Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation Re: Home Theatre Setup 2Jun 23, 2009 10:44 am Hmmm. Big questions dude. Probably too much to write out in a forum post - considering that you could spend a year planning it if you were totally unhinged! Having set up my own, here are my small in number of what I think are vital considerations that no doubt everybody will have a different opinion on :- * Speaker placement is more important that how much you spend on them. Yes, A cheap pair of speakers placed properly will give you a more emersive experience than the best speakers in the world incorrectly placed (although obviously the sound *quality* may not be as nice as a more expensive pair). Read and pay great attention to plafcement. You don't need full frequency surround speakers to get the surround effect. Go large on the Centre, FL and FR. Perhaps save some money there and put it into... A subwoofer. Don't skimp on this one. It really means the difference between noticing a speaker in the corner of your room making a noise VS a serious bowl shaking rumble. I think for that kind of money, you'd end up with something outstanding. HC Re: Home Theatre Setup 3Jun 23, 2009 11:20 am heat_crime A subwoofer. Don't skimp on this one. It really means the difference between noticing a speaker in the corner of your room making a noise VS a serious bowl shaking rumble. +1! Two subwoofers is even better if you can afford it! We will be looking at spending about the same amount on our dedicated home theatre when we eventually get there and I have been researching it for the last 12 months or so, so believe me when I say you can get a good system for that kind of money. Having said that though it all depends on what you want to get out of it. If it just for a home theatre then that's great, but if you start talking about multiple zones with sound and video and any sort of home automation or even simple tv distribution then the money starts piling up real quick because it starts getting complicated real quick. It depends on the size of the room too! For a room your size you may want to consider a large LCD or plasma instead of a projector. Here's my thoughts: Receiver: Arcam AVR600 - not sure if these are available in Australia but you get a lot of bang for your buck. http://whathifi.com/Review/Arcam-AVR600/ If not then a very good Marantz or Denon can be had for $2k-3k - even a yamaha for under $2k will do it. Just make sure it has enough HDMI ports for what you need and make sure it can handle the latest hi definition sound codecs (Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio) Speakers: Paradigm all the way if you can afford it - last I looked about 12 months ago they were about $6k for a full set but have probably come down in price now. Other brands are Yamaha, Dali, Krix, Jamo - Rodda or Matt can advise better than I can. Projector: Not sure about this one but again Rod or Matt will be able to advise - from memory can get really good ones now for under $3k from Benq and Epson Blu-ray: If you don't already have a blu-ray player I would go with an Oppo BDP-83. Does EVERYthing! Otherwise I have heard both Samsung and Panasonic make really good value for money dedicated blu-rays. Honestly though the best thing for you to do is go to your local home theatre store (or if you are in Melbourne go see Rodda) and try out some of these speakers and projectors and screens and amps and decide for yourself which ones sound the best and look the best for your price point. Everything is relative - you can read all the reviews you want but at the end of the day what sounds good to me might sound completely different to you! After 2 false starts, a year living overseas, two more world trips and 3 years of uncertainty we are now starting the build process again - hopefully for real this time! Re: Home Theatre Setup 4Jun 23, 2009 11:36 am 2 subs! Way out of control :~P I can see only 1 benefits to having 2 subs - If you can't place one sub in the centre axis of thh room, you can get an even distribution of sound by placing them equal distances from the centre. I don't agree with almost every surround sound setup article that says to somewhat ignore the placement of the sub because you will not be able to tell what direction the low frequencies are coming from. HC Re: Home Theatre Setup 5Jun 23, 2009 1:40 pm heat_crime 2 subs! Way out of control :~P I can see only 1 benefits to having 2 subs - If you can't place one sub in the centre axis of thh room, you can get an even distribution of sound by placing them equal distances from the centre. I don't agree with almost every surround sound setup article that says to somewhat ignore the placement of the sub because you will not be able to tell what direction the low frequencies are coming from. HC The truth is that it is much less obvious where the low frequency sound effects are coming from compared to the rest of the sound spectrum, and more importantly the LFE channel in a movie soundtrack is not directional so it doesn't matter where the subwoofer is placed unless it becomes obvious - like it's right next to the seat you occupy, then it can be obvious you are right on top of it, or that it is directly on your right or left (the subwoofer is NOT supposed to be obvious, despite what you might think). So, if you can place it at the front of the room that will pretty much eliminate the chance of that happening, but if you cannot place your there there is still only a small chance that it's placement will present some negative effect on the soundscape (like it obviously being on one side of you). If you have an overly large room it may be easier, better for placement and possibly even cheaper to get two decent subwoofers instead of one big 'room-leveller' to make sure you still get the impact needed for a truly great movie experience. The sound quality produced is important, as is placement. What's the point of having your speakers in the perfect place if they sound perfectly crap? Re: Home Theatre Setup 6Jun 23, 2009 2:30 pm "The sound quality produced is important, as is placement. What's the point of having your speakers in the perfect place if they sound perfectly crap?" Totally on the ball. My point to the original poster that was unless you place them correctly, you have expensive quality noise makers, firing sound in a direction that does not add value to creating the "surround sound" type sound that (obviously) is one of the major parts of home cinima. I mentioned this only bacause of the numerous loungerooms I've walked into where the owners of serious surround speakers have them sitting on the coffee table next to their couch. ... and they think they're getting the good sound experience experience... HC We already paid for somfy motors for the blinds. The quote above was purely for “pre-wiring” so the blinds company can install the motors and blinds. That’s why we… 5 16276 From what I know about water tanks (I've been working with a client on them for a few years now) is this - The concrete can last a lifetime if they don't crack for some… 2 10632 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110571 |