2. home-theater
  3. 1052501972

Is $18,000 enough for a high end HT?

This will be my first attempt at building a HT. My room size is: 19'L x 11'2"W x 8'H. This room is a library. I want high-end stuff. I want my windows to rattle when the Apollo 13 takes off. I want to be tempted to get up and dance when a good music score comes on. I want to build it myself as I think it would be a lot of fun. I have plenty of vacation time that I could use. The following is what I would expect:

1. A projector with Texas Instruments' Mustang/HD2 and 16:9 aspect ratio
2. Recessed screen
3. 5 on or in ceiling speakers (Thiel or Triad I’m thinking)
4. 1 Subwoofer
5. DVD player
6. Power Conditioner
7. Processor
8. A 5 channel Amplifier
9. Cables for the items on the list

When I priced every thing I wanted individually the price came to over 25K. Bare in mind $18,000 is a lot of money for me. However, I figured since we spend a ¼ of our lives watching TV it is well worth the investment. I invested some money a few years ago explicitly for my HT. Besides, I figured if my wife is not happy with all the money I will be spending, I could just say, that I am not taking the money from our cash flow, rather from a fund specifically set up for a HT. I am thinking maybe I should pull money out now. But is 18k enough? I am not willing to spend that kind of money if I will not have a great HT. Perhaps I should wait a couple of more years until I save up more money and the technologies go down in price. (I'm concerned that I will say that in two years again as I did two years ago. There are always newer technologies coming out.) I have no experience with any dealer and want to know if I could expect such a deal from a reputable authorized dealer. I read in Robert Harley’s book: “Home Theater For Everyone” that choosing the dealer is far more important then choosing the manufacturer of the components. In my experience for other purchases I find this to be very true. It seems there will always be tech support issues. Also, when I want to upgrade and add components, the dealer will know exactly what I have and all of my issues and I would be able to get his/her valuable input. I plan on adding within the next year or so, an AMX system for control, a video processor and an HDTV set top box.

The cables I would start off not so high end as I want to see for myself over time if they make a difference. However, the cables that would go in my ceiling I would want high end because it would be a big pain to replace those. I would also be flexible with the projector, I would settle for a refurbished or demo unit (with valid warranty). I would even settle for a good one that has an HD1 chip and an XGA resolution. I have seen some of those and they are definitely good enough.
captaincapitalism

Showing 5 responses by mrpoindexter

mrpoindexter
63 posts
 
Slappy, I wouldn't say that I cannot appreciate the film on a system like yours, but I enjoy it much more on a system like mine.

My best friend has the BP3000TL and CLR3000. Keeping up with his bass is why I upgraded from my Infinity Kappa 9/kappa 8 combo to the IRS line. I think that my system sounds a lot better than his.

If you want to see something you can get for $30,000 that is a lot more than a small improvement, check this out:
http://www.d-box.com/html_en.html
I have one. It is so impressive that when people come over, they are blown away by my speakers (Infinity IRS Betas for surrounds, IRS V for mains) yet once they sit on the Odyssee and see some movie clips, they are MORE impressed with the Odyssee. It is not a small upgrade and there is no cheap version of the Odyssee (buttkickers are no more a scaled down motion simulator than a horse is a scaled down airplane).

As for a $50K HT, I passed that long ago and still find MAJOR improvements that I want to make.
mrpoindexter
63 posts
 
Unclejeff, you are thinking that the industry WILL sort it out. The problem with that is that there is no such thing as an uncopyable digital file. You can make a digital file no more uncopyable than you can make water not wet.

DVD had copy protection, CSS, but it was cracked. Now, all DVDs can have their copy protection removed, so even if all future DVD players had DVI w/HDCP outputs, you could pop a DVD in your computer and use analog output.

HDTV has a chance of being locked down with HDCP. I would give it a few months after a switch gets flipped and people cannot use their high dollar 9" CRT units and we will see HDCP get cracked. It hasn't been cracked yet because nobody cares about cracking it.

DVD's copy protection wasn't broken by a pirate - it was broken by the legitimate DVD owner who wanted to play the disc in his own equipment. HDCP will be putting itself in the same situation. Like boxing's maxim of never betting on the white guy, we will have a corporate security system against a handful of skilled young hackers on a mission. You can guess where I would put my bet.

Also, remember that to make a few CRT front projectors obsolete, they will also be making over A HUNDRED MILLION voting Americans television sets just as useless. I don't know what congressmen would want to do that except maybe Fritz and Hollings.
mrpoindexter
63 posts
 
Slappy,

Most of the people I talk to are in agreement that "Home Theater" means a projector when you are talking about high-end. Unfortunately, a TV/VCR combo will be marketed as a home theater when in fact it is a TV/VCR combo.

The wattage doesn't make or break it, as you could run plenty loud on 2 watt per channel amps if you had Avant Garde speakers. You don't have to have 7.1 to be high-end, nor do you "need" a subwoofer if your mains are beefy enough. I don't run a subwoofer at all, as my bass actually is diminished when I route the LFE from my mains and into a sub.

There is no official definition of high end home theater, but around here and over at AVS, you will be looking at an HDTV/Data Grade front projector, DD/DTS system (5-7.X channel) and capable of hitting reference level across the audio spectrum. You would also be running premium equipment in the majority of the componentry.

All identical speakers wouldn't be a requirement - otherwise somebody with Martin Logan Prodigy speakers on all channels would drop from high end by upgrading his mains to E2 Statements.
mrpoindexter
63 posts
 
Why buy a Rolex when you could instead buy another HDTV set?
mrpoindexter
63 posts
 
If you are smart about spending your $$$, you will have a kick ass system.

First off, no need to spend a fortune on the video path.

NEC XG-110LC $3500 used
Home Theater PC with Immersive H3DII - less than $2000 new
Da-Lite 48"x84" 1.5 gain screen. Do not get a retractable unless it is tensioned, which is expensive. A fixed screen will do well and if you want to cover it up, put up some drapes.

This will give you a video path that will smoke ANY digital projection system AT ANY PRICE as long as you are not wanting to run an insane sized screen where the brightness of a digital is required. The HTPC will scale anything including HDTV!

You would be out less than $6500 for your video system.

For audio, a nice 7.1 system with speakers, sub and processor/amp combo could be had for $6000. Not high end by Audiogon standards, but high end by J6P standards, easily. I will leave that part of the equation to others.

With the remaining $$, you could get an SDI modified DVD changer ($1100) and HTPC control software/hardware (MainLobby, DVDLobby, DVDProfiler, sLINKe $400) and you will have a 300 disc Escient style system for DVD. Add in $500 and get yourself a D-Theater HDTV VCR and another $600 for a Samsung SIR T-165 and you can watch anything in the native rate it was broadcast in (720p for ABC, 1080i for others) and record HDTV on your HDTV VCR.

Add another $1000 for a Buttkicker, amp and parts to make a floating platform and you will have some bass sensations you cannot get with subwoofers at any price. Or, you could pass on this part and upgrade the sound system by $1K.

You can even pay for tax if you don't buy out of state and still have $500 left for some movies.
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