Need help determining what to get

[Stenson]

Hi all,

First post here, I'm a complete beginner when it comes to setting up a home theatre system. I'm out of college, got a job and all, decided I want to buy something fun. I have about 12 - 15 k to spend. Whatever home theatre system I get will be used probably for nightly TV / for a ton of video games.

I am living in an apartment right now so tearing down walls and such is out of the question. I'll be apartment hopping for the next couple of years until I get enough money for a town house, so I will have to move this system a few times.

There is so much information out on the net, can someone point me to a good stepping stone on where to get myself up to speed so I can make a good decision on what to get? And perhaps after I research, give insight to my decisions so I am not going the wrong way?

Current equipment concept (extreme rough draft):
A/V : Denon AVR-4306 (~$1300) or Denon AVR-2807 (~$720)
TV / Projector : Sony VPL-VW100 (~$7500)
Projector Screen: Carada Criterion Series Brilliant White (~$700)
Cables : tbd
speakers: tbd

Oh and one last note: I'll be buying the home theatre system in December... if that makes any difference (besides the price on equipment going down, or newer more expensive equipment coming out!)

Thank you all in advance!

 

[Resident Loser]

Well...

Hi all,

First post here, I'm a complete beginner when it comes to setting up a home theatre system. I'm out of college, got a job and all, decided I want to buy something fun. I have about 12 - 15 k to spend. Whatever home theatre system I get will be used probably for nightly TV / for a ton of video games.

I am living in an apartment right now so tearing down walls and such is out of the question. I'll be apartment hopping for the next couple of years until I get enough money for a town house, so I will have to move this system a few times.

There is so much information out on the net, can someone point me to a good stepping stone on where to get myself up to speed so I can make a good decision on what to get? And perhaps after I research, give insight to my decisions so I am not going the wrong way?

Current equipment concept (extreme rough draft):
A/V : Denon AVR-4306 (~$1300) or Denon AVR-2807 (~$720)
TV / Projector : Sony VPL-VW100 (~$7500)
Projector Screen: Carada Criterion Series Brilliant White (~$700)
Cables : tbd
speakers: tbd

Oh and one last note: I'll be buying the home theatre system in December... if that makes any difference (besides the price on equipment going down, or newer more expensive equipment coming out!)

Thank you all in advance!

...being of the opinion that HT is simply glorified tee-vee and a waste of space, have you looked at the AH recommendations...simply go to the home page and click on the " Our Picks on What to Buy" icon...

OR...click this link:

http://www.audioholics.com/showcase/systemguide/index.php

I know it's difficult to keep that cash from burnin' a hole in yer pocket but given your intent to move around, I personally would lower my sights to a more reasonable level until I was able to get some more insight into the hobby as a whole...The SOTA of this stuff is always in flux...what you buy today was probably obsolete yesterday and it's all pretty much disposable...by the time you settle in for any length of time, HT might consist of a display, a little black box and a bank of speakers...

Not tryin' to be preachy but, just out of college and starting out you might wanna' get some priorities in order...I'd hold on to a big chunk of that $$$ and think about the down payment on that house...this way you'll have a place to put all your gear, where your fellow apartment dwellers won't wanna' lynch you...

jimHJJ(...just some advice...)

 

[Stenson]

I do appreciate the comments! I do have a large chunk of money saved up for a house as well, this was a little extra I have been saving for years that I finally decided I might want to do something with. (never spent a dime of all my money from jobs through HS & college, I'm lucky )

Where I live, townhouses do not go cheap, and I don't think they are all that spacious either. Probably 400-500k for a decent town house, no idea if that will be spacious enough for a dedicated HT room. Current plan is to apartment live for one more year then get a house.

I did check out the AH recommendations, I just wanted to get some other feedback as well.

Basically, I want a kick <exploitive-deleted> setup to watch movies on and play HD console games on. Would you suggest I try to bide my time until I get a house still?

 

[jonnythan]

I'd recommend a projector for a dedicated movie room, but if you want a general-purpose screen you can watch with the lights on and so forth, consider a nice large plasma instead.

 

[Stenson]

That was definately one of my concerns. If I got a projector and it is also an all purpose room (aka not specifically designed for HT), I wondered if it would be bright enough or even crisp enough for what I wanted to use it for.

Though I have read some information on the projector I mentioned above, and supposedly it isn't much of a problem.... I would have to see it before I believe it though.

The other problem with getting a huge plasma is that they are EXTREMILY expensive. I am talking 60"+ here, I think that alone would break my budget.

 

[jonnythan]

Projectors are wonderful... but if you're watching a football game or even a movie in the living room in the middle of the day on one while some people are over, the results are generally less than spectacular. Remember what that screen is designed to do.. reflect light. Any ambient lights helps wash out the colors, especially the darks, and blacks are nonexistant.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Nick250]

Welcome to Audioholics Stenson. IMO the first and most important part of building a system is to start auditioning speakers. Audition as many as you can in your price range. The two front main speakers are heart and soul of one's system. My rough guide is that 65%- 70% of the total system budget should go to speakers. If you have to cheap out on some other part of your system to get better speakers then do so, it's that important. I'll get off my soap box now.

Regards, Nick

 

[jcPanny]

HT system

I am sure that you will enjoy the HT system, but $15k would make a good down payment for that townhouse.

Concerning the projector, check out projectorcentral.com for more info and reviews. 1080p projectors are nice, but expensive. Optoma will have their 1080p model out in a couple months in the <$7k price range. There are also plenty of good 720P projectors like the Optoma HD72 in the <$2k price range.

FYI, I say a 65" Panasonic plasma at my uncles house. He paid $10k for it.

 

[Stenson]

Thanks for all the feedback.

JCPanny - a 65" panasonic plasma is what I would personally want for my living room setup until I get a town house and an actual room for a home theatre. But as you said, that price tag is hefty

 

[Tomorrow]

A nice bit of fatherly advice you've been gettin' here, Stenson, over what to do with your own money.

I'll agree with the others, though, that suggest a projector is not the right choice for you at this time. Unless you're in a light controlled situation, I think you'll not be happy with it. Something you might consider is the size of the rooms you'll be living in over the next few years. You can get a 60" rear projection LCD for ~$2K or plasma for ~$4K, and that size should be more than adequate for most rooms you'll find in an apartment or condo.

If it were me, I'd spend the bulk of the dough on speakers and a strong set of front-end separates. These items have much longer legs when it comes to personal satisfaction (than does the ever-changing world of video and its associated descending prices).

Whatever you choose, welcome to Audioholics, and good luck with your search. Be sure to let us know how your hunt turns out.

 

[Stenson]

Alright, yeah I am starting to lean towards just getting a plasma and waiting for an actual home theatre w/ project to when I can dedicate an entire room to it. For a viewing distance of about 12 feet, I'm guessing I will want to go with a 60 inch plasma. Does that sound right? Plasma TVs have much better picture than DLPs and such, right?

Any comments on the receivers I'm looking at ? And can I get some good suggestions on speakers, or a website that reviews speakers well? I will be sticking with a 5.1 system due to my living conditions... you need just a little bit bigger space for a 7.1 I'd imagine

 

[jonnythan]

Alright, yeah I am starting to lean towards just getting a plasma and waiting for an actual home theatre w/ project to when I can dedicate an entire room to it. For a viewing distance of about 12 feet, I'm guessing I will want to go with a 60 inch plasma. Does that sound right? Plasma TVs have much better picture than DLPs and such, right?

No, not really. Plasmas max out at 720p, whereas there are many DLPs at 1080p. DLPs can also get larger without the enormous price increase. 65-70" DLPs are affordable... but you lose the "picture frame hanging on a wall" aspect of the plasma. You also give up some viewing angle (particularly vertical), but the picture on quality DLP or SXRD TVs is fantastic, and the extra resolution might be highly desirable, particularly for such a large display.

I will be sticking with a 5.1 system due to my living conditions... you need just a little bit bigger space for a 7.1 I'd imagine

No, you don't.. the extra 2 speakers in 7.1 go directly behind the seating area (or directly on the side of, depending on where you had the others mounted)

 

[Stenson]

I see - I thought there were 1080p plasmas. The only reason I thought plasmas were more crisp was because any time I am walking through a store, all of the plasmas look like they have better image quality.

Obviously have more research to do on this area.

 

[jonnythan]

For example:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7438873&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050004&id=1122655672986

I don't know much about this particular TV, but I've heard it's very very good, and I've seen it playing Blu-Ray before.... stunning picture.

 

[Stenson]

Is there anywhere that has a good set of reviews on all DLP TVs currently available?

I like the way CNET reviews things... with an actual rating based on a 10 point scale. It helps to determine if they thought a certain TV was better than another. For the life of me, I cannot find a site that is keeping up to date on reviews.

 

[jonnythan]

CNet reviews are pretty worthless. They are inconsistent and often highly inaccurate.

The best place to find out about particular TVs is www.avsforum.com

There are numerous threads covering basically every single model of TV, and lots of people comparing various competing TVs. There's a ton of information to wade through, but spend a bit of time doing it and you will get a handle on what's good and what's not.