My system Plan

[dabingles]

Hello,

I know this really is not the place to post this, but I value all of you opinions and I want to see if my system will work well together.
I have been lurking around on a few sites reading up gaining some knowledge on the different areas that make up a home theater. Now I think I am ready to take the plunge. I wanted to see what some more experienced people think of it, and where I could improve on it or cut some costs out.

My ultimate Home Entertainment system would comprise of three different areas. And the requirements for each area.

Sound- Crystal clear, with deep bass and an enveloping surround

Video- HD quality, widescreen, >50 inch diagonal

Computer- Able to surf the web, record TV programs, and play some video games (World of Warcraft)

I want to integrate all three into a pretty awesome theater. Here are my plans so far.

For sound I am planning on using the Yamaha Rxv – 2500 for the A/V Reciever,
For speakers I am planning on using all Axiom with M22tis as the fronts the V-150 center, QS8s for surround and a HSU sub. I hear this is a great midrange receiver, I also like it because I eventually want to upgrade to 7.1 sound, moving the m22tis to the rear and getting the M60 floorstanders as the fronts.

My question is this will I be able to get enough sound quality out of the HTPC to fully take advantage of this system?

For the Video I am planning on making a DIY projector. I am pretty confident that I can make a really good LCD projector on the cheap for about $700. I will be using a ProView 15.4" Widescreen LCD Display to project the image. This monitor has a native resolution at 1280x800. Reading other DIY projects they have made projectors with diagonals of 100 inches at HD quality. As for the screen itself I will either make a high gain screen using some sand blasted plexi glass and reflective paper, or just black out cloth from Jo-ann fabrics stretched across a wooden frame.

For the HTPC the brains of the operation I plan on using just a standard atx case as it will be tucked somewhere out of sight. For a processor I am thinking a Amd athalon 939 3500+. Coupled with a gig of ram, Hauppauge 150 capture card, a sea gate 80 hard drive for programs and a 200g for storage. A Samsung TS-H552B DVD+R/w for the dvd player. For video a geforce 6600 GT will be used, and for audio M-Audio Revolution 7.1.

Here is where my second question comes in, Do I even need the sound card? Because this will be connected to the Receiver couldn’t that do all my sound processing?

I will probably be building this entire system over a 2 year period, doing each category individually starting with the HTPC and the Proview monitor which will later be tore down to be used in my projector. Than the last step would be the Sound system.

Some rough guesses on all the costs
HTPC
1400
Projector
700
Sound
2300
Software and cables
300

Total system Cost- $4600

I might have to lower my standards on the sound because that takes up over half my budget.

What do you guys think about this?

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

It definitely sounds like you have laid out your plans. I don't know too much about building projectors and the actual quality, but I will say that in two years it will be out of date. The Yamaha 2500 is a fine receiver. Why Axiom speakers? Have you auditioned them? You won't need a sound card, but could benefit from a good dvd burner for movies, music, photos, etc...

http://reviews.cnet.com/Axiom_Epic_Master/4505-6467_7-9387841-2.html?tag=glance

 

[dabingles]

That was the first negative thing I have ever heard about the axiom speakers. Everything else I have heard about them has been fantastic, including the review of them on this site.

 

[nickbuol]

That was the first negative thing I have ever heard about the axiom speakers. Everything else I have heard about them has been fantastic, including the review of them on this site.

Keep in mind that the review is from 3 years ago, and I don't know of a whole lot of people with the Axiom M3Ti speakers that they review. Oddly enough, the reviewer even liked the subwoofer, which in Axiom's line up is pretty weak (but you don't need to know that as you are looking at a HSU)...

I was looking at Axioms for many, many months, and thought that I was going to go with the exact same setup as you are looking at. I ran into a snag. Since my home theater is not going to be a dedicated room, I needed to look at total air volume for my entire basement, and M22 speakers were not the preferred speaker for the job. They would work, but I didn't want to always wonder if the M22 would be enough.

I ended up with Axiom M60ti fronts, VP150 center, and QS8 rears with an SVS 20-39PCi sub... All I can say is WOW! These are great.

Head over to the Axiom web site and go to their forums. You will find information on where you can have a listen to these speakers and make your own decision. I ended up buying them without an audition of them, but they are great to my ears (and I am pretty darn picky). There are Axiom haters out there, but they are usually the ones that have lots of money to spend on whatever equipment they want. For most of us, that is not the case. Heck, you've probably seen the professional reviews that put many of the Axiom speakers up against much more expensive, more "main stream" speakers, and the Axioms are the winner, even without considering price.

I am by no means saying that there are no better speakers than Axiom, but I can tell you that for the money, they sure seem to be winners.