15x25’ new home theater budget 20k ish

[Danzilla31]

I also encouraged him to call the ID vendors about anything they have in either closeout, b-stock, open box.

That's a great idea I totally forgot about that good call

 

[Golfx]

For loudspeakers in that budget, I would be looking pretty closely at Arendal 1723 series. Polk R700s plus a L400 center speaker would be very good as well. Paradigm Premier is a solid bet as well. For some high-value subs, look at Hsu VTF15h or Monoprice Monolith subs. A set of Arendal 1723 monitors for the front stage would be killer. No need to spend nearly as much on surrounds. I would be looking at 1961 heights for the height channels and 1961 bookshelf speakers for the base level channels. For subs, I would go for a quad drive of Hsu VTF-3s or VTF15hs. For a processor, I would get whatever is available from Denon, Marantz, or Yamaha, since supplies are so unpredictable at the moment.

@Cbakes because you are new to hometheater builds a little caution is in order. This forum has a ton of opinions mostly influenced by the what posters already own or want. Perhaps, though, that may not necessarily be what you should buy or use.

However, the advice you will get from the actual Audioholics staff should be listened to. @shadyJ above is the senior speaker reviewer for Audioholics. He has listened to hundreds and hundreds of speakers and he is recommending the above brands. I would take his advice if I were you.

You also received a recommendation to professionally consult with Gene DellaSala the owner of Audioholics. His rates are very reasonable. In less than an hour you can have all the foundation information you will need to get started. And it won’t be an overly confusing approach of reading all these different posts from all of us on this forum.

Good luck. One of the joys you will encounter is all the learning that will come with making decisions and the setup and use of all these new electronic toys. I envy your journey!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[jinjuku]

@Cbakes because you are new to hometheater builds a little caution is in order. This forum has a ton of opinions mostly influenced by the what posters already own or want. Perhaps, though, that may not necessarily be what you should buy or use.

Outside of the RBH tangent he's getting some good advise on what to look at. I know that Elac, from an instrumented viewpoint, has engineering that paid attention to getting the foundational stuff correct.

I don't personally like 2 way bookshelf since they pretty much take up the same square footage as floor standers. So you might as get either 2.5 way or 3 way floor standers.

 

[shadyJ]

A couple of other things:

I'm not sure that any but the most expensive of the Elac systems would have the kind of dynamic range that the OP is looking for.

150" is really big. The problem with that size is, unless you are going to get a real light cannon of a projector, you will end up with a dim picture after the bulb ages just a little bit. It's not worth it unless you are getting a very bright projector. The problem with that is you could be sacrificing decent black levels. I am not a projector expert, but I am thinking that the OP isn't budgeted for the kind of projectors that can handle a 150" projector with good brightness as well as black levels for the workable life of the bulb. I would really scale that image back to around 120" or so. That is still a very large picture. Going for a too-big screen is a big rookie mistake in home theater construction, and that is really what is happening here.

I have said this before, but definitely go for a multi-sub system. I would go for at least three subs - with proper placement. Three decent $1k subs with good placement and calibration will sound better than any single sub could ever sound, even if that single sub is a $15k super subwoofer.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

However this goes down, I will advocate for an Atmos capable system.

 

[jinjuku]

For loudspeakers in that budget, I would be looking pretty closely at Arendal 1723 series. Polk R700s plus a L400 center speaker would be very good as well. Paradigm Premier is a solid bet as well. For some high-value subs, look at Hsu VTF15h or Monoprice Monolith subs. A set of Arendal 1723 monitors for the front stage would be killer. No need to spend nearly as much on surrounds. I would be looking at 1961 heights for the height channels and 1961 bookshelf speakers for the base level channels. For subs, I would go for a quad drive of Hsu VTF-3s or VTF15hs. For a processor, I would get whatever is available from Denon, Marantz, or Yamaha, since supplies are so unpredictable at the moment.

Heard nothing but positive feedback on the Arendal's. What would his speaker budget look like? I'm assuming about 3 or 4K of his budget in labor and some room treatments to optimize what ever the OP gets.

I'm assuming at least $7K for 4K PJ and 150" screen. that leaves $9-10K for electronics and speakers.

And that is if he doesn't want to budget for a $7 or $8k projector.

 

[Cbakes]

@Cbakes because you are new to hometheater builds a little caution is in order. This forum has a ton of opinions mostly influenced by the what posters already own or want. Perhaps, though, that may not necessarily be what you should buy or use.

However, the advice you will get from the actual Audioholics staff should be listened to. @shadyJ above is the senior speaker reviewer for Audioholics. He has listened to hundreds and hundreds of speakers and he is recommending the above brands. I would take his advice if I were you.

You also received a recommendation to professionally consult with Gene DellaSala the owner of Audioholics. His rates are very reasonable. In less than an hour you can have all the foundation information you will need to get started. And it won’t be an overly confusing approach of reading all these different posts from all of us on this forum.

Good luck. One of the joys you will encounter is all the learning that will come with making decisions and the setup and use of all these new electronic toys. I envy your journey!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks man! Everyone has been amazing. Can’t even believe how much help everyone has been. I’m def not ordering anything yet. I will certainly be reaching out to him, shady jay? Is that the right person?

 

[jinjuku]

150" is really big. The problem with that size is, unless you are going to get a real light cannon of a projector, you will end up with a dim picture after the bulb ages just a little bit. It's not worth it unless you are getting a very bright projector. The problem with that is you could be sacrificing decent black levels.

^This right here.... To get what you really want at 150" is going to chew up more than you think of the budget. I still think an 85" TV is the way to go. It's fine, IMO, for that size space, and frees up cash for the audio side.

I think the Elac's I linked will be dynamic in that space with good subs.

I find my audio is what really makes my system immersive for me regardless of my 55" plasma or 106" projection.

Watched Starwars IV tonight with the kiddo on the Plasma and just get sucked in with the audio.

BTW I'm running These for L/R, this for my center, some Dayton Audio in-wall for surrounds, and two dual opposed Infinity 120.9w subwoofers with Behringer iNuke 3000DSP (that's 4 twelve inch subs in total).

Most importantly the Dayton Omni-Mic V2.

 

[jinjuku]

Thanks man! Everyone has been amazing. Can’t even believe how much help everyone has been. I’m def not ordering anything yet. I will certainly be reaching out to him, shady jay? Is that the right person?

I would PM @gene

 

[Cbakes]

Heard nothing but positive feedback on the Arendal's. What would his speaker budget look like? I'm assuming about 3 or 4K of his budget in labor and some room treatments to optimize what ever the OP gets.

I'm assuming at least $7K for 4K PJ and 150" screen. that leaves $9-10K for electronics and speakers.

And that is if he doesn't want to budget for a $7 or $8k projector.

I really want the biggest screen I can do and I am willing to pay for the projector that can do the job. Can that projector be had for 10k? I don’t want to do the biggest screen if it’s too big for the rooms viewing distances. I can bump my budget up to 40k. I want this theater to be as sick as it can be for what it is. I’ve wired the room for atmos and would def like to have that. But, not if it’s too many speakers for the room size and the sound will be not heard correctly….

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I really want the biggest screen I can do and I am willing to pay for the projector that can do the job. Can that projector be had for 10k? I don’t want to do the biggest screen if it’s too big for the rooms viewing distances. I can bump my budget up to 40k. I want this theater to be as sick as it can be for what it is. I’ve wired the room for atmos and would def like to have that. But, not if it’s too many speakers for the room size and the sound will be not heard correctly….

My room is 16x25ish and is 7x.4, it’s just about perfect for that imo. LP is about 6’ off the back wall. You could easily run 9.x.6 but the problem is the inconsistent use of .6 tops. I didn’t catch how many rows you want. But if it’s a single, 7.x.4 should be excellent. I also advocate multiple subs.

 

[jinjuku]

I really want the biggest screen I can do and I am willing to pay for the projector that can do the job. Can that projector be had for 10k? I don’t want to do the biggest screen if it’s too big for the rooms viewing distances. I can bump my budget up to 40k. I want this theater to be as sick as it can be for what it is. I’ve wired the room for atmos and would def like to have that. But, not if it’s too many speakers for the room size and the sound will be not heard correctly….

I've been orbiting around your budget of $20K and thinking along the lines that I have roughly the same dimensions as you and I have a 106" screen.

The nut you are trying to crack with projection is that as in increase the throw distance to get to 150" you start trading off an awful lot unless you start rapidly increasing your PJ budget.

I REALLY think you need to set aside a bit of money and get a consultation with someone that can see your space first hand. Talk to you in depth about where you want to go and THEN manage your expectations and determine budget.

Many of us here are our own consultants as we've been in the business at one point or another. I installed and designed audio and video edit suites for 7 years so that's were I learned. ShadyJ does a ton of reviews, Gene's been on the actual design end of all this, others have been in sales etc...

Your room of 15X21 with vaulted ceilings doesn't represent a difficult challenge for a good dynamic audio experience. Lot's of options available if you either increase budget or decrease screen size.

I think $15K, with carefully selected components, gets you a SOTA HT setup on the audio side that you are wanting and that's were the friction comes in. Now if you can move past $20K we start getting out of compromises on the video side.

I believe you can get what you want, including some paid brainpower for probably around $30-$33K.

 

[jinjuku]

For the PJ I would look at the JVC DLA NZ7. It's $9999 and lamp is rated at 20K hours.

Stewart Cima Neve 150" screen is $2200.

I've done a lot of Stewart in conference and board rooms.

 

[Movie2099]

I really want the biggest screen I can do and I am willing to pay for the projector that can do the job. Can that projector be had for 10k? I don’t want to do the biggest screen if it’s too big for the rooms viewing distances. I can bump my budget up to 40k. I want this theater to be as sick as it can be for what it is. I’ve wired the room for atmos and would def like to have that. But, not if it’s too many speakers for the room size and the sound will be not heard correctly….

If you are looking for a true 4K projector with lumen output for 150”+ screen you’re going to have to spend over $40k on the projector. Epson has some pixel shifters with high Lumens for under $10k. You could ask @AcuDefTechGuy. He has a high lumen epson and loves it.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

1/3 and 2/3 length placement isn't unheard of though depending on the room.

I've yet to ever see where a subwoofer had to go into the middle of a space to correct for a room mode however.

Yes, I was making a hyperbolic extreme example just to make a point - it’s not just about the best possible spots and hardcore measurements, but also about pragmatic real life situations like WAF and space-constraints.

There’s no reason why towers of powers placed at 1/4 to 1/3-length corners can’t get great bass responses and also be sensible at the same time.

People have been getting great bass and great sound for many years without separate subwoofers.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I expressed an entire elac and monoprice subwoofer system with denon receiver.

LINKY

What's your RBH recommendation considering you have to budget for 150' screen and 4K projection?

I mentioned my recommendation for the 4K PJ - Epson EB-PU1006W. It’s a LASER 6,000-lumen PJ with 4K-Enhanced (4096x2160p, 4.6-million pixels, HDR, HDMI-2.1, but 4K maxed at 60Hz, not 120Hz).

I’ve owned the JVC NX5 and have seen the NX7 and NX9 many times at friends houses.

After you have seen 6,000-lumens on your 150”+ screen, you will never want to see another DIM/DARK Projector again.

No way I would tolerate anything less than 6,000 lumens on my 150" white screen. It's like WAKING UP FROM THE MATRIX.

Epson is releasing their new LASER 4K-E/120Hz/8.3-million pixel Projector LS12000 this summer. But even at 2700 Lumens, it would be TOO DIM for my TASTE on my 150” screen.

A friend of mine who owned the NX9 sold it 6 months later and got the 6,000-lumen Epson. High-lumen is very very addictive.

But, like audio, Video isn’t “rocket science” either. If 2200 to 3000 lumens is “enough” for your TASTE, then it’s good enough for you. Different specs and numbers may mean differently for everyone - lumens, contrast, 4K-Native vs 4K-Enhanced, etc.

For me, I care LESS about the numbers and a WHOLE LOT MORE about my actual picture quality, which means extremely bright beautiful colors and deep dark blacks.

With audio, I don’t care about the highest SINAD numbers. With video, I don’t care about the highest possible contrast numbers. Just give me awesome SOUND and VIDEO and I am 100% happy!

Oh, I also care about reliability. About 50% of the people I know who have bought a JVC have called me to assist in getting them JVC Warranty repair/replacement after 6-12 months of owning the JVCs, including the $18K NX9. So do some long research before spending $18-25K on projectors or ANYTHING these days.

The reason I say this is because a client just texted me 3 days ago. On Friday a JVC rep from NY called my cell phone to confirm that “the client did pay the JVC in full”. They called me to confirm every single time. This is the 4th time now. I know the drill too well.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

For the PJ I would look at the JVC DLA NZ7. It's $9999 and lamp is rated at 20K hours.

Stewart Cima Neve 150" screen is $2200.

I've done a lot of Stewart in conference and board rooms.

The new JVC NZ7R is now $11,000 for 2200 lumens.

Stewart screens are great. But I am too cheap to own a Stewart.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

However this goes down, I will advocate for an Atmos capable system.

Absolutely. Gotta have Atmos in this day and age.

But you know there are still people who are anti-Atmos.

 

[jinjuku]

I mentioned my recommendation for the 4K PJ - Epson EB-PU1006W. It’s a LASER 6,000-lumen PJ with 4K-Enhanced (4096x2160p, 4.6-million pixels, HDR, HDMI-2.1, but 4K maxed at 60Hz, not 120Hz).

For me that Epson would be the way I would go, but 4K content (native) isn't a requirement for me. The Epson is 1920 with pixel shifting correct?

The JVC isn't a slouch either and it has it's strengths over the Epson.

 

[Danzilla31]

Thanks man! Everyone has been amazing. Can’t even believe how much help everyone has been. I’m def not ordering anything yet. I will certainly be reaching out to him, shady jay? Is that the right person?

Do you have actual pictures of the room? Also do you have the ability to go in walls even tho the dry wall is up. Would you like to do an acoustically transperant screen?

I have a complete gear list I'd like to send you but it's hard to do without pictures and knowing if you want floor standing or in walls?

Will your equipment rack be in another room?

This list is just to give you an idea of what you can do. And I'd love other forum members feedback on this

For the type of dynamics you want combined with the type of sound quality you want there's only one company I'd go with monoprice on speakers ok f it here comes the list first one will be in wall second will be floor standing