Newbie Home theatre (1 Viewer)

[JesseSoonias]

Hey guys. I was just looking through your forum and saw some great stuff up here, so I thought I'd join in. I am in the midst of building my home theatre in my basement but have yet to buy pretty much anything. I have done some research on the products for my HT and just want a second opinion on them

 

Samsung UN55C7000 3DTV. I dont know about the 3D thing but with all the 3D movies coming out lately better cover my butt

 

Onkyo HTRC 270. Someone Recomended onkyo to me and i thought this one would be alright. It has an ethernet port so maybe ill be able to hook it up to my network.

 

Monster Power Center. havent seen much for surge protection

 

Emotiva XPA-3. This is what originally brought me here to the website, seems pretty solid to me

 

Harmony universal remote.

 

and speakers. I have heard Kef is pretty good and a friend can get a discount from his work on them. other than that i want a good quality speaker

 

Anything else im missing?

 

 

 

[gene c]

The Onkyo HTRC 270 should be fine. Onkyo has great bang for the buck.

 

Monster Power Centers are kind of expensive. Look for Belkin, Philips, APC, Tripp-Lite etc. But whatever you get, make sure it's designed for Home Theater and not just a power strip. You need to protect your cable/satillite box and phone lines, too. And don't forget about the sub woofer. Shouldn't just plug it into the wall.

 

Speakers are only good if you like the way they sound. And one brand can sound much different than another. A good deal is great, unless they don't sound that good to you.

 

Look at Monoprice.com and BlueJeansCable.com for wires and cables and PartsExpress.com for all kinds of stuff. Oh, and Ac4l.com (Accessories For Less) for discount Onkyo, KEF and other brands.

 

[Eric_L]

I am a big fan of theater sound. I have found big sound to add more to the experience than a big screen does. Now big sound does not have to mean expensive sound; it just means that the speakers are properly placed and well balanced. If you can go 7.1 do it, but 5.1 will provide a very rich experience - and most movies are formatted for 5.1 anyway.
Don't scrimp on the subwoofer whatever you do. Watching the movie is fun - feeling the movie is funner. If you have the ability, get some butt-kickers for the funnerest experience of all. Wait until your guests feel THAT! (most fun if you don't tell them first!)

http://www.thebuttkicker.com/

You can pick up a decent sound meter from radio shack. It is imperative that you hold it exactly where your ears will be. My first mistake was holding it in front of me and sitting forward. When I sat back in the sofa, with my ears below it's back, I couldn't hear the rear speakers because the sofa back was blocking them. I ended up putting them on stands closer to the sofa. VAST improvement.

 

IMHO 3D tvs are a novelty for watching movies. I expect the glasses would get irritating after several viewings and you will go back to 2d for convenience. However, for games I think it would add a substantially high cool factor. Are you considering a PS3? PS3 is ideal for the HT enthusiast because of it's great bluray player and the ability to do play-on, Netflix and others. Plus it is 3d capable...

 

 

 

[JesseSoonias]

Thanks Gene

 

The receiver i think is 7.2 but Ill Probably go 5.1 for now. I took a look at the Buttkicker and that is an awesome idea. that will defintly be in my theatre..

I do have a bluray player so not much need for the PS3, I dont think netflix is up in canada(where i live) yet.

 

But I am thinking of hooking a computer up just for the tv. be able to surf in the HT and what not. and also i was looking at the XBMC and that would be a great way to do a cheap kaleidescape type thing..at least i think so?

 

[JesseSoonias]

And also, anyone know how well the wireless buttkicker works?

 

[Robert_J]

Audition the Buttkicker first. I've "felt" similar models and they were distracting gimmicks to me. If you want a tactile sensation (aka bass you can feel) then get a big sub. At 10db below reference levels, I can shake the concrete foundation of my house.