Home Theater Mega Thread

[TheGrimm]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

What is best height for in wall speaker. Head level while sitting in chairs?

Center channel has to be under pj screen which is about 28 inches from floor to top of speaker

Ear height is roughly 48 inches from ground do I keep them this height in wall or keep them In line with center channel

Approximating ear height should work well. Radio signals travel in a straight line, but at varying angles from your speaker (the exact angles are pretty manufacturer dependent), so if you mount them heigher or lower you would want to angle them a bit to ensure the main sound field is hitting the listeners.

Does your receiver have Audyssey? I would experiment a bit before mounting them if you have that luxury.

[fundmark19]

Audyssey? Is that where you place the mic around the room to get the best speaker sounds? If so then yes!

[GoinAllTheWay]

Hoping someone could give me a hand with recievers. My parents/significant other keep asking me what I want for Christmas so I told them I want a reciever so I can finally have good sound at home.

Keeping in mind this is a Christmas present so can't be too expensive (say ~$500ish) what can I get in that range? I don't need blow your house doors off power, I prefer quality sound. I don't have any really good speakers atm but do intend to upgrade them down the road when we move. I consider the reciever to be the starting point of any good system so figured I'd worry about the speakers later when I have a place I don't have to worry about neighbours.

It would be nice to have the following:
At least 5.1 obviously
3D/Bluray ready
Internet connection

I'm guessing the above is industry standard these days but if there is anything you guys suggest as far as features go, I'd love to hear them.

[DownhillGoat]

If you use any apple products, built in Airplay is nice to have as well.

If you're looking at the sub $1000 level, anything I've read/heard, Onkyo makes some good bang for your buck receivers. Check out the TX-NR515 ($478) or the TX-NR616 ($550), read a few reviews. Both have a decent RMS/channel, 3D-passthru and Auddesy. Haven't used one myself however. Last time I bought one in that range I went with Yamaha, and was pretty happy with that for the price.

Personally, I'm a big Denon/Marantz fan. If you can find somewhere that has a 1912 still in stock it wouldn't be a bad choice either, IMO.

[TheGrimm]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Hoping someone could give me a hand with recievers. My parents/significant other keep asking me what I want for Christmas so I told them I want a reciever so I can finally have good sound at home.

Keeping in mind this is a Christmas present so can't be too expensive (say ~$500ish) what can I get in that range? I don't need blow your house doors off power, I prefer quality sound. I don't have any really good speakers atm but do intend to upgrade them down the road when we move. I consider the reciever to be the starting point of any good system so figured I'd worry about the speakers later when I have a place I don't have to worry about neighbours.

It would be nice to have the following:
At least 5.1 obviously
3D/Bluray ready
Internet connection

I'm guessing the above is industry standard these days but if there is anything you guys suggest as far as features go, I'd love to hear them.

I have used both Onkyo and Denon recievers primarily... Lately I am really enjoying my Denon (AVR-3313). I am not sure about the pricing for something like the Denon AVR-1913 but it is pretty versatile, and you can grow into it speaker wise.

Personally I am a 2-channel fan at heart, as I am more of a music listener than anything. One feature I really appreciate is the ability to assign the two back surround channel amplifiers to your front L and R speakers. This is called bi-amping and can allow you to assign more power to your towers in the future which is never a bad thing.

I only planned on using 5.1 speakers at home but I bought a 7.1 receiver so I could bi-amp the fronts and still have the channels remaining to do 5.1.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Great info, thanks a ton.

Airplay, that's a great tip. Exaclty the kind of suggestions I'm looking for. Thanks.

Auddesy, is that where you can tune your system with that small mic you place where you will be sitting?

[DownhillGoat]

Yes. There's various names for similar systems. Audessy is licensed out to various electonics companies. Pioneer uses something called MCACC. It's [relatively] the same idea. Just keep in mind that a receiver may have it, but not call it Audessy.

[fundmark19]

Apparently I can't read and didn't see that the monoprice wall speakers came in pairs. Now the age old question do I rip the speakers out of the ceiling and replace with these nice ones or do I just sell these and keep them in the ceiling

[KTrain]

I did the exact same thing. Someone on CP purchased my mistake.

[fundmark19]

Well at least I am not the only ######! I still don't know if I should try to remove those old speakers or leave them. these would look a lot nicer but those suckers seemed to be stuck in there pretty good

[DownhillGoat]

Hooray for product descriptions!

Which ones did you get? I might take them off your hands. I need some for in the garage.

[fundmark19]

I went with the 8 inch Kevlar ones.

Roof speakers are same overall size as new ones but for in wall you cut the whole smaller. So in order to put these up I would have to some how figure out how to get them out and then re drywall ceiling and then cut new holes. So looks like old ones are going to stay up

Here is link

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...#specification

[Burninator]

What are the difference between these TV's?

Panasonic VIERA 60" TCP60UT50
Futureshop

Panasonic VIERA 60" TC60PUT54
Costco

They seem like the identical TV, but with different models numbers. Costco seems to be the only one that sells that model number.

I'm starting to research a new TV as slowly the top pixels seem to be dying one row at a time on my Sony Plasma.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Burninator

What are the difference between these TV's?

Panasonic VIERA 60" TCP60UT50
Futureshop

Panasonic VIERA 60" TC60PUT54
Costco

They seem like the identical TV, but with different models numbers. Costco seems to be the only one that sells that model number.

I'm starting to research a new TV as slowly the top pixels seem to be dying one row at a time on my Sony Plasma.

Costco and other stores often have the same TV but with slightly different labels so that other stores won't have to do price matching. As far as I can tell they are the same TV. I have the 55" version and it's a great TV but it does reflect light, so take that into consideration.

Oh yeah it looks like the Costco version doesn't have a NTSC tuner but you probably don't need that. It's also hard to believe in the accuracy of what info stores list. It's better to go to the manufacturer's page.

[J Diddy]

We have a finished basement with a finished ceiling but we are adding a bar, a fireplace and entertainment cabinet. This is a perfect time to pre wire for a projector as we have an electrician and a drywaller available to us. I already have a good tv (65") and don't plan to replace it any time soon (the boss says no more electronics for a while). I figure in 5 years that 100" plus TVs will be economically reasonable. With the wiring, electrical and drywall repairs it's not exactly cheap to prewire. I'm torn on what to do? Any thoughts from the projector people out there? With 100" plus tvs in the near future will there be a need for a projector? I need to make a decision soon.

[DownhillGoat]

Prewire.

Easier and way cheaper to put it in now and not need it, than to need it 5 years from now and have to tear out the ceiling.

Alternatively don't wire it, but at least run a conduit so you have the option down the road.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

I'm torn on what to do? Any thoughts from the projector people out there? With 100" plus tvs in the near future will there be a need for a projector? I need to make a decision soon.

Wire the room. It costs only the wire and minimal labour to do it at this stage. If you ended up not using wire, all you need is a keystone palte to cover it up. Doing it after the fact will cost you a lot more.

[J Diddy]

So I got some quotes and the wiring would be around $800 + electrical + drywall and paint = not worth it.

It seems like wireless hdmi is becoming more common in projectors so if I absolutely must have a projector in 5 years I can always go that route. But hopefully the 103" Panasonic plasma drops from $50k to $5k in 5 years.

[TheGrimm]

Originally Posted by J Diddy

So I got some quotes and the wiring would be around $800 + electrical + drywall and paint = not worth it.

It seems like wireless hdmi is becoming more common in projectors so if I absolutely must have a projector in 5 years I can always go that route. But hopefully the 103" Panasonic plasma drops from $50k to $5k in 5 years.

Not going to happen, once 4k starts hitting the market, the likely scenario is that prices on 1080p stuff will stay the same but the new 4k stuff will cost more, at least in the short term.

[J Diddy]

Ah good old 4K or UltraHD...the buzzword the manufacturers will use to make everyone think they need a new TVs, Bluray players, and projectors.

I won't be sitting 3 feet away from my TV so I won't need 4K. Why will 1080p prices stay the same if all the suckers will want 4K?