Building a HT for penny pinchers - Tips and Tricks

[jc480]

Building a home theatre is a very satisfying project. As a male, I found the research, planning/design, construction and results to be a stimulating and rewarding experience.

To begin, you CAN build a home theatre without draining your bank account. If you have money to burn, then this thread is probably not for you. If you are, like me, pinching every penny and want maximum value for your dollars, then you may find value in some of my experience.

You will need to arm yourself with the following habits --
- willingness to research. This forum, and a few other popular A/V forums, will provide you everything you need. It takes TIME to read, and understand, all of the various aspects of a HT. I spent, literally, months of reading. Don't be afraid to ask dumb questions on forums. I have, and continue to.
- patience. If you are patient, you will save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Your research will let you know what is a good value, and where to buy for the best value (value, not price...important!)....where you buy from is as important as the price. The electronics you purchase are only as good as the company that is selling them.
- vision. You need to be able to SEE your HT in your mind. Once you can do this, you can/will work to making it a reality.

Let's begin --
SPEAKERS. In-wall speakers are the cleanest look. Speakers mounted via brakets is second, followed by free-standing floor units/shelf units. For in-wall speakers, my recommendations are: Monoprice They have wall speakers that are disturbingly cheap. We're talking $50/pair here. For the average person, these work just fine. The sound they produce is good for a non-trained ear, it is not tinty and will not distort for normal audio levels. For someone a bit more discriminating, Polk makes good in-wall speakers. Between $2 to $4 hundred per pair, they provide excellent sound range for a good price. If you're not a handyman, you can hire a carpenter from your local classified newspaper periodical. These guys work fairly cheap and can cut the holes/mount the speakers for you. Or you can look for an electrician. The electrician can snake the speaker wires through the walls for a reasonable price....probably can cut your drywall and mount the speakers as well. For speaker wire, use 14 gauge wire with CL2 in-wall shielding. Buy this from monoprice. Make sure to determine length you measure from each speaker to where the wire would terminate (a wall jack or opening). 5 speakers at 20 feet each is 100 feet and add another 20% for safety...so 120 feet.
SUBWOOFER: Read the forums here. I like the eD A2-300. Technically, it offers about the best performance for the buck out there (at least when I bought it).
RECEIVER: I would check NewEgg and look for refurbished/returned units....these can be had for $250-$350 which offers significant savings. Read their return policies carefully. Fatwallet and Slickdeals are good sources to monitor daily for deals on these units. Brands that are good value are Pioneer and Onkyo. They are user friendly and offer alot of features. Make sure to get one that supports 7.1 channels (for future expandability).
TV: This forum and consumer sites like Slickdeals and Fatwallet are good for monitoring for deals. Generally, you can purchase online cheaper than at a B&M. Brick and Mortars (BestBuy, Sears) offer advantages...you can visit, see and choose your TV in person, take it home the same day....a place to return it if you have problems. 1080p only here. Prices are so low now it makes no sense to purchase 720p resolution.
BD Players: Read the forums...there are some personal choices you have to make here...internet connectivity, BD Live, etc.
HDMI CABLES: Buy these from Monoprice. Monoprice cables work perfect. Brand name HDMI cables use an argument that they offer extreme quality which improves your picture to justify their outrageous pricing. This has been proven to not be true. Monoprice HDMI cables are dirt cheap. Use them...make sure to get HDMI 1.3 and high-speed capable (pretty much the standard now I think). Cables longer than 30 feet should be certified. I like BlueJeansCable for long HDMI cables. This is a personal preference. If I'm snaking cable through the wall, I want to make damn sure it works so I don't have to rip it out and re-do again.
SPEAKER CABLES: Pre-made speaker cables with banana plugs on either end are available on amazon for about $10 each. Making your own speaker cables is alot of work
ACCESSORIES: Banana plugs, plates, TV mounts, etc can be purchased on Monoprice for about 90% cheaper than buying at a retail store. Seriously...Monoprice has great return policies and high quality stuff. It's a pleasure doing business with them.