Todd^B

Best Home Theater Speakers/System

My father is building a house with a 20' x 30' movie theater room. He was talking to someone at Bang & Olufsen system with a projector, speakers and a computer controlled system for about $65,000.

I figured if most of us here was given $65,000 to build a system, it would be very nice.

He said you press a button for a movie on the computer screen and it automaticlly starts a movie, opens the curtains, and dims the lights. I think its a bit overkill for what he would have to pay.

I am wondering what he should look at for:
Home Theater Receiver
Speakers ( I already have an SVS sub )
Projector & Screen ( it will be in an enclosed, dark room. Normally used for movies and sporting events. )

I would like to build a very nice system and I don't really care about the computer system to control everything.

Wayne Ernst

Considering the budget amount that your father-in-law has to work with, why is a receiver even being considered? Pre/pro amp separate amps would be a good start.


Most of this can be done with X10 controls. There are already X10 dimmers that can be purchased to control lights from your current remote control. The technology is actually pretty cheap.

\"My reality check ... just bounced\"

ChrisTes

There is a section on audioholics that suggests what equiptment is best for your price range.

Mark Seaton

Hi Todd,

I have a bit of experience in seeing rooms on this scale come together, and have upgraded, fixed or done troubleshooting for many of them which still had issues at the end.

While "computer controlled" may be a bit much, don't discount the remote control! For anyone, especially less techincally inclined, this is one of the most important and most often used pieces of equipment in the system. This is the difference of being embarrassed or not in front of friends when you can't get you $50-100k system to play a stinkin' DVD. Depending on if you get something you set up yourself or get something programmed by a professional, justified expense will range from about $200 to just shy of $2000, and much more if you want to get really fancy. If you are talking about a complete, turn-key room including seating and treatments, I would figure the budget for a 20'x30' room to be $40-120k for a very well planned and impressive system. I would certainly suggest talking with someone like Dennis Erskine to possibly have him work up plans for the room, to eliminate much of the guesswork. Most importantly, do not forget to include properly designed acoustic treatment for such a room.

On the audio side, put a good chunk of the money into the speakers and subwoofers, as you will almost certainly want a pair for that size room. If possible, I would go with separates, but a reciever like the Denon AVR-4806 could be a smart alternate. Outlaw, Integra, Anthem... even Lexicon, and a few others all make reasonbly priced separates worth looking at. The two biggest advantages of separates lie in the ability to use much more robust amplification, as well as the ability to upgrade the pre-pro/surround processing without having to buy new amplifiers.

Video is a tough one as that is by far the fastest moving technology. I would recommend deciding on a desired or maximum screen size and wait till the last minute to commit to the current technology. You could easily run the budget range as low as $4k to over $35k for the projector and screen.

Hope that helps a bit.

Mark Seaton
Seaton Sound, Inc.

Garrett Lundy

Yeah, between the RBH signature CiinemaSITE in wall superspeakers and a Sony Qualia digital 1080p projector, I think I could spend $65k long before carpet samples would be considered.

"Did you know that more people are murdered at 92 degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once. Lower temperatures, people are easy-going, over 92 and it's too hot to move, but just 92, people get irritable."