Setting up HT in bedroom, need suggestions (1 Viewer)

[Jeff*K]

Hi all, I'm not really into the whole HT thing like alot of you are. What I'm planning is to just have a nice little movie room in my bedroom and need honest suggestions/comments.

I recently bought a 27" Samsung Widescreen HDTV with a built in tuner (need comments). I am very high on this home theater system that I found on Circuit City http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/...Review.do#tabs because the 800W really caught my eye, especially for the price and being in a relativly normal sized bedroom, I'm expecting good quality. basically what I'm looking for is a nice little movie room in my bedroom with good sound and video quality. I will be watching the movie from about a 4 feet distance and my room design is sort of weird (my tv is right by the door so i need suggestions on where to set up the surround sound speakers)

Now that I've told you what I'm planning, I have a few questions for a guy who is completely new to HT...

1.) If I buy the samsung home theater system do I need to buy this wire to hook up the speakers? http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/...oductDetail.do
2.) Is my 27" Widescreen good enough for movie watching in a bedroom?
3.) What kind of sound quality can I expect from the home theater if I hook it up in my bedroom?
4.) Does the home theater system come with a DVD player? either way i'm planning on buying a new dvd player anyway

Sorry for the long and boring post but I am a total newb desperate for answers. Also please give my ANY type of suggestion for my bedroom theatre for me to have the best movie watching experience possible.

 

[Jeff*K]

From the home theater system that I'm interested in that I showed you here http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid...lReview.do#tabs is there anything else that I need to buy to watch a movie in surround sound? Do I need to buy like a channel amplifier? And are these Mounts right for the HT system? http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/...oductDetail.do

 

[Ray-M]

Hey there jeff,welcome to the board,and the wonderful world of home theater.I'll try and help you out with a few of your questions.
1.For your bedroom a 27" hdtv should be fine,especially since you said you'd be about four feet away.
2.You don't need to buy Monster brand speaker wire,any pure copper wire will suffice.With Monster,your basically paying for the name.
3.The home theater setup you chose does have a built in amp and dvd player.However I don't believe the dvd player has progressive scan.You want to make sure whatever dvd player you get has this,so you get full resolution out of your hdtv.
4. As far as the quality of that set up,I'm not sure maybe someone else will be able to fill you in on that.
5.If i was going the HTIB(home theater in a box) route I would probably recommend checking out the Onkyo set-ups,though they don't come with dvd players.The HTS-770
is one of the better HTIB set-ups.It's rated at 1000 watts,and is 6.1 Dolby and Dts.
I hope this helps you out a little.

 

[Jeff*K]

Hey thanks for the help, Ray. Well, I'm planning on buying mounts for my speakers (the home theatre set you showed me is great but i'm looking for something a little cheaper, after all its only a bedroom theatre) but since I also have to buy wires what is the best way to hook everything up?

And also, how would you think of me getting an HDMI Dvd Player? Is that too much for my TV?

 

[Ray-M]

No Problem.Yeah the set up was a bit more,but there is also the HTS-570 for about $250,although I understand if you wanted the smaller sized speaker to use with mounts.
As I said,just make sure you get a progressive scan dvd player no matter which set-up you choose.As far as wires,if you want to get something off of the shelf,go with AR's (acoustic research)They're avaialble at any Best Buy.I have some myself,and they are pretty good cables.Or,you could always order online at BlueJeanscable.com or Bettercables.com.As far as HDMI i don't think you'll be able to tell any difference between it and component cables on that size display.As far as hook up,it really depends if your going to get a seperate amp and dvd player,or the all-in-one style.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Guys, this is posted at the top of the Basics area thread-listing page:



Since you seem to be drifting into the HTiB area, asking for suggestions, this thread has been moved to A/V Sources. The Basics area is strictly for general discussion of home theater at the beginner level.

 

[Jeff*K]

Hey, is the subwoofer the big thing on the far left? I'm actually not sure because the Onkyo subwoofer looks alot different then the samsung ht-p38. Heres the link again http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/...Detail.do#tabs

Also, can someone explain to me what a subwoofer really does. I read it in the glossary but still need a more vivid description.

 

[Ray-M]

Hey Jeff.Yeah that's the sub on the far left.It basically handles the majority of the bass in the soundtrack,such as explosions etc.Whenever you see the term 5.1,6.1 etc,the .1 refers to the sub,which is a channel dedicated strictly for low frequencies.The better the sub,the more you can get your room to shake.

 

[Jeff*K]

Do you know what the Wattage is on the Samsung HT-P38? I looked in specs but its not there.

Do you think the sub is decent?

 

[Ray-M]

The sub is a 130 watt sub,but it's only a 6.5 inch driver.So,you may not be able to turn it too loud before it starts to distort the sound.You might also want to keep in mind that the Samsung set up only uses 1 full range driver per speaker.There are comparable set-ups with 2 way speakers and larger subs,which will improve the sound.

 

[Jeff*K]

Hmm, that brings up an interesting thought. What would you think about me getting this cheaper HT with a 220 Subwoofer? Is that pretty good? http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/...cation.do#tabs

I see it's only 600Watts but it only is a bedroom. Does the amount of Watts determin how good the sound is?

 

[Ray-M]

No,wattage isn't the only determining factor in how a set-up will sound,although it is important how clean the power is.Don't be fooled by what companies claim the power rating is.That is the max.power numbers,which you'll never use and the system is probably incapable of producing (any system).That wattage only determines how much power a speaker is capable of handling.Sound quality is determined by numerous factors,like what type of material the speakers made of,quality of the speaker housing,acoustics in a room etc.

 

[Jeff*K]

Well I know the HT-P38 isn't perfect, I know its got powerful speakers and a pretty decent sub and some other plus are the holes in the back so I can screw them to the wall and not have to waste $60 on mounts and it's also got a dimmer so I can dim down the light on the system. So bottom line, do you think it will be a good buy for me because I'm ready to buy my HT this weekend. Basically I just want a nice durable system, capable of giving me theatre like sound in my relatively midsized bedroom.

 

[Ray-M]

If it seems to have a number of the features that you are looking for,go ahead and pick one up.It sounds like you pretty much know what your getting into.Hope you enjoy.

 

[Jeff*K]

I like the features but to me, they're all extras... all I really care about is the sound quality. From looking at the specs, do you think it can deliver theater like sound in my bedroom?

 

[Ray-M]

Now just my personal opinion here,but i'd go with the Onkyo set-up personally(HTS-570).They have a great track record,and have good quality products.It also has two way speakers,and an 8 in. sub.It doesn't have a built in dvd player though like the Samsung,But I believe you said you were going to get a new one anyway.That just my two cents.

 

[Jeff*K]

But isn't that more of the living room HT? I mean I heard the speakers are huge so honestly, there would be no room to put them anywhere. All I'd like to know is if I would get good quality for my dollar on the HT-P38.

 

[Ray-M]

I see what your saying.I guess in the price range your trying to stay in,there's not a whole lot of options.I've never personally heard the Samsung,so I can't vouch for it.But, I'm sure all of the comparably priced sets won't sound much different from one another.