System for under $3000 (1 Viewer)

[kemmer]

Looking to make a decent "theater" for under $3000. Things id like to have

60" LCD TV
Surround sound system

and what ever else you guys recommend.

if you could give me some good recommendations for tvs and basically home theaters in a box that would be great.

Thanks

 

[hodedofome]

You won't be able to find a 60" lcd for less than $3000. You could maybe find a plasma for that price, however it won't be easy.

 

[David Willow]

With the 60" LCD, you won't have much left for the sound. I suggest a smaller screen and get a real sound setup (not HTiB).

How big is the room you will put this in?

 

[David Willow]

How about this:

Samsung 52" LCD for $1800
Onkyo 606 for $350
SVS speaker package for $1000

Do you need a DVD or Blu-Ray? Panasonic BD35 can be found for $200 or so.

 

[Kevin Stewart]

Why LCD?

You can get a 60" Mits rear projection DLP for under $1500.

 

[kemmer]

i realized that today while looking at prices. So lets do between 50-60" in LCD or plasma.

The room is about 18x22 with an angle ceiling
like this
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| |
|______|

and will probably invest in a blue ray player

 

[hodedofome]

What David suggested is a pretty good system. You'll get tons of opinions on it so ultimately you'll have to decide for yourself. I do agree on the blu-ray player, shop around and you can find a BD35 for $200. I got mine from Amazon with 6 free blu-ray movies for $210. My 'opinion' is that I prefer plasma over LCD. Only buy a Panasonic or Pioneer for plasma, no other brand.

If you spend too much of your budget on the tv and only have say 500-700 to spend on audio and blu-ray, this is the only system you need to look at:
Onkyo | HT-S5100B 7.1-Channel Home Theater System | HT-S5100B

You won't get the HD audio from blu-ray with the receiver but that's the way it goes, it's the best home theater in a box for sure. Speakers are big but trying to get good sound from small speakers will be expensive.

This will be the best home theater in a box you can buy:
Amazon.com: Onkyo HT-S9100THX 7.1 Channel Receiver and Speaker Package: Electronics

Once again if you are a great shopper you could find a better system but it will be hard for under $1000 for the receiver (with blu-ray HD audio) and speakers including a good sub. I did speakers, sub, receiver and blu-ray player for $1000 but I am a great shopper and did it over 2 years.

If you shop around and find the Panasonic 50" 720p plasmas for $900 then you have $2k to spend on audio and it opens up all sorts of audio options.

 

[kemmer]

thanks,

should i be looking for a 1080 tv or should i drop down to 720.

also what should i be looking for in a good sound system? as far as receiver options go, speakers....etc.

 

[kemmer]

what type of features should i look for in a tv and sound system? i was thinking lcd instead of rear projection because i want it flat and mounted on the wall

 

[Kevin Stewart]

Well, a couple of things to think about. That's a big room. Why do you want to mount the TV on the wall? There's no benefit to doing that unless you need the space (and you don't). Too often, people sacrifice sound for video and I think that's what you'll be doing. Yes, you can get a great 50" display for under $3000, but then you'll have to rely on a HTIB to fill an 18'X22' room. Can't be done. In terms of the subwoofer alone, you'll need a good 12" sub for that space. That alone can cost you $500 - $750.

Last year, I wanted one of Mitsubishi's new Laser TV's when they came out, so to tide me over I bought a 65" Toshiba rear projection TV for $1200. Guess what? I love it and no longer have any interest in upgrading it. Doing something like that would allow you to spend $1500 - $1800 on audio. You could get a good sub ($500), a good receiver ($600), and some decent speakers ($600).

You won't be able to mount it on the wall, but it'll still give a very good picture.

You also need to keep your seating distance in mind. If you end up going with a 50" Plasma or LCD, you'll need to be sitting 7' or closer in order to take advantage of 1080p. You'll need to be sitting 10' or closer just to take advantage of 720p.

Going up to a 65" display (or even a 73" Mits if you really want to go big) allows for a lot more seating leeway.

 

[kemmer]

any downfalls of the DLP

 

[Kevin Stewart]

The Pros and Cons of Plasma, LCD and DLP

Pros and Cons of a DLP Rear Projection HDTV - Associated Content