JC480's Home Theater Build Log

[jc480]

Ongoing log of my home theater (based on research/input from blu-ray.com)

Bill of Material:
--------------
COMPONENTS
Receiver
Denon AVR-2309CI
BD Player
Pioneer BDP-51FD
60" Plasma HDTV
Pioneer KRP-600M
Peerless Speaker Mount
Peerless SF670P

SPEAKER SYSTEM
Subwoofer
Elemental Designs A2-300
Center
Polk LCi-C
Mid and Rear
Polk RC80i
Front
Polk RC85i

SURGE PROTECTION
Whole House Protection
Cutler Hammer CHSA Surge Arrester
Outlets
Leviton 7280-W

CABLES
HDMI In-Wall Cables
BlueJeans Cable 35 ft Belden Series-1 Bonded Cables
HDMI Component Cables
BlueJeans Cable Belden Series F2 Bonded Cables
Subwoofer Cable
BlueJeans Cable LC-1
Speaker Wire 14 gauge in-wall shielded
Monoprice
Speaker Cables w/Banana Plugs
Premade cables

VIDEO SIGNAL SYSTEM (Comcast Replacement)
Digital Antenna
Channel Master ChannelMaster CM4228HD
Antenna Preamp (signal booster)
Channel Master ChannelMaster CM7777
Digital Antenna
ChannelVision ChannelVision 8-way Splitter HS-8
Digital Antenna
Centronics Centronics ZAT 502HD Digital ATSC Tuner

[Santeria]

good luck !!

[jc480]

Notes:
- after evaluating a number of in-wall speaker manufacturers, the Polk brand seemed to have a good balance between quality and cost
- Opted to step up one size/quality in speakers
- Opted to go in-wall on all speakers (except subwoofer) to reduce HT footprint
- Hired a master electrician with experience in HT to do my wiring
- Ordered A2-300 elemental design subwoofer after much research largely in part by input from the subwoofer forum and in reading in-depth reviews on avforums particularly where electronics was used to observe the signal and responsiveness of the subwoofer
- Ordered Denon receiver as it seemed to be the highest quality receiver at a $500-ish dollar pricepoint (6ave sale price). The blue dot problems with the Onkyos scared me off.
- Opting for a PS3 as my BD player. Wireless capability plus continuous upgrades by Sony, high quality signal feeds and fast loading time...at a $330ish price point...seems to be the best option available for the near future with excellent future proofing via firmware updates
- I was very influenced by the power protection discussion in the home theater forum. So much so that I decided to have my entire house protected...I had to use the Cutler Hammer solution as my box was manufactured by CH...unfortunately I also found I needed to upgrade some of my breakers from 15 to 20 amps...I wanted redundancy so I opted to use hospital grade electrical outlet/surge protectors (these cost about $40/each)...I am happy that my investment is protected. I am mulling over the "power cleaner" appliance....not sure if I am sold on this concept
- I decided to purchase the Vizio 50 inch plasma TV. The 24p problem with the panasonics bothered me too much. The Vizio price point of $1,200 is perfect. This is my first HDTV and it should be "good enough" for my family. Also, without having a huge dollar amount invested...I feel comfortable about upgrading to possibly laser in 3-4 years
- Opted for Belden certified HDMI cables for the 35-foot run in my walls...U.S. made copper...and man these things are heavy...good quality stuff and a certified 1080p signal
- Returning the Jobsite center that I bought for $150ish. The range max is 21,000hz as opposed to the Polk max of 26,000hz. I don't want to spend all these cash and be unhappy with the center. I'll drop the extra $250 to make sure I install a center that I will not regret or have to spend more money to upgrade

[garageinc2001]

Sounds good so far. Very well thought out. Doing things this way, as opposed to diving in and buying something you don't know about, will definately make you feel better in the long run. And it will keep the "upgrade bug" to a minimum. Would love to see some pics!

[jc480]

(4) RC80i ceiling speakers installed today, wire run through walls to the 7.1 wall plate (installed as well)

HDMI jack installed, (2) 35 foot Belden bonded certified cables ($95) run through the walls waiting TV jack installation

Coax cage installed, will do cable split run next week

Pics in a few days

[Santeria]

hey jc480 would u mind posting pics graddually?

good plan btw!

[jc480]

All speakers installed...had to push the front speakers out towards the edge of the wall due to stud interference I hadn't anticipated.

I wish I could have found a unified control panel for all of the jacks, outputs, etc. It doesn't look bad but a simplified big outlet would have been cleaner.

The in-wall system is very clean with a light footprint. I don't have to worry about kids, pets or w/e messing with wires. On the downside, it's pretty much forever unless I want to re-drywall...and the price premium for in-wall speakers is about 2- 4 times that of stand alone speakers...the Polk center channel was $450 as opposed to about $120 for something with similair quality.

Unfortunately, I lost my job so I'll have to hold off buying a TV and PS3 until I get a new one.

I took pics on my camera phone...just need to get one of those flash drives that accept SD cards so I can post...hoping to do it today. This was a VERY satisfying project to research, envision and see to completion. Can't wait until I have a TV up and running.

Future plans will be to install glass doors in the rear of the room to completely isolate it for a full "theater" experience...as well as investing in some movie posters.

I may opt to install an attic antenna to replace cable in the future

[jc480]

Placed an order for the Kuro KRP-600M 60" monitor. Hoping for a pre-May delivery. Although I won't get too excited as Pioneer is having massive problems with shipping these and having the glass panels cracked on delivery.

Thanks to my IRS rebate check.

[jc480]

Switched from PS3 to a Pioneer BDP-51FD. The Pioneer BD player has a mode that will allow it to sync with the Kuro Plastm TV. It's also about $100 cheaper than the PS3, and has better quality picture.

From what I paid for a TV, I'm not going to dumb down the picture to have wireless access on a PS3. The BD live is still a yawnfest and I'll happily burn an upgrade CD every few months for this receiver.

I viewed this receiver at BestBuy and it's built like a tank. The quality of construction is way beyond any other unit I saw at BB.

[igotcabada]

What kind of seating set up are you going with?

[jc480]

I just have a sofa and a recliner in the room at the moment. I'm unemployed so...what money I do have to spend is going on hardware

I'll probably get a 3-abreast chair setup at some point in the future...2 rows I think.

[therobmancometh]

Originally Posted by jc480

Switched from PS3 to a Pioneer BDP-51FD. The Pioneer BD player has a mode that will allow it to sync with the Kuro Plastm TV. It's also about $100 cheaper than the PS3, and has better quality picture.

From what I paid for a TV, I'm not going to dumb down the picture to have wireless access on a PS3. The BD live is still a yawnfest and I'll happily burn an upgrade CD every few months for this receiver.

I viewed this receiver at BestBuy and it's built like a tank. The quality of construction is way beyond any other unit I saw at BB.

Good choice with the BD player! I have the exact same one, which came with my kuro tv. I used to use the ps3 to play blu's and didn't think there could be much difference between that and a stand alone player... But i was wrong.

[jc480]

Originally Posted by therobmancometh

Good choice with the BD player! I have the exact same one, which came with my kuro tv. I used to use the ps3 to play blu's and didn't think there could be much difference between that and a stand alone player... But i was wrong.

Yes, I read the feedback in the BD player forum and it seemed that this player would provide a much superior picture than the PS3. While I would have liked to have had the HD storage and BD Live capability...as well as the wireless capabilities...my primary concern is picture quality. The other things I'll happily give up. Glad to see the positive feedback on the choice. Can't wait til my KRP gets here. And I'm glad you're enjoying your HT : )