Setting up a new home theater, i am a noob

[haastyle]

Hi,
I am just getting into this home theater stuff, because we are adding to my house and we have a room setup just for the home theater. I have a budget around $6K for everything, can go a bit higher if needed. So I would like some help on the components.

Reciever - I was thinking about the Denon 3805, looks like people like that around here. So thats about $1k right there.

Projector - I would like to direct around $3k of the budget to this or a little less. I really don't know much about them, I just want the full HDTV res. I was thinking DLP too, if someone can tell me LCDs are better I'll take a look at those.

Speakers - I really need your help here, I am going to have the reciever power the speakers and do a 5.1 setup, the room isn't too large, i think 14x10, or so. Around $2k on speakers. I want floor towers in the front and a nice center, also on the center should i mount it high on the wall, or could i have it lower on the ground point upwards maybe, then for the rear i would like some book shelf size or so, i think i am going to mount them on the wall or maybe get some stands.

The projector is going to be mounted from the ceiling in the back (about 13 feet from screen) and for the screen i was going to purchase the ScreenGoo stuff, its cheap and from reviews its good. Also all cabling I can acquire for realitvly cheap, from best buy, friend works there hah.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your time,
Haas

 

[j_garcia]

3805 can be found for less than that, especially with the 3806 coming out. For $1K, I'd personally take the Marantz 7500 over the 3805, but I am sure you can get the 3805 for less and it's not a bad receiver either.

You can probably get cables for even less than best buy (even on discount) that are just as good as what they sell at places like www.partexpress.com . For video, definitely bluejeans (see sig).

Might want to ask the projector question separately in the display/projector area.

$2K for speakers is pretty good, I'd take a look at the standards: www.paradigm.com - the Monitor Series, www.bwspeakers.com - the 600 series, and a favorite of mine: www.mordauntshort.com - the 500 or 900 series.

 

[haastyle]

Thanks for the input, I really like the PARADIGM monitor 7s, I think i will probably go with those and get the rest of the speakers from them also.

**edit Do you know an actual site where i can buy these speakers? there is a dealer close to my area, but their prices are probably pretty high, I found this one site called hometheaterbythesea.com but i don't know anything about them, they do have a large selection though.

 

[jaxvon]

Don't forget to neglect other brands like Definitive Technology, Phase Technology, Klipsch (only the reference series), Axiom (internet direct), Rocket (also internet direct), Ascend (internet direct...AGAIN), PSB, Energy, and maybe Polk (if that's the sound you like).

 

[MDS]

Paradigm can only be bought at an authorized dealer. I got a quote for a pair of Monitor 7, a CC-370, and two ADP-370 and it was quite a bit lower than msrp, although I don't have any way to compare that to what other authorized dealers may sell them for because there is one and only one Paradigm dealer in my area.

 

[jcPanny]

HT Projector

haastyle,
I am looking closely at the BenQ PE7700 projector for my future HT. This is probably the best DLP in your price range and can be purchased through Visual Apex for about $2500.
There are also a couple new LCD projectors in the same price range that are worth a close look: Panasonic AE9000U and Sanyo Z4. These are new and have great specs but no reviews yet. Another site, projectorcentral, has a lot of additional info.

If I had your budget I would pic the following:
Speakers - Axiom Audio M80s, VP150, QS8s($2K)
Sub - SVS or HSU ($500+)
Receiver - Yamaha RX-V2500 ($800)
DVD - Oppo Digital ($200)

 

[haastyle]

jcPanny,

you think that reciever would be able to power those speakers sufficently? also the room is not that large, those look kinda big for 14x10 room.

 

[jaxvon]

Seeing how the M80ti speakers are 4ohm, I think you would best suited with the M60ti speakers (that is, if you decide to go with Axiom).

 

[haastyle]

I have a question what exactly is bi-wiring?

 

[jaxvon]

Bi-wiring is where you run a cable with one pair of terminations on the amp end and two pair of terminations on the speaker end. The thinking goes that the bass will go down one part of the cable and the treble down the other. This thinking is bogus and biwiring is really a waste of time and money.

 

[haastyle]

hmm alright, because on some of these reviews i read it says bi-wiring really opens up the speakers and stuff

 

[j_garcia]

hmm alright, because on some of these reviews i read it says bi-wiring really opens up the speakers and stuff

There's bi-wiring, which is running two wires from one channel (which to me is effectively the same thing as just running a larger AWG of wire), and then there is bi-amping, which is running separate wires from individual channels, usually using separate amplification. Bi-amping has much more potential to open up the speakers because each driver has the power of the individual channel all to itself. Unless the speakers in question were really tough to drive or you were looking for insane SPLs, it probably isn't necessary in most cases. Unless the speakers are not getting enough power for your listening habits, then biamping probably isn't going to make enough of a difference either.

 

[PENG]

Bi-wiring is where you run a cable with one pair of terminations on the amp end and two pair of terminations on the speaker end. The thinking goes that the bass will go down one part of the cable and the treble down the other. This thinking is bogus and biwiring is really a waste of time and money.

In theory, the crossover network of the low frequency drivers would offer much higher impedance to the high frequency signals; likewise the high frequency circuit would offer much higher impedance to the low frequency signals. So, once the link between the HF & LF terminals are removed, it may be true that "the bass (mostly) will go down one part of the cable and the treble (mostly) down the other".

I don't find the thinking all that bogus. In terms of waste of time and money, may be, it depends on whether you can hear improvements in sound quality.

 

[haastyle]

alrighty guys well thanks a lot of the knowledge...i will probably be back with more questions soon, going to go look at those monitor 7s in a store in a couple of days, i got a 100 foot of monster cable speaker wire, is that going to be good enough stuff? Monster Cable 50' Navajo White Mini-Spool Speaker Cable

Model: XPNWMS50

that is the wire, if thats not good i can use that for the upstairs wiring of just speakers in the ceiling and get some quality wire that someone suggests, perferably availible at best buy cause i can get a discount. Thanks!

 

[jaxvon]

I'm not sure what guage that wire is...though I think it's 16ga. I personally try to use at least 14ga, if not larger. And by the way, you're going to need a LOT more than 100 feet. I've used almost 150ft in my tiny 14x11 room. So I'd say get at least another 50ft, if not 100-200ft. Remember, if you mess up and make one the wrong length, you don't want to have to run back to the store. Also, will this be in-wall or out of wall?

My personal preference is Belden 5000UE 12ga cable. It's kinda stiff, but it's good for in-wall installations and is dirt cheap ($0.19/ft at Westlake Electronic) and works well. If you are doing in-wall stuff, I know that BMXTRIX swears my Monster CIPRO 14/4 stuff, as it's very flexible and durable. You can find it for a good price on ebay, or maybe even better at BB if your discount is nice on cable. I know I got about $170 off on my receiver, thanks to my friend with a hookup.

 

[haastyle]

Its going in wall, the reciever is going to be in the back of the room, so run teh cable from there to the three front speakers. From out calcuations 100 feet should do it, if not i got an extra roll of 50 ft from when i worked at circuit city, of the same type of wire. Could you tell me if mounting the center channel low on the ground or up high would be best, if its high it would be pretty high, cause we are going to project a pretty large screen. On the low side it would be like 2 feet from the ground and i might even be able to angle it up a bit, we will be using pretty low couches also. Thanks for all your guys' input!

 

[Dezoris]

I have to tell you after looking and owning 5 projectors, don't spend your whole budget on an HD projector until you have seen the picture quality from lower cost DLP projectors using scaling.

DO not think that because lower cost units don't have native HD resolutions that their picture quality for HD signals is bad.

In fact, after seeing HD on these units priced between 800-1500 I would not spend the extra 1500 to get an HD projector.

Not when you only have a 6000-7000 budget.

Projector technology is changing and getting better so fast that you don't want to dump over 3k on a projector now, because in a year or two you will be able to get what you have for half the cost or less.

 

[jcPanny]

Technology . . .

Projector technology is changing and getting better so fast that you don't want to dump over 3k on a projector now, because in a year or two you will be able to get what you have for half the cost or less.

The mentality above is relevent to your purchase of a receiver, projector, HDTV, computer, or any other electronics. There will always be something newer, better, faster and cheeper in a couple years. If you have or plan to use a lot of HD content (satellite, upscalling DVD, blue-ray, etc.) than get an HD capable projector. The added resolution will also be a major benifit on larger screen sizes (>90 inches diagnol).

Technology example: The "newest" receivers support switching and scalling of HDMI version 1.1. HDMI version 1.2 just came out to support SACD multichannel audio over the HDMI cable.

In contrast, a decent set of speaker can last you for years. This should be your first purchase and you should build your audio system around the capabilities/requirements of the speakers.

 

[j_garcia]

You can't use that wire in wall, it's not UL/CL3 rated. That wire is technically 15AWG, which is a real oddball, but I use it for my surrounds (tucked under baseboard) because I get it cheap in bulk. I use their X1S for my mains. Very decent stuff for the price I get it at.

Center mounted lower and pointed up is better, IMO.

 

[jaxvon]

If you're going to be running in-wall, I would grab some of this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Monster-Cable-500-14-4-IN-WALL-SPEAKER-CABLE-WIRE_W0QQitemZ5720497971QQcategoryZ14966QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

BMXTRIX, a custom installer on this board, says it's the best in-wall wire he's worked with. And actually, since it's 14/4, you can have 11awg effective runs to all of your speakers, which means you won't have any resistance problems.