Ultramans' home theatre of the future

[ultraman352]

Okay so i don't actually own any of this, but this is the system i am planning on saving up for (or future upgrades) ((if this is supposed to be in a different thread, or if someone can move it so people can give me advice it would be appreciated)
i am trying to build the best home theatre system i can for 10000
i am thinking
Sony VPL 50 ES 4000$

Oppo BD103 500$

Denon 2312CI 400$ at frys
http://usa.denon.com/Assets/Images/p...312CIBK_E3.png
Klipsch 7.1 Sound System 2944

Comes with (2) RF-62 II Floorstanding Speakers
(1) RC-62 II Center Channel Speaker
(2) RS-52 II Surround Speakers
(1) SW-110 Subwoofer
Klipsch RB-61 II Reference Series Bookshelf Speaker - pair (Black)

I am hoping i will not need to upgrade speakers for a VERY long time

I'm thinking further down the line maybe get a second Subwoofer maybey a BIC America F12 12-Inch 475-Watt Front Firing Powered Subwoofer 200$
475Watt Peak 150 Watt Rms Frequency Response: 25Hz - 200Hz (not sure on this one)
Logitech Harmony® One Advanced Universal Remote 135


Now things i am not sure of

1. Calibration
2. Screens
3. furniture
4. sound proofing

Screens, i know everyone says get a firehawk, but those are pricey,
i am looking at the Elite Screens R120WH1 120-Inch 16:9 AR ezFrame Fixed Projection Screen - CineWhite 485.
Furniture, i am not sure if i NEED dedicated home theatre furniture, i just want something nice and comfy,
soundproofing, i just want to know an average cost i can expect, ( i don't know room dimensions)

also if anyone knows the wires i will need or anything else i missed let me know,

HDMI's are like 6$ at amazon

also i want if possible to be able to dim the lights with a dimmer switch or the remote
and if the room has windows, i need some nice curtains

Just fyi , i am only 19 so i have plenty of time to wait

[ultraman352]

bump, come on people help a brother out

[4Dblu]

hey, thats some really nice stuffi'll work on gettin a house first cause u r thinkin' of some good solid items to buy & havin' a house first is a good start. that way u know where & wha ur room would b like.

to me i really don't care if my sound travels so i'm not really into soundproofin'. but if thats ur bag u can go to Home Depot or Lowes to get sound proof dry wall. dimmer switches same place, they also hav remotes to dim lights & close curtains as well.

far as wires, i use 1/4in (quater inch) cables the same ones they use in the disco clubs. i use these cause they r sheilded & the signal stay strong thoughout.

hope this helps u and good luck & hope u get what u want cause i know u will b happy

[roar]

You're 19 so these are all great things to strive for, but when do you think you may buy your first piece? Do you have a room to hold all this? Things change way to fast if you aren't buying any of these pieces in the next 6 months for people to really comment.

So let's put it this way... which component do you plan on purchasing in the next 6 months? Let's focus on one piece at a time, then you may get more action.

[ultraman352]

honestly i am not planning on buying anything for at least a year or 2, just so i can get a real job (when i graduate) and save some money for other important things.

my thoughts with commitment on this stuff, is based on Moore's law, that technology will get nicer at aproximatley the same price, or the really nice stuff we already have will be cheaper
To be honest with components this nice, i think it is something to buy when i finally own a house, the reason i picked most of my stuff is so i can resist the temptation of the inevitable upgrade bug, the only thing i would upgrade would possibly be a second sub,

but this is a hobby, so i have to have priorities straight

right now i am operating off a samsung HTIB which is decent for 200$ and it will do for college, but i like to have a goal to look forward too

ALSO THANK YOU ALL FOR REPLYING YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME

[Flatnate]

I remember when I was in college back in 2001 and the home theater bug caught me bad man! Your idea of "Moores law" really hit me harder than I thought it would coming out a few years later!

I remember back then wanting a projector... I was waaay ahead of the most folks at that time. I had seen a Sony G90 CRT projector at an art exhibit and my socks were knocked off. I had no idea how ugly the LCD machines of the time were in comparison. Most guys thought I was out of my mind. I remember foaming over a Vidikron Vision One CRT front projector with line doubler. DVD, laserdisc were about it. The thing retailed for 50 grand. I thought "there is no way I'll ever own a projector that can hold its own against that, and its just too much money". Then wham LCD made huge strides, LCOS projectors came out. The Vision One was a dinosaur inside of nearly five years. Same thing will happen by the time your ready to pull the trigger. We will have 4K, lampless models with laser light engines.

What didn't become immediately obsolete over that time? My speakers. Invest in solid speakers now, you can upgrade display devices. Recievers with new processing etc... but a good set of speakers will hold their own against a sea of upgrades. I'd even buy two high quality towers and go two channel before purchasing a mediocre 5.1 system in the short term. Check out Goldenear speakers for instance. Company was started by the guy who started both Polk Audio and Definitive Technology. Also, don't shy away from sites like Audiogon which have classified ads from guys pushing out their used stuff as they get "upgraditis". My entire system consists of mainly open box, close-out B stock, and second hand stuff.

[ultraman352]

Love the reply. I completely agree about the speakers, I got my current speakers for 200 on Black Friday. So I think I got my money's worth. I am considering getting the Andrew jones speakers but at the sane point I feel by the time I can afford it it would be smarter to save for the klipsch, also with the receiver do you think it wise to get the speakers first and then a reciever (one is useless without the other) also do you think I would be able to get a better deal on the speakers in a bundle or getting them slowly used or on sale,


Also maybe by the time I can afford to blow 4000 on a projector I will be able to get 4k lol

[Flatnate]

Bundles from any box store are usually not the way to go. They just usually aren't the same caliber of product you get as when you buy seperately. However, if you are looking at package deals then I would check out internet direct seller/speaker manufacturer HSU inc. http://www.hsuresearch.com/.
They make speakers that are very similar to the horn loaded Klipsch stuff that your looking at, highly rated and a great value. They also make some of the best subwoofers out there. The other one to maybe look at is RSL Speakers http://rslspeakers.com/.
No slam to Klipsch, but both have been rated highly and are probably a better bang for your buck than the Klipsch stuff at box store prices. I'd be asking myself "do I want two high end speakers in the short term" or "do I save up for a descent mid-range package for surround sound". From there yeah you need a solid receiver, the trick is getting in to one with enough power to run the speakers you want to run eventually (as you really can't have too much power reserve, even at low levels that will just translate in to better headroom). Personally I would buy a receiver with a high amount of power output and the best two speakers I can manage in my budget. Then add surrounds and center, and sub later. This is all a matter of opinion and taste though.

[ultraman352]

what wattage do you recommend? i am looking for recievers to be 500 or less, frys has some really good deals, the denon 2312 for 399 vs MSRP 849

also the bundle thing is on amazon
the bundle is for 3000, but individual it is 3320

my main draw to the klipsch is those rear speakers + everyone i talk to says they are excellent for movies (99% of my use)

my goal is a 7.1 system for movies (maybe 7.2?) i LOVE floorstanding speakers (at least the look, haven't had a lot of time to try a lot of speakers, but heard the klipsch versus the polk and prefered klipsch)

heard great things on HSU subwoofers
i am going to save my money for a nice system, but everyone's input does help me make the best decision



my main goal is quality, will bookshelfs give me better quality than floorstanding?

[ultraman352]

with speakers is there a way to bring them to your house and try them and if you don't like it return it?

[Flatnate]

Originally Posted by ultraman352

with speakers is there a way to bring them to your house and try them and if you don't like it return it?

I actually have read (can't verify this) that Goldenear dealers will do in home demo's. I want to say that I read that RSL, will let you do a no question asked return if you don't like them as well.

To your other question... "will bookshelves give you better quality than floorstanding speaker?" My answer would be that they most certainly can depending on the model. I would much prefer a set of GoldenEar Aon bookshelves to many tower speakers in the same price range. Likewise can be said about Browers and Wilkins bookshelves. The main benefit from a tower speaker comes from better bass response when it is played full range, most likely in a two channel music set up. Once they are coupled with a subwoofer and crossover, usually in a surround sound set up, then the low end benefit becomes marginal as the sub is doing much of the heavy lifting. The last remaining advantage comes from not needing any kind of stands to get the high end drivers up to the proper listening height.

[ultraman352]

so would i do well with
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hybrid3pkg.html
or
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hybrid2pkg.html? versus the klipsch since i will have an awesome sub?

[Flatnate]

Originally Posted by ultraman352

so would i do well with
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hybrid3pkg.html
or
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hybrid2pkg.html? versus the klipsch since i will have an awesome sub?

I can't comment on them too much more specifically. Read some of the review that the HSU site refers to. Then perform a search on here and see if there is a thread on them in the "speaker" area. I don't know if I can make direct performance comparisons to the Klipsch but I'm sure they are a solid value in comparison to them.

[ultraman352]

no owners thread, aside from the subwoofer,

would you spend the extra 1500 for the klipsch?
and do you think the denon 2312Ci would be enough power for the HSU's?

also to get another topic going, what are people opinion's on elite screens, or any screen manufactures besides stewart film screen?

[Flatnate]

Originally Posted by ultraman352

no owners thread, aside from the subwoofer,

would you spend the extra 1500 for the klipsch?
and do you think the denon 2312Ci would be enough power for the HSU's?

also to get another topic going, what are people opinion's on elite screens, or any screen manufactures besides stewart film screen?

That Denon would be fine. Yeah.

$1500 in savings is some serious coin when it comes to speakers these days. There are sooo many options when you get up near $3k (like you quoted for the Klipsch RF-62 system). $3500.00 would buy you a GoldenEar Triton CinemaTwo system, which I would take over the Klipsch any day. Guess you really need to think about if you want to get best bang for your dollar fairly soon or save to splurge on a specific component that your excited for later. The Denon and HSU speaker system would be a great value now. That savings alone is enough to buy a bigger subwoofer like the VTF-15H or an entry level projector right now.

Elite seems to make a descent budget screen. Steweart makes a true videophiles screen, very smooth, no texture to the material, very accurate. My advice on the Stewart is wait till you know what room your putting it in before you ever pull that trigger (even once your making serious money). The material, gain, size, standard or scope dimensions... all of that will hinge on your room and projector. I'm using a cheapy pull down with my JVC until I have a better room nailed down. Its kinda like having Mastercraft tires on a Bentley but it works for now.

[ultraman352]

i'm not exactly sold on the golden ear, i'm leaning more to the hsu's, or the klipsch, but when i get to this level of income, i'm sure i can afford to test it out, my only concern is the klipsch is 3000 for 7.1 vs 3500 for 5.1

[roar]

Originally Posted by ultraman352

i'm not exactly sold on the golden ear, i'm leaning more to the hsu's, or the klipsch, but when i get to this level of income, i'm sure i can afford to test it out, my only concern is the klipsch is 3000 for 7.1 vs 3500 for 5.1

I think that is kind of the rub in this conversation... you're looking for advice on purchases that you aren't going to make for 2 years. The technology can change so dramatically in that time frame it wouldn't surprise me if every piece you've listed above will no longer be on your list. It is great to have things to strive for but debating the merrits of imaginary purchases seems fruitless to me, no?

For example, why debate 5.1 versus 7.1 when you don't rent/own the home with the room that these speakers are going to go into? 5.1 systems can give you a fantastic immersive experience in any sized rooms and in small rooms can be more than adequate.

[ultraman352]

i hear what you are saying, but i want to have 7.1 for movies like Avengers or Prometheus, that were mixed in 7.1, i love it when all the speakers become active,

i've heard mixed reviews on the golden ears so thats why i am not sure about it, a lot of people also say the center channel is weak, which in my opinion is the most important channel

also, yes tech changes, but i don't seeing it getting so much better (for speakers at least) that price increases would justify it, an example is with like the AVR reciever, the denon 2312 is a great value compared to the 2313 which is 500 more, for a little more power, and 4k upscaling

when new models come out older ones become cheaper so if it gets rave reviews now then the same great quality should be had even when a new shinier version comes out

(projectors on the other hand, in terms of upgrade are a completley different story.....)

the whole point of this is to give me advice and goals to strive for, with updates for some things due to newer models
i don't see a lot of audio upgrades coming ( i might be surprised) but video is updated like every 2 months it feels like lol

[chargedvr6]

Ive got a full klipsche surround sound system 7.1 to be exact and i love it. my op is you cant go wrong with them.

[ultraman352]

which model? also what speaker wire do you use? (link preffered)