Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater How much is your home theater worth?

I know that some people could blow this number away with large additions to their homes and so forth, so let's keep this just to equipment that you are currently using in your home theater. Amps, speakers, displays, even cables. Just leave out physical consstruction costs, seating, furnature (even racks), lighting control (we can all just turn off the lights), and so forth.

Here is my list.
Axiom M60 Fronts
Axiom VP150 Center
Axiom QS8 Surrounds
SVS 29-39Pci Sub
Pioneer 54TX Receiver
Sanyo Z3 Projector
Pannasonic S97 DVD player
Blue Jeans Component and HDMI Cables
Home Depot 14g Speaker Wire
Carada 104" Criterion Screen (ordered today)

Running total is right at $6500

I left off my touchscreen remote, equipment rack, full metal bracket (for the center speaker), and all of the costs with finishing that half of my basement.

My wife thinks that I've gone overboard, but I am sure that many people here have spent a lot more, and many people have spend a lot less.

Oh crap, I wish you hadn't asked that. By purchasing one piece at a time, I have been able to maintain the illusion that I only have $1000 or so invested in the system...

M2 mains + stands
VP100
QS8
PSB 6i
HK630
Pioneer 578
Cheapo 27" TV (saved big time here)

Maybe $4000 CDN...

I'm not counting the M60s 'cause they're my music system upstairs.

Though I doubt he'll respond, I can't WAIT to hear Craigsub's response to this question! He only has 4 theaters in his home.

I'm not even gonna respond myself. After all, I got most of my stuff free.

That means I don't have to include the rear 80s or the QS8s since they are in the solarium ? I have a number in mind that is relatively close, but will just let everyone take a guess, I try not to think about it much.

Even if your system is so ^%$*&^ big that you need three rooms to hold all the speakers you still have to count them all because they are all part of the same 7.1 array.

Sorry.

I know that makes the number pretty large but it sure seems like a great investment to me and to anyone who has heard it (with one regrettable exception ).

LG 52" DLP: $3000
Yamaha receiver: $500
Yamaha CD changer: $150
LG DVD player: $150
M40 (FO): $600
VP100 $300
QS4 x 3: $750
Velo sub: $550
Radio Shack cables/wires: $250
Total = $6250 CDN
(All prices approx. for easy adding!!)
Not included: 3 FMB brackets, stands, and batteries.

I'll play, but I can't remember what prices were before they went up a few months ago. I think M22s were $400. Does anyone remember what a pair of QS4s, a VP150 or an EP175 went for?

Front M60ti,
Centre VP150,
Surrounds QS8,
Subwoofer EP350
120’ of Axiom Bulk Speaker Wire
48" LG LCD TV
Harman Kardon AVR320 receiver
Sony dvd player
Interconnects $100 (guessing, it all was from various eBay sources, custom made sub cable and everything else "plain jane" blue AR)
Grand total Total $5,594CDN ( ...this includes a 15% sales tax paid on everthing except the sub.)

That equates to about $4,609 in US dollars.

not bad for what I consider a budget system.

For me..........


About 4 house payments.

nickbuol ... tell your bride a decent boat would be $40,000 plus $5000 per year in dock fees and maintenance. PLUS ... with home theater, there are NO bimbos hanging around.

She will love you for the sacrifice you made ...

In reply to:

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with home theater, there are NO bimbos hanging around.

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Wait.

You mean there aren't going to be bimbos?

Damn Craig that's one heck of a bass boat

I understand the disappointment ... but home theater is BYOB ... bring your own bimbo ....

About fidy cent.

Yea I caught my mistake too late.

The only thing my H/T attracts is other guys.
Not a bimbo one.
Wait, I take that back, bigjohn showed up at my place.

$40,000 could buy LOTS of bass... it is fun just thinking about it ...

A few huntret more than I paid for my full dress Harley, AND my two Triumphs-together!!

(Of course we're talking 1970s USD here)

hey now.. say what you will.. but dont forget, your the one who bought dinner.. so this "bimbo" still knows how to work that a$$..

i added up my entire HT cost at one time, and i think it came up to around $3000. that does not include my $800 Sony 36" TV that i bought 7 years ago, so put it to $3800. a new sub will be my next purchase, then looking to get a 42" LCD in the next few years.

does it ever stop?

bigjohn

In reply to:
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Poster: MarkSJohnson
Subject: Re: How much is your home theater worth?

Wait.

You mean there aren't going to be bimbos?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disapointing, huh? I tell people at work about my HT, and all I hear are the guys lining up for a Lord of the Rings marathon. Not even my wife wants to hang around for that. Just the guys, I guess.

_____________________________
In response to:

Poster: craigsub
Subject: Re: How much is your home theater worth?

nickbuol ... tell your bride a decent boat would be $40,000 plus $5000 per year in dock fees and maintenance. PLUS ... with home theater, there are NO bimbos hanging around.

She will love you for the sacrifice you made ...
____________________________________

You know, my wife DOES like to go boating. She grew up in a family who went boating every weekend of the warmer months in Illinois along the "muddy" Mississippi river. She always wanted a boat, but you are right, they are too expensive, and I am doing us a favor.

MSRPs for the equipment in my main HT - BTW, I bought much of it used for WAY less than list price.

Mitsubishi HD1080 65" TV.....................$5,000
Thiel CS 3.6........................................4,000
SVS 39-20.............................................600
Velodyne CHT 10.....................................500
QS8......................................................500
M2i.......................................................280
Merak (highly modified) center channel........150

Integra DTC 9.4 Processor.....................2,000
Anthem PVA5 Amplifier..........................1,700
Philips SACD1000.................................2,000
Onkyo M504..........................................800
Outlaw ICBM bass mgmt unit....................250

Some numbers I estimated.
Except for the Axiom speakers I didn't pay anything CLOSE to MSRP for anything else.

Sounds pretty good.

This is what I've come up with, and it doesn't include tax on items purchased locally:

M22s: 400
QS4: 375
VP150: 350
EP175: 500
HSU VTF-2: 200 (THAT was a steal!)
Marantz SR5200: 550
Pioneer Elite DV-45A: 450
Sony CDP-CA70ES: 300
Panasonic 27" TV: 400
Atlantis speaker stands: 125
Misc cables: 200

...for a grand total of $3,850.

It's really alarming to see the total cost, and my only consolation is that most of you guys have M60s, far more snazzy TVs, and probably spent a heck of a lot more on your receivers. So that puts me on the low end of the spectrum. This is a heck of a hobby...

Read my own post and am still chuckling at how cheap I got my stuff. Here's the MSRP breakdown on the office system

Toshiba Ultrascan 43" HDTV..................$2,500
Sony TA E9000ES processor....................2,000
3 x Yamaha M80 amplifiers......................2,400
Toshiba SD9200 DVD Audio......................2,000
Klipsch LF10 subwoofer..........................1,400
Dahlquist PDQ15 subwoofer........................500
4 Michaura M55 speakers (modified)...........1,200
Merak MC6H center channel (heavily modified)150

Again, some of the numbers I made up - and I paid NOTHING CLOSE TO MSRP for anything on this list except for the Hitachi TV. Few examples - found the TA E9000ES new B stock for $400, same for the Toshiba, the Dahlquist I got from ubid for $100 back when there were great deals there, and the Michauras were ubid blowouts for between $19 and $49 each (with their outrageous shipping costs, averaged to about $100 per speaker)

Panasonic 40" LCD projection: $2,500
B&K Ref. 50: $2,200
Marantz MM9000 5-chanel Amp.: $1,200
2 Marantz MA 500: $600
M80i: $1,240
2 pairs of M40i:$1,120
VP 150: $385
SVS 16-46 PCI: $650

Total:$9,895.00, a lot cheaper than dating.

In reply to:

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Total:$9,895.00, a lot cheaper than dating.

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That's frightening that you put HT and dating into a mutually exclusive arrangement.

Bren R.

(2) M80's, (2) QS8's, (1) VP-150= $1500
HK Receiver $400, HK Power Amp $600
SVS PB/2 Plus $1200
Cables $100
HK DVD Player $200
Toshiba 32" $650

About $4,650. Not too bad considering it has been several years building. The Next big purchase is the 50" DLP/LCD whatever TV. Another $3000 at least. And I will need anew stand and another couch. Oh yea I want to upgrade my receiver too. Not to mention I want to go to a 6.1 or 7.1 from my current 5.1. Of course I will need some more new speakers to do that, maybe M22's. Another big sub would be killer too. I will try to keep the total cost under 12K.

Damn you guys. I hate to do this since it'll bring to light how much I've really spent. I've recently reconfigured the system, so I'll only including the cost of the existing system. Prices are approximate.

Speakers = $1724
-M22's, QS8's, VP150, VTF2
FMS16 stands = $180
Pioneer 45TX = $700
Denon 2200 DVD player = $599
HD Tivo upgraded to 550GB = $1300
Panasonic Plasma TH42PWD6UY = $2500
Omnimount wall mount = $150
Triplite surge = $75
Salamander twin in all black w/ claw feet = $1100
Bluejeans component cables = $100
Various dayton cables (parts express) = $75
Knukonceptz speaker cables and radio shack locking bananas = $200

Total = $8703. I sure as hell ain't telling my wife that...

I think I might be winning the cheapest yet still sweet sounding contest but I have not added it up yet. . . lets see. . .

Axioms 2X M60, 1X VP 150, 2X M22's about $1600

Hsu VTF-3 MK-2 $600 or so

Onkyo 601 $260 Crazy close out at Comp USA

Pioneer DVD changer $250

Sharp 27" flat screen TV $250 (don't laugh it has a pretty good picture, especially for the price)

Interconnects $200 (mostly because I unwillingly used monster 12 guage flat speaker cable to run to my surrounds)

Does my Laserdisc player count. . . nahhhhh

Total $3160 wait a minute! That can't be right. Let me add that again . . .


Yup $3160 and all I want to upgrade is. . . a better receiver, maybe some nice amps, a real TV, QS8's to go to 7.1, and maybe some day cable TV!

OK, ok. You dragged me into this kicking and screaming, but I'll give. These are prices paid:

2 M22 -- $360 (FO)
1 VP100 -- $220
2 CSW The Surround -- $150
1 SVS PB12-ISD -- $599
2 Polk RT-25i (zone 2) -- $150
Onkyo TX-DS575 receiver -- $450
Onkyo 6-disc CD-changer -- $125
Sony DVD/SACD player -- gift from bro, but I got him an XBox for $150
Phillips DirecTiVo -- $199
32" Mitsubishi CRT TV -- $300
Credenza-style AV/TV/speaker stand -- $50 (thanks craigslist!)
cables -- probably no more than $100 total

So that comes to ... $2853. HA, beat that!

Am I cheap, or what? And I STILL love my system. Well, OK, my TV is slowly dying, so that'll be a forced upgrade.

These are approx.:
Phillips 60" HDTV - 1500
Denon 2802 - 500
Denon carousel DVD - 400
Sony mega changer - 200
Onkyo 2 channel amp - 150
MA Silver 8s - 1200 (but not yet paid for with 1 yr free no interest/no payments. )
Axiom VP150, 2 QS8s and an EP350 - 1250?
Glass AV rack - 50 bucks baby!!!!!
Cheapo wires - 50

Holy crap, that adds up to $5300.

Being the cheapskate newbie that I am, lets see

Onkyo SR702 (refurb)
M22's (factory outlet)
QS4's (factory outlet)
VP100 (factory outlet)
SVS PB10-ISD (couldn't get b-stock)
centre channel wall bracket
speaker stands (generic)
cables (blue jean, home depot and wallmart)
screen goo
NEC LT240K Projector (used and got me started on this whole HT kick)
home made projector ceiling mount

all converted to USD comes to $2945 + 160 shipping = $3105. This all assumes the stuff that is still on order but not yet arrived (the Axioms and sub) meets with my satifaction and I don't upgrade the Axioms before they are sent out (e.g. I'm already thinking of phoning Noreen and asking her to change the QS4's to QS8's for another ~$100 US).

As I suspected, pretty close to the bottom but a lot more than I thought at the outset of this adventure about 2 months ago. Oh well, with 3 young kids and at a cost of $50 or more a night to pay for a babysitter and a pair of movie tickets, it'll have paid for itself in about 60 visits to the theater, not to mention all the music enjoyment. As they say, rationalizations are more important than sex. How many days can you go without a good rationalization or two.

In reply to:

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How much is your home theater worth?

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Not enough! He who dies with the most expensive toy's.......... wins!

He who dies with the most expensive toys... has some pretty p*ssed off offspring!

Bren R.

not if they get it as hand-me-downs!!

bigjohn

I started thinking abou this one as I have four systems and the math started adding up on me quickly. All the prices below are retail, not what I paid per say.

System 1 (Main HT)
Denon 3803- Not sure what retail was on this ?$900?
Panasonic DVD- $350
XCD-88- $299
Hitachi Bigscrean- $3200
Rocket 850- $1999
Rocket Bigfoot- $599
QS4's- $400
Outlaw sub- $580
Transducer and amp- $350
Wiring- Appro $400
M22- $440

System 2 (Bedroom HT)
LG Plasma- $2400
M60's- $900
HSU Sub- $350
Denon CD- $300
Crap panasonic dvd/VCR- $200
Outlaw 1050- $550
Wiring/mounts- $750

System 3 (2 cha living room)
Rocket 750 sig- $1150
H34 tube amp- $1295
Rotel CD player- $900
Wiring- $250

System 4 (Work room 2 cha)
Klipse 9se- About $650
Denon rec- $450
Denon CD- $300
Wiring- $150

Outdoor speakers- $150

Total- $20222.00

WHAT THE F**K. I spent that!!!!!!!!! Na, bought a lot B stock or off audiogon. I would guess I paid about $10-$13. Still a lot but priceless!!

Now this does not include the row of 4 leather theater seating in the main HT room (approx $2500) or the much needed keg frig and beer.

Fun exercise but if my wife finds out........you'll be folding a flag all nice to hand to her.

In reply to:

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keg frig and beer

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having enough beer to help you forget you spent $20 grand on home theater equipment........ priceless!

bigjohn

Exactly. Thank you for pointing it out.

Holey Moley, Craig! I had no idea!

So, you kind of enjoy hi-fi, then?

Thanks for sharing. I'm not sure whether to be inspired or frightened. It certainly helps guys like me when our spouses think we've gone over the edge. "nah, honey, now HERE'S somebody who puts my meager requests into perspective..."

Wow. I mean, really, Wow.

Since so many people are quoting suggested retail, I thought that I would adjust my number as well. I started this thread with $6500 actually paid. I found the MSRP for the goodies, and I am up to around $9000. Yikes!

For those that haven't thought about it already, you may want to get an insurance rider to make sure that you are covered with your homeowner's insurance in case of a fire or other disaster.

I need to do this for my HT and my pinball machine. It has gone up in value from about $2000 when I got it (not what I paid, but the guy I got it from didn't know the value) to, for a reconditioned one like I have with spare parts and so forth, about $5000-$6000 depending on the market (eBay is cheaper, but many people have bad luck with pinballs on eBay)...

So ask now before you need to use your insurance policy.

I paid $3000. That's the budget my wife agreed to. That's exactly what I paid. Not a dollar more. Absolutely not.

Big System

MSRPs for the equipment in my main HT - BTW, I bought much of it used for WAY less than list price.

Mitsubishi HD1080 65" TV.....................$5,000
Thiel CS 3.6........................................4,000
SVS 39-20.............................................600
Velodyne CHT 10.....................................500
QS8......................................................500
M2i.......................................................280
Merak (highly modified) center channel........150

Integra DTC 9.4 Processor.....................2,000
Anthem PVA5 Amplifier..........................1,700
Philips SACD1000.................................2,000
Onkyo M504..........................................800
Outlaw ICBM bass mgmt unit....................250



Office System

Toshiba Ultrascan 43" HDTV..................$2,500
Sony TA E9000ES processor....................2,000
3 x Yamaha M80 amplifiers......................2,400
Toshiba SD9200 DVD Audio......................2,000
Klipsch LF10 subwoofer..........................1,400
Dahlquist PDQ15 subwoofer........................500
4 Michaura M55 speakers (modified)...........1,200
Merak MC6H center channel (heavily modified)150

Living Room 2 channel System

Antique Sound Labs MG S1 15DT -
$900

Ah! Njoe Tjoeb CDP with upsampler, big foot, hot rodded power kord Siemens E288CC tube upgrade -
$900

Vance Dickerson Titanic 10" subwoofer
$400

Michaura M66 with Jensen paper/oil capacitors, silver wire, Caddock resistors - $450 (what a steal!!)

Mapleshade Clearview Double Golden Helix Plus speaker wire -
$455

Maple Audio Ambience Interconnects -
$200

Garage System

Kenwood KA9100 amplifier mint condition (HooHa This Thing Is Great!!!) - $100 from local classifieds

Dahlquist DQM 905 speakers (not as good as the Thiel CS 3.6s, but the second best speakers I own. - $50 from local classifieds.

JVC XL 504 CD changer - $10.00 garage sale.

Denon Digital Tuner - $15.00 (Good Will)

Kenwood SW300 subwoofer with Partsexpress Titanic 10" woofer. Cost $300 new, total loss after it blew up in my HT system - Dream Works Time Machine was too much for it - upgraded the remains with a Titanic 10" and it is a great sub. Driver was about $80.00

This system, all $255.00 of it is as good as any 2 channel system I've ever heard, except for my 2 channel tubie.

Living Room 5.1 System

Rotel RSP-1066 .....msrp $1500
Rotel RMB-1075 .....msrp $1000
Pioneer 563A .......msrp $ 150
Axiom M60ti ........msrp $ 900
Axiom VP150 ........msrp $ 385
Axiom QS8 ..........msrp $ 500
Hsu VTF-2 ..........msrp $ 500
Studiotech Cabinet .msrp $ 600

Bedroom 2-channel

Rotel RA-1062 .....msrp $700
Panasonic dvd .....msrp $600 (old...only worth about $40 now)
Snell Type K/II ...msrp $500 (easily found for < $200 now)

__________________


I'd love to get a Rotel RDV-1040 to add to the bedroom at some point, and sell/give away that old Panasonic. The Snell speakers still sound wonderful at low volumes, but need to have the foam surrounds replaced if I want to play them at any volume. (I've had them for nearly 15 years now!)

You may notice no mention of TV's...sad to say, they're not worth mentioning at this point. Hopefully later this year, or early next year we'll be getting a nice big Hi-Def in the living room, and a small flat LCD to wall mount in the bedroom. The nice thing is that the prices keep falling, and falling the longer I put it off.

2 x 6 how do you like the Ah! Njoe Tjoeb CDP? I've read a lot about it and it seems like an interesting unit.

Toshiba 52hm84 dlp hdtv: $2500
M60 x2
Qs8 x2
Vp150 x1
Ep350 x1
Axiom system total: $2200
Cables: some monster some bluejean some radio shack some axiom $300
Ps2: I paid $250 ( years ago)
Toshiba dvd: $150
Onkyo txsr 600 $325

Total: $5725 usd and worth every penny. Could be worse it could be like the old days where I would blow a couple hundred dollar a weekend in the bar/club.

Pushin' 9k cdn and thinkin' about an ep 600......

Don't think..................just do.

says the man who has more invested in one listening area with more on the way than any of us. lol

Denon AVR 3805 + Mic: $2200
Axiom Speakers: $2800
Axiom Cables + Wire + Brackets: $900
Subwoofer: $2200
Remote: $460

TOTAL: $8100

I'm at $8650 with my Studiotech stand...

Soon to be adding a Samsung 67" DLP + Denon DVD-3910..

Should round out around $18-20K, not including furniture or anything like that.

- D

In reply to:

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Should round out around $18-20K

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see... there ARE perks to living in your parents basement!!

bigjohn

If my wife happens a gander at this thread, I'm in for it. Anyway, MSRP on my stuff is:

Toshiba 56in HDTV $3200.00
Denon DVD-2900 $999.00
6000 HDTV Satellite Receiver $499.00
4900 Dolby Digital Satellite Receiver $250.00
HK AVR - 630 $1299.00
Parasound HALO A52 $1995.00

Monitor Audio Silver 9i's (Fronts) $1999.00
Monitor Audio Silver 5i's (Rears) $999.00
Monitor Audio Silver 3i's (Sides) $599.00
Monitor Audio Silver 10i (Center) $599.00
Subwoofer - SVS PC-Ultra $1149.00

Total is $13,587.00. I bought the Denon, Toshiba, Parasound and the SVS brand new. Above list does not include my MX-700 or upgraded power cords and of course cables.

I have a small 2 channel system in the works but to date the only thing I have for it is a pair of Monitor Audio S10's.