It’s been a while since I messed with home theatre in a serious way, but the last big one had lots of complications in terms of pulling cable, getting it all working- lots of gear racked up on big custom made Mid Atlantic racks- my electrician at the time came to install power outlets for the projector, and a 240 volt line to feed a separate power system for the thing, but the install team worked very hard, long days, and I’m glad I was capped out at a flat rate for the whole package. The end product was great- but it took time. So, I didn’t really quibble about the line items of equipment cost- some of it was stuff I already owned that was refurbished- (I was insane enough to be running 3 ARC tube amps for the midrange at the time) plus woofers, plus all kinds of other stuff that, today, would probably be built in -native rate scaler/video switcher- etc.
It was not an easy install. The room was not to the studs, it was a finished room that required a lot of hole punching to pull cable.
The finished system was great- the owner of the company drove up from the city to see it and make sure I was satisfied. And apart from a few changes I made myself over time- eventually disconnecting the tube amps in favor of solid state --it just got too hot-- I don’t remember haven’t any issue with that set up, which was done in around 2005? and ran until I moved in around 2017. (I had upgraded the projector and a few other things over time which required follow up visits but nothing drastic).
The biggest issue to me was making sure it was done right, done well, and was reliable, and that there was support. That’s worth the little extra the guy might make by not discounting the equipment. Have you seen any of his other installs? And apart from the equipment warranties, what ’warranty’ do you get if things go awry and you need a visit to readjust, tweak settings or deal with some problem?
I’m sure modern home theatre can be less complex now (I use a small system that I basically installed myself- no more projection and huge theatre like experience). But, the key to me is getting it done cleanly and having the support if something goes down.
It was not an easy install. The room was not to the studs, it was a finished room that required a lot of hole punching to pull cable.
The finished system was great- the owner of the company drove up from the city to see it and make sure I was satisfied. And apart from a few changes I made myself over time- eventually disconnecting the tube amps in favor of solid state --it just got too hot-- I don’t remember haven’t any issue with that set up, which was done in around 2005? and ran until I moved in around 2017. (I had upgraded the projector and a few other things over time which required follow up visits but nothing drastic).
The biggest issue to me was making sure it was done right, done well, and was reliable, and that there was support. That’s worth the little extra the guy might make by not discounting the equipment. Have you seen any of his other installs? And apart from the equipment warranties, what ’warranty’ do you get if things go awry and you need a visit to readjust, tweak settings or deal with some problem?
I’m sure modern home theatre can be less complex now (I use a small system that I basically installed myself- no more projection and huge theatre like experience). But, the key to me is getting it done cleanly and having the support if something goes down.