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New to HT; What do you think about my setup? (1 Viewer)

tweber2

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Tim
I'm brand new to home theater. I've never even owned a surround sound system. We're in the middle of finishing our basement and we've dedicated some space and money for a basic home theater system. I was hoping to get some feedback on the different components I've purchased. I've got 30 days (more or less) to change my mind and make any exchanges. Here's what I've bought so far:

Panasonic 50" Plasma TV - Model TH-50PX60U ($1999 + Tax; no shipping)
Sanus VMAA26 Wall Mount ($282; no tax or shipping)
Onkyo Receiver - Model TX-SR674 ($550 + tax; no shipping)
Klipsch Quintet III Speakers ($249 + tax; no shipping)
Klipsch Synergy Sub 10" ($199 + tax; no shipping)
Oppo DVD Player - Model DV-970HD ($149; no tax or shipping)
Monster Power HTS 1000 MKII Power Center ($99; no tax or shipping)
Logitech Universal Remote - Model Harmony 880 ($153; no tax or shipping)

I'm planning on plugging the DVD player and cable box into the receiver with HDMI cables. I believe I can run one HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV. I don't think I will need to run separate audio cables. Can anyone comment? Will this be an easy system to setup and operate?

Anyways, spending more money isn't much of an option. I need the whole project to be under $4K. I've got a couple of hundred dollars left for cables right now. Am I missing anything obvious? I would have loved to go 1080P but that isn't really in the budget.

Please tell me what you think. ANY feedback would be appreciated. I know some of you guys are pros, so let me have it... Thanks a ton.
 

Jim Mcc

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My first thought is that's a small screen size. But I don't know what size the room will be, and what your seating distance will be from screen. Can you answer those 2 questions? Have you considered a front projector?
 

tweber2

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Dec 2, 2006
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Tim
I guess I should have been a bit more clear... The room is not solely for our home theater equipment. It is going to be a large family room. We're installing a fireplace and the TV must fit above the mantle. Because of the layout, I will need a wall mountable TV. Anything above 50" is kind of out of my price range.

I did consider a projector. I prefer a plasma and LCD TV(s) over the projectors because they seem brighter to me. Again, cost was an issue too. If I recall, HD projectors were pretty pricey. Even if I did go with a projector, the screen size would be limited because of the distance between the fireplace mantle and the ceiling.

We can sit as close or far away as we'd like. The room is pretty long but we'll probably use the back for a pool table or something.
 

Jim Mcc

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Your thoughts about projectors are wrong. But it doesn't matter because you can't use a larger screen anyway.
 

Stephen Hopkins

HW Reviewer
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It's a very trendy thing to do but I would not want to put a Plasma screen or any other piece of electronics over a fireplace. Even if properly vented they still let some smoke into the room (especially wood-burning fireplaces) and smoke is VERY bad for the internals of electronics (sutt deposits can short out pcbs and cause alot of damage). Most plasma screen manuals go as far as stating that the warranty will not be honored if the screen is placed over a fire-place. I've never heard of a warranty not being honored because of this but it is possible.
 

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