Trying to put together a decent HT system... (1 Viewer)

[JohnBinuchi]

Hi all,
I don't mean to sound lazy, and I'm sure this question has been covered before...thanks for not blasting me...it is my first post and I'm learning as I go. Here is what I'm looking at...
1). Samsung 50" HD DLP HLN5065W
2). Onkyo TX-DS989ver2
3). Onkyo DV-CP701
4). Axiom Epic 80
I'll be buying a house soon and I would like to have this system in place before settlement, as more then likely I won't be able to afford it after I move in...(lol). I would like to have this system in place and be able to enjoy it for some years to come. I've read some articles and posts here and am not impressed with the 3000 hour life expectance of the bulb on the HLN5065W. I would like this system to be the main viewing system of the family, much like the dinner table. I guess a good analogy would be, that I would like a formal dining room set used as an everyday kitchen set... is this possible? I'm having a hard time justifing the investment for only 2-3 hours a day usage. I would like this system to be considered the "Family Room"...Am I asking to much? This is a great site and if ever there was a site that accomodates newbies, this is it...
Also, If you're going to Boston, why stop at New York...what speaker systems out there offer 7.1 that are worth the investment. I mean, if I'm gonna use a receiver that is capable of 7.1 why not take advantage of it? Where are the best places to shop for my buying concerns? Thanks in advance for all those who respond...

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

John,

Welcome to the Forum!

I expect no one has responded because they’re not sure what you’re getting at. For instance my first thoughts were, “Well, if you’ve figured out the Hitachi doesn’t meet your needs, then why is it still at the top of your list?”

The fact is, no big-screen display that I’m aware of has the life expectancy of a standard CRT television. If you intend to reliably operate your TV eight-hours a day year after year, then that’s probably your best bet. Anything else is going to require maintenance (some of you more knowledgeable about displays, please correct me if I’m wrong here).

I believe the next-most durable long-term would be a rear projection TV.

The various types of front projectors require maintenance, too. LCDs require bulbs periodically; CRTs require re-alignment.

A local HT buff I know recently bought the Hitachi over a plasma display after much consideration. He found plasma’s half-life unacceptable for the price – i.e., they burn down and then you throw them away. He picked the Hitachi because the bulb only costs around $250 and can be easily replaced by the user. If your 3000 hour figure is correct, John, the bulb would last you a little over a year of you average eight-hour a day usage.

Thus, you will have to base your final display decision on what is acceptable to your needs and expectations.

Regarding speakers, the only thing that matters is if the performance they offer is worth the price you are willing to pay. As far as I know, there are very few pre-packaged 7.1 systems; you’ll probably have to get a 5.1 and then add two additional speakers.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[ChrisLazarko]

I agree exactly with what Wayne says. The 3000 hour life is not something everyone wants especially with the bulb being a nice little extra penny. I would have to say then just go for a rear-projection CRT and you will be best off with about a 50,000 hour life on it but of course it will slowly dim and need re-alignment as it gets older and older.

As for speakers, best bet is to probably to just go to the store and take a listen to them all. Give all the speakers a listen then look at the size of your room. 7.1 is usually too much for most rooms as it just doesn't make sense at all and your just squeezing extra speakers in there that will make no difference unless you have a huge room... say 20x20 or more.

Take a listen to different components and perhaps get someone to help you out with everything as well at the store and then make your final decision.

 

[JohnBinuchi]

Wayne,
Thanks for the input...I'm not sure what made you think the Hitachi wasn't at the top of my list...is this some sort of test(which Hitachi?) LOL! I guess I failed huh? Anyway, I was checking out some HD displays at..."EEK", BB...(Lord Help Me), and from what I saw, The Sammy was superior to everything else there, I'm under the impression that DLP is more than likely going to be the way to go in the future, however, from what I've read, I'd be better off waiting about a year for the tech to mature. Also, I did like the Plasma displays...all $5200 dollars worth of them!! But as Chris was saying, Plasma HD's are kind of like a desposable lighter...ya chuck it after it starts to go, this isn't an option...I'm not an electronic illiterate and calibrating bulbs and sound systems doesn't sound extremely difficult, I guess what I'm asking is what is the best investment for a WS HD display that can act as a focal point for everyday veiwing(is there such an animal?) Obviously, this sounds like a rich mans or womans sport...throw away a plasma after it dims? What's up with that?
Chris, how do I listen to the Axiom Epic 80 system? I haven't listened to many systems, bose,klipsch,jbl are about the extent of my HT sound listening, is there somewhere in the Garden State that you can refer me to?
What about piping my dvd feed through my pc to my receiver/ HD display? Will I get better video quality using my ATI 9800?

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Actually John your in lucky. I don't know where you live but there is a little place in Denville called SOUNDCITY. There website of course, www.soundcity.com is a place to look for some things they offer. They are off of route46 and they are a nice store not to mention you can bargain them down a little bit.

As for speakers, they don't have Axiom there but I like Klipsch very much. For Home Theater I don't think you get much better. Very strong vocals and the speakers are so efficient it takes very little power to drive them. So for Home Theater my vote goes to Klipsch. I believe SoundCity has somewhere from about 20 different companies of speakers. Whatever you do, stay AWAY from Bose.

Also, for a TV... I would recommend a Mitsubishi CRT, I think they are some of the best made... I acutally own 3 of them that are working right now, just threw an older one out. Definantly look at Mitsubishi, soundcity also offers alot of TV's so def. take a look there.

Another thing is that if you hook your video card up to your TV the display will be nice but not optimal. I would stick to just a plain DVD player... i've already tried the whole TV thing... it's only good for playing games, that's about it.

I hope this helps in your decision, as for a reciever for your system, Harman/Kardon is the way to go. Talk to this guy Mike at soundcity, great salesman and very knowledgable. I got my HK AVR-225 from him for $400, retail was like $475 there or something and he knocked it down alot. So go listen to them, they are about the best you can do for the NJ area. They also do home installs if you don't want to do it yourself.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Hi John,

I guess what I'm asking is what is the best investment for a WS HD display that can act as a focal point for everyday veiwing(is there such an animal?)

I'll second Chris' recommendation that a rear projection CRT is your best bet all around for a large-screen display, both in price and longevity. However, the trade off is that picture probably won't be as good.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Well Wayne I think the thing with the Plasma's, LCD's, DLP's, so on and so forth are that they give a bit sharper of a picture but of course the noticeable difference will be somewhat minimal, and like you have said 3,000 hour bulb life isn't impressive. LCD's and dead pixels aren't very impressive, and Plasma's just dying is also not a great thing.

Stick with a rear-projection... I have looked at many of them and I have to say in terms of pictures quality, build qwuality, features. Samsung and Mitsubishi take my wins, they are two great companies that make some very nice TV's definantly look at them.

Soundcity should carry everything your looking for and they can tell you alot of stuff you want to know about everything.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Welcome, John.



If you were "lazy," you'd simply post something to the effect of "I have $xxxx to spend, what should I get? Here's what I want..."

If properly calibrated, you should get pretty long life out of either a CRT- or DLP-based RPTV. However, running eight hours a day, seven days a week is taxing on any type of display.

Don't know if it's in your budget or not, but, given your family's viewing habits it might be worthwhile to invest in the RPTV strictly for home-theater applications while getting a second, less expensive 27- to 32-inch direct-view set for daily television viewing.

Give it some thought, along with the fine advice you've already received.

 

[ChrisLazarko]

Jack, I think if he did that for his family they would just want movies all day instead of TV.

 

[JohnBinuchi]

Thanks everyone for the fine input....Sorry for the long delay in my response...work,baby,house hunting,honey-do list.....I think I'll wait a bit for the DLP tech to mature. I've read a few posts where some were experiencing a "rainbow" effect on their DLP and "clay" faces...I think I'll invest in a decent RPTV for now, I've done some more research and it seems the bulb life of the DLP is closer to 8000 hours, almost 3 times that of my original notion of a "3000 hour" life expectancy...BTW, what is the cost of the Samsung 50" DLP bulb? Any ideas? $200 to $300 bucks? Also, if any would be so kind as to suggest their thoughts on a decent RPTV, say of at least 50" capable of HD it would be greatly appreciated. I've noticed that RPTV's are considerably less in price then DLP's and plasma displays(and obviously so is the quality of the picture.) I've only been able to look at what Best Buys has to offer, I think I'll take a cruise up the pike to check out Sound City and a couple of other places just to see what some of the other manufactures displays look like. Thanks again for taking the time to post your thoughts and opinions!