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Home Theater Setups?

illegalprelude

illegalprelude

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 10, 2005
1,583
121
Los Angeles, California
hey you guys,

I dunno if this forum has a place on it where people show their home theater setups or not (i know we got our crazy computer setups) or if anybody know some home theater website forums.

side note, check this http://gear.ign.com/articles/672/672754p1.html

im looking to move out of roomies soon and into with an old friend of mine and we wanna build a kick ass setup. im just trying to get some ideas.

also, if anybody knows a good site about projector info. all my searches have been so so. (also, i dont wanna spend more then a grand on a projector, i know not a whole lot but all i got for now :D )

but yea, my old setup was 52" Hitachi with Onkyo 602 reciever and only 6.1 surround.

so i know you can do that same thing with the way that projector is setup in the link, but now i wanna add some networking and computer and such to the whole scheme of things so looking for ideas, forums and etc.

woo. long post :cool:
 
Honestly, you won't get a good CRT projector for 1 k. I'd check out Runco projectors, though, best on the market.

Stay away from Bose. any yuppy will tell you how great Bose is, but it's not. anymore, every piece of equipment has to be Bose or the system will not work. The industry slogan is "no highs, no lows, it must be Bose."

I'd start looking at solutions from Kef, Yamaha, Pioneer. If you wanted to go REAL high end with speakers, you could go with Monitor Audio Speakers, or Krell or even Arial Acoustics (which I doubt you could afford at 50k for a 5.1 set).

For subwoofers I recommend Earthquakes. Sunfires are okay, but the Earthquakes have a bit more response. Any subwoofer you buy you should make sure it has a coaxial signal, because speaker wire isn't as good for a sub.

I've always liked Pioneer Receivers. They're not very expensive but they last a really long time, and come with tons of features (my last one has FOUR optical inputs, 1 output, component and s-video) and I got it for about 300 bucks.

Edit: Stay away from DLP, LCD projectors if you really care about your picture quality. CRT is the only way to go.
 
And, whatever you do, never buy cables (other than HDMI/likewise or speakerwire). systm.org have a great video tutorial on how to make your own
 
That Runco looks good....

What's the going rate for kidney? I hope it's about a quarter million. :)

I wouldn't say that the Bose necessarily sound bad, but they are outrageously priced for what you get.

Does anyone know if there's info online about how much the parts in various Bose components cost as opposed to their MSRP? Would be interesting methinks.

I'd suggest avsforum as a good place for discussion on these topics.
 
A couple good sites I have found for researching projectors are:
http://www.projectorcentral.com
and
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=14&f=9

There are some good projectors for $1000 or less. You just have to figure out if you want native widescreen, what resolution, how bright, etc...

I have an DLP projector in a pitch black basement room and hooked up with some component cables projecting on an 8 foot wide homemade screen it looks great. Because of it I've now been drafted to help a couple friends make projector rooms in their houses:)
 
yea i know the good old bose slogan :D tis why I own an Onkyo setup. As far as sound goes, im pretty happy with my setup. (well no longer setup and in a box but will be setup). Um as far as projectors go, believe me, I know there is a ton out there and im not going to get anything earth shattering for under a $1000 but thats just my price range. cause if im gonna spend more, im just gonna go all out and get the 50" or 60" XBR Grand Wega but I really would rather not spend that much money cause I just dont have it at the moment.

hehe yea, Believe me. I know cords made a huge diff. All me setup, from speaker wire to sub wire, optical out and components are all Monster. Makes a whirl of diff. too. :cool:

Some questions I got about projectors, ive read into them a tad but its not making a whole lot of sense.
Some are HDTV ready...what does that mean? I mean I only have digital cable anyways and no HD channels so if its not HDTV ready or what, no big deal right? Cause I mainly want it for movies and games.
2nd, how does the whole widescreen work. Do I have to look for one that is widescreen or most pretty much just support it?


also, how about throwing in networking and a computer to this mix. Im thinking of adding a Mac Mini to the setup. any cool ideas, suggestions and such?
 
illegalprelude said:
Some questions I got about projectors, ive read into them a tad but its not making a whole lot of sense.
Some are HDTV ready...what does that mean? I mean I only have digital cable anyways and no HD channels so if its not HDTV ready or what, no big deal right? Cause I mainly want it for movies and games.
Click to expand...

It means they have a resolution of 720p or 1080i while an HD receiver would still be required to get the HD signal. A little info on resolutions:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/choosing_resolution.htm


illegalprelude said:
2nd, how does the whole widescreen work. Do I have to look for one that is widescreen or most pretty much just support it?
Click to expand...
Some do widescreen some do 4:3 (TV). Mine is native 16:9 and when not watching something in widescreen the remote lets you switch between the 16:9 and 4:3. Watching 4:3 the left and the right of the screen aren't used because of the boxy image (opposite of watching a widescreen movie on a normal TV).

illegalprelude said:
also, how about throwing in networking and a computer to this mix. Im thinking of adding a Mac Mini to the setup. any cool ideas, suggestions and such?
Click to expand...
Most usually have at least a DVI connector (but check their specs to be sure), so it's as easy as finding a long enough cable (my projectors ceiling mounted) and hooking them together and setting your resolution to something the projector supports, Think of World of Warcraft on a 8ft by 4.5ft screen. :cool:
 
Well

In my set-up, I'm using a 60" samsung dlp display. It works great for the low light application. But for speakers, you should check out a company called velodyne. Very good quality, construction, and watt handling for the price. Or a more fine tuned company that offers in walls is triad. They make exceptional products, and the subs are house shaking. For a reciever, if you can affors, I'd look at the sony DA500ES. Ive got the 3000, but the 5000 has more watts, features and tuning. Juts a few thoughts:rolleyes:
 
There is the infocus X3 ive seen. only downfall is, i got a nice sets of high end monster component. ive got over a grand invested into cords and it burns me to not be able to use em. (ok weird, under circuit city site it says no compoent, under projector central, they say it does..)

Toshiba S20U is another unit. it has component thank god but for neither, are they listed as supporting widescreen. From projectorcentral, they both state Aspect Ratio: 4:3 (SVGA)

also, Toshiba T30
 
Could someone give me some advise on what 5.1 Surround Sound System I should buy. I made up my mind to get a Panasonic one, but I can no longer find it on amazon.com. The thing I liked about that one is the two speakers in the back plugged into a receiver int he back of the room, which then transmitted up to the front unit. Anyways, could someone give me some advice/suggestions.

Note: Sorry to be off topic, but I couldn't justify starting a new thread, when this thread was recently started.
 
Maybe PLV-Z2? About 2 years old, does HD if you ever need it and now about $999 (click on the "current dealer prices" links to get actual selling prices instead of the MSRP)

Or this one but it does not have a DVI port.

I have this one because I got a real good deal on it. The downside is it essentially has to be ceiling mounted and it doesn't natively do HD but does do a real good job scaling. I saved some money and built a ceiling mount myself, just had a hard time finding the screws to hold the projector in the mount. Had to go to a hobby shop to find the screws.
 
Motley said:
Maybe PLV-Z2? About 2 years old, does HD if you ever need it and now about $999 (click on the "current dealer prices" links to get actual selling prices instead of the MSRP)

Or this one but it does not have a DVI port.

I have this one because I got a real good deal on it. The downside is it essentially has to be ceiling mounted and it doesn't natively do HD but does do a real good job scaling. I saved some money and built a ceiling mount myself, just had a hard time finding the screws to hold the projector in the mount. Had to go to a hobby shop to find the screws.
Click to expand...


hhmm. I dont know much about sanyo...are they good? any reason why a no on the Toshiba or the infocus i posted links too? Also, how reliable are those links they have posted for the online stores carrying that sanyo...ive never heard of em, would hate to get screwed.


macbaseball said:
Could someone give me some advise on what 5.1 Surround Sound System I should buy. I made up my mind to get a Panasonic one, but I can no longer find it on amazon.com. The thing I liked about that one is the two speakers in the back plugged into a receiver int he back of the room, which then transmitted up to the front unit. Anyways, could someone give me some advice/suggestions.

Note: Sorry to be off topic, but I couldn't justify starting a new thread, when this thread was recently started.
Click to expand...


as far as surround sound goes, are u looking for a 5.1 in a box setup? if so, the Panasonic is good. nothing earth shattering but their not bad either. It just depends. do you want to upgrade later and so forth? because alot of the home theaters in a box units, are limited. you cannot upgrade the speakers, the reciever might have limited inputs and outputs on the back and such problems. but if you just want a good sound system and not big and freaky into the stuff, they will do just fine
 
Well ive got the best stuff
for my bedroom, G4 powermac (for dvd) and some h/k soundsticks, and a 15" crt yea

for the living room
we've got a 13" sony color tv form the late 70's (built in sound)

I have nothing in way in entertainment system
evently i'll break down an buy a 42" plasma for the living room
and a good digital porjector for my room

But for now you can all laugh at my current entertainment systems
 
illegalprelude said:
as far as surround sound goes, are u looking for a 5.1 in a box setup? if so, the Panasonic is good. nothing earth shattering but their not bad either. It just depends. do you want to upgrade later and so forth? because alot of the home theaters in a box units, are limited. you cannot upgrade the speakers, the reciever might have limited inputs and outputs on the back and such problems. but if you just want a good sound system and not big and freaky into the stuff, they will do just fine
Click to expand...

I don't especially want to upgrade in the future. The only requirement that I decided upon is that it must have wireless rear speakers, as I don't especially want to run wires through an exterior wall, under the house, and back up through new wood floors. but I'm having a problem coming up with an affordable one. Can anyone help me out?
 
macbaseball said:
I don't especially want to upgrade in the future. The only requirement that I decided upon is that it must have wireless rear speakers, as I don't especially want to run wires through an exterior wall, under the house, and back up through new wood floors. but I'm having a problem coming up with an affordable one. Can anyone help me out?
Click to expand...
you could somehow attach the wires to your molding (assuming you have some)
 
doucy2 said:
you could somehow attach the wires to your molding (assuming you have some)
Click to expand...

That's actually a very good idea. I read this site, which has caused me to second guess getting wireless rear speakers.

Edit: Thanks for the great idea. You jsut saved me a ton of money/sound quality.
 
I actually despise Monster Cable. I like my good old generic 14 gauge speakerwire. Unfortunately, if you live in an apartment running wires can be a big pain. If that's the case I'd suggest running ONE 14 gauge, 4 conductor wire to the rears. This one jacket holds two pair of wires. Red, Black, Green, and White. White and Red would be positives, Black and Green negatives, and so you'd hook the red and black to one speaker, white and green to the other.

I haven't been in the high end market for years when I used to install custom home theaters (about 400k and up). So it's hard for me to tell who's out there anymore.

IF you want a really good AMP I'd go either for Sherwood or McIntosh (If you ahve 8 grand to spend, heh)
 
I second getting a Onkyo receiver or even one of their surround sound in a box setups. Highly recommended to me by many, and from the ones I experienced, I recommend them, too.

I also am a fan of Yamaha receivers and JBL or Klipsch speakers.

Anyways, I hope to see more posts on home theater setups. Definitely appears to be latest tech craze, and I always look in awe of people with their HD projectors with 7.1 surround systems with the latest and greatest video game consoles and DVD players with libraries and libraries of DVD's and video games. *drools*
 
Oh and for hiding wires, I know people that pull up the carpet or flooring and place the wires below. Not sure if the cables will break or not, but that's a plan, I guess...

The other solution is getting labels and lots of twisty ties or other tying mechanisms for cable organizing.

There also was some sort of like molding that you can add to the corners and edges of the top part of your wall where you run the wires behind it making the wires disappear. Anybody know what I'm talking about?
 
applekid said:
Oh and for hiding wires, I know people that pull up the carpet or flooring and place the wires below. Not sure if the cables will break or not, but that's a plan, I guess...

The other solution is getting labels and lots of twisty ties or other tying mechanisms for cable organizing.

There also was some sort of like molding that you can add to the corners and edges of the top part of your wall where you run the wires behind it making the wires disappear. Anybody know what I'm talking about?
Click to expand...

hah yea, at my apt. right now, its thw twisty game but back at my parents house, carpets went up. its the best way to look clean and it dosent hurt ur cables or anything else.
 
Due to a broken pipe a few years back, I was forced to do a bit of remodeling. I ran a set of speaker wire under the carpeting pad (put a thin plastic strip over wires to protect them) and had my carpenter router out a channel in all the molding around the living room. You'd be hard pressed to see a single wire anywhere in the room unless you look behind my wall unit.
 
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