Few Questions to ask fellow Home Theater aficionados.

[JJ]

These aren't so much about equipment, more about your own personal opinions on the matter, but here goes:

Do you ever have to justify yourself to anyone? I mean, perhaps because some of you are a bit more on the 'venerable' side, this happens less - but around my age, along with all the frequent gasps and oohs and aahs when I get visitors to my house and who look at my new equipment, I always get questions such as "How much was it?" or "Dios mio, what did that cost you?" And yet I never answer, I just say, "Don't worry about that." I just feel strange here, in telling them that I have spent $4,500 on a complete and total overhaul of my experience - especially since most of my college-aged friends don't have or have ever seen that kind of money at once. I've only told a few close friends, and one of them said, "Oh, but what about the starving children in South America?" (Idealist, then she went and spent $500 in Macy's on winter clothing...this is Miami, - eventually she would admit she was joking) - but, you know, I find it all worthwhile to me. It is my passion, my hobby, and it brings me no greater joy than to get home every day and open my door and see my HT in front of me. I don't have to justify myself to anyone - it's not for them. I mean, sure, they can enjoy it too, I love having movie company...but it's for me. I aint gotta justify myself to you. Dang, my old urban youth side came out a bit.

/endrant

And I never ramble on! Jeez, I need to include some more big words, I'll feel like Dennis Miller.

And on a final curious note...how did you chaps pay for your stuff? Finance it? Credit? Cash? I've never liked spending money I didn't have, heck, the TV, PS3 and B&Ws were cash purchases and everything else with a debit card. No credit involved at all.

Hmm, maybe I'm too curious.

[Colglizity]

It doesn't matter. It's your money, your life. Anytime you start trying to please or find acceptance with other people, it becomes a slippery slope because you can't please everyone. If I came to your house I would ask for a full 2 hour demo! And go nuts looking at how you did your wiring, how you arranged your components, everything. Even if you didn't enjoy HT that much, it is still your money and no one should tell you how to spend it. It's not your friends "scorecard" your should be concerned with, pay attention to your "inner scorecard".

[JJ]

That's another thing!

lol. I'm glad I have this forum. Outside of my father, there's no one around who shares my love of this hobby. Anybody around here from Miami?

You make good points, 'Zity. Very true.

[callas01]

I understand perfectly, my wife calls the recliner my Mascott. I didn't care about how much I spent putting it all together, I did it cause I wanted the experience of total movie emersion. We talked last night if she felt that what I did and parts I am still upgrading was worth it or not, and she said at first she was worried, but she could never go back to what we had before. It is the total love of being able to enjoy my living room as my own theatre. I have 2 small kids (18mos and 4 yrs) I cannot go to the movies very often, so I brought it to me. Most movies I watch are for the first time in my living room on Blu-ray (ie Ironman and Forgetting Sarah Marshall).

In the immortal words of Randy Moss, "Straight cash hommie." I own it all, it is all mine.

I recall when I bought our first TV and my sister in-law went out and got a plasma to keep up and I laughed. Last time they were over they couldn't believe what they saw when I turned on PotC. Again I laughed.

I don't care what others think about what I spent either.

[Bad8511]

How about some pics of your HT?

[matthewrounds]

My dad is dating a new woman and they are planning to shack up (yes thats what you call living together before marriage and I don't approve but thats my opinion and thats not what this post is about). Anyway, I bought my dad a blu-ray player for Father's day and if they move I was asking if he might upgrade his present TV. She only has some Tube TV that I cant even bear the thought of watching a blu-ray on. They both make good money (Engineer and Nurse) so my dad asks me what the best TV out there was. I told him to purchase a 60" Pioneer Kuro Elite. The person hes dating says, how much does that cost to which I replied about, "About $4600". Her reply, I could put new flooring in for that. I guess people have their minds made up about electronics and what is good enough.

I don't ever justify what I spent on my home theater to anyone because every time I sit down and watch a movie, that is the reward. I don't look to anyone for approval except God. I have a picture of my Home Theater here in this thread:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=64464

I am very proud of what I could accomplish. I buy good equipment at good prices. In total I am up to about 5K, but its not like I do it all at once. I built my own AV rack and TV stand but thats because what is sold doesn't match what I need. Eventually, I will get someone to build this custom furniture, stain it and make it look nice, so it doesn't look so bachelor like.

[Rustmonkey]

I agree - its your money, spend it how you wish - you're not different than the guy that spends $4500 building a hot rod 440 for his Challenger... so no biggy

[Lucy Diamond]

I understand your need to express this. I (like you) have made relatively good financial decisions and so I am (thank God) debt free and spend and/ or save my money how I like.

First of all it is rude and highly indicitive of poor upbringing to ask HOW MUCH YOU PAID for anything...I mean...what a low brow question!?!?!

I made the mistake of mentioning a few years ago infront of my newly married cousin that I paid close to 5 thousand dollars for several Mesa/ Boogie (guitar) amplifiers and she cringed and said (shaking her head) "See...I could use that money to put a deck on my house."

Well...let's take a look at that. She has a relatively nice income and she married a police officer in her town (highschool sweethearts make me SICK) and they pretty much paid cash for their house. In fact, they had so much to put down, their mortgage payment was an inside joke among the family.

So they decided to have a child and DOUBLE the size of their house.
Who the hell told them to do THAT!??!?! It is not MYYYYYYY problem they F'D that up. They had a great life...now they are house poor and buying toilet paper that I wouldn't even sand a deck with.

So it is a very personal thing. I am not married and I don't have any children. Part of this weeks haul was La Traviata and Can't Hardly Wait and I know I will most likely only watch them once or twice, but I wanted them in my collection and no one is getting hurt. No kids are starving and my wife is not being neglected. I am enjoying this time.

Also...I seem to get the "need" speech alot from the haters.

Goes like this:

"You don't neeeeeeeed 4 Mesa/Boogie amps, Two Marshalls and a Fender Blues Deluxe." "My husband is a guitar player and HEEEEE doesn't need that."

To this...I am no longer polite...I simply say "I know your husband...I have played with your Husband...he isn't nearly as good as I am and he wouldn't know what to do with HALF my gear...never mind the amps."

As far as collecting movies....hey...I don't drink alot...I never go to bars...I have NEVER one time used drugs...I don't buy alot of clothes and I'm not into cars. 'nuff said.

Enjoy your rig man.

Keep on keeping on.

Never stop.

~LD~

[sokrman14]

I agree, but I tell them exactly how much I paid, and let them know I dont regret a dime of it!!!

[MacDaddyOJack]

I paid for all my stuff in full, but it took me a few years to build it to where it is now. I agree, I don't like to spend money I don't have

I completely agree though, I'm very passionate about my hometheater so its nice when I can enjoy it with others but I don't like to share the price either.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Bad8511

How about some pics of your HT?

Theres an ENTIRE thread devoted to that, link in my sig, by the way...

::continues to read all your comments::

[Lucy Diamond]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

That's another thing!

lol. I'm glad I have this forum. Outside of my father, there's no one around who shares my love of this hobby. Anybody around here from Miami?

You make good points, 'Zity. Very true.

Man...amen. Even the average people who buy into this...don't really GET IT.

It is a lifestyle...you either hear the difference or you don't...it can't be taught.

God knows I WISH I didn't know the difference. I'd have soooooooooo much more money

[Pelican170]

Heres what i was told when i first questioned getting into home theater stuff. "hey listen, where are you the most when you are not working?" im at home "of course you are, so spending the money on something that you will use and appreciate every day isnt something to frown upon" and besides, like was said before, its your cash, do what you like and what makes you happy. if they are your true friends, they will understand that...

[JJ]

See, I'm glad some of you have thought about these things. Lucy D, I especially like your comments, because that is EXACTLY how I feel.

All in all I wouldn't even be here right now were it not for my pops, who two summers ago vested in me a small VIzio HDTV and a tiny Philips HTiB and started my whole interest in this...evolution, indeed!

Callas, very true. I don't think I could ever go back either. But I'm also glad to be debt-free right now. I owe no money to anyone...unless you count my little sister, who I borrowed a dollar from like, 5 years ago.

Matt, very true. It is all in God's eyes. Haha, Sokrman, can't tell you how many times I've told people I don't regret a THING of what I've done!

[Beta Man]

My parents..... My in-laws.... and yes..... MY WIFE.... are the first ones to "poo-poo" my purchases, and aside from my wife, they have no idea how much it cost me.

My mom said "when will you stop buying toys" upon seeing the projector during the tour of the new house..... of course I said "never" "D

A few friends (including the one who bought my 703s) asked me how much certain things were since they were interested in getting them themselves....

Friends who ask how much something is just for their curiosity get either a "None of your business" or "not too much" response, depending on my mood.....

I returned an expensive remote because I didn't like how user "UN"-friendly it was, and also, I was sick of people asking me how much it was, because I was even ashamed to tell my close friends! (I just deleted the price, because I'm ashamed to type it here too!)


ANYWAYS.... I have other "toys" besides home theater stuff too, and the rule is the same..... I typically don't tell anyone how much something costs.... of couse the projector price is freely offered up, because people looking at spending $2000 for a t.v. should be aware that there are more affordable ways to go "big" Of course, if I bought a $10-$15K projector (which I'm sure I will some day when I can afford it) I'd probably just say "Well this one is pretty expensive, but for the casual watcher, you can get one for the price of nice Plasma/LCD"

It's a hobby, as long as you're comfortable with the costs associated with it, that's all that matters (until you get married, then it's a whole other animal .....not calling my wife an animal of course )

I'd never have a $100+ cable/sat bill, but some do.... I'd never pay for a cell-phone when I can get a free one with my plan....some do..... if you really start to look at what people spend money on, a lot seems foolish to ME, but to someone else, it's a worthwhile expense for the enjoyment they receive.....

By the way... my $10k or so setup, and 1,300 or so movies which probably cost me more than I'd like to think about right now, are all paid for IN-FULL.... I'm not house poor (although my tax payment is only $50 less than my mortgage payment ) and we're saving for our son's future....

All of the important things are handled.... no car payments, no student loans (for me) and no worries (or job )


My sister has a house that is $170K PER YEAR in taxes ...... YES, JUST THE TAXES

That's her "other" house too........

She has no blu-ray player, no HDTV, and no Cable............ Let people spend money on what they want..... that's the way I see it.

[JJ]

Yeah, another good point Beta. I mean, I rent a house, my car's paid off, I have no school loans to pay right now, bills are small...

[Riff Magnum]

Wait, what was the question?
The only person i have to answer to is my wife and usually she just gives me the evil eye when i wanna buy something we don't have the money for. So yes, i'm reluctantly paying off my debt so i can then pay cash to finish off my system, but i'm sure i won't feel guilty once that happens.
I think people like us get so much enjoyment out of our stuff that it really doesn't matter. What annoys me are people who buy pricey/status type stuff, but have no real interest in said object and just let it sit in the corner looking pretty.

[Johk]

I understand you perfectly JJxiv1215...

I never answer when somebody asks me how much I paid for a certain thing... Unless they asked because they want to get the same thing, then I'd be glad to help them out! I might say that I got a good price but that's all.

In my sense as long as you're live well and you don't sacrifice essential things to get what you want, it's all good! I mean you could die tomorrow so why not enjoy life while you can!

[Leef DaLucky]

Face it JJ, yer hooked.
i'm slightly older than you, i'm 37 this year and have been into this hobby since Top gun and Star Wars came out on VHS and I played it through Dad's speakers *RAWR!*

it's a vice, but it's a particular intertesting one, to anyone who's reading this.

My buddy has a $40,000 fishing boat, a lot of my work buds have ventured into cottaging the last year 4 years and have all bought on the same lake up north.
A lot of buds have nice cars, some have ducati/Harley motorcycles.

I just happened to have one helluva kick ass HT.
That's my thing.
No kids, so what else am i gonna spend it on...
The matriarchs of the family ask me once and awhile "hey that's neat, how much did have to spend on THAT?" But i KNOW their priorities are different than mine (they travel..), so i rarely answer.

I think you'll find that more and more people are taking interest into HT. I know at least 5 at work that I can hold a serious conversation with and they don't look completely dumbfounded.

One of the reason's I liked HD-DVD so much was that several of us were getting together for HDdvd symposiums in Toronto and it felt AWESOME to meet some afficianados and start geek talking for an afternoon.

But i think you get my point.
Cheers and enjoy it.

P.S. I haven't bought anything on credit since a 50" toshiba RP back in 1994. Never again.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by Leef DaLucky

Face it JJ, yer hooked.
i'm slightly older than you, i'm 37 this year and have been into this hobby since Top gun and Star Wars came out on VHS and I played it through Dad's speakers *RAWR!*

it's a vice, but it's a particular intertesting one, to anyone who's reading this.

My buddy has a $40,000 fishing boat, a lot of my work buds have ventured into cottaging the last year 4 years and have all bought on the same lake up north.
A lot of buds have nice cars, some have ducati/Harley motorcycles.

I just happened to have one helluva kick ass HT.
That's my thing.
No kids, so what else am i gonna spend it on...
The matriarchs of the family ask me once and awhile "hey that's neat, how much did have to spend on THAT?" But i KNOW their priorities are different than mine (they travel..), so i rarely answer.

I think you'll find that more and more people are taking interest into HT. I know at least 5 at work that I can hold a serious conversation with and they don't look completely dumbfounded.

One of the reason's I liked HD-DVD so much was that several of us were getting together for HDdvd symposiums in Toronto and it felt AWESOME to meet some afficianados and start geek talking for an afternoon.

But i think you get my point.
Cheers and enjoy it.

P.S. I haven't bought anything on credit since a 50" toshiba RP back in 1994. Never again.

Slightly older than me...by 15 years, I'm only 22 here. My wisdom belies my relative youth. But more good points - people spend their money on different things - i.e., I could have easily put that money as a down payment for a new car or whatnot - but to me that seemed so futile. Heck, that money and my current car coudl've gotten me decent monthly payments on a BMW 7-class. But what for? My current car, an 04 Mitsu Galant, suits me just fine.