1st Home Theater Purchase question

[Mattr36]

Well, after much reading, and looking around on the web I decided I wanted some assistance from a local store in installation. I went to one that a couple of my friends recommended and told them I would like an entry level system, and I want to keep my Tivo Series 2 Humax DVR as part of it.

They recommended:
Denon AVR1506 - $345
Definite Technologies Pro System 80.6 speakers - $895
Samsung DLP 42" HLR4266 - $1500

I immediately went home and did some more research and see that all 3 products are good, and would do me and my family well for years to come. The room it is in while have the main seating area 11' from the TV and the room itself measures 15'x19' and has 12' ceilings. What do you think?

While you chew on that I've got a couple other questions:
1) Their install rate is $75 hour and will come out to the house and give a free estimate. I really don't want to crawl around in my attic in the summer, so will probably go with that. Anything I should watch out for?

2) The salesperson said something about fiber optic cable and on the written estimate is shows 'etheral optical cable 1m' for $24. What is that?

3) Is it poor form to haggle the price down to what I can find thru an online retailer?

Thanks all for a great forum!

Matt

 

[Naves74]

That sounds good but you can get that TV for alot lower price.

Check out Onecall.com for a better price.

 

[jcPanny]

Bookshelf HT

Check out a few reviews on the forum. You could better performance from a bookshelf system or possible on-wall or in-wall speakers.
For example, the Onix X-LS system is $700 for 5 speakers and the sub.

With a little reading and a few posts on the forum, you might be more comfortable with the wiring and the setup also.

 

[mytzen]

I agree with Naves74, you can get more for your money than that TV.

You can get the following Samsung from Amazon (an authorized dealer) and it is four inches larger for about the same price. They also offer free shipping. This one is also the HLS series which is new and they one you were looking at is an HLR which is last years models
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F2P31E/ref=sr_11_1/102-1562905-6948108?_encoding=UTF8

Also make sure you look at onecall they are also an authorized dealer.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Mattr36

They recommended:
Denon AVR1506 - $345
Definite Technologies Pro System 80.6 speakers - $895
Samsung DLP 42" HLR4266 - $1500

I immediately went home and did some more research and see that all 3 products are good, and would do me and my family well for years to come. The room it is in while have the main seating area 11' from the TV and the room itself measures 15'x19' and has 12' ceilings. What do you think?

The install rate is pretty good, but not great. The Denon is a very very low entry level receiver. If the speakers aren't super efficient, that receiver may struggle. I'd much rather see you get your equipment online. For instance:

http://www.ubid.com/Denon_AVR2106_Bstock_Receiver_Authorized_Dlr_W/_Warty/a702198469.html
(I got my Denon 3805 B stock here and it still runs great)

http://www.hsustore.com/vt12.html
(order it with a mid grade HSU sub - HT is all about the subwoofer and HSU IS subwoofers)

I wouldn't go the DLP route. With plasma and LCD coming way down in price, you don't have the $400 bulb issue to worry about in a year. 37" LCD's are under $1500, and 42" plasma's are under $2000. With 60,000 hours and no service issues, you can't go wrong.

While you chew on that I've got a couple other questions:
1) Their install rate is $75 hour and will come out to the house and give a free estimate. I really don't want to crawl around in my attic in the summer, so will probably go with that. Anything I should watch out for?

Yeah - slow work and paid lunch breaks!

2) The salesperson said something about fiber optic cable and on the written estimate is shows 'etheral optical cable 1m' for $24. What is that?

Maybe he meant ethernet cable. The new Onkyo's and Pioneer Elite receivers have ethernet connections for PC compatibility. Very cool stuff.

3) Is it poor form to haggle the price down to what I can find thru an online retailer?

Yes, it is. Brick and mortar stores need to make a larger profit to pay for rent, employees, and all the niceties of being able to go in and demo equipment first hand. If you see the value in that, and the store has bent over backwards for you, don't feel bad paying a bit extra for equipment/hourly rates. They'll tweak your system for best picture and set up the sound. I just don't care for paying high prices on super entry level equipment.

 

[Mattr36]

Thanks for the replies. Based off what you guys said this is what I think I'll do.

Recevier
Denon AVR2106 for about $450 online

Speakers
Either:
1) SBS-01 5.1 system for $1000
or
2) X-LS 51 system for $700 (thinking this is the best deal once it comes in stock)
or
3) VT-12 6.1 system plus a VTF-2 MK-2 subwoofer for $700.

So, just need a little help narrowing down the speakers. The main viewing area (couch) is up against the back wall. What would I do with the 5th satellite speaker??? Moving couch is not an option (WAF would bottom out).

The front L/R speakers will be sit on the shelf, and the surround L/R speakers will probably go on stands to the left and right of the couch. I think installation wise that is probably the easiest for me as I only have to snake speaker wire from the attic all the way down to the floor.

Again, room is large (about 3400 cubic feet), but my budget is right around $1500 for speakers and receiver. I've got an old (15 years) set of Bose AM2 speakers and Kenwood receiver, so I think anything is going to sound better.

Let me know please

Matt

 

[jcPanny]

5.1 speaker locations

Matt,
To clarify the speaker setup for a 5.1 system, You will have 2 front L/R speakers, 1 Center channel (between the fronts), and 2 Surround speakers on the sides of the listening position. Don't bother with 7.1 and rear surround speakers because your couch is against the back wall.

Your room is large enough that I would recommend bookshelf speakers (SVS and av123) as the minimum as they will play louder and perfrom better than satellite speakers like the HSU and Def Tech.

Also, depending on your time frame, av123.com will be comming out with a couple floorstanding versions of their X-LS speakers that might fit in your $1k speaker budget. One will be just a larger cabinet and the same drivers as the bookshef for $300/pair and the other would be a powered tower with a tweeter, two mids, and 1 or 2 powered woofers for $600/pair. With the powered towers, you could ommit the X-sub.