Build me a home theater room for $3500 please. (1 Viewer)

I have never had a home theater room before. I have a room above my garage that i am transforming into a home theater for the kids. The room is in a half octagon shape. 12 x 24 with a 9 foot ceiling. I have a budget of 3500 to spend on this ( projector, av, speakers, screen, etc.) would like yalls expert opinions on what i should purchase. Thank you Jesse

I like DLP projectors and have an Optoma. For AVR, Yamaha, Denon or Marantz. For speakers, I went with Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2's with the Horizon center and a pair of Rhymik subwoofers. SVS is also worth a look, and you'll probably get lots of opinions on this, because speakers are very personal. My screen is a DALITE screen on it's own stand, so I can easily keep the front speakers a reasonable distance from the back wall. I plan to add room treatments, and will probably go with GIK acoustics. You'll hear a lot more talk about Audyssey and room correction software, but treatments can make a far more significant difference. Best of luck!

You need to provide a LOT more info. With your budget, I'd probably go with a DIY screen. You can always replace it down the road if you want.

Which projector technology?
Will it be mounted on ceiling or on a rear shelf?
Screen size(based on seating distance)?
Screen type(Pull-down, fixed, DIY)?
5.1 or 7.1 system?
Speaker type(Towers, bookshelf)?

At your budget you need to pick a screen size, then figure out where to put the projector.

If back wall, you will likely have exactly 1 projector that works. If ceiling mounted, where?

Under $1000 projectors have exact placement parameters. So, you aren't going to have "choices".

Ok guys i got some more info. i want a 7.1 system and i need like a 100" screen. im thinking i want some of the tower speakers that sit on the floor. im hearing good things about the epson projectors so i may want to go with one of those mounted on the ceiling. i dont care to watch movies in 3d. the screen will be covering up a window. the screen will sit on a wall that is 138" long and then the room goes back around 23 feet from there. rectangle shape. i live in the dfw area and theres companys that run ads on craigslist that offer home theater packages from 3000 to 6000. when i look up the products there gonna use in one of those packages they dont come to half the cost there asking for. hope this helps, thanks for looking

I recently bought an Epson Powerlite 8345. The specs were better than the $3k price I spent on my old Panasonic. My wife was amazed at the quality the first time she walked into the room. It has a great zoom and lens shift which makes placement less critical. I use a generic Premier Mount.


My screen is a DIY model measuring 103" diagonal. I think the cost of the parts is right around $100. It took a weekend to build and most of that was watching paint dry and stapling the fabric on the frame I built.


I also use DIY speakers and DIY subs.

If it's for your kids I'd suggest that a projector may not be the best solution. You can get a very good 65" 1080p LED-LCD for about $1200 or a 65" 4K LCD for around $2,000. You might even be able to fit a 70" in your budget.


For a receiver,http://www.accessories4less.com has a large selection of Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, etc. both refurbs and previous model years, for really fair prices. You could get a very good HT receiver with all the features you need, including networking and Bluetooth, for $500 or less.


For speakers, A4L has a Boston Acoustics 5 speaker package for $250 new, with free shipping. Toss in a a subwoofer and you could have a complete 5.1 HT system for about $3000 that would make any kids happy. You'll even have enough left to buy a new game console and some games to go with it.

I agree with Dan. I didn't see that it was for the kids. I would buy the largest flat panel that fits into the budget. Having a projector turned on and off throughout the day is very hard on the bulb, shortening it's life. Plus all the hours adding up on the bulb from video games, etc.