Man-Land Home theatre setup suggestions?

[4drcbra]

I have recently finsihed by basement and converted it into my own Man-Land to get away from the wife when need be. I am looking for a good surround sound/ TV setup that wont break the bank. Any suggestions?

[musclemerc]

Well thats a loaded question. You cant get high end and cheap at the same time. So to start what would you like for a viewing surface? LED, LCD, Front Projection, Rear Projection? Then what for speakers in~wall, in~ceiling, Towers, book shelves? Recievers 5.1channel, 7.2channel, or 9.1channel? How about a control system?

You see where I'm going. Home theater in a box will be cheap and affordable

[Spectragod]

You will certainly enjoy something "nice" that is pricey, as opposed to one of those "everything in one box" systems.

Think of it like this........ you can't take it with you, enjoy it now.

[DarthMarauder]

When I built my home theatre I read that you should invest more in speakers as these arent things that change with the times as much as say a TV or reciever. Every time you buy a new TV something else better comes out as soon as you leave the store. I would just pick a budget and just work within that. Thats what I should of did but didnt so kinda spent alot more then I wanted to but dang is it nice. Brings a smile to my face everytime I watch something.

[cj7chris]

You will need to pick a budget and go from there. It will depend upon the experience that you want to have. Do you want to have stadium seating with bass shakers attached to the chairs? Theater lighting? Will the room be used for anything else? These environmental questions should be answered as they will drive some work before the TV's and speakers arrive.

What size is the room? That will drive some other choices, such as projector vs flat panel, what size screen and how much sound system (power) can be used.

What types of media will you be watching? Just cable/sat? Or, DVD's, online netflix, mp4's on a computer? These questions will drive your receiver needs and how many inputs that you require.

The cheapest way is to use a tv that you have and buy a home theater in a box if you don't have one. Be sure to get one that supports 5.1, with a separate powered subwoofer. Replace the speaker wire and let her rip. Upgrade the TV later when you have the coin.

Here are some good forums that I have used in the past:

http://www.audioholics.com/
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

[BlueFusion]

FWIW, I love my Yamaha HTR-6130 receiver, Polk Audio speakers and subwoofer in my Man Cave. The sound quality is great at all volume levels. And I pieced it all together for under $400. For another $100 or so, you can get another set of the Polk Audio speakers and make it surround sound.

I have a small apartment but noone can come close to beating my 88" "screen" and audio setup. My friend spent $1k on bose speakers and he is still mad he agrees that mine is superior in quality and features. The sub may only be 50 watts but if I go any further than half on the sub volume, the bass is ridiculous. It's a powerful little thing.

Here's exactly what I have running for audio:
Subwoofer (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290 034)
Speakers (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882290 123)
Receiver (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882115 120)

I use optical audio and DVI->HDMI digital video from both my cable box and my HTPC and well insulated speaker cable to the speakers cut to length.

For video, I have a Sony XR40X DLP 720p/1080i projector hung from the ceiling. Buy.com actually sent me two by mistake when I ordered one several years ago so the price of the projectors was really about $375/each :D. It's plenty bright to see with the cheap window blinds down during the day. I have it mounted as far back as I can go and the picture size is 88" from corner to corner so it's plenty big and still crystal clear, even though I don't have a proper projector screen - My white wall is sufficient and confuses the hell out of visitors "Where's the TV???"

I just took some pics for the hell of it. And it's not a very clean setup because I didn't want to drill too many holes in the wall or rip up the carpet or anything since it's an apartment and not worth it. Sorry they're kind of blurry. My camera is a POS.
http://richgannon.info/mancave/

Oh one last thing. Never buy the expensive A/V cables, like Monster Cables. Their $100 cables are absolutely no better than the $10 cables I bought online. There are many lab tests proving this online, too.

[rayjay]

When I built my home theatre I read that you should invest more in speakers as these arent things that change with the times as much as say a TV or reciever. Every time you buy a new TV something else better comes out as soon as you leave the store. I would just pick a budget and just work within that. Thats what I should of did but didnt so kinda spent alot more then I wanted to but dang is it nice. Brings a smile to my face everytime I watch something.

+1 on the speakers. They are what your ears hear. Keep in mind that listening at a showroom is a controlled environment setup to make as many of their brands sound as good as possible. Be sure you can return the speakers easliy if you get them home and find you don't like them. IMHO, it makes sense to buy your speakers from a company that makes only speakers, not the entire spectrum of equipment. Spend as much as you can on speakers to get the best sound you can. You can always upgrade your electronics and monitor. A great pair(s) of speakers will last for many years. I owned a pair of Klipsch Kg4 speakers for 21 years before I upgraded to a new pair of Klipsch. I changed them out due to wanting a smaller foot print and the cabinets were getting beat. I sold them to a friend that always admired them and they are still going strong three years later.

[musclemerc]

I cannot agree with you on this point. Expensive AV cables are worth every penny. I use Vampire Wire and Straight Wire, you get what you pay for. You can take a 2000.00 AV reciever and some high end speakers and hook it up with your 10.00 cables and it will sound like a 100.00 system. But on the other hand you can take a 500.00 AV reciever and some mid grade speakers and wire them with some high end cable and it will sound like a 4000.00 system. What i'm getting at is the interconnect is more important than the components that its connected to. Monster is a cheap consumer rated cable with alot of emphasis on looks but the interior if the cable is junk.

I've spent the last 21years in the Smart House and High End home theater business and have played with and seen it all.



Oh one last thing. Never buy the expensive A/V cables, like Monster Cables. Their $100 cables are absolutely no better than the $10 cables I bought online. There are many lab tests proving this online, too.

[BlueFusion]

Well do as you choose. I have seen zero issues with signal degradation or electrical interference in any of my "cheap" cables. And more than just the A/V cables used at my apartment. I also used the cheaper online cables to wire fiber optic ethernet cables throughout my parents' house.

Link Depot cables have never let me down.

[babbage]

Moisture can ruin cables - especially cheap ones. Basements tend to be damp. Best thing is exhaust the air from the basement to the outside 24x7 to keep humidity down.

[Vortex]

All I can say is do not/not buy anything made by Phillips. (Think that is also Thomson/RCA).