Home Theatre Systems

[TarpleyG]

We are planning on buying a new, bigger house next year and we'll have some $$$ left over from the sale of our current home to have a big downpayment, new furniture, and new electronics.  I have an older Bose Lifestyle system now and it's great for the room it's in.  I am planning on going bigger and better.  I am considering either a DLP TV up to 60" or a ceiling mounted projector.  I sort of know the limitations of each.  I am not interested in plasma but maybe LCD but it's probably too expensive.  As for sound, I am looking at the Klipsch THX Ultra2 series (not the upper end mind you) or something else comparable.  Anyway, I am just getting started researching this and I am looking for suggestions.

Greg

[grampster]

If you're interested, e mail me or PM me at THR, and I give you my son's e mail address.  He has a web site and is expert in the purchase and installation of the type of stuff you are interested in.  He's here in Michigan, but might be able to give you some direction and or ability to purchase what you need at a good price.

[cfabe]

In my home theater I use a older big CRT projector, but I assume you'd be looking at the newer small digital projectors. I'd definately go this way instead of a rear-projection TV, bigger picture and better quality. I use a HTPC (home theater PC) to as a dvd player and also have an HD directv system.

I have the lower end klipsch speakers from about 4 years ago, and they sound great for the money I have in them. I use a denon AVR-1600 reciever which sounds fine but I wouldn't reccomend because it seems to not work well with the SPDIF digital audio out from my PC.

[Gewehr98]

Definitely ditch the Bose.

Bose is to audio what the Remington 710 is to bolt-action rifles. You can do a lot better and still stay in your budget, truthfully. This famous poem says a lot:

If you own Bose, then hold your nose
and test your ears as well.
For when you get your hearing back
youll know theyre not too swell.
Youve got 12 bucks of paper cones
and a flimsy cardboard box --
not enough to be bare bones,
much less to say It rocks!
No top, no bass, just muddy noise
and cabinet resonance too.
Its clear now that the K-Mart boys
gave you a royal screw.
Why buy Paradigm or Energy, B&W or NHT
when you can shell out twice as much
for Taiwan quality?
But be indignant; tell yourself
you dont really think it sucks.
(what else can you do after flushing 600 bucks?)
You know as much as all us snobs
who put your purchase down.
Cuz now you is an awdeohfyle
with direct reflecting sound!


Granted, to augment the sound of my 32" Sony Trinitron, I run a vacuum-tube Jolida 502A, older Yamaha DSP-1000 Sound Field Processor/Dolby Decoder and 4-channel Natural Sound amplifier, 2 ESS/Heil PS-1010 main speakers, and 4 older Minimus 7 satellites for my 6 channels.  I don't need a subwoofer with the ESS/Heils, but I understand some space limitations prevent really big main speakers for deep bass.

(I'm kinda hoping Bogie adds me to his will with respect to the Magneplanar speakers he has...)

[Brad Johnson]

First, determine your budget. You can put together a pretty good system with carefully chosen compenents from your local Best Buy or Circuit City for under $2000. A really, REALLY nice home system can be assembled for $3000-5, not including the cost of the TV. Ultra high-end systems can cost more than your home.

For a baseline on a good system that uses your everyday amp/tuner/control combo you will want to investigate some of the current high-end consumer offerings from mfgs like Okyo, Kenwood, Pioneer, and Yamaha. Figure on spending a minimum of $500-800, depending on which features you feel like you need. At the very least, make absolutely sure the unit is capable of handling at least four inputs and is able to switch not only standard video (RCA plugs), but s-video and component video as well. These will be the standards when the switch to HD is completed over the next few years. It also helps to have an integrated DTS decoder in case your DVD player does not have it. There are a few units that also offer upconversion from standard video to component video, allowing you to have a single cable running from your control unit to the TV and to be able to use older equipment (like VCR's and laserdisc players) on your new HD equipment. My Yamaha HTR-5890 unit does this, and it's worth every penny. The savings in cables alone payed the difference.

Go over to the Home Theater Forum - www.hometheaterforum.com . Their help, and some judicious internet research, helped narrow down my choices considerably. They also have a link to the audioholics review page. They also have a line on equipment specials that you may not hear about anywhere else.

One last bit of advice. If you are going to go hog wild on something, do it on speakers. A little generic amp played through good speakers will sound better than you realize, and the best amp in the world will sound like crap if played through junky speakers. Also, don't fall prey to the mega-doller specialty speaker cable craze. Just good, heavy guage (16 or larger) wire with the ends properly trimmed is fine. Use good component cables, but don't go nuts. Good shielding is a must, but mega-ultra-space-formed-ionic-whatever cables are nothing but a way to get you to pay stupid amounts of money for a negligible change in audio quality (changes so small it takes extremely sensitive equipment to even detect it).

Brad

[InfidelSerf]

I have to highly reccomend going Klipsch for your speakers.  I owe several sets including center and surrounds.  Bar none the best for the money IMHO
As far as your screen goes I've had a 55" rear projection for 6 years now and my next will be a projector.  However that is because I value size over quality.. sure a nice crisp LCD HDTV would be nice.. but if you want the theater size then I'd go with a projector and determine your backscreen size on what you spent on it. Very decent projectors can be had for 1500 give or take 500 you could even look into line doublers and the like to improve the quality. But I've been very impressed with a DLP 1024x768. If you plan on using a computer or xbox on it I'd get at least that high of a pix ratio.  For improved "crispness" looke at the lumens amount.. the higher the brighter and there for the crisper on larger projections.
I have alwasy been a fan of the Pioneer Elite line.. expect to pay 1K or more on a head unit capable of satisfying your theater needs.

Have fun with your research. It will pay for itself in years of rewarding entertainment.

OH yeah almost forgot.. don't skimp on your speaker cable and all audio cables.  Good quality cable can make or break a good theater system.

[cfabe]

Also check in at avsforum.com, lots of good guys and info there.

[Gewehr98]

Speaking of upgrading...

When does the mandatory FCC changeover to HDTV become effective?  I understand my older NTSC television may not work without a special adapter when the changeover happens.

[Brad Johnson]

When does the mandatory FCC changeover to HDTV become effective?  I understand my older NTSC television may not work without a special adapter when the changeover happens.

It's not and issue of "may not work". An older set will not work without the NTSC converter. The converter takes the digital HD signal and downconverts it to an analog signal for NTSC sets.

Brad