20K for A/V equipment……..hmmm
For that room of yours, you can fit some M80’s in back for the rear surrounds. So if it were my money I’d get…..
Five M80’s – the right, left, center and rear surrounds.
Four QS-8’s – side surrounds
Two EP 600’s
I’d get the speakers in one of the custom wood options with a piano finish. Not sure what the exact bill would be, but figure 13K
I’d still stick with one of the <$2000 projectors. There’s no reason to waste money on a high dollar projector, and if you read the reviews, it’s an easy decision. My top three projectors to pick from would be 1) Optoma H72 2) Panny 900 3) Sanyo Z4
I’d still build my own screen. No reason to waste money on a pre-fab screen. Figure $1000 for the material.
That leaves roughly $4000 for the electronics.
You’ll need a DVD player. My first choice is the Oppo. $200. Same reason as my first reply to this string. HD-DVD and Blue Ray are here, but the players are still stumbling around on baby feet. Don’t waste money on a high dollar DVD player.
The rest I’d spend on some good amps and a pre-pro. Probably Rotel or NAD. I like separates over a stand alone AVR. Technology changes all the time. The processing of the video/audio streams is what changes, but the power to drive the speakers doesn’t. With the separates route, you keep the amps till they go up in smoke (15 years or so). Just change the processor ever couple years as needed.
Seeing how this is your first go at a HT, I’d suggest you go to a few Hi-fi shops with a handful of your favorite CD’s. Take the ol’ man and spend some time listening to different speakers. Don’t buy anything, just listen to them. Take note on what you like and don’t like with each speaker. Then come on back and tell us what you think. I’d bet a paycheck that someone here will be able to either find you a better deal than what was at the dealer, or, you may just like the Axiom sound better. It’s pretty important to know what type of sound you prefer though. Axioms may not be for you. And with the money you are spending, I’d make damn sure you get speakers that you’ll enjoy for many years.
