New Construction Help

[trader]

I am about 3 months from completion on a new house and I need to figure out how I am going to set up the sound and video throughout the house. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have been debating whether this is something I can handle on my own and am not sure whether I should just give up and just go through the phone book and pay somebody to come in and get me setup. But I figure I'll have to buy everything at retail from a pro and I do have a decent handle on what I want, so I'm torn.

I will be building a home theater in a room that is designed as a formal living room (for resale value) so the layout is a bit unorthodox. I am leaning toward going with a Sony VPL VW12HT but if anyone has a good reason to consider a DLP in similar price range, I'm open to advice. The reason it is unorthodox is that you will walk into the room through a four foot "hallway" because of two closets on either side of the entrance to the room, one for coats, the other for components. You will basically be staring at the back of a couch when you walk in with a retractable screen across the room from you (leaning toward Stewart FireHawk, but again open to advice) so the rear center of a 6.1 will have to be in the ceiling since there is no wall there. For this room I have two Klipsch KPS 300's for the front right and left, and they should provide sufficient bass without a subwoofer (right?) but I will need a center channel and all three rear speakers. The left and right aren't as important to me since I assume they will be installed on the walls (not in them, not enough room in my walls for anything decent) but the center will be in ceiling and will be much easier to do during construction than after, obviously. Any advice on all three would rears and a center that would go well with my 300's would be appreciated. Room is 16 long by 14 wide (not counting little entrance hallway), and all ceilings in house are 10 feet.

I'm going to have a kitchen/great room that is 44 feet long by 15 feet wide. I'm going to put a pair of bookshelf speakers at one end with some good bass (suggestions?) and two pair of ceiling speakers through out the rest of the room (again, not enough room for in walls and no place for towers or stand mounted speakers because of doors, windows, cabinets, etc). I've been looking at Phase CI 7.3's, Sonance Ellipse 1.0 LCR's, PSB M6.1R's, Posh 928's (no idea where to even buy those), Atlantic Technology IWTS-8CMS, and Klipsch R 5800 C. The more I read, the less clue I have. Anyone recommend any of these from experience? I have music on most hours of the day, but I am not an audiophile. As long as the speakers can be pretty loud, with good bass and reasonably clear high end, I'm happy. Basically loud and good, but doesn't have to be specatacular (which is good since they are ceiling speakers after all). Any help would be great.

Lastly, any advice on good (but not specatacular) components to run all this from--i.e, receiver, amp. And is there a way to play music from a computer that is better than the crappy speaker outputs standard on any computer? To anyone with advice, thank you.

Ben

 

[BMXTRIX]

How about the rest of the house? If you are building new, then for a couple hundred bucks of wires you can wire the entire house with speaker audio then add in-ceiling/wall speakers later on. If you have a basement, then why locate the equipment on the main floor? Why not put everything that doesn't require a human hand to touch it in the basement?

If your living room is not light controlled, the projector can not be your only viewing source in your living room. I would recommend a plasma on the wall (or lcd - either flat panel display) and then have a Da-Lite, Draper, or Stewart screen drop in front of it. You really don't need a Firehawk screen with the contrast of the newer LCD DLP projectors.

Speaking of - drop the old Sony if you don't own it already. The new Sony, Panasonic, or Sanyo in LCD and the new Sharp in DLP all blow it away for less money.

My new home is going to be done in about 3 months as well and I am wiring for security cameras, 15 zones of audio, and putting in conduit to several locations so that I can add wires later on. I am paying for the wiring (unfortunately) so I am spending a couple grand, but for this to be retroed in later would cost 5-10 grand - if it is possible at all.

Computer audio is a separate issue and there are many posts on this. Audio cards for PCs include S/PDIF outputs which you can hook up digitally to a receiver or the 1/8" stereo plug can go into your receiver as well. Some cards have standard RCA connections on them also.

New home offers a lot of possibilities, but do NOT short change yourself on the wiring and conduit. Before drywall goes up, this is the single most important thing you can do in your home. It adds to resale value and allows for new technology.

I am doing a similar setup in my kitchen/eat-in/family room area and there is no way I could just use my projector due to ambient light issues.

Oh, and you will want a sub for sure if you want to watch some good movies. Subs are almost a requirement.

If you don't want a big sub in the room a Velodyne HGS-10/DD-10 or Sunfire 10 will blend perfectly with the subtle but powerful room.

You may also consider a projector lift that goes between the floor joists above to tuck the projector out of view when it is off.

Lots to consider for sure if you want to do things right.... where do you live abouts?

 

[medstyle]

The room seems a little small for a projector, and if its on the first floor, you might not always have the option of watching in complete darkness. Watching front projection with sunlight or the lights on sucks.

You should wall mount a plasma. They are heavy, but they look nice and are discrete. I have a 65 inch one in my rec area but, i think they may have bigger ones out there too. In our family room we have a smallish 50 inch one, but its bright enough to watch with sunlight at least.

I recommend mitsubishi and pioneer elite, from personal experience, but i am sure other companies are good too. Try to stay with japanese brands over korean, because quality difference is huge. Pioneer plasma's last like twice as long as other companies.

As far as speakers, i don't really like the sound of wall in speakers, but that's ur call. i am sure they have nice ones...but i dunno, for some reason they aren't built very well and replacing them is a huge hassle. We have a built in speaker system in my house and after lke 4 years they were barely functional and now they don't work at all.

So yeah, be careful. I think the best place for a projector is where you ahve a dedicated dark theater room and have a good projector, which tend to be as much as a big plasma.

 

[trader]

Thanks for the advice

I'm building in Wilmington, NC. I am wiring the rest of the house for sound but am not concerned about how the speakers will sound in places like the dining room, where it is more background music. I trade stock from home, so I'll have a T1 in my office and Wifi for rest of the house. I just tried to center my question on the areas I most need guidance in. I will live in a flood zone, so my first living floor will actually be my second and the ground floor will be like a basement storage area. I miss having basements from growing up in the north--almost no houses here have them and so closets and attics become pretty crowded.

I can control the light in my theater room--blinds and curtains should do the trick. I can't do flat screen because the way the room is set up the viewing wall has a window right in the center of it. If I knew I wasn't going to sell the house ever, I'd not have put a window there at all, but I don't know that. Thus the retractable screen is really the only option.

I don't already have the projector, which sony were you referring to? I'm trying to keep the projector cost in the 5k range.

I hear you on the wall/ceiling speakers, Medstyle, but I don't have much choice in the kitchen/great room. There just isn't really anywhere else for them to go. That's why I'm hoping a good pair of bookshelf speakers along with two pairs of ceiling speakers will fill the room. I'm leaning toward the most expensive Klipsch ceiling speakers, even though I can't find a review on them anywhere, just because I've been happy with Klipsch in the past and they are reasonably priced (about 370/pair). I'm just concerned that the price might be too reasonable for a reason.

 

[medstyle]

I'm building in Wilmington, NC. I am wiring the rest of the house for sound but am not concerned about how the speakers will sound in places like the dining room, where it is more background music. I trade stock from home, so I'll have a T1 in my office and Wifi for rest of the house. I just tried to center my question on the areas I most need guidance in. I will live in a flood zone, so my first living floor will actually be my second and the ground floor will be like a basement storage area. I miss having basements from growing up in the north--almost no houses here have them and so closets and attics become pretty crowded.

I can control the light in my theater room--blinds and curtains should do the trick. I can't do flat screen because the way the room is set up the viewing wall has a window right in the center of it. If I knew I wasn't going to sell the house ever, I'd not have put a window there at all, but I don't know that. Thus the retractable screen is really the only option.

I don't already have the projector, which sony were you referring to? I'm trying to keep the projector cost in the 5k range.

I hear you on the wall/ceiling speakers, Medstyle, but I don't have much choice in the kitchen/great room. There just isn't really anywhere else for them to go. That's why I'm hoping a good pair of bookshelf speakers along with two pairs of ceiling speakers will fill the room. I'm leaning toward the most expensive Klipsch ceiling speakers, even though I can't find a review on them anywhere, just because I've been happy with Klipsch in the past and they are reasonably priced (about 370/pair). I'm just concerned that the price might be too reasonable for a reason.

those speakers might not do the trick... what other components are you getting? too bad u can't read japanese, i always check to see what's new in japan and what models they are selling here that they are selling over there. In japan, people really care about quality, so alot of times the best of the US market is only average over there. I like to make sure everything i get is at least sold in japan as above average.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=VPLHS51&Dept=tv&CategoryName=tv_ProjectionTVs_FrontProjection

This is the newest model available in the states...here's a review:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/sony_vpl-hs51.htm

For speakers, those will be fine for a small room, but maybe you should put something better, since you obviously care about your set up. You don't want to look at crappy speakers all the time. And why are you putting them all in the ceiling? If you can, put the surrounds inthe walls and maybe even forgo the 6.1 speaker. I have a 5 speaker set up, with the surrounds slightly high and back, and thats perfect. I think a 7.1 or 6.1 setup requires a bigger room with dedicated space behind. If the speaker is on top of your head it might get irritating. And since like no movies are encoded for 7.1, i don't even care to have it right now.

What kind of other components are you getting? You need a hometheater amp, unless you want to to pre amp and amp. I think a hometheather amp is fine for your set up, especially a higher end one. I have an elite amp, its pretty good i think. There are lots of nice dvd players out, but don't spend too much because blue ray is coming soon and you'll want that.

goodluck and have fun. i just built my theater and i like it alot.

 

[medstyle]

I'm building in Wilmington, NC. I am wiring the rest of the house for sound but am not concerned about how the speakers will sound in places like the dining room, where it is more background music. I trade stock from home, so I'll have a T1 in my office and Wifi for rest of the house. I just tried to center my question on the areas I most need guidance in. I will live in a flood zone, so my first living floor will actually be my second and the ground floor will be like a basement storage area. I miss having basements from growing up in the north--almost no houses here have them and so closets and attics become pretty crowded.

I can control the light in my theater room--blinds and curtains should do the trick. I can't do flat screen because the way the room is set up the viewing wall has a window right in the center of it. If I knew I wasn't going to sell the house ever, I'd not have put a window there at all, but I don't know that. Thus the retractable screen is really the only option.

I don't already have the projector, which sony were you referring to? I'm trying to keep the projector cost in the 5k range.

I hear you on the wall/ceiling speakers, Medstyle, but I don't have much choice in the kitchen/great room. There just isn't really anywhere else for them to go. That's why I'm hoping a good pair of bookshelf speakers along with two pairs of ceiling speakers will fill the room. I'm leaning toward the most expensive Klipsch ceiling speakers, even though I can't find a review on them anywhere, just because I've been happy with Klipsch in the past and they are reasonably priced (about 370/pair). I'm just concerned that the price might be too reasonable for a reason.

oh yeah, be careful with vertical blinds because they don't completly shut out light. I think a better combo might be horizontal blinds and curtains to catch any light trying to sneak out the edges.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Trader: Check www.projectorcentral.com for info on the new projectors.
Sony, Panasonic, and Sanyo all have new LCD projectors and Sharp has a new DLP projector. All of them are well under 5 grand.

You must have near 100% light control in a room for a projector. I have done the non-light controlled room with blinds/drapes and viewing was barely tolerable before sunset. Plus, because we are a TV watching household - about 5-8 hours daily it is on, even if we aren't watching it - economically it made sense to run a flat screen. If nothing else, be ready to find a way to put a plasma where there is no business being one. There are some pretty crazy ways that a plasma can be mounted to allow it placement at the window, yet not always cover the window when off - be it on a lift or slide or drop.

Anyway - I love projectors so I won't try to talk you out of that, I think they are great and if you have confidence in light control, then you will either be happy, or realize that you need something to supplement the projector. Just make sure your drop down screen is about 6-8 inches off the wall so you are ready for a flat panel if worse comes to worse.

As far as speakers go... I don't comment on them as a cheap $20.00 pair makes a lot of people happy. Klipsch is considered to bright by many. Highs justs give some people headaches, especially when paired to a receiver that is bright in the highs. But, others have no problems with them and think they sound great. So, go, listen, and let your ears, and your wallet decide.

Either way, a subwoofer is there to fill in the low ends that your speakers will not reach. To give your room the 'theater' sound and feel and to make your movies, and music, come alive. You simply must have a subwoofer to reach deep and hit the lows.

You could consider mounting on-wall in the back instead of in-wall. But, if you decide to go in-wall, I like what Sonance puts out in their mid to upper line of product for sound. On-wall all around can really keep the lines clean and things matched up nicely. The Definitive Technology Mythos line may do you well for a fairly reasonable price.

As a final note: If you are thinking 6.1 surround... why not 7.1? In a few years 6.1 may be tough to come by it may all be 7.1. I have a 6.1 receiver and am wiring for 7.1 with an entension to allow for a center rear speaker from one fo the two rear surrounds. That way I can do either 6 or 7.1