Complete Moron in need of help

[Tone Deaf]

Hello.
I am as low tech a guy as you'll ever find. I decided to build a home theater in an old spare room in the basement (12wx16L). I had four bids and I'd rather be back in high school figuring out calculus. One bid was 60k another was 15K and two at around 30. None of it makes sense to me at all. A friend turned me onto a buddy and he seems real knowledgeable (and a real nice guy). He is steering me to the Bose Lifestyle 28 pretty hard. He says if movies and sports is all I really want then its the best bet. He also is high on the Sony VPLVW60 projector.
Together it adds up fast. And that does not include the $2.2K for a Stewart screen and $1500 for a universal remote and all the other stuff you need.

I Just found this site read some stuff on Bose this morning. Not flattering to say the least and its got me thinking...Just becasue I don't know much about the technical side of things doesn't mean I don't want to have a great A/V experience.
Can anyone give me some advice as to what I should consider buying? Thanks so much

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum!

You've come to a good place to get some answers and do some research. There are a number of people here that will share their opinions about this stuff. Yes, there are a number of people here that will put down Bose (either based on performance for the price, or just for the performance). There are others that like Bose.

So, here's my suggestion. Read about your various options, but definitely go listen to products before you lay out that kind of cash on this system. What you like is all that will matter because it's your system. It doesn't matter if someone else here hates how Bose sounds. My personal opinion is that you can get better performance for the same amount of money if you go with a different brand than Bose. I just don't happen to like how Bose speakers sound. I also hate how Paradigm speakers sound, but there are a LOT of people that really like them. You may end up loving Bose...you may end up hating them. Just definitely go check them out, along with checking out other systems.

We're happy to give suggestions for brands to go check out. I think that Aperion Audio (aperionaudio.com) is a good choice. They get good reviews, and you can order their speakers for a 30-day no-risk trial (they will pay shipping both ways if you don't like them, so you pay nothing). There are a number of other good choices, and people here will likely start listing them.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[Seth=L]

Bose is one of the worst audio buys you can make, unless you can get the Lifestyle system for $200, skip it.

I don't know what you are referring to about "bids". Could you explain that further?

You may not need to spend as much as you think on the screen and remote, but then it all depends on what other systems components you plan to use. But if you have set aside this high a budget, then Bose doesn't fit your audio criteria at all. Have you consider in-wall speakers? Triad is one name that comes to mind with in-wall speakers.

Never the less, if you lay out a budget and what you want as far as your sources and what type of display you want to use, we would be more than happy to steer you in the right direction.

 

[Seth=L]

You may end up loving Bose...you may end up hating them. Just definitely go check them out, along with checking out other systems.

Most people that give an honest shot at other speakers will find Bose is quite inferior.

 

[Adam]

Most people that give an honest shot at other speakers will find Bose is quite inferior.

Most, but not all. Hence my suggestion. All I'm getting at is that other people's opinions on how a brand of speakers sounds is just that...their opinions. Speaker preference is very personal, so it really is important to judge for yourself. Yes, I think Bose is a rip-off. I don't think that the craftmanship or performance of their speakers warrants the high prices, but I'll bet you that there are millions (probably billions) of people on this planet that would have the same opinion about my SVS PC13-Ultra. My parents are probably still sitting in disbelief that I spent that much on a sub because their TV speakers are fine for them. I, however, think that it was well worth it.

It's all about buying what you like. I think that our best avenue of assistance is to provide information on the alternatives for Tone Deaf to check out. Just my two cents.

(BTW, Tone Deaf, I'm not saying that you need to go audition hundreds of speakers. If you find something that you really like, and you're comfortable with the cost of them, then you're done! No need to keep searching for the perfect solution...just one that works well for you and makes you happy.)

 

[Gimpy Ric]

My brother-in-law has a pair of Bose 301's and an Infinity PS-8 Sub 8", a Sony receiver and it sounds pretty good. He really likes it, it has a PS3 and a five disk CD player. Thats HIS system, and guess what I gave him the sub, PS3, and the Bose 301's.

I bought the 301's just to see how they sounded, knowing what I was getting from the get go. They really like power, I can say that much for them.

Anyways, I'm curious about the 60k,2x30k, and 15k figures are?

 

[MDS]

His 'bids' are installers estimates for the cost of the equipment and installation. A 60K bid better include constructing an entire new room in the house.

 

[Warpdrv]

You could easily save some money here, and buy the equipment you like the most, from a store or over the Internet, and find someone to do the install...

I bought a complete system, pieced together with the equipment I liked the best after auditioning lots and lots of speakers.. Likely the most important part of the setup, and spent less then $15K.... My room is much larger.

A couple of questions...
1. Have you done any in store auditioning yet... if so, what brands were they offering....
2. What is your budget...?
3. How far are you looking to go here... Stadium Seating?

Subs are an integral part of a HT setup, not to be overlooked, nor taken lightly. They will make your HT experience hit or miss.

HT is a great passion for alot of people here, and can easily be done right and wrong... People here love to help give suggestions, and are extremely conscious of bang for the buck....

 

[Tone Deaf]

Thank you all for the quick responses. I went out to the store for a sec and came back to your thoughtful replies. Thanks again.
To clarify, yes, the bids were estimate from various contractors to the the job. To be fair, part of the job included wiring an adjacent room with sound and two plasma TV's. I was also putting some wire and TV in a home gym but the moajority of the cost was for the theater room. I received an estimate as high as $60,000 and as low as $15,000. I want to do 2 rows of seats (3 per row) with a platform and acoustical panels etc. None of that has been priced in yet. I read one post from BostonMark who not only was critical of Bose but put together what he thought was a better and cheaper system. Any thoughts on that one? Thanks again, This site is proving to be a very valuable find. Thank you all!

 

[Tone Deaf]

Also, as far as my budget goes, well that is an interesting. I can spend quite a bit but if I don't know what I am getting for the $ than its not worth it. Can I get a system (including screen, remote, projector) that delivers the world class quality of sound and picture we all seek for $15K or less?

 

[Gimpy Ric]

Also, as far as my budget goes, well that is an interesting. I can spend quite a bit but if I don't know what I am getting for the $ than its not worth it. Can I get a system (including screen, remote, projector) that delivers the world class quality of sound and picture we all seek for $15K or less?

Yes, it can be done. Start by calling Hsu Research @ 1-800-554-0150 or Svs @ 1-877-626-5623 and go subwoofer shopping. Always TRY to buy more than you need. Not enough sub, crappy, crappy, crappy. Just tell SVS and Hsu the size of your room.

Now, WITHOUT the help of your friends (except on here), go out and start listning to speakers. And not at Best Buy or Circuit City, get out the yellow pages and find audio/video shops that carry "The Good Stuff".

I will make another brand selection for your electronics, Emotiva. Emotiva is coming out with brand new stuff in January, and offers one hell of a bang for the buck. High End enough for me. Trust me, you'll be impressed.

Emotiva is also coming out with speakers, subs, the whole nine yards. Look on their homepage at the dual 12" two enclosure sealed subs with 800 watt amp for $999.00. That would ROCK your house apart.

Take your time, because you want to be happy for a long tims to come.

 

[evilkat]

And if u want to figure out what kind of equipment you want, the Audioholics guides on this site is a good place to start:

http://www.audioholics.com/buying-guides/system-buying-guides/

 

[Seth=L]

Thank you all for the quick responses. I went out to the store for a sec and came back to your thoughtful replies. Thanks again.
To clarify, yes, the bids were estimate from various contractors to the the job. To be fair, part of the job included wiring an adjacent room with sound and two plasma TV's. I was also putting some wire and TV in a home gym but the moajority of the cost was for the theater room. I received an estimate as high as $60,000 and as low as $15,000. I want to do 2 rows of seats (3 per row) with a platform and acoustical panels etc. None of that has been priced in yet. I read one post from BostonMark who not only was critical of Bose but put together what he thought was a better and cheaper system. Any thoughts on that one? Thanks again, This site is proving to be a very valuable find. Thank you all!

You mean the installer is pushing Bose still? What other speakers does the store/s sell?

 

[Seth=L]

And if u want to figure out what kind of equipment you want, the Audioholics guides on this site is a good place to start:

http://www.audioholics.com/buying-guides/system-buying-guides/

This is a great place to start out. Of course there are newer and better products for the money always becoming available. Go out and listen to some speakers and decide what sound you like best.

 

[Tone Deaf]

You mean the installer is pushing Bose still? What other speakers does the store/s sell?

He's from Tweeter. I don't know what else they have

 

[Seth=L]

He's from Tweeter. I don't know what else they have

The best way to find out would be to just go into the store and tell them you want to listen to all their speakers. If they direct you to the Bose section you may either tell them you aren't interested in Bose at the moment and would like to listen to what else they have, or alternatively go to another store entirely.

What questions are you asking when you go into the store?

 

[Gimpy Ric]

On the tweeter website the floor standers are Polk, Focal, and Martin Logan

 

[ParadigmDawg]

10-15k will get you a heck of a system; research what the dealer is trying to sale you and how much it really cost and then look and see how much of the set-up really requires a custom install. You can probably do most of the install yourself and save a bundle, its just not that hard. When you get stuck you can ask questions here; heck, if you live anywhere near me, I will come over and help you for free as would most people on here. We love this stuff and its not work to most of us so we are usually willing to help out the new guys.

Take a look at Warpdrv's system for a good example of a ~15K set-up.

Take a look at mine for a good example of a 12K set-up.

 

[Davemcc]

10-15k will get you a heck of a system;

Agreed. 10-15K will get you a system that will make many on this forum jealous (If you do your homework, i.e. questioning and auditioning). You can break down your system into specific components and ask about each one you are considering in the appropriate forum here. For example, HSU and SVS subwoofers have already been mentioned and are both excellent choices. There is a great deal of information on these products in the subwoofer forum and you can always post more questions if you are unsure of anything. Information is your friend and it can all be found right here.

You can also look at my system as an alternative to Greg's ~12K system. There is little in common between the two systems except for the approximate value. When your system is done, it should represent what you like, sound how you like and perform the functions you need. Here at Audioholics, it's all about you.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

You can also look at my system as an alternative to Greg's ~12K system. There is little in common between the two systems except for the approximate value. When your system is done, it should represent what you like, sound how you like and perform the functions you need. Here at Audioholics, it's all about you.

Absolutely; there are geat produts out there at good costs; so just start by finding speakers you like and go from there.