGHT. This means that you adjust the WIDTH of the screen with movable side panels, curtains or leave white space to the sides. This is what the movie theaters do; they have a very wide screen and adjust the width with curtains to the format of the movie. I do this on a limited basis as I have a manual zoom projector and view on the wall. It does make a BIG difference in watching the movie. There are additional lenses that you add to your projector that also widen the compressed image of Anemographic films; again a screen wider than 16x9 is needed. 16 x 9 is a bastard (edited by the Klipsch P.C. software, the word used refers to a child whos father was not married to his mother.) size; it is a compromise between TV and movies. Movies need to be made to fit a 16 x 9 format, read the fine print on the DVD case, it might say optimized for 16 x 9 If it does, the movie has been hacked to fit the format. If not, you will have letter box bars. You can use a 16 x 9 screen but the width will remain constant and you will get "letter box black bars" on the top and bottom of your image. Your choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen in Texas Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 tkdamerica, Thanks for the info and the welcome to the forum...Do you have any projector preferences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen in Texas Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 Cal , Thanks...the info was helpful...waiting for rplace to give me the dirt on his 16x9 preference... I come frim a long line of Blacksmiths in Western New York...good to see a fantastic tradition carried on... What would you suggest, in reference to the screen, if the majority of viewing was going to be HD Television? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 The choice we made in a PJ was to go with a LCD. I couldn't stand the rainbows I saw on the DLP units. The thing people complain about with a LCD unit is the SDE. (Screen Door Effect) This refers to the fact that if you get too close to the screen, the immage looks like it was projected through a screen door. I find that when viewed at the proper distance (1.5 x the screen diagonal) the SDE is not visable and only a great picture is seen. I beleive that LCD units are brighter and have more contrast than DLP units but could be wrong about that. There are lots of great projectors under $3k, (the msrp of our unit, but was just over 1/2 of that online) which leaves lots of room for great sound also. Our HT is 108" diag and uses all hereatage speakers driven by a Yamaha reciever and it is fed by a PC for DVD playback. A link to our system is here EDIT mine is the second post, please scroll down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Allen in Texas Thanks for the reference to my occupaiton, It sure is a lot of fun! As to screen size, you need to think about that for yourself. The naitive format for HD is 16 x 9 and if you are going to use that for 99% of your viewing, that probably would be a good choice. We watch movies 99% of the time so it is nice to get the wider screen. It is your HT and you need to shape it to fit your needs, I am only giving options[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 What are your longterm goals for your system? Do you plan to just install everything now and never look back and just enjoy it for the rest of your life, or do you forsee making any improvements/adjustments as time goes on? The reason I ask is because you need to make your current purchases work towards your final goal - even if that means less short term wow factor. For instance, you could start off by purchasing a single pair of mains and then later on down the road adding more speakers as funds allow. It's all a function of what you hope to achieve in the end and working towards that goal. But the only way we can help you in that regard is if you tell us your end goals and what you look for in speakers.Also, how adventerous are you in the realm of DIY? With raised sitting in the rear, you could take advantage of that wasted room volume and turn your entire rear riser into a giant subwoofer. I understand that it will be 6 x 13 feet and about 1 foot high? That is about 80 cubic feet which is plenty for an IB approach - which also just happens to be extremely inexpensive too (and it will outperform any other sub on the market). I really need to start charging money, but I have no problem doing it for free considering it's all on the forum []One other piece of advice - no matter what speakers you end up choosing to go with. I highly recommend that you choose 3 identical speakers to go across the front (and ideally identical speakers going all around). Even with speakers in the same line (like RF7 and RC7) there are differences in timbre when sounds pan around. After a while the change in timbre becomes distracting and totally takes away from the sonic experience - so I would even recommend choosing a lesser quality speaker if it means you can get perfect timbre matching all around.One cool thing to consider is that if you go with something like the RB-75, then you can flushmount the speakers in the wall - perhaps even build pillars for them to go in which will also aid in the acoustics of your room. There are a bajillion reasons to go with flushmounted speakers and a dedicated HT is the best opportunity to achieve this.You are also going to want to consider acoustical treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen in Texas Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 "What are your longterm goals for your system?" Long term goals are to watch great movies and television. I am not an audiophile by nature so i don't know if I would notice the slight differences you are speaking about. I'm not a big DIY guy so I'll leave that to the home builder with my reccommendations and guidance of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Then I might suggest you look into the Synergy F3 system - especially if you're looking to save some money. (so L,C,R,SR, RR, RL, SL, sub: F3, C3, F3, S3, S3, S3, S3, Sub-12)...which puts you right around $2000 for speakers (or $1600 for a 5.1 setup). And I think there's a deal going on at best buy right now that makes it even cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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