Home Theater Mega Thread

[fundmark19]

Instead of having a new thread pop up every couple weeks about random questions.This way if you have a question regarding anything ask away in this thread and someone will be able to help you out. I think it would also be nice if everyone posted pictures of their current theater set up and cost.

I will start with mine (pictures will come in the next day or two)

Projector - Sanyo z5
Screen - Home Made (came with PJ)
Sound - Onkyo HT-S5100 7.1 (just got this yesterday and need to set it up)
Seating - Reclining theater couch set
Gaming- PS3 and Wii
My goal was to make a decent home theater for as little as possible. My cost comes out to around 1450 including all wires and adapters.

[photon]

No speakers?

[Komskies]

Speakers are overrated.

[fundmark19]

Sorry speakers came with the set. Was a home theater in a box. I don't know what they actual models are. I got it last night during my Birthday festivities so I just have a bunch of box's and hope everything in them works. I will do more investigating when I get home

[bomber317]

Receiver - Onkyo 605
DVD - Denon 3910
Blu-Ray - Panny BD-60
Speakers - Paradigm Studio 40s, 570 Center, and 2 rears
Subwoofer - Crapped out 2 weeks ago (paradigm PW2200)

Will probably replace the sub when I move out of my apartment into a house.

My neighbors probably hated me when I played a movie, I wonder how my sub crapped out.... Hmmmm.

[photon]

Projector: Sanyo Z5
Screen: Also home made, material off eBay & Home Depot
Receiver: Onkyo 875
Players: PS3, XBox 360, cheap HDDVD player
Speakers: Axiom Epic60 except the sub
Sub: SVS 20-39PC-Plus
Seating: Horrible couch, really need to update.

[DownhillGoat]

TV: 50" Panasonic Viera (1080P plasma)
Speakers: Klipsch RF15/RF17
Sub: Klipsch RW10
Receiver: Denon AVR 2808CI
DVD: PS3, Sony DVD-R
Gaming: PS3, Wii, RetroDuo,
Music: AirTunes
Seating: Reclining leather couch & Armchair from Ashley Furniture

If I can get ahold of some vinyl in the near future I might pick up a Denon turntable.

[return to the red]

TV: Samsung 42" plasma (what a piece of junk)
Speakers: Polk Audio Monitor series
Sub: Polk Audio
Receiver: Yamaha Can't remember model number
DVD: Panasonic
Gaming: PS3, Wii
Seating: Crappy couches to go with the average everything

The only time I'm using it is when I'm entertaining because it's downstairs in a bungalow otherwise being a bachelor i'm usually hanging in the master bedroom watching TV up there.

[Prototype]

I'm working on mine as we speak... going into an Office/Guest Room/Theatre Room. I'll have to look and see what I've got on the go right now.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Sorry speakers came with the set. Was a home theater in a box. I don't know what they actual models are. I got it last night during my Birthday festivities so I just have a bunch of box's and hope everything in them works. I will do more investigating when I get home

I feel sorry for you. HTiB suck. Let me guess, it can pump out 1000+ watts right? (Not trying to bash you or anything)

As for me:
Receiver: Pioneer 1018
TV: 50" Toshiba DLP, only 1080i I need to upgrade.
Speakers: Only two right now, 2 Polk fronts.
Blu-Ray: PS3
Gaming: Xbox 360, PS3, sadly a Wii

And I have a couch that is worse than Photon's.

[fundmark19]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I feel sorry for you. HTiB suck. Let me guess, it can pump out 1000+ watts right? (Not trying to bash you or anything)

As for me:
Receiver: Pioneer 1018
TV: 50" Toshiba DLP, only 1080i I need to upgrade.
Speakers: Only two right now, 2 Polk fronts.
Blu-Ray: PS3
Gaming: Xbox 360, PS3, sadly a Wii

And I have a couch that is worse than Photon's.

I was planning to build a whole speaker set but the fiance got mad that I was spending so much money on home theater and not our wedding. I was sick of using my computer speakers and just wanted something to play the sound in the basement and route all my hdmi cords instead of having cords everywhere so I got a good deal on this system off of Kijiji and will hold me over untill I can stash money away to build a better one (plus it came with warranty for 3 more years at visions and I get the cash back if I don't use it. So I pretty much got a free speaker system as long as I don't use warranty.)

Im no audiophile I just needed speakers and a reciever and this was the best way to go for the money I had

also I have no idea on the wattage I just know that onkyo is a decent brand so they must make a speaker that sounds better then my 10 year old computer ones. And the reviews I have read seem like people like them

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

I was planning to build a whole speaker set but the fiance got mad that I was spending so much money on home theater and not our wedding. I was sick of using my computer speakers and just wanted something to play the sound in the basement and route all my hdmi cords instead of having cords everywhere so I got a good deal on this system off of Kijiji and will hold me over untill I can stash money away to build a better one (plus it came with warranty for 3 more years at visions and I get the cash back if I don't use it. So I pretty much got a free speaker system as long as I don't use warranty.)

Im no audiophile I just needed speakers and a reciever and this was the best way to go for the money I had

I totally understand, money constraints have left me with a pretty good receiver, 2 decent fronts, but nothing else. Now after a year and a half I still haven't added on to make it a proper system (it is only 2.0! lol), but I have never had the money to spend on speakers. I hope to buy at least a Sub woofer soon.

[fundmark19]

my original plan was to hold out for the new receivers to come out and buy one and start from there but this deal came around and I think its the best one for my soon to be marriage lol

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I totally understand, money constraints have left me with a pretty good receiver, 2 decent fronts, but nothing else. Now after a year and a half I still haven't added on to make it a proper system (it is only 2.0! lol), but I have never had the money to spend on speakers. I hope to buy at least a Sub woofer soon.

If your fronts can put out any bass I'd buy rears and a centre before a sub. Unless all you're using it for is music.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

If your fronts can put out any bass I'd buy rears and a centre before a sub. Unless all you're using it for is music.

I am almost positive they put out bass. They are like 4 feet tall and they have 3 speakers in them.

I use it for tv/movies/gaming/music. When I play music I can really tell there is bass.

I just want the ground to shake when I watch movies.

[3 Justin 3]

My set-up has changed since this picture (notice no receiver). But just imagine a huge receiver where below my PS3/xbox. The size would be about the yellow king of the hill box to the end of my halo helmet, but inside. And I don't keep my dvds there (only my games), just have this stuff arranged for this picture.

My question is: where would I put a center speaker? Unless I build a shelf for the 360 and PS3 and maybe even the receiver I don't see how I could put in there. The tv is in the corner of two walls as well.




Also, ignore the fact I am a total dork.

My room is quite small, maybe 14 feet by 16 feet. Any ideas how I could re-arrange everything? I also have 2 couches in here and my guirar + amp, + rockband drums in the other corner. It is a total clusterf***.

[Bob]

Most of my investment has gone to my TV, which cost more than everything else combined.

TV: Pioneer Pro-101FD
Receiver: Onkyo 606 (mostly for aggregating all the audio connections, as I usually pass video straight to the TV)
Speakers: Energy Classic 5.1 thingies. I can't really tell the difference between different speaker setups, so I went with a nice inexpensive system that got good reviews.
Blu-Ray: PS3, but it doesn't get used because of the next item.
HTPC: Mac Mini w/ Plex -- I have a 4 TB NAS in the basement that streams all media. Everything I own is ripped and re-encoded if necessary. I never watch discs directly anymore; I just rip them immediately and toss them in the drawer.
Gaming: Xbox 360 & PS3 (I rarely use my 360 anymore since it's a launch unit that sounds like a leafblower, and even my PS3 hasn't been on in months).

[Mr. Ski]

Projector: BenQ W5000 1080P DLP
Screen: White Satin Paint, rest of walls dark dark blue.
Size: 123"
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V2700
Gaming: X360, PS3, Wii
Blu-Ray: PS3
TV: Shaw HD PVR
HTPC: Core2Quad Q6600, 4GB DDR2, ATI HD 4800, Win7 64bit, 2TB Raid 1+0, etc.
Speakers: Energy Reference Connoisseur 70 x2 (mains), Energy RCR x4 (surrounds), Energy RC-LCR (centre).
Sub: TBD. Thinking maybe an SVS Cylinder type.
Seating: Not good....
Other: Extensive sound-proofing throughout the basement. Dark charcoal carpet. All wiring runs through the walls and ceiling and is 100% hidden. AV cabinet is ressessed into the furnace room off the right side of the theater room.

A nice little setup for the basement.

Plans are to eventually put in a real screen, but I have three little ones and so $20 for white paint, which I can re-do in a snap made a lot of sense as it reaches down to only 16" off the floor. Crayon on a $1000 Stewart FireHawk G3 is not something I want to find after coming home from work!

[photon]

There's a guy on ebay that sells the screen material, I got my roll for less than $80, and it's a lot better than just a painted wall.. figured I'd use that until my kid got old enough to not damage the screen.

[photon]

Oh and the SVS Cylinder subs are awesome, but HUGE. Seriously I got a nastier look from my wife when this near water-heater sized box shows up at my door than if I'd openly ogled some girl in a bikini.