HT planning (1 Viewer)

[Dennis:-)J]

I am new to home theater and I am planning to equip a home AV area. I have a 8'X 16' area that I can use in my condo for a HT. The ceiling height is 9'. I have budgeted $15,000 dollars for the project. I would like to reuse my Sony STR-DE925Receiver (5-1), Bose 5-1 speakers 10 Series II, and a Sony Progressive DVD DVP-NS715P. The area will be used exclusively for HT. My questions are:
1. What type of video is recommended?
2. Should I keep my sound system?
3. Should I keep the DVD player?
Dennis

 

[SimiA]

Wow, that's a nice budget.
You have quite a few options.
RP DLP, RP LCD, Plasma, FP, etc..
I'm partial to Plasma and Front Projection.
A 50-55" HD Plasma would be great from either Panasonic or Fujitsu. They are the gold standards.
If you have good light control, a Front projection system would be awesome. You could have up to a 102", 16x9 screen.
NEC, Infocus, BenQ, are a few to look at.
I have a 100" screen, and sit 13 ft away, and I feel totally immersed in the movie.
Make sure you go and audition any of these units, and take lots of notes. Such as Color rendition, 3D look, black levels, clarity of the picture from different video sources. (DVD, HD & SD TV signals.
Ultimately though, it all comes down to what you like for PQ for the intended use, as well as how much you like your current audio system.
I'm sure you're going to get more suggestions.
I hope this was a good start.
Vb

 

[Dennis:-)J]

vb
Thanks for the quick reply. I have viewed the FP Infocus and was very impressed but I am concerned about reliablity - bulbs, dust, adjustment. Am I just being paranoid. If I get a RP I was hoping to get something that was 60" or better and a large plasma would just about break the budget

 

[Jack Briggs]

Since you're asking for specific equipment-purchase advice for a complete system, I've moved your thread from the Basics area to here.

 

[Rob Kramer]

I would dump your receiver, speakers, and dvd player. And thats at any budget - especially yours.

$5K (or less) can get you a great receiver, a damn good dvd player, and a set of excellent speakers. That leaves $10K for a display and room treatments. No problem, especially in your tiny room.

 

[John Alvarez]

The Sony 70XBR950 RP LCD. That's the ticket....

 

[Rob Kramer]

70" is too big for that tiny room.

 

[John Alvarez]

For a 12-16 foot viewing distance? I think a lot of people would say a 102" screen would be about right....

 

[Rob Kramer]

Yeah, but not me.

Figure 2' behind the sofa for speakers (and sound acoustics), and 2' in the front of the room for electronics, that IS a 12' viewing distance. Also, with an 8' wide room, at best, you are only going to have 6/6.5' of stereo separation between the speakers.

And what is going in the room? 1 love seat or 2 loungers? The "sweet spot" will be very narrow. I dont see the point in an FP anyway.

Ok, well lets assume a RP, and do some math. We have an 8' (width) limit. Assuming a 12" wide speaker cabinet, and you need 6" (min) of "free" space around the speaker, thats 2' per speaker. 2 speakers = 4'. We now have 4' remaining. An audio rack is out of the question. The equipment will need to go under the display. I dont think that there is one rp larger than 46" that has a cabinet width of 48" or less.

Hmmm...

 

[SimiA]

Dear DennisJ,
I hope, that after you've sifted thru the personal choices of the members here, you can , at least, get a great video display!!!
Once that's in place, you can play around with new audio stuff, since the video component of this equation, is going to be the most expensive.

I would not "dump' your audio system just yet, but since it's not their money, they can live vicariously thru you.
Once that's in place, you can take your sweet time on an audio system.
Of course, that's just another personal opinion.
Vb

 

[Dave Moritz]

Hey DennisJ

IMHO I would ditch the Sony STR-DE925Receiver and the Bose speakers. Your Sony DVP-NS715P might just be fine unless you want to be able to play DVD-A disc and get the full benafit of DVD-A. You also may want to consider a better dvd player if you are going with a projection unit. I would ask around to see if your current dvd player look good enough with a large screen. As far as reliablity I dont really see that as an issue. The Infocus should be very relyable and it depends on how much you use it. The less you use it the longer the bulb should last you. I would look into the dimensions of a 70" screen and see if it would fit your room. Stewert Film Screen makes awsume screens but they tend to be more costly than other makes. There is also DaLite and Draper that make nice screens.

If it was me I would sell your current stuff and buy all new gear. For a reciever there is Denon, Yamaha and Pioneer Elite. I would pick up a multi format player or at least a dvd/dvd-a player. It never hurts to have a dvd/dvd-a/sacd. Check out the Denon AVR-3805. For speakers there is Klipsch, Infinity, JBL, Polk. And I would recomend an SVS subwoofer. The 3805 has the capability of switching hd sources and has assignable digital inputs and is tripple zone. I personally own a Sony 9000ES DVD/SACD player but after owning it for awhile I am not sure I would have gone with the Sony all over again. I have had issues with lag time between layer changes. I have allready had the laser changed and the lag is coming back after 5 months. You would think that layer changes would be fast on a $1600 player. Denon dvd players have the denon link for multi-channel audio and a video buffer to basically eliminate layer change hangups. You have a really nice budget and should be able to put together a really nice home theater, good luck. If you are not in a rush and dont live far from Las Vegas. You might want to consider going to CES (Consumer Electronics Show) Jan 6th-9th at the Las Vegas Convention Center. All the companies will be showing off the newest product from recievers, dvd players, speakers, projectors, plasma panels you name it they will have it there! Its like a really really big candy store

 

[EricRWem]

Heh. I wonder what it feels like to have $15K to spend just on your hobbies? *sighs* *drools*...

 

[SimiA]

Yo, EricR, I feel your *sighs* & *drools*!!!
With what I know now about HT, I could put the $$ to unbelievable use.
However, those $$$ are now tied up in the present systems.
Wait 'til next year.
My money pot should be replenished.
Cheers, Vb

 

[EricRWem]

I feel that! I just finished my 6 month long trek of assembling my HT today with the purchase of the Onkyo DV-SP1000. I was able to get it for a CRAZY deal from an authorized Internet retailer. If anyone's interested, PM me, as I don't want to inadvertantly break rules.

Suffice it to say: I was not looking to buy this soon, but the offer was really that good. The sale ends on 11-16, which is why I finally was moved over the edge to do this thing. Good $500+ below MSRP.

This is a huge amount of money for me, even at that. I can't imagine how cool that would be where I could even THINK about spending $15K on just HT! A fraction of that feels super huge to me! Whew!

 

[Dennis:-)J]

Well getting FP new A/V rec still researching speakers, DVD and furniture. Thanks to everyone for all the great info. Nothing to do but do it now.
DennisJ