20k budget for HT (Equipment Selected) (1 Viewer)

[Claire Panke]

Ali - thanks for your update.

Interesting to hear your reaction to the plasmas using Dark City, one of my favorite sf films. Dark City is one of my audition DVDs - the deep shadow detail and blacks will severely test a display and the complex soundtrack will show up a weak surround system. I'm in love with the idea of the new DLP RPs (ligher, smaller footprint and shallower depth than the Sony 40"), but until I see Dark City & LOTR on one, I'm not going to pull the trigger. Plasmas have their attractions but too many issues for me at their price point.

I'm very glad to hear you're going with separates and exploring other speaker options - you will be rewarded! Do check out some of the brands recommended in this thread, even if you have to darken the doorway of your local high end audo emporium.

If you're auditioning speakers and electronics at the local HT palace, try to listen to the gear with MUSIC (preferably acoustic music, most soundtracks are orchestral). I know that's not your priority, but listening to gear with musical material will tell you more about their quality than listening to boom and sizzle soundtracks like Fifth Element or Fast & Furious. Pay special attention to vocals and be alert for any excessive sibiblance. Most music and all dialogue is in the midrange, and if the mids aren't right, a system will never sound natural. Your ears may not be accustomed to subtle differences in speakers yet but I bet they can tell if vocals sound "natural". Chestiness on male vocals may indicate too much warmth in the lower mids, hissy "s"s may be the result of a treble tilt that will be too bright with movie material. Also listen to the bass to determine if you can hear actual bass "notes", there are tunes in the bass - shouldn't be mere "boom", just a mass of air & harmonics - you should be able to hear a pitch. (Hence the audition with music and not soundtracks alone.) For your room size and budget, quality is more important than quantity.

Have fun and report back.

Newell: Are there any high end audio shops near Savannah? We regularly vacation there and occassionaly check out dealers on our other travels.

I've only heard the Vienna Acoustic Mahlers, but the chap I bought my First Sound preamp fom really liked his Beethovens.

 

[Mike Matheson]

Ali,
Plasmas certainly have their limitations. I've however never seen one well setup in any HT store I've been in. Perhaps you'll find someone on this forum or at AVS who may have a calibrated 50" current generation plasma that would invite you over for a showing. . . It'd be good to see exactly what these panels are capable of delivering.
Front project systems certainly are impressive. Be careful however to understand how the ambient light in your environment may affect the image--you might not be able to watch anything until evening, for example (given certain projectors and light situations).
Maybe a 42" plasma on the wall and a drop-down Stewart screen for a FPTV combination solution?

 

[Ali_Jafari]

Point well taken. I think the Sony KV-40XBR700, and a Stewart screen with a high gain is the direction I'm headed in, with the downside being the letterboxing I'll get with the Sony on HDTV and 1:85 by 1 DVD's, but like I said earlier in the thread, I have yet to see a finer picture than the Sony delivers including a properly calibrated Loewe, which costs about the same as a plasma.

So, the display has been taken care of for around $4,000 ($2,500 for the Sony and $1,500 for a 72' Stewart). I now have around 20k to allocate towards a dvd (which will prbably be the Sony 9000) pre/pro, power amp, and speaker system. This gets more fun everyday. Thanks again all. Oh, and if anyone around the SJ bay area has a 42' or 50' properly calibrated plasma that they would be willing to demo, drop me an e-mail.

 

[AaronNWilson]

If video is the most important thing to you, why not go for the Runco plasma.
http://www.runco.com/Products/Plasma/PL50cx.htm
This one goes for about $12,000 I think.
42 inch review http://www.e-gear.com/doc/274738189113245.bsp
61 inch review http://www.hometheatermag.com/printarchives.cgi?102
sorry I couldn't find any reviews for the 51 inch.
Klipsch RF7 - $1460
Klipsch RC7 - $529
Klipsch RS7x2 - $1200
Paradigm Servo 15 sub - $1500
Aragon Stage One MSRP $4000 (can be had for less)
http://www.klipsch.com/products/mond...5&line=mondial
Aragon 2007 MSRP $3000 (can be had for less)
http://www.klipsch.com/mondial/index...line=mondial&1
HTPC (without a doubt fantastic scaling) approx $1200-1500
If you are now set on a front projection system, I would recommend the Sharp 9000. http://www.projectorcentral.com/cons...ci=sharp_z9000
$7699 Link Removed
A firehawk screen seems to be the most popular companion for this projector.
While getting a plasma screen has the ultimate cool factor and the runco can provide a great picture, It just doesn't get you into the movie the same way a front projector does.
I personally run my projector on a 120" diagonal screen and love it!
PS- going with the runco will require you to choose other electronics to stay within budget.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Ali,
I would stay away from Plasma at this time unless you step up to the Pioneer Elite for around $14K. The reason is that the picture quality is not very good compared to other options. For instance, the Sony front projectors create an amazing picture of much larger size (and hence a real movie effect) for around $10-11K.
The DVD player is critical and the Denon 9000 is a good one, but I have read a poor review on the 3800 recently. I would personally look at the Sonys which also have Super Audio capability which is a very good high resolution format for music. Just make sure you get progressive scan capability and use the component video cables for connections.
The Denon receiver is a good one, but in this price range you may want to look at the baseline Theta Digital products.
For speakers, I really like the new Maggie home theater set-up because the new dedicated center channel and side speakers are fantastic and you can mate them with either the awesome 3.6s or nearly awesome 1.6s and have a true high end two channel system for music and really sweet multi-channel sound.
As for wire, use good audiophile stuff like Audioquest or Kimber or else you won't hear everything your system is capable of.
I would also invest in a good AC line conditioner like PS Audio or Monster Cable brands (ones by Richard Marsh).
You may also want to pay an ISF technician to calibrate your display to perfect NTSC standards using color meters and test DVDs. These guys are well worth it for such a fine system.
I hope that helps.