$12,000 budget, please help (1 Viewer)

[Cheeku]

I am helping my boss setup his first dedicated home theater in his new house. He has $12 total to spend. He would like a HDTV projector if possible. Can you please help with the best for the price components, including wires, screen, etc...?
Thanks!
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"I like you Betty."
"That's Danny, sir."
"Whatever."

 

[AaronNWilson]

I would go for the NEC LT150 which goes for around 2700.
Then I would get Klipsch Reference Speakers RF7 2,200
and an RC 7 500 approx
and RS7 like 500 approx.
Then he could go for Dual Paradigm Servo 15s. 3k total.
That leaves like 3100. Then he could get a Denon 5800 for like 2500. That leaves 600 dollars for your screen.
45 x 80 in. (92 in. diag.)
114 x 203 cm (234 cm diag.) Da-Mat 16:9 83408 $454.10
this is from www.projectorpeople.com.
Total price $11854.10.
If he was wanting to get a better projector he could look at the Sanyo PLV 60 which sells for like 4800.
Aaron

 

[AaronNWilson]

Actually the RC7 center channel costs $800
and the RS7 surrounds cost $900 (pair).
He could eat this cost by going for the Denon 4802, which is considerably cheaper at $1800.
This would leave your new total at $11954.10
I don't really have a clue about what DVD players are good, so I will let someone else answer that one.
PS-once you buy Klipsch there is no turning back .
http://www.brandnamez.com for good prices on Klipsch. http://www.klipsch.com for checking out the Klipsch. http://www.paradigm.com for checking out the servo15 subs. http://www.projectorpeople.com for good projector prices. http://www.crazyeddie.com for denon stuff.
[Edited last by AaronNWilson on September 26, 2001 at 03:19 PM]

 

[Rob Robinson]

People that spend over $10k on gear they know nothing about need to be taken out back and hit in the face with a baseball bat.
It boggles the mind that anyone would have an underling go blow $12k with no research...
Sorry, I guess i'm kinda surly today, but man, researching thousands of dollars worth of gear is one of the FUN parts of the hobby. If he doesn't care enough to read up even the tiniest bit, he probbaly wouldn't be able to tell the difference between anything you bought him.

 

[AaronNWilson]

Rob some people are just like that. Maybe his boss is too busy to be able to research all of the equipment himself. I don't have a problem with recommending good equipment to someone, because if you went to bestbuy they would have no problem recommending crappy equipment.
Aaron

 

[Matty B]

His boss can shove $500 up his ass and then give me the other $11500, I agree. This is the EXACT same as 50 year old men driving porches when they have NO idea how to get the most out of them. They should have a Porche program where 50 year old men buy Porches, and then are given lincoln continentals, while 23 year old testosterone filled males such as myself are given the Porche to drive it like it's MEANT to be driven!

 

[KyleS]

I would go with this
Paradigm Studio 100's v2 fronts
Studio CC Center
Studio ADP surrounds
Around $3500 total
SVS Ultra Sub & Amp
$1400
Sony VW10HT Projector (Highly recommended since you can now get them below 5K)
$4800
Screen Da-Mat 16:9 83408 114 x 203 cm (234 cm diag.)
$454.10
Receiver Denon 4802
$1800
Total $11954 or less depending on what you can get the speakers for especially if you can make a drive to Canada
KyleS

 

[John Gates]

Guys, my hunch is that Cheeku is gathering data for the boss just so he can offer some intelligent suggestions and be generally helpful. I doubt the boss has given him a checkbook and told him to go buy.
Cheeku, do you know anything about the room? How large is it? Will there be more than one row of seating? Is there a need for wall-mounted speakers or any other limitations on speaker placement? Will there be control over the light in the room (important for recommending any kind of projector)? Does he want to ceiling mount the projector?
I am assuming the budget is strictly for speakers, projector, and related electronics, right? Does not include furnishings, movie posters, etc?
Very important: Will the system be used for music as well as HT, or is it a dedicated HT setup?
At this budget, you're going to get a lot of "personal preferences" being recommended, as there is no shortage of high-quality gear in this price range. Still, answering these questions would help you to get some good responses.
Here's a quick idea, just for fun:
6 nOrh Synthetic Marble 6.9 drums ($3000)
6 nOrh Le Amp (100 watt monoblocks, audiophile quality) ($1500)
1 Outlaw 950 Pre-Amp ($1000???)
1 pair SVS Ultra subwoofers with Sampson 1000 and ART EQ ($2465)
This stuff all adds up to $7965. That leaves about $4000 for projector, screen, dvd player, stands, and cables.
Hmmm..... $4000 doesn't seem like quite enough for the remaining items. Oh well, I tried.
If you could afford the audio gear above, this system would kick your teeth in. If I had a room friendly to this kind of setup, this is what I'd get.
Have fun!
John

 

[Thomas_Berg]

Matty that's great man!

i do kinda agree with Matty, but helping Cheeku's boss get the most out of his system will reflect well on him (and maybe even reflect a little $$ on him

).
"If i had $12,000..."
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-Thomas
Click here to visit my webpage.

 

[Richard Watt]

I would check into a used CRT projector with low hours and possibly use a HTPC (Home Theater PC) as the DVD player/scaler.
You might want to check out the forums at AVS Forums .
[Edited last by Richard Watt on September 26, 2001 at 05:58 PM]

 

[Dan Hitchman]

It may give your boss apoplexy, but I would hold off on the HDTV projector purchase. A LOT is happening in this field right now, prices are plummeting for better and better quality and...
The MPAA, studio factions, DISH & DirectTV, the cable industry, and TV set manufacturers are STILL hashing out the details on FireWire and/or DVI digital video encrypted connections.
If he blows a lot of his wad o' cash now on a projector, he may have to eat the loss in a couple years when he can't watch HDTV signals on it. I'm quite serious. Also, a whole crop of 16x9 paneled DLP 720p chips with higher contrast ratios and little to no rainbow effect are starting to hit the market too-- there needs to be more than just Sharp's 9000z out there to choose from.
I would HIGHLY recommend that he put off his projector purchase at least until some new announcements are made at the January 2002 CES in Vegas and consider using his old TV until then. He can save up for it later.
For the money the newly upgraded Integra Research RDC-7 XLR balanced, 7.1 channel DTS-ES pre-amp/processor (with FireWire and software upgradeability) is very hard to beat. $4,000 retail. Stereophile Guide to Home Theater still gives it a AAA rating. A lot for the money and also competes very well with the CAL processor, but with more features.
The well regarded Sherbourn 5/1500A five-channel amp with XLR balanced inputs is only $2,000 retail. He can add their 2/600A stereo amp for the front two speakers which also includes balanced XLR inputs for $1,250 retail. $3,250 retail for 7 channels of balanced power is impressive.
He can look at SVS subwoofers and an amp.
NHT, B&W, Paradigm, PSB, Tannoy, etc. all make good speakers for the money. He really needs to audition these things.
The Panasonic DVD-RP91 DVD-Audio/Video player would be a great starter progressive scan DVD player and he could get one at a tremendous deal online.
Have him look at balanced power protection/conditioning products.
He'd also need a few dedicated 20 amp circuits in the same phase/same leg in the circuit box for all his stuff too.
Hope this is of some usefullness.
Dan
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Stop HDCP and 5C-- Your rights are at risk!
[Edited last by Dan Hitchman on September 26, 2001 at 11:07 PM]

 

[Mike_Reznik]

I tend to agree that $12K is a lot of money to drop on something that you don't anything about... I just hope he will take these suggestions and use them to narrow down his own search.
Like John Gates had said, the size and shape of the room and the amount of light will have an impact on the components would work best.
There are lots of great speakers out there, I really like the Paradigm Studio line 100s v.2 CC and 20s. Or the B&Ws (considerably more expensive).
For the amp and processor, there is so much out there he should really do some research. Does he want a 7.1 set up or a 5.1?
For the DVD/HDCD I would seriously suggest the Toshiba SD-9200 (retail $1500, but you can get it cheaper than that).
Good Luck,
-Mike
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[Cheeku]

Wow, thanks for all the positive feedback, and as for you others, take a pill. It's not my money, and frankly I've been out of the home theater thing for a while now and just wanted to know where to start. He's my boss, but actually a childhood friend, and he's very busy. He likes the toys, but he's busy building a business so I can have a job.
Anyway, back to the real stuff. Yes, the $12k is only for the equipment, not the furnishings. It is a 15x17 room. There are 3 built in columns on each side with sconces on them with enough room in between for movie posters. The ceiling in 10ft. It has no windows. He wants DVD, HDTV satellite ( which he already has ), S-VHS, PS2, plus Internet connectivity, which we've already taken care of with the CAT5 cabling. And I have no idea how he came up the $12k number, it's just what he had left over after having his 4,300 sq. ft. home built. Anyway, thanks again for all the positive feedback, and please, if anyone has more, please post it. I'll post pics when the thing is done. Who knows, I may start doing this on the side for fun!
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"I like you Betty."
"That's Danny, sir."
"Whatever."

 

[KeithH]

Rob said:

People that spend over $10k on gear they know nothing about need to be taken out back and hit in the face with a baseball bat.
It boggles the mind that anyone would have an underling go blow $12k with no research...

Do any of you read magazines such as Home Theater Interiors or Electronics House that show home theaters of the rich and famous. Many times, I see very fancy homes with fancy home theaters in terms of furniture, room decor, speakers, projectors, and film screens. However, a lot of times, I see electronics that are rather ordinary. One article showed Bobby Labonte's home theater. He had a Harman/Kardon CD recorder that I owned and sold to upgrade to a better H/K recorder. I also see everyday DVD players and CD players. It surprises me that a CEO, athlete, actor/actress, etc., who puts all sorts of money into a home theater room would have a $250 Sony CD megachanger from Best Buy. I see a lot of mass-market megachangers in these set-ups, and never do I see them paired with a high-end DAC. It is surprising.
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[BryanZ]

I'd have to go with what John said only substitute marble 4.0s ($1,600 for 5 plus $375 for an additional center) rather than the SM 6.9s. Or you could get 3 SM 6.9s across the front and ceramic surrounds and center for $2,175 total. Including the Le Amps, Outlaw 950, and SVS Ultra w/amp & eq, the total comes to $6,253 total, excluding shipping and the other necessary equipment. If you go with 5 speakers, subtract $625 (cost of the additional center and extra Le Amp).
He may also want to look at offerings from AV Reality . In any event we want him to be happy with whatever he decides to get.
Good luck!

 

[NathanP]

Hey there..
If you guy is just beginning and wanting somthing very nice but easy, try getting a nice Klipsch speaker package, these things are nice big speakers.. and are welll under $5000.
But if he wants the best of the best in speakers, try Whaferdales, the look very nice and sport a nice sound..
You guy could probably do really good for half of that $12,000 ($6,000) and get a VERY nice system, and he can use that $6,000 on upgrades and stuff..
I'm sure he'd be more satisfied doing that..
If he need reviews try www.audioreview.com
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[Taka]

With that kind of budget, do not overlook the B&W Nautilus line- Nautilus 805s are $2k/pr., I think you can set up a nice 5.1 system for $7k incl. sub. If that's too steep, get Nautilus 805s across the front and use the cheaper series for the surrounds.
I'm a huge B&W fan, but the Nautilus deserves that rep- very nice speakers.
Also look into the Dynaudio line- they make some killer speakers esp. north of $2k/pr.
My advice is put the money into the speakers first and foremost, get the other equipment with an eye toward upgrading in the future, unless he wants the $12k system to be static for a long time, then I'd get cheaper speakers and put my money into good amplification as the video and surround standards seem to change every year. That's the reason why I have no problem dropping $4-5k into a 2-channel minimalist music setup (CD source, amp, speakers) but don't want to drop huge amounts of cash into home theater- stuff keeps changing too quickly.

 

[Shanthi]

I would invest more money on nice set of speaker and then look at the electronics.
Like Taka mentioned 805 are the way to go. Receivers and projectors needs to be replaced every several years.

 

[Matt_Stevens]

People that spend over $10k on gear they know nothing about need to be taken out back and hit in the face with a baseball bat.

This is what they call "Class Envy."
I see no difference between this guy with the 12 grand and my friends with a few hundred bucks who ask me for help buying a DVD player and TV. Both types of people are busy and just want some help. The guy with the 12 grand has worked hard enough to pay someone to do his homework for him. NOTHING wrong with that.
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[Hubert]

I agree. If you're going to blow $12,000 on home theater equipment, you damn well better make the time to do some research.