# $2500-$3000 budget for complete HT - Sanity Check?



## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

I'm about ready to start purchasing stuff and I wanted to run what I've come up with so far to get a sanity check and allow the HTS community a chance to stop me from shooting myself in the foot.

Budget: $2500-$3000. The budget has to accommodate everything (except furniture): projector, screen, audio, cabling, mounts, fixtures - soup to nuts. When done, it should be "movie time". I can cleanly install everything myself.

HT area is 18'd x 17'w x 8.5'h, The theater area is a section (18'd x 17'w x 8.5'h) of a larger, oddly shaped area that measures 43' x 28' (longest overall dimensions). There is a stacked stone fireplace along one side of the HT area. Pictures: *My Basment Pics* (The two folding chairs are facing the intended screen wall).

Intended use: Primarily movies, but we also have a Wii (games & netflix) and will also use the system for music occasionally (holiday parties).

We are definitely not audiophiles, but would like something a bit more robust than one of the HTIB based on a dvd player.

Desired system:

Projector (1080p native) ceiling mounted anywhere from 12' to 17' from screen.
100" to 120" fixed or manual screen (not beyond DIY framing if material is available)
5.1 speakers; rears *must* be ceiling mounted, fronts can be floor stands or wall mounted
AVR with at least 4 HDMI in's
All cabling, mounts, hardware needed to install
Nice to have if budget allows:
- IR Repeater (I've got a rack I can put in a closet behind the screen-wall)
- Universal remote​

Here's what I have come up with so far:

Projector: *Epson 8350*
Ceiling Mount: *Sanus VMPR1*
Screen: *Elite Sable Fixed-Frame 120*
AVR: *Onkyo TX-NR609*
Speakers: *Fluance SXHTB Speakers* and I already have 300' of 12AWG/CL2 speaker wire.
Leave about $200+/- for miscellaneous hardware, speaker mounts, wall outlets for speakers, projector power & hdmi, etc...

We already have a panasonic blu-ray player that will work just fine.

Anyone see any red-flags with my gear choices so far? 
Can anyone recommend a sub in the $300-ish range?

I understand that opinions vary and I'm open to suggestions. I do appreciate your consideration! 

Everyone have a happy 4th!

Thanks,
JD


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

First red flag I see is the wii. Front projection doesnt work with people standing in the middle of the room interacting with a game unless the projector is mounted in front of those people....

Ir repeater I recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Next-Generation-Remote-Control-Extender/dp/B000C1Z0HA/ref=pd_cp_e_1


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

Looks like you've put together a pretty good system for your budget. The only real big red flag I see is the sub woofer. You'll definitely want a good one for that size of a room and I'm not so sure $300 will get you there.
Maybe an HSU STF-2 for $350


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

I like most of what you're thinking, but i would swap the fluance speakers out with, for the present, a pair of decent floorstanding speakers alone such as Infinity P362 (amazon), KEF Q500 / IQ30 (accessories4less) or EMP e5Ti (EMPtek Clearance section) and eventually upgrade to subwoofer, surrounds, center, 2nd subwoofer, 3rd subwoofer, rather than jumping "straight to cheap 5.1". If you insist on 5.1, then i recommend these

http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/544012176/jamo-s606hcs3?s_c=site_search

and the aformentioned HSU sub.

As an alternative to the Onkyo 609, i might as well throw in my marantz recommendation, the SR5005

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...7ch-3-D-Home-Theater-Surround-Receiver/1.html

or SR6004

http://www.accessories4less.com/mak...w-X-7ch-Home-Theater-Surround-Receiver/1.html

Back to the subwoofer, have you ever considered constructing it yourself?


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## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

TypeA said:


> ...red flag I see is the wii. Front projection doesnt work with people standing in the middle of the room interacting with a game...


No prob there as the Wii has been used more for netflix streaming than anything here lately. When we do play a game, it's Mario or something similar (couch-potato game type).

That IR Repeater is interesting and at a good price. Thanks for the tip!

-JD


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Not a bad plan of action at all. I definitely agree that you should reconsider your Subwoofer listed. In addition, the Infinity Primus are in an entire different league than the Fluance Package.

The Fluance is a fantastic value, but when being used in a true Theater Setup, I just think something different may be in order. As for your Cables Budget, definitely consider Monoprice as I do not think it is possible to spend less and get possibly more.
Cheers,
JJ


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## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

That's all food for thought. The worst part of home-theater is the range of selections and considerations -- and it is overwhelming. I'll research some more and see what I can figure out, but ultimately the budget is the limiting factor. 

I do appreciate the input!

Thanks folks!
-JD


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## Almadacr (May 5, 2011)

One thing is for sure , you don`t need to buy everything in one shot regarding the speakers , don`t buy nothing that you will regret in a couple of months . Cables/banana plugs from Monoprice like it was said before , regarding the receiver , the marantz are good units , but if you don`t care about 3D i would take the Onkyo HT RC180 only for the sake of more HDMI`s and its as pre-out`s  like the marantz . IMO you should start with something more solid for speakers you can get your mains and center and a great sub from BIC f12 or the BIC VK12
This are great subs for there value , of course if it was me i would get 2 EPIK Legends


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

First of all your have a beauty of a basement, love all the wood...

Looking at the fourth picture of your basement, what is behind the wall where you want your screen? If unfinished or utility I would personally hang a large plasma on that wall and build in the LRC speakers. Sorrounds can hang from the ceiling.


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## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

Andre said:


> First of all your have a beauty of a basement, love all the wood...
> 
> Looking at the fourth picture of your basement, what is behind the wall where you want your screen? If unfinished or utility I would personally hang a large plasma on that wall and build in the LRC speakers. Sorrounds can hang from the ceiling.


Thank you! It is a peach of a basement! 

Looking at the screen wall, the doorway to the right leads to stairs going Up&left; the doorway to the left leads to a bathroom(left) & understairs closet(right). It is in that closet (behind the screen wall, left of center) that I am thinking of racking all the equipment.

I really, really want the projector though. I can easily control the lighting in that space and flat-screen prices would limit the screen-size to a 55-incher at most. Maybe not even that. With the projector, I can fit up to a 120" screen as I want it viewable without my eyeglasses from the bar.


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## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

Almadacr said:


> ...IMO you should start with something more solid for speakers you can get your mains and center and a great sub from BIC f12 or the BIC VK12
> This are great subs for there value...



Thanks! Those subs have some good reviews and the price is attractive!


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## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

Jungle Jack said:


> ...The Fluance is a fantastic value, but when being used in a true Theater Setup, I just think something different may be in order...


Monoprice has some great prices - that's a valuable resource! 

The speakers and receiver all seem like such a roll-of-the-dice to me. From the Fluance speakers, to the speakers ya'll have suggested -- they all have predominantly glowing reviews! Though I'm a bit nervous about the Fluance speakers, I think regardless of what I pick, I won't know for sure until I get everything installed, get the furniture arranged and fire it up to give it a listen. And honestly, to my uncalibrated ears, ya'll would probably be amused by how easily impressed I am!

I think I'm going to be OK. Well, at least no one has reacted to my list-O'-stuff as if they were trying to talk me down off a ledge... :bigsmile:

Thanks all!!
-JD


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Ok then more thoughts for you:

In picture 2 there is a beam that runs the width of the room, is it possible to run wire and power to it?

Your rear surrounds could be attached to there and your projector tucked beside it in an encloser that will meld with it.

If that is appealing to you, what is the distance from that beam to the screen wall? With that number, screen width and the seating distance you can have gobs of fun with this:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/Vivitek-H9080FD-projection-calculator-pro.htm


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## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

Andre said:


> ...In picture 2 there is a beam that runs the width of the room, is it possible to run wire and power to it?...


That beam is at the 18' mark from the screen wall, but immediately in front of it (screen side) there is a dry-wall bulkhead (about 2' wide and drops 1' from the ceiling) that "rings" the room to form a tray-ceiling effect. I have considered building a box into that tray ceiling bulkhead to house the projector and perhaps the rear speakers too.

Which brings up another engineering problem for running the cables & power: The basement was finished with a dry-wall ceiling and they applied a popcorn stucco finish to it (ugh!!).

Well, it's not really a problem, it's just a matter of do I want to cut/patch/re-popcorn/re-paint holes across the ceiling to run some flex-tube (twice - one for power & one for everything else) -or- do I want to build a shallow box to use as a wire-race, paint it white and run it from screen-wall to the back of the room between the bulkheads (like another beam). I think I'm just going to have to suck it up and go the cut/patch route... :crying:


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

The answer to your question depends on which direction your joists are running. If your lucky and they run"front to back" then I would consider cutting the coved arear in front of the bean out giving me access to the space then simplly running conduit from the equipment closets back to the projector and speakers. 

If they run "side to side" then a wide and shallow shadow box front to back would probably look best. I am not an electrician so you would have to find out what "code" requirement would be for that.


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## jdh770 (Dec 20, 2009)

Update...

I got the Fluance 5.1 speakers, the BIC-VK12 sub, the Elite Sable 106" screen, the Epson 8350 projector. I had to back off from the 120" screen because I feared the vertical dimension would encroach an A/C return duct.

I spent last Thursday mounting the screen and impatiently arranging speakers (Had to go out of state Fri and didn't get back til late last night). Right now it's a mess with wires strung across the floor and the projector on a side table. I turned everything on to give it a quick look-see and Oh. My. Goodness!! It is awesome!

With everything just haphazardly strung together & positioned, I didn't expect much, but it is amazing - both video & audio (everything still with factory default settings, out-of-the-box) are just hard to describe. Clean, clear, like looking through a window. The audio not only fills the entire space with indescribable clarity, it shakes the entire house when cranked up a bit. 

So, this week I'm doing the formal install and figuring out how best to run/conceal all the wires in a manner the wife will tolerate, then spend some time knob-twiddling to optimize and learn. The sub will be a point of contention... The wife doesn't like a lot of bass (?) and when I tested it, the dog immediately ran upstairs (she's scared of thunder).

I do appreciate all the advice and recommendations. Even though the budget was limited and the chosen components (admittedly) leave room for improvement, my imagination is incapable of fathoming how it could sound or look better! Perhaps ignorance is bliss in my case. Thanks again to all!


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Congrats and thanks for the update. Make sure to come back with pics and any questions you might have.


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