Home Theater Mega Thread

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

What should he go with?

Price range?

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Price range?

He's willing to pay for quality.

This is for a new house he's moving into, so he has done some budgeting to allow for a pretty nice setup.

Edit: probably 3 thousand dollars I would say is a rough estimate? Maybe including an HTPC in there.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

He's willing to pay for quality.

This is for a new house he's moving into, so he has done some budgeting to allow for a pretty nice setup.

Edit: probably 3 thousand dollars I would say is a rough estimate? Maybe including an HTPC in there.

It is hard to recommend systems with limited information. People desire different things when they buy systems. Some examples I have heard: system must look good, system must impress my buddies, system must please the wife, system must be able to blow out the house windows, system must be easy to use etc.

When I meet with my clients, I ask many questions. I want to find out what is the primary use(s) for the system (sports, games, movies). What is main function(s) of the room. Who is using it? Does the system need to integrate with the rest of the house? Are they music lovers? etc etc. Most of the time, the clients have not thought that deeply about it. I find these questions help clarify the scope of system so the client will get the most out of it.

A budget of $3000 can be a decent system. Maybe a break-down of roughly $800 for the amp and $2000 for speakers & sub with about $100 - $200 for misc. (speaker wire, cables, surge protector etc) It is hard to recommend brands etc without knowing more information.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

It is hard to recommend systems with limited information. People desire different things when they buy systems. Some examples I have heard: system must look good, system must impress my buddies, system must please the wife, system must be able to blow out the house windows, system must be easy to use etc.

When I meet with my clients, I ask many questions. I want to find out what is the primary use(s) for the system (sports, games, movies). What is main function(s) of the room. Who is using it? Does the system need to integrate with the rest of the house? Are they music lovers? etc etc. Most of the time, the clients have not thought that deeply about it. I find these questions help clarify the scope of system so the client will get the most out of it.

A budget of $3000 can be a decent system. Maybe a break-down of roughly $800 for the amp and $2000 for speakers & sub with about $100 - $200 for misc. (speaker wire, cables, surge protector etc) It is hard to recommend brands etc without knowing more information.

Thanks for the response (and for the earlier PM i forgot to respond to).

It's for a friend, so I'll do my best to answer.

It's for a room just off a kitchen and will likely be the primary TV space in the house. It's pre-wired for speakers in great locations, with the dimensions of the room being roughly 24'x12'. Primary uses will be sports and games, some movies as well, but mostly sports and games. Likely a different tv in a different room will be the 'movie and music' room.

After sharing a wall for so long, he's going to want to be able to flex a bit, but, definitely not a situation where he'll have a huge desire for ear splitting volume.

"Music lover" i wouldn't call him necessarily, but sound quality is important to him. He currently has pretty nice monitors and sub with a mixing board and turntables for messing around, but couldn't really use them often until now because of the shared wall factor. They will probably be used in the aforementioned "music/movies" area, which is separate to this. That was a long winded way of saying he cares for quality sound and will pay to get it.

Appearance is also a factor as this will be the main entertaining area of the house, aesthetics are important.

As for who is using it? For now, just a single dude with some time on his hands.

It doesn't necessarily have to communicate with anything else in the house, but, if that isn't a deal breaker for price or difficulty, could be a cool feature.

[Madman]

Wanted to get the audiophiles' opinions on my new setup.

I have a Sony 1040 receiver running Monoprice in wall/ceilings - 7.1 setup. Also have a decent 12" sub.

The question in, I really seem to be lacking in the lower mid and upper low frequencies and I don't know if it's simply my selection of equipment or a setup error.

I'm using the LFE output on the receiver and using the sub's crossover. The sub only comes up to 90hz, so I have that turned all the way up.

Pretty certain I have my speakers set to "Large" in the receiver setup, (but I will double check that).

Is this just too small a main speaker combined with a sub that is built for more low end? Should I be getting more from these 8" 3way Monoprice mains?

Or do I have something setup wrong? Ideas?

Thanks

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by Madman

Wanted to get the audiophiles' opinions on my new setup.

I have a Sony 1040 receiver running Monoprice in wall/ceilings - 7.1 setup. Also have a decent 12" sub.

The question in, I really seem to be lacking in the lower mid and upper low frequencies and I don't know if it's simply my selection of equipment or a setup error.

I'm using the LFE output on the receiver and using the sub's crossover. The sub only comes up to 90hz, so I have that turned all the way up.

Pretty certain I have my speakers set to "Large" in the receiver setup, (but I will double check that).

Is this just too small a main speaker combined with a sub that is built for more low end? Should I be getting more from these 8" 3way Monoprice mains?

Or do I have something setup wrong? Ideas?

Thanks

Beyond checking the receiver's internal crossover (if possible set to 60 hz based on specs of speakers) I don't know what else to tell you.

50% of the sound quality is influenced by room dynamics ie floor&wall coverings, room size, the height, width, length ratios of walls AND the quality of in wall sound is can be hindered by the volume of wall cavity it is placed in. These might be influencing your sound as well, though it much more likely to be something else.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Thanks for the response (and for the earlier PM i forgot to respond to).

It's for a friend, so I'll do my best to answer.

It's for a room just off a kitchen and will likely be the primary TV space in the house. It's pre-wired for speakers in great locations, with the dimensions of the room being roughly 24'x12'. Primary uses will be sports and games, some movies as well, but mostly sports and games. Likely a different tv in a different room will be the 'movie and music' room.

After sharing a wall for so long, he's going to want to be able to flex a bit, but, definitely not a situation where he'll have a huge desire for ear splitting volume.

"Music lover" i wouldn't call him necessarily, but sound quality is important to him. He currently has pretty nice monitors and sub with a mixing board and turntables for messing around, but couldn't really use them often until now because of the shared wall factor. They will probably be used in the aforementioned "music/movies" area, which is separate to this. That was a long winded way of saying he cares for quality sound and will pay to get it.

Appearance is also a factor as this will be the main entertaining area of the house, aesthetics are important.

As for who is using it? For now, just a single dude with some time on his hands.

It doesn't necessarily have to communicate with anything else in the house, but, if that isn't a deal breaker for price or difficulty, could be a cool feature.

I am sorry, you put a lot of effort into this response and I think you might have misunderstood my post. The questions I stated were just examples of some of the questions I ask. I wasn't trying to create a series of questions for this situation. I will be sending you a pm shortly.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Madman

Wanted to get the audiophiles' opinions on my new setup.

I have a Sony 1040 receiver running Monoprice in wall/ceilings - 7.1 setup. Also have a decent 12" sub.

The question in, I really seem to be lacking in the lower mid and upper low frequencies and I don't know if it's simply my selection of equipment or a setup error.

I'm using the LFE output on the receiver and using the sub's crossover. The sub only comes up to 90hz, so I have that turned all the way up.

Pretty certain I have my speakers set to "Large" in the receiver setup, (but I will double check that).

Is this just too small a main speaker combined with a sub that is built for more low end? Should I be getting more from these 8" 3way Monoprice mains?

Or do I have something setup wrong? Ideas?

Thanks

IIRC it's good to set all your speakers to small even with capable speakers but it may depend on your speakers. I have some big old three way speakers but I still use the small setting. Of course having done my initial set up, I forget half of what I've read and the reasoning why I set up my Denon the way I did.

Here's a thread on it.

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-spe...all-large.html

[J Diddy]

Yup set them to small even if they are large.

[Hockeyguy15]

Anyone have a good TV calibration program? I've never done it before but I thought I would give it a shot on my new TV.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

Anyone have a good TV calibration program? I've never done it before but I thought I would give it a shot on my new TV.

I've used this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/disney-w...skuId=18857497

Super easy to use with great results.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by cupofjoe

I am sorry, you put a lot of effort into this response and I think you might have misunderstood my post. The questions I stated were just examples of some of the questions I ask. I wasn't trying to create a series of questions for this situation. I will be sending you a pm shortly.

That's alright, it wasn't that much effort

I'm mostly looking for guidelines on equipment. Things to look for, things to avoid from certain gear.

We will probably end up 'big boxing' it, but, I'd like to get an idea on what's out there, AV stuff isn't in my wheelhouse.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Edit: probably 3 thousand dollars I would say is a rough estimate? Maybe including an HTPC in there.

Well for a generic suggestion, I'll throw out the Definitive Technology Pro Cinema 800, mate that with a mid-level Denon/Marantz/possibly Pioneer. That would be a big sounding (but smaller footprint) system in his price range.

If that range is flexible, upgrade to the one of the 8020/40/60/80 towers for the fronts, and Pro-monitor 800/1000 for the surrounds. I'm extremely happy with the sound, easy to drive speakers so you don't need to drop a ton of cash on a receiver/amp, and if he goes with the towers instead of the pro-cinemas, it eliminates the need for a separate sub.

Geared more for movies then music, but music sounds pretty nice on it too.

As far as stuff to avoid? I don't like to make broad assumptions with brands, as generally every company can make a good (or poor) model, but anything I've read the last few years suggests staying away from Onkyo receivers, as they've had some HDMI issues.

Lots of things to look for in bells and whistles, but it all gets pretty specific depending what you're looking for. One thing I appreciate is an audessy (or similar) auto setup, the ability to control treble/bass/gain at each speaker, allow multiple selections for audio/video source (ie have video from one source and simultaionously have audio from another) and a dual zone output (poor man's version of bi-amping).

YMMV.

Even if you do plan on 'big-boxing' it, you can't beat a day or two meandering through some actual audio stores, and doing some demo-ing. Opens up a whole new world.

[calgarygeologist]

Hey CupofJoe,

I need some opinions on in wall speakers. I need a pair for playing music in a room where I don't floor space for other speakers. I've been doing some reading and it sounds like the Noble Fidelity L-62 should be a decent option. I don't believe I need the extra power of the L-82. I haven't checked to see if there is a Noble Fidelity dealer around Calgary. Are you familiar with this speaker? What would you recommend for a pair of in walls at around the $700 price point? I just need clean, crisp sound for music and don't need a lot of lower end sound as I'll have a sub hooked up as well.

Also when talking about subs I want to purchase a slim sub for that same room. I want it to fit under a cabinet with the space dimension being 6.5 tall x 17 deep x 39 wide. What are your recommendations?

[Jonrox]

Good advice from cupofjoe... except for the extended warranty recommendation.

Consumer Reports has found failure rates for flat screen tv's is around 3% during the first 4 years of ownership. The failure rate for offbrands still only ranges from 2 to 4%. The worst manufacturer on the planet has just a 7% failure rate.

Let's say you paid $200 for an extended warranty on a $2000 warranty (I think that's pretty fair), the worst case scenario happens, and the problem can't be fixed and you need a new $2000 TV. Your $200 gamble pays off at 10 to 1. Yet you should be getting at least 30 to 1 odds based on the average failure rate.

Buying an extended warranty is the equivalent of taking $200 to the casino and putting it down on a single number in roulette, but only getting paid 10 to 1 if it hits (it should be 35 to 1). Take your $200 to the casino and have some fun with it. If your number hits, you go buy a bigger tv. If it doesn't, then it's like buying the warranty.

If you wouldn't gamble like this at a casino, why are you gambling like this on a TV and getting even worse odds? The extended warranty is a sucker's bet.

[K1LLswitch]

When I was younger and made less, I always bought the warranty. At the time, i could afford the $200 for a warranty (even though I had worked a Christmas at futureshop and knew the margins) but couldn't afford the $2k again if the odds were against me.

Now if something breaks, it's probably time to buy a better / cheaper one and I can afford to do so.

Insurance is the same concept and you don't see anyone advising not to buy home insurance even though the odds (profit) are with the insurance company.

It's all about risk tolerance and if you can live with the 2-4% failure risk then save 10% on the price of the TV.

[K1LLswitch]

My other advice is if you can - buy sound stuff off of kijiji.

My first high(er) quality 5.1 system was $2k for the speakers. I have added enough identical enough from kijiji to run another 5.1 room and a 2nd stereo set-up for $400

Look around for someone upgrading their system and go listen and as long as it hasn't been abused, it's probably as good as new.

[Rhettzky]

I think failure rates are higher than 4 to 6 percent now. It used to be good for flat screens as my 8 year old LG is still working great. However my latest TV had to be replaced at 14 months (Samsung) and the one I bought before that failed in 4 weeks (LG). I never buy replacement warranties but everywhere i looked when buying my last TV it came highly recommended (AVSforum and buyers guides) so I did and it paid off. Best part is that they replaced it with the next year's model and a better series.

At the very least I'd recommend looking into it and negotiating to have it thrown in. Some credit cards have 2 year coverage on electronics so check that out as well.

[cupofjoe]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Hey CupofJoe,

I need some opinions on in wall speakers. I need a pair for playing music in a room where I don't floor space for other speakers. I've been doing some reading and it sounds like the Noble Fidelity L-62 should be a decent option. I don't believe I need the extra power of the L-82. I haven't checked to see if there is a Noble Fidelity dealer around Calgary. Are you familiar with this speaker? What would you recommend for a pair of in walls at around the $700 price point? I just need clean, crisp sound for music and don't need a lot of lower end sound as I'll have a sub hooked up as well.

Also when talking about subs I want to purchase a slim sub for that same room. I want it to fit under a cabinet with the space dimension being 6.5 tall x 17 deep x 39 wide. What are your recommendations?

Calgarygeologist, I will answer this on Monday, camping right now with pretty crappy Internet.

[MotoRacer]

Setting up a new theatre room and torn between projector or 70 or 80 inch screen. Have projectors improved enough to be as good as a 1080p screen?

The area is a basement so low light and glare is not an issue.