College Budget Setup

[hizzaah]

Decided to finally post up a few pics of my dorm room setup. Not near as fancy as some of the other systems, but I'm happy with it for now Sorry for the iPhone pics!

The rears aren't perfectly placed, and my room's a bit messy atm so they aren't shown lol. The styrofoam under the sub made a huge difference! Not only did it keep the dishes in the kitchen cabinets below from rattling, but the sub sounds cleaner imo.. I have to keep the sub under the desk and the output knob at ~1/3 with my fridge and bed in its path so my neighbor behind me doesn't get pissy. First thing to be replaced will be the cruddy BRP.

Thanks to everyone who gave me advise in picking the system and in placement! Moving to a new place in June so I'll post updated pics then..

 

[afterlife2]

That is a nice setup. I like the dish/cement bricks table. Never seen the foam under the woofer thing till yesterday when someone posted a pic of their setup.

 

[hizzaah]

The black finished board was actually a shelf from Home Depot lol. It had a 4" scratch on one side so it was like $5. The bricks we're a few more bucks and measure out perfectly to squeeze in the receiver and cooling fan when I stacked two together. My gf was pretty annoyed as I spent like half an hour measuring bricks in the gardening section lol. Not a bad way to spend $10

I wanted to lift my 360 off my BRP and I had some spare plastic bowls and a wire shelf from an old mini fridge. Fit perfectly

Someone mentioned using styrofoam under the sub in place of like a Gramma. Didn't have money for a Gramma so I taped a few pieces of the system packaging together..

 

[fuzz092888]

Haha very nice, reminds me of living in a dorm freshman year and having basically a tree stump holding my tv and the center speaker perched precariously on top of it. Not to mention some pretty creative side and surround speaker placement due to the roommate and restrictions. Overall a much nicer setup than I had.

 

[hizzaah]

I was able to save up some of my birthday/Christmas and loan money to buy the TV. There isn't a lot in the way of tv stores near campus so I spent a few hours driving back and forth between Walmart and Target, taking notes and pickures of the tvs in my budget lol. I almost bought one at Walmart, but decided to make one last run by Target and I saw this guy being demoed on an end cap ~10 isles from the electronics lol. Was on sale and got the last one in stock

BRP was the nicest one they had at Walmart on that particular day. Never again lol. Thing started freezing randomly after ~4 months and Sony insisted that I just update the firmware. I put up with it because it didn't happen often. Now that it's out of warranty it drops signal to the receiver, displays distorted picture/color on occasion and makes obnoxious whirring noises..

 

[afterlife2]

Damn I had to look at this: DIY Subwoofer Risers - Blu-ray Forum
Some cool cheap alternatives there.
Look!!! http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=4294142&postcount=1562

 

[fuzz092888]

Well thats always a good time, I got a cheap tv for college for my birthday for college freshman year. Then saved for 2 and a half years when the stars aligned and I found a sale on a 46" panasonic plasma. Haven't regretted all the beer I couldn't afford ever since. That panny was more than worth it.

 

[hizzaah]

I recall checking that thread out too.. I was planning a materials list, then someone mentioned the styrofoam. Thought I'd go ahead and try it out before spending any money.. Didn't see a reason to pay for materials when this worked well enough.

 

[timoteo]

Fun college setup!! Thanks for sharing!!

 

[hizzaah]

I know it doesn't look like it from the pic of the sub, but I actually spent a really long time organizing the wires, power bricks and surge protectors. Split loom, velcro, command strips, the whole nine yards. I had to leave those wires behind the sub like that so I could pull the desk out without pulling on any of the wires.

And the towel you see hanging down in the back in one of a series of them placed strategically to catch the high speakers invade the command hooks holding them fail..

 

[westcott]

Wow!

All I could afford while going to college was a McDonald alarm clock stereo with the time that had the numbers that flipped to the correct time. I cut the speaker wires and spliced in my Fisher speakers.

I could barely keep my truck running from week to week. Whats your secret to power and influence as a college student?

 

[timoteo]

I had a killer Sanyo boombox (couldnt afford Sony) with speakers that disconnected!!! Hey it had a built in EQ!!!! Dude that thing rocked my blue walled/black light room!

 

[hizzaah]

Wow!

All I could afford while going to college was a McDonald alarm clock stereo with the time that had the numbers that flipped to the correct time. I cut the speaker wires and spliced in my Fisher speakers.

I could barely keep my truck running from week to week. Whats your secret to power and influence as a college student?

Well, I don't have a car and I walk to work four days a week (which sucks and I'm heavily contemplating quitting btw). I research heavily the things I plan to buy and try to find the best deals when I can.. My loans are mostly used to pay tuition, but there's usually a few hundred left over each semester so if I don't have any foreseeable expenditures, I either stick it in savings or buy myself a new toy I've been saving up for a while and I think I'm finally going to be able to buy myself a new laptop in August! Super excited about that..

Also, my parents are divorced and my dad started trying to buy my attention a few years back. He pays for some of my college, occasionally some living expenses, says he's going to buy me a car this summer since I'm moving into a house while I attend summer classes. Is it a bit wrong that I accept these monetary gifts? probably.. He is a few years behind on birthday/Christmas presents, and it did allow me to get my 7.1 and TV though lol.

@ timoteo: blue walls and a black light? giving me any idea for my new place lol

 

[timoteo]

If your pops screwed up when you were younger then shoot, receive those gifts with open arms!! you deserve them!

Yeah my room was dark blue with a silhouette of a city on one wall. It was sort of Tim Burton-ish. Of course I had all the glowing stars & moon effect too!! I'd set back, light up a......well let's not go there!! Those days are behind me now! college years are a good time, even better with a decent audio system like yours, ENJOY!!

 

[westcott]

Is it a bit wrong that I accept these monetary gifts? probably..

As they say, all is fair in love and war! You decide which is more pertinent. Hopefully the former.

I was unable to get any student loans. My father made too much money. I guess they assume you are getting financial support no matter what you tell them. It was a rough time for my wife and I since we paid for college as I went. We had no loans to pay off once I graduated but it is a miracle our marriage survived this time period.

Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders. I wish you the best of luck in school and that the job market is kind to you when you graduate.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rubicon_Joey]

Well I certainly don't feel so bad about my set-up now. My tv is way too big for the entertainment center I hacked up to make it fit and my center channel is sitting on a box my shotgun came in. I may just make my own thread now..

 

[Bryceo]

Weldone on the set up looks verey nice

 

[hizzaah]

Well I certainly don't feel so bad about my set-up now. My tv is way too big for the entertainment center I hacked up to make it fit and my center channel is sitting on a box my shotgun came in. I may just make my own thread now..

Definitely post that up!

Weldone on the set up looks verey nice

It was gettin there. Took it all down to move to the new place. It's actually gonna go in the living room at this place so I'll get to crank it up a bit thank you though

 

[Bryceo]

Definitely post that up!



It was gettin there. Took it all down to move to the new place. It's actually gonna go in the living room at this place so I'll get to crank it up a bit thank you though

Moved in to the new pad yet?