Lost in HT World (1 Viewer)

[DennisW]

Like the heading says, this is the place for newbies to HT -- I'm one and totally confused.

We have a 12X12 room, carpeted floor & sliding glass door. I've installed speaker wire in the wall with banana jacks at the four corners @ 7 feet high.

The system will be install at the corner with the glass door alongside.

We are starting at ZERO -- new TV, receiver, DVD & speakers. Since we're just finishing construction, our budget's more than a bit stretched.

There are two teens in the house, so format flexibility in the audio playback (CD-R & MP3) is pretty important. Durability to handle a 16-year-old boy's thumpa-thumpa bass is pretty important.

We are not audiophiles but know good sound when we hear it.

As for the TV, our son was rapt by the Sony KV-36FV26. Good price for the size but is a 36" the right size for a 12X12 room with seating about7 feet away from the screen.

Many thanks to forums memebrs for any and all thoughts.

 

[Ted Lee]

hi dennis! welcome to htf!
it looks like you're starting from scratch? that must be totally exciting!
since you're looking for all the components, i recommend you post your specific component questions in the appropriate forum (speakers, receivers, dvd players, tv, etc). that way, you can really gear your questions!
here's a good starter thread you can read:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=40795
hope that helps. if you have any other questions...just ask!

 

[Gary Thomas]

The 36" tv should be a good choice for you for a few reasons:

1. Seating distance: I've heard of sitting no more than 3x the diagonal or 4x the screen height. So 7-8 feet w/ a 36" tv should be good for you.

2. A direct view tv would be preferable to a rear projection since you will be placing it next to a sliding glass door. A rear projection tv is much more sensitive to the amount of light in the room.

3. I'm not a big fan of the Sony, even though I've owned 2 of them at one time. The current crop of flat screen Sony's seem to display a lot of scan lines. Plus you pay a premium for the Sony. I'd take a look at a Panasonic flat screen or a Toshiba 36". I'd definately get a HD capable tv for your DVD viewing. The tv is the center of your room, so I'd start with a major investment here, then upgrade your sound as you go.

Good luck!

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Dennis. Welcome to HTF!
I see some real problems from the start:
Room Dimensions: A given wall will reflect a frequency better than others. You want to really avoid lots of sound in rooms with equal dimensions. For a 12 foot wall, the frequencies to worry about are:
565/12 ft = 47 hz, and 94, 141, 188, 235, 282 (we can generally ignore frequencies above 300 hz).
Now that is for one 12 foot wall. With your room, you will have 4 walls all reflecting those frequencies. It will tend to be very boomy because of the 4-fold reflections.
(Note: if a 12 foot wall is broken up by doors/windows/wall units, etc, it can reduce the effect.)
You might want to budget $140 for a device called a Bhering Feedback Destroyer. This device plugs into the cable going to your sub and allows you to trim down some very specific frequencies to reduce the "boom".
Check the main & advanced fourms for more info.
System will be installed in a corner, glass doors to the side: Uhhhh this is going to be very bad.
First, you should try to make the window-covering completly light-blocking, or the TV will not be useable during daylight hours.
The other problem is where are you going to put the L/R speaker? In the middle of the sliding glass door? Not only is a high-traffic area bad for the speaker, but speakers reflect a LOT of sound out the back end. This will make one speaker reflect off of the sliding glass door, the other off of a wall. You are going to have a hard time getting a balanced sound.
Can you locate in the middle of a wall instead?

 

[Ron-P]

Welcome aboard Dennis.
As for your TV. I had a 35" Sony in my HT. It was small at 6' during DVD playback due to the Aspect Ratios of films and black bars. I now have a 46" Mits WS TV and 6' is perfect for my front row. The back row sits at 9' which is also decent. When I was looking for my new TV, I brought along a tape measure. I measured off my seating distances, used a chair and sat. That way I ended up the right size TV. You should do the same.
Also consider what you will be viewing most, 4:3 material or DVDs/LDs with an average of 1.85:1 or 2.35:1.
Go to your local A/V shops; ask, listen and look. Your own ears and eyes will be the best judge of what you want.
Also, if you are finishing up on construction, is it too late to install a few dedicated electrial lines so you can isolate your equipment.
Have fun
Peace Out~

 

[DennisW]

Home Theater Forum members deserve special thanks for the help they've given to this wayward passenger.
I wish I'd knwon about this forum long before I'd started, I would have been able to follow your guidance toward a better-designed system (Ron, sadly, the walls are closed).
I've ordered the big-honkin' Toshiba 36HFX71 (from Link Removed) (special thanks to Gary and Lee for your guidance) and am on temporary hold about the DVD and sound system.
Here goes...
I'm leaning toward the Panasonic HT system (I know, I know -- this'll drive some of ya'll crazy) SCHT 290, to complete the system.
It's the lazy, or crazy, man's shortcut.
Hey, the big picture is the big picture with teenagers(and this Toshiba should do it), so long as it has a big bass (which this should have), they're happy. And, the budget's run dry.
I should be more patient and wait this out but we've been under construction and it hasn't been easy. Its sad to see the audio/video potion out, especially since I've been an A/V guy of sorts in parts over many years.
But, wait...
Since this is on hold, I'm happy to hear what you have to say, especially within the $520 Panasonic SCHT290 budget.
Mny thanks to all of you for your most helpful comments. I definitely will steer future seekers your way.
Again, many thanks to forum members for your guidance.
Cheers!
Dennis
P.S. - Bob, we can at least put up big curtains over the glass doors. That's a done deal - thanks!