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Yeah, sure I'm a cigar geek, but what about home theater?

Gonz

Gonz

Ultra Runner
Joined
Mar 18, 2005
Messages
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Location
St. Paul
I'm going to be starting on a home theater project in the next year or so, and I wanted to solicit any opinions on home theater forums similar to this one. I know very little about home theater, besides what I want.

I've got a dedicated room for it, insulated from the rest of the house, and no windows! It's a cold storage space in the attic, that's framed out like a room but not finished or insulated. So essentially I'm starting from scratch with a 15ft by 20ft room.

I want to start early and start researching it now.


And what I'm looking for is something a little better than a Best Buy package, but not a $100,000 package!

Thanks!
 
Thats awesome bro!
I would LOVE to have a dedicated room, but I need to buy a bigger home first!!! :blush:

I spend a litle time here.

There is TONS of info, and some really amazing rooms people have done!!! When it comes to Home Theater... you can't do ENOUGH research bro!!!

Have fun, and keep us updated as go!!!
 
Read read read! Decide what your budget is and then realize you'll spend at least 25% more. There are a number of good forums out there. AVS, Home Theater Spot, HTOC and more. As a certified HT geek, one with the big $$ system, I can say you have to have a good idea of what you want before you start spending the cash. Sometimes Circuit City or Best Buy are not the best places to get info or to buy.

PM me with questions if you want.
 
AVB said:
Read read read! Decide what your budget is and then realize you'll spend at least 25% more. There are a number of good forums out there. AVS, Home Theater Spot, HTOC and more. As a certified HT geek, one with the big $$ system, I can say you have to have a good idea of what you want before you start spending the cash. Sometimes Circuit City or Best Buy are not the best places to get info or to buy.

PM me with questions if you want.
Click to expand...

Well said AVB!
Those would be the LAST places you'd want to go for advice OR deals!!!
 
I've got a theater room - not professional by any means or what you would see in a magazine, but it works for me. :)

Although I didn't buy everything together (did it over time) I probably put in about $7,000 (inluding the projector, 120" screen, speakers, sub, and audio equipment). This room is actually my theater/smoking room since this is the one room that my wife doesn't mind me lighting up a cigar.
 
Maybe a little off topic, but the best source of information on DVD's and file formats, etc. I've ever found are these guys. If you want to rip / edit your DVD's and really want to know the "nuts and bolts" of the file system and media types, these guys are a wealth of info.

I did high end home and pro audio systems for a living years ago, but am well out of the loop with what's current. I've got 25 year old McIntosh audio stuff and some Boston Acoustics speakers that seem to pair well with the new 56" DLP we just bought.... :cool:

Read, read, read, and read some more...!! And - have fun.

Cheers - B.B.S.
 
Thanks for the info! One of the big things I'm wondering is what the middle ground is between what the jokers at Circuit City and Best Buy sell, and what you find at the high end stores.

I'll check out those forums and see what I can find.
 
Things to consider:
1) running all your wires to speaker locations under and coax inside wall before finishing
2) HD, so you will need the satelite compatibility (dish and receiver) and of course, screen
3) insulation and tiles (take a look at the theatres at malls, they spend alot of money designing the small rooms for alot of noise buffering (like those angled pieces on walls)
4) i would use a surge suppressor too, to protect your investment
5) make sure you have coaxial audio output from the surround system receiver. i believe the dolby 6.3 is now out, i have a simple home theatre and had this problem getting true 5.1 dolby using RCA plugs

hope this helps :)
 
Here is a pic of my theater room. The pic makes it look a little smaller than what it really is, but it is cozy - which is why I love it. When I watch boxing or football, the guys are bigger than life. :laugh:


DSCN1038.jpg
 
Read up: http://www.avscience.com/ -- read the forums, some exceedingly good info.

The new Sony Pearl is one kick-ass new projector... beyond that's it's just a nice screen, a reasonable surround sound system, seating, and any other frills you might want.
 
Gonz, I can't speak for the video part of it as that's quite a bit of personal opinion as with anything else, but a guy I know has a Bose audio set-up and if I could afford it, I probably wouldn't even look at something else.

I know it has a bunch to do with room accoustics and such, but it is the most awesome system "BY FAR" I've ever heard.

Just my $0.02 worth
 
spend lots of time doing searches and reading all the info you can find over at avsforum.com. I built mine with the knowledge I got there and it is great. Just like everything like that is free you need to hang out and figure who is full of bs and who knows what there talking about. have fun
 
Newfie said:
Gonz, I can't speak for the video part of it as that's quite a bit of personal opinion as with anything else, but a guy I know has a Bose audio set-up and if I could afford it, I probably wouldn't even look at something else.

I know it has a bunch to do with room accoustics and such, but it is the most awesome system "BY FAR" I've ever heard.

Just my $0.02 worth
Click to expand...
BOSE, better sound through marketing....better stuff out there for less money.
 
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