This is how you budget for a home theater

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
You need a lot to set up an effective home theater and the devil's in the details...so what should you take into account when creating your budget? Read on!



Discuss "Tip of The Day: Developing A Home Theater Budget" here. Read the article.
 
Wayde Robson

Wayde Robson

Audioholics Anchorman
I love the article, Cliff. It's great hearing the perspective of an installer.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
I'd have to disagree a bit; according to MIT Cables, a good rule of thumb is to spend 20% of the value of the component you're putting into service, per connection. So lets say you purchased a $1000 2 ch amplifier. You'll need $200 to upgrade the power cord (chord?), and another $200 per channel to connect to the pre/pro. Then we have to talk about the speaker wires, whose cost may be determined by the value of the speakers, though each cable should presumably not be less than $200.

On the other hand, in higher end systems, I've heard reviewers mention that you can achieve savings in power chords by having a single very high end chord connect to your power conditioner, and then using slightly lesser chords from there to connect to your equipment.

You're welcome Cliff :D
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
I like that article a lot. I think people are often unrealistic about labor numbers and misc. materials. Cabling can always be a touchy subject as it still remains a strong profit area for installers while TVs often offer less than 10% profit. For some reason people think that because something costs them $3,000 that it means that the installer is making $1,000 or more, when in reality, most installers are often making $200 or $300. On top of which, they often offer value added services like a one year service warranty. I know that I've run into a 70" LCD which failed within 3 months of hanging it on a customer's wall. Since I extend a 1-year service warranty, I ordered a new TV, took down the old TV and put up the new one, then packed up the bad display and sent it back... all out of my own pocket and time. Zero impact/cost to my client other than their TV down time (which does matter). This can completely destroy any profit that may have been earned. In comparison, cabling which may cost several hundred dollars can offer just as much profitability to some companies and has almost a zero failure rate. So it is a low-risk, high-profit item. Most customers don't even argue if they see 10 $25 HDMI cables on a proposal, but get upset when they can buy the TV for $100 less on Amazon then what you can offer it to them for. Of course, labor rates tend to be higher than people like. Sure, you will pay a A/C guy $100 an hour, more for an electrician, and the guy working on your car... geez. But, ask for $60 an hour or more for a qualified guy who is about to cut into your drywall and people can act like it is far to much money to be spent. Of course, some customers have no problems at all, while others do, so it depends on the client.
 
S

sthayashi

Enthusiast
I'd have to disagree a bit; according to MIT Cables, a good rule of thumb is to spend 20% of the value of the component you're putting into service, per connection. So lets say you purchased a $1000 2 ch amplifier. You'll need $200 to upgrade the power cord (chord?), and another $200 per channel to connect to the pre/pro. Then we have to talk about the speaker wires, whose cost may be determined by the value of the speakers, though each cable should presumably not be less than $200.

On the other hand, in higher end systems, I've heard reviewers mention that you can achieve savings in power chords by having a single very high end chord connect to your power conditioner, and then using slightly lesser chords from there to connect to your equipment.
??? So according to a company that sells overpriced cables, you should spend 20% of the value of the equipment on cabling?
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
??? So according to a company that sells overpriced cables, you should spend 20% of the value of the equipment on cabling?
20% per connection, so the absolute percentage of $ spent on cables will be more given that you've got to account for things like power chords, 12V trigger, etc.

Of course, from my extensive reading on the subject, I've learned there are tricks one can employ to reduce the costs. In the realm of power chords for example, you can use a single higher end chord to connect from the wall to a power conditioner, and then employ lesser (albeit still audiophile quality) power chords to the individual components and still reap all the benefits of the higher end chord at the beginning of the chain.

Hope this helps :p
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
But, ask for $60 an hour or more for a qualified guy who is about to cut into your drywall and people can act like it is far to much money to be spent.
I imagine some people are unfamiliar with the concept of a fully loaded labor rate.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
??? So according to a company that sells overpriced cables, you should spend 20% of the value of the equipment on cabling?
Don't get suckered in to the humor of this website without recognizing the humor!
 
F

fmw

Audioholic Ninja
I'd have to disagree a bit; according to MIT Cables, a good rule of thumb is to spend 20% of the value of the component you're putting into service, per connection. So lets say you purchased a $1000 2 ch amplifier. You'll need $200 to upgrade the power cord (chord?), and another $200 per channel to connect to the pre/pro. Then we have to talk about the speaker wires, whose cost may be determined by the value of the speakers, though each cable should presumably not be less than $200.
:D
That assumes, of course, that you entertain the belief that things like power cords or speaker wires affect the sonic performance of the system. My years of bias controlled testing tell me that, with a tiny handful of examples, this is not true. Manufacturers are the last place you want to get system advice.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
Don't get suckered in to the humor of this website without recognizing the humor!
Personally I feel like I have to take a shower after using the term "power chord" in such a manner. :D
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
20% per connection?!? :eek: That's absurd. Steve, you're buying into marketing WAY too much.

After all, it should easily be 30%.
 
internetmin

internetmin

Audioholic
The split depends on priorities and equipment longevity

One thing that I have followed is looking at the budget from the POV of equipment longevity and my priorities. For example, if I had to choose either audio or video, I'd choose audio. If I had to then look at longevity of investments, speakers technology tends to remain more constant vs. AVR changes and preamp technology advances much faster than power amps in separates. Likewise, TV features and projector technologies change at a much more rapid pace than audio.

So, for me, I'd either take that extra 10% (using the formula) and shift it to audio because that's my preference and also longer-bang for the buck investment. Or, I'd adjust the formula to be 50-60%% audio and then divide the rest.

What I like about Cliff's post is that it draws a line in the sand--give you a general guideline--but like any guideline you need to apply priorities and have flexibility.

One final word of agreement, know when to hire a pro and do it right or your will pay 3-10x over. :)
 
internetmin

internetmin

Audioholic
I like that article a lot. I think people are often unrealistic about labor numbers and misc. materials. Cabling can always be a touchy subject as it still remains a strong profit area for installers while TVs often offer less than 10% profit. For some reason people think that because something costs them $3,000 that it means that the installer is making $1,000 or more, when in reality, most installers are often making $200 or $300. On top of which, they often offer value added services like a one year service warranty. I know that I've run into a 70" LCD which failed within 3 months of hanging it on a customer's wall. Since I extend a 1-year service warranty, I ordered a new TV, took down the old TV and put up the new one, then packed up the bad display and sent it back... all out of my own pocket and time. Zero impact/cost to my client other than their TV down time (which does matter). This can completely destroy any profit that may have been earned. In comparison, cabling which may cost several hundred dollars can offer just as much profitability to some companies and has almost a zero failure rate. So it is a low-risk, high-profit item. Most customers don't even argue if they see 10 $25 HDMI cables on a proposal, but get upset when they can buy the TV for $100 less on Amazon then what you can offer it to them for. Of course, labor rates tend to be higher than people like. Sure, you will pay a A/C guy $100 an hour, more for an electrician, and the guy working on your car... geez. But, ask for $60 an hour or more for a qualified guy who is about to cut into your drywall and people can act like it is far to much money to be spent. Of course, some customers have no problems at all, while others do, so it depends on the client.
Good points. When it comes to material--especially material that will be in there for the long-haul like in-wall cabling, etc. It's always better IMHO to put in the best you can afford now as that will be worth it down the road. For example, put in CAT6 or CAT7 vs. Cat5e. And always try and run spare cables. Future-proofing an installation is as important as the installation itself. One simple method is to run Cat6 or Cat7 cabling in pairs to anticipate using an HDMI extender. The advantage there is when new HDMI specs come out, you simply need to change out the extender and you upgrade your HDMI connection.
 
Cliff_is

Cliff_is

Audioholics Content Manager
20% per connection?!? :eek: That's absurd. Steve, you're buying into marketing WAY too much.

After all, it should easily be 30%.
Apparently you guys don't know Bob. He will show you the light.

Please do yourself a favor and watch this 3 part video series of listening tests with bob.
LessLoss Cable Review, system intro.mp4 - YouTube

After this you will be spending closer to 200% of the equipment price on cables....and it will be like adding a subwoofer.
 
internetmin

internetmin

Audioholic
you need to watch the other two videos. The first one is kinda boring, but quite pedantic.
LOL. Now the one thing that I don't see is actual measurements of the products. What I respect about Shunyata is they have measurements for the products. I still don't think I'd pay $1,000 for a power cable, but I respect the fact that they are trying to show objective measurements behind it.

Where are the other two videos? Didn't see off-hand the specific ones.
 
Cliff_is

Cliff_is

Audioholics Content Manager
LOL. Now the one thing that I don't see is actual measurements of the products. What I respect about Shunyata is they have measurements for the products. I still don't think I'd pay $1,000 for a power cable, but I respect the fact that they are trying to show objective measurements behind it.

Where are the other two videos? Didn't see off-hand the specific ones.
Here's 1: LessLoss Listening Sessions with Bob.mp4 - YouTube
Here's 2: LessLoss Cables, value, pricing and sound.mp4 - YouTube
 
internetmin

internetmin

Audioholic
The one thing I'm not 100% sold on is the whole idea of cable break-in that he mentions. I'm much more inclined to go with the psychoacoustics that this is your brain getting accustomed to things vs. it being the physics of it all.

Crazy as it is, I'm not 100% opposed to denying that there isn't "something" to cables in some systems and setups. I've told the story before but an electrical engineer friend of mine said it with a set of Nordost cables. He told me that he heard a difference... it was subtle, but it was there. He said that from all his years in engineering, his head couldn't explain it but his ears were telling him something was there.

I've had a similar experience that was with a pair of balanced interconnects. Difference was subtle but there. So, I'm not in the camp of it being night or day like adding a new speaker or component, but I'll be open minded to consider that there may be something there. The guy who's really hysterical to listen to about cables is Michael Fremmer from Home | Analog Planet. Whether you agree or not, you just have to love his passion and opinionated-ness :)
 

Latest posts

newsletter

  • RBHsound.com
  • BlueJeansCable.com
  • SVS Sound Subwoofers
  • Experience the Martin Logan Montis
Top