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Posted By: Haoleb Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/18/04 08:45 PM
Well, been a long time since i have posted anything about Home theaters but the time has come

We are going to be building a house in the near future and we're desiging the house plans right now. So far theres is a 13'x19' space that has been dedicated to a home theater room, walls will probbly be 9' high. Budget is about 20k for everything, so i need a audio system, front projector and screen and still have to have about 5k left for furnishings.

A few of the things that come to mind is the Epic 80 7.1 system for speakers with either a HSU or SVS or possibly even axiom sub. For reciever i was tossing around the idea of the NAD T773 with the C372 to power front left and right speakers, and probbly a $3-400 dvdp.

Because i already own the M80's and the NAD C370 im fairly confident that it would sound good and perform well but am always open to suggestions. The main area i need ideas is for the video portion. I want around a 6' or bigger screen and a front projector for the room and i have zero experience with the video part. I looked at a few projectors online, crutchfields most expensive one was around 9k (doable) but i had previously thought that was around the mid and of things. Are there any particular brands i should look into or stay away from?

Nothing is written in stone yet so any ideas or advice would be great
Posted By: bigjohn Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/18/04 08:57 PM
well, all right haole-boy!! finally gonna get an HT... i been wondering how long it would be til the bug finally got to you.. i knew that 2 channel stuff would eventually lead to the big whammo..

i wish i had some great advice to give you, but i dont.. in fact, i am looking into a bigger TV and sub myself right now. but, sounds like you already have a good idea of what you want, and i know you have the technical knowledge to get the correct pieces to do what you want.

good luck, and as always... POST PICS when finished.. (whenever that is)

bigjohn
Thank you for sharing your journey with us, Haole.

My first thought was just to go back and re-read some Sushi posts

Will you be able to adequately control ambient light in the room? One thing Sushi did (and others?) that I thought was clever was to have a tube TV for informal/bright watching and also a good quality retractable screen for "the big show".

Wish I could help more. I look forward to learning, and to hearing more about your exciting project.
Posted By: Haoleb Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/18/04 10:16 PM
We will definetly be able to control light, because theres not going to be any windows! lol.

I am pretty sure we need to have some sort of windows or door in the room for state building codes but whatever goes in will have thick drapes or whatever is needed to keep light out. The main reason we are putting in the theater is for resale of the house but its gonna be fun to have one for a couple years

One of the biggest challenges is going to be acoustics and placing the speakers and what materials and stuff to put in the room. I thought that putting carpet halfway up the walls or so would be good for sound. We will probbly have to check out the local HT installers here for some of their advice. As time goes on i will probbly be able to post a plan of the room and what we want to do but thats still a while yet.
Posted By: spiffnme Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/18/04 10:18 PM
Building a new home in Hawaii with a dedicated HT. *sigh*

NICE!



Posted By: Ajax Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/18/04 10:32 PM
Brandon,

I'm sure there are a number of products like this, but this might be a place to start. Roc-Lon Blackout Draperies and Liners. They are carried by JC Penny.
Posted By: md55 Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/19/04 01:25 AM
Have you checked out Projector Central to reserach the new projectors. The prices are coming down on very good new models.
Posted By: spiffnme Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/19/04 01:51 AM
Not sure about models, but I know InFocus has gotten many raves in the past.


Posted By: BlainTx Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/20/04 07:36 AM
Hello,
I am also building a home that will be ready in about a month. I will have a 14x16 Dedicated HT room. I have already framed for acoustics, and a 100" screen. The best place to research about front projectors is avs forums. The guys over their really know their stuff. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=9
Do not even think about buying through crutchfield, they are nothing but ripoffs. You should look at the benQ 8700+ it sells for about 3999.00 and it compares to 8000.00+ projectors, or you can look at the new Pansonic Ae700 which is only 2199.00 and it is again being compared to projectors that are 3 times that price. I have seen the benQ and it looks like you are watching a 100" plasma screen.
I have heard the NAD 773. That is one nice sounding receiver. You also might look at some of the higher end Marantz receivers they sound very much alike.
I am going with the Epic 60 7.1 setup for my room since it is so small. I have also decided on 2 svs subs as well.(I like bass) I think I am going with the Panasonic Ae700U and a 100.00" Dalite HccV cinema vision screen. I am still deciding between a Marantz,NAD, or Integra receiver.
Anyways sorry for ranting on, but just thought I would share. I have put about 100 hours of research into my Home theater and will gladly share any knowledge I have acquired( if any ). Best of luck, this is a fun hobby!
Posted By: Haoleb Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/20/04 04:25 PM
Thanks, i have posted a thread at AVS forums and will see what they say

I have been looking at projectors more and it does seem that 10k for a projector and stuff is alot more than we need to spend to get something good. I was looking at the Infocus 7200 and it seems to be kinda "all that" from what i have seen so far but ive got alot more reading to do. If i dont spend as much on a projector maybe i can get one of the new axiom subs we shall see.
Posted By: BigWill Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/20/04 07:08 PM
I think my Costco has an InFocus FP (I think that is the brand, but I can't swear to it) for $1399. Maybe they have it online too? I thought the picture looked pretty good considering the environment. It also comes with its own screen.
You could also pick up one of those KLH $89 subs while you're at it, eh brah?
Posted By: Haoleb Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/20/04 09:37 PM
i think if they sell it at costco i will have to pass. And i already have one of those KLH subs, got mine when they were the older version and cost 99 dollars. But no way im letting that thing anywhere near the HT room lol.
Posted By: BlainTx Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/21/04 02:59 AM
yeah to be honest unless you are very wealthy ( which you might be) spending 10K+ on a projector is not worth it. You will get a slight improvment over something that costs about 4k. Spending about 6k or 7k more for about a 10% gain in preformance is not worth it. Most of these projector companies are focusing a majority of thier research on the 1k to 4k projectors as they know that is where the market will be. To put in prospective a projector that costs about 2k today is almost 2 times better then a projector that cost 12k 3 years ago. You can not say the same for speakers or receivers. Anyways. really look into the Benq 8700+ for 3999.99 you will get one heck of a projector, and they compare it to projectors that are in the 8 to 12k range.

Tyson

Posted By: Haoleb Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/21/04 05:02 AM
your the second person to reccomend the benq, i will definetly check into it. Thanks
Posted By: dakkon Re: Planning a Dedicated HT room.... Ideas? - 10/22/04 04:27 AM
i have a benq 6200 and i love it.. its quite a bit less expensive than the 8700, i got mine for about 1,100$ after rebate...for the size and quality of picture, i am 99.99% satisfied with the product that i got...
I have to second the 6200 recommendation. I have the Infocus X1, which was "THE THING" a year or so ago. However, for about the same price that I paid for my X1, you can now get the 6200, which is XGA w/ a 3X color wheel. I quite often think about whether toss the X1 on Ebay and pick up a 6200. If you are looking for 4:3 w/ XGA resolution, you cannot beat that price. If you want only widescreen, there are some other players out there to consider, such as Sanyo, Sony, & Panasonic. With all of the new models coming out, you can save a bit (if $'s an issue) and go w/ the older models (Z2, HS20, & L500). If you can spend more, there is a major buzz about the Z3's and AE700's. Definitely check out Projector Central. It's a great resource for making projector decisions and seeing what's out there.

In all cases, be sure not to plop down too much for a projector. Many will argue that you have to go the $5K and up route to get the best picture, but you'd be hard-pressed to show that the picture is THAT much better than these new PJs. My projector can be had for under $1K and EVERYONE is amazed at the picture quality, even w/ HD.

Good Luck
I can also recommend the Optoma H30 projector. I saw one at a friends house ( he was demonstrating his Optoma H77 that Optoma gave him as a demo unit ) and the H30 looks great! A buddy down the street bought one ( about $ 1300.00 ) and he's throwing a crazy big 116" wide picture on a wall that looks fantastic! I still like my NEC HT1000, but for the money, the H30 rocks! Plus, at 2 X the screen width away, it looks just as good as my $ 4000.00 XGA projector!
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