New to the board needing Home Theater Help..

[YU12BME]

Hi guys,

I am just recently built a house and have a dedicated room I want to use for a home theater, the room is 20'x18'. Different people have offered to do it and I have narrowed it down to 3, but need help deciding between the 3. I know some setups are better for home theater use while others are better for music. I will say I will use mine 90% for home theater and 10% for music. Now that I have prefaced it with the size of my room and my listening taste here are my three options:

#1: Onkyo 7.2 Channel THX,
6- Definitive Technology Disappearing In-Wall speakers
(L/R Front, SL, SR, SBL, SBR) (DI8R)
2- Definitive Technology 8″ Sub w/ 300W Amp (ProSub800)
Mitsubishi Projector 3 LCD 1080P, 1500 Lumens (Model HC-6800)
SNAP AV fixed 119" dragon fly screen
Logitech Harmony 1100 remote


#2 JVC HD Video Projector (DLAHD250)
5- CWM650-B&W In-Wall Speakers
2- CCM65- B&W In-Ceiling Speakers
2- PSW111- Polk Audio Powered Subwoofer
VSXSC31- Pioneer Elite AV Surround Receiver
T3- RTI Universal Programmable Controller
SNAP AV fixed 119" dragon fly screen

#3 JVC HD Video Projector (DLAHD250)
6-Polk Disappearing 8 inch in wall speakers (70RTs)
2- PSW111- Polk Audio Powered Subwoofer
VSXSC31- Pioneer Elite AV Surround Receiver
T3- RTI Universal Programmable Controller
SNAP AV fixed 119" dragon fly screen

Notice I am avid about getting a touch screen remote and those where the one that was suggested to me. Also, the screen seem to be a dealer favorite as well. I am on a budget of about 9k and wanted to get some opinion. If none of them looks good. Please suggest what you would get with 9K.

I just listed the meat and potatoes of the quotes and not the small stuff like blue ray player, wires, brackets, etc. But they all come with that stuff. Which one to pick and what do you all think?

Thanks!!

 

[BMXTRIX]

For $9K, I assume this is an installed price.

Do you already have wiring run, or is it new construction, or is it a retrofit?

I would likely go with the third package.

Not sure I would opt for a touchscreen remote. This is a very poor decision for most people to make based upon my experience. It LOOKS cool, but actual use of a touchscreen absolutely sucks for channel surfing because you really don't get proper tactile feedback for the buttons you are pressing.

For a feel of what that is like, if you have a Smartphone, try to see if their is an app to control your cable box, then try to use it as a remote. You will likely be frustrated within a few minutes. Stick with it, and you will realize that this is NOT the way to go.

Still, your money on that one. They go with the touchscreen because it looks cool, and has a high profit margin.

Not sure on the DragonFly screen. Haven't seen one, but I'm a fan of Carada.

Likewise, similar online companies offer excellent value.

For speakers, I would go with the poke or another 8" 3-way design of some sort.

I've used these in several installations and consider them comparible to other speakers in the similar size range...
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10837&cs_id=1083703&p_id=6816&seq=1&format=2

For a sub, I would avoid Polk.

How about a couple of these?
http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/legend.html
or these...
http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/dualempire.html

The receiver is alright. Pioneer makes good stuff. I'm a fan of Denon, but I would avoid Onkyo just because of my concerns with overheating and reliability.

The JVC projector is great. I would get that over the Mits for sure.

The $9,000 budget is good. It's a bit tight depending on some pieces of gear and how much installation work is really needed and to what level. I would be sure to ask for a Cheif RPMAU projector mount as you WILL need to futz with the projector at some point and it won't be fun if there is some other mount in place.

 

[YU12BME]

Thanks for the info

Hey BMXTRIX,

Thanks for the info. Yes those are installed prices. It is going in a newly constructed house. The only thing I had done to it is had the speaker wires ran and a power source above the ceiling where the projector could plug into.

I am also trying to find the best way to be able to show the internet on the screen. Not like net flix but as if I was to order a game on espn 3.

 

[BMXTRIX]

How are they going to get an HDMI cable to your projector location? Just wondering, as if conduit or a HDMI cable was not already run, it could mean some damage to the space. But, if you have 5.1 run already, then a great deal of the serious work effort is already taken care of.

To show the Internet on your projector, get a PC and hook it up. PCs may not always work perfectly when connected through an A/V receiver, so I would typically recommend an additional connection, if available, to the projector via HDMI to ensure reliability. Some do fine, other setups do not.

Wireless keyboard/mouse combos will let you control the PC from the theater, and the PC can sit in with the rest of the gear. But, I've not heard of any truly reliable internet specific device which can upgrade and offer as much as a decently built home theater PC can.

Of course, noise from those PCs can really mess with the quality of the room, and they tend not to be a small ticket item for a quality unit.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

While BMX is our local authority for projectors and installations, I know thing or two about pc...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103297

This little box is a) silent b) cheap c) already has wireless keyboard and mouse d)silent

cons: You get what you pay for - Atom Cpu is not fast, but with Nvidia gpu it's more than enough to browse internet and watch HD videos and HD youtube (including any flash video)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

How about NONE of the above, and just start over from scratch?

Revel or KEF in-wall speakers.

Denon 4311 AVR.

JVC PJ

Or Phase Technology In-wall speakers and subwoofers:

http://www.phasetech.com/products.html?product_id=IW-200

http://www.phasetech.com/flushmount.html

 

[BMXTRIX]

How about NONE of the above, and just start over from scratch?

Revel or KEF in-wall speakers.

Denon 4311 AVR.

JVC PJ

It all looks nice until you actually add up the cost of this as an installed system. If he's doing it himself, sure... maybe. But, not installed and ready to go with a properly programmed remote control in hand.

Just programming a remote control for a room, calibrating a room (basic), and fully testing everything takes no less than 4 hours, and usually is about 8 hours. That's easily $600 or more of budget without actually installing anything.

Typically, a theater is about 32-60 hours of labor depending on the scope. In this case, the lower end of that, but 32 x 60 eats up $2,000 of budget at VERY low installation rates.

 

[AVRat]

$2500 Projector JVC DLA-HD250
$1400 Seymour AV / Snap AV Acoustically Transparent Screen
$ 880 Denon 3311
$1100 Dual Epik Legends
$1500 Def Tech DI 6.5LCR x 3
$ 600 Aperion Audio Intimus 6-IW x 4

$7980 Total

 

[BMXTRIX]

$2500 Projector JVC DLA-HD250
$1400 Seymour AV / Snap AV Acoustically Transparent Screen
$ 880 Denon 3311
$1100 Dual Epik Legends
$1500 Def Tech DI 6.5LCR x 3
$ 600 Aperion Audio Intimus 6-IW
$7980 Total

+ Installation + Cabling = $11,000

If he wants to DIY, then it changes things significantly.

You also don't have a remote in there to make it easy for the family to use.

We are all a bunch of DIY types, and for many of us this all seems easy. But, I'm sure more than a few of us have families who have no idea how to operate the home theater and haven't put in a decent remote control for them. Fine, if that's what they want, but it seems like the OP is looking for it to be a turnkey solution for his home and family.