I think a common question I've seen on this forum is "how do I build my home theater?" It's generally asked in bite size pieces, but the idea is all the same.
To provide some insight and maybe help some folks, I thought I'd discuss what I did for my own home theater, but also provide some reasoning why I did what I did, what options I considered, and so forth.
Things to decide when starting out:
Ultimately, your budget is going to decide what you're able to buy. I don't care how much money you make - you _do_ have a budget in mind, and you need to commit that to some sort of absolute number. Whenever I read about someone saying "budget is not an issue, I go link them to some $250k speakers on Audiogon or something. Similarly, "cheap as possible" isn't a budget, it's a buying strategy.
For myself, I decided I wanted to keep this under $4000.
Once you've gotten that budget figured out, you've got to decide what you're doing with your home theater. It's never any one thing, either. Are you streaming music and videos from your PC? Are you planning on watching HD discs or DVDs? Do you care about SACD and/or DVD-A? Generate a list of applications for your home theater. Mine looked like:
1. Gaming
2. Cable HDTV
3. DVDs
4. Blu-Ray playback
5. Music
Finally, figure out the space limitations of your home theater room. Small rooms have obvious problems. Big ones, though, can also prove challenging - they're harder to fill with sound, cable runs have to be longer, etc. Definitely take note of where the walls and ceilings are, as they'll be important for wall and ceiling mounting considerations. Also, note other furniture already in the room that can't be moved out.
My home theater is in a fairly large room of the house. I can't mount stuff on the right-hand-side walls (blocked by bookshelves), but I can do a speaker wall mount on the back wall on that side. Similarly, I can't use a speaker stand on the left hand side of the back wall because a computer and desk are in the way. There is a fireplace on the front wall, which prevents a wall mount of a display.
Buying Tricks:
If you haven't used Craigslist before, now is the time to start doing it. CL is admittedly a somewhat scary venture, because you never really know who's going to be opening the door when you come to pick something up. But you can find some completely amazing deals on CL, and it's probably worth the (totally minor) risk, especially for heavy items that you don't want to pay shipping on.
Another trick is to use eBay, but use the "local search" option to find sellers within 25-50 miles of your zip code. If you ask politely, most of them will be completely willing to sell to you offline for a small discount. IMHO, the variety isn't as great as CL, but this will be a pretty good option for some BIN auctions. Also try using your work zip code, too, but maybe limit it to 10-25 miles (depending on where you work!).
Also, a popular place to look is Audiogon. I've not really had as much success with it, as it's primarily for high end gear, but I've seen some reasonable deals on mid-range stuff. Most of the people there know what their gear should be selling for, though, so don't expect any huge steals, especially on the low end.
What you're willing to buy used depends on you, but if you demo the gear first (and you ALWAYS should do that!), you're probably safe from getting burned too badly.
If you can't find it local, or need it new, then I would start investigating online stores, and then retail stores.
The Display
Since gaming and movies are my primary requirement for the HT, I wanted a display with a high refresh rate. My budget was around $1500, not including stand. Thankfully, most modern HDTV displays have high refresh rates, this isn't a big problem.
As mentioned previously, I have a lot of room to work with but can't do a wall mount for the display. Therefore, I started investigating DLPs, which seemed to provide the best bang for the buck.
Why not projector technology? The pricing seemed too high, and I had concerns about being able to mount one to the ceiling. I also didn't think "huge screen size" was a particular need of mine.
Why not LCD or plasma technology? I seriously considered them, but didn't feel the advantages of thin and light were worth the price attached to them for my needs.
I wound up stumbling across a Sony KDS-55A3000 demo unit while shopping in Sears with my wife. The 55A3000 is actually an SXRD, but is similar to DLP in most respects. This particular HDTV had received rave reviews by CNet and AVSForum members, and so I bought it for $1100.
What if you hadn't found it? I probably would have bought a Samsung or Mitsubishi DLP. The Samsungs are infamous for geometry issues, though, so I'm glad it didn't come to that.
Did you buy the store warranty? NO. I bought the five-year warranty from a third party (Mack) for $250 or so, and this included a pair of new bulbs (should they ever be needed). Store warranties are generally awful, and almost never cover consumables (and bulbs are considered consumables!).
The stand
When deciding on a stand, I had already decided that I didn't want something fancy - I wanted something big, sturdy, and as open as possible (due to game consoles generating heat!), while remaining under $200. I found this one at Best Buy, and am tremendously happy with it:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1196470814785
The Cable HDTV DVR
You don't really have much of a choice if you want to watch cable HDTV - it's TiVo, an HTPC, or whatever your provider foists upon you. I bought a TiVo HD used for $200, including a WiFi adapter. I am quite happy with it.
What about satellite? I gave some thought to using Dish or DirecTV, but the combo deal I was getting from Comcast was too good. I might switch to FiOS when that gets built here (presumably next year).
What about an HTPC? I was formerly a happy Windows Media Center user, and strongly considered buying an OEM HTPC with CableCards. But the budgeting didn't seem to work out, and I would prefer to have such systems in another room anyways.
The receiver
When you're figuring out home audio, you've got to start with the receiver/amp first. I had about $600 to spend on the receiver, and wanted something that could:
1. upscale my Wii and Gamecube (gaming)
2. put out 7.1 sound (Blu-Ray, PS3 gaming)
3. have 4+ HDMI inputs (PS3, TiVo HD, 360, expansion)
4. have 3+ component inputs (Wii, Gamecube, expansion)
5. Put out a reasonable volume level.
I wound up deciding on the Sony STR-DA2400ES, which I was able to locate on eBay for about $500 shipped (after Live Cashback).
But the amps on Sony receivers aren't all that good! You'll notice that music came last on the list, and I never claimed that deafening the audience was necessary. But, you're right - it was a compromise. If I ever regret it, I'll buy some better amps and hook them up to the pre-outs.
Why not the Denon 1909? Fair question. The 2400ES has pre-outs, another HDMI input, and excellent HDMI-CEC integration with my HDTV. If I had a different HDTV, I probably would have bought the Denon.
Why not the Onkyo 606? I am rather nervous about the heat issues associated with it, and wanted 1080p upscaling.
The speakers
Ah, and this is the fun part, and still a WIP. I wanted to spend no more than $1200 on the 7.1 speakers, with the following constraints:
1. Towers for the fronts
2. Towers or bookshelves on stands for the sides.
3. Wall-mountable bookshelves for the rears.
4. A sub woofer that could put out some real punch.
Why bother with 7.1? I have a 7.1 source (the PS3), and the additional cost involved was trivial compared to everything else. Certainly, I don't think it's super-necessary compared to 5.1.
This is where I really began to use CL extensively, because shipping good, heavy speakers costs a bundle.
The fronts are a pair of PSB Image T65s I bought off someone locally (found them on eBay, bought them locally) for a bit under $500. They are fantastic musical speakers, and are certainly not bad for HT, either.
Alternatives? I was strongly considering Polk Monitor 70s or Infinity Overtures, but didn't find anything priced to what I wanted to spend.
My center speaker is a PSB C60, which is the matching center for the T65s. It was purchased open box (but new!) for $275 shipped off Audiogon. Let it be known that this thing is huge - so huge it had to be wall-mounted behind the HDTV with a pair of B-Tech BT15 brackets. More on that later.
The side speakers are a pair of Infinity RS5s I found on CL for $115, which was a real steal. They're generally considered very good speakers, but never really got much press.
The rear speakers are a pair of Polk RT25s (the predecessor to the RT25i - they look more or less the same) I acquired from CL for $50. I actually suspect this wasn't an amazing deal, but I don't think it was a bad one, either. These speakers come with very good wall mounting options, though, and are perfect for my own needs.
Why didn't you get the rest of the PSB Image set? It would have nuked my budget, and matching rears and sides just aren't that important. What I have sounds quite amazing.
What are you going to mount the RT25s with? I wound up with Omnimount 20s, which worked out very nicely - see below. I also looked at B-Tech BT77s. Both are overkill for 10lb speakers, but you don't want them falling down, especially onto someone!
Finally, I still don't have a sub yet, but am planning on buying an A2 300 or A3 300 from Elemental Designs. That might change if I find a good deal on a Velodyne locally, but that seems unlikely. When you've got the rest of your setup done, you really start to notice that lack of the lower ranges - even if your fronts nominally go down to 30hz or so.
Thoughts on wiring
An almost inescapable fact of a serious home theater is that cable management is a non-trivial issue. A 7.1 home theater system is going to have a minimum of 17+ cables (7.1 speakers have 14-15 all to themselves) going into the back of your receiver, and that number only ramps up as you add more components (including, gasp, non-HDMI ones).
Therefore, once you're done, you might consider pulling out some or all of your cables, and then tying them up with velcro ties. And maybe even labeling them!
That leads me into the point I want to make: USE BANANA PLUGS FOR YOUR SPEAKER CONNECTIONS. They're relatively cheap over at Monoprice (get the closed plug variant), easy to assemble, and more to the point, way easier to work with than bare wire. If you ever need to rewire, you can reuse the bananas, too. Very few modern speakers don't work with banana plugs, and there is a reason for this!
Actually running the speaker wires can be an issue, too. Don't make the same mistake I did - if you're going to run speaker wire across the ceiling, give serious thought to where it comes down from there. It looks slightly tacky to have it just burst from the ceiling above your TV. For wall sideboard runs, try getting white speaker cable, which will blend in more with your wall (if it's white).
As for gauge... I think 16 is good enough for almost all applications. You only need 14 for runs greater than 70 feet, which are rather unusual.
Finally, buy more speaker wire than you need. Those 100 ft rolls are really only 50ft long, as they're counting both pairs of wires for the length. If you have extra, leave a little slack so that you can trim the cable and put fresh copper into your banana plugs once in a while (ever seen old copper? dark and icky).
Wall mounting
As mentioned previously, the rear speakers needed to be wall-mounted. I bought a pair of Omnimount 20s for $60 from Amazon (which wound up costing more than the Polk RT25s themselves).
The Omnimounts are surprisingly easy to use, although, IMHO, putting them up is a two-person job. I'm guessing this might be the source of some of the complaints out there that they don't hold their weight properly - holding the speaker in the proper position while tightening the bolt seems like an almost impossible task for fat, out-of-shape geeks like me.
Something I'm not worried about is it falling out of the wall. As long as you hit a stud when you're putting the mount in, it's going to stay in there until the end of time. Also, the Polk RT25s had neat little screw holes to use with the mounting bracket - these worked absolutely perfectly, and it was very nice to not have to drill into the speaker itself.
Another speaker that had to be wall-mounted was my center speaker. My center is a PSB C60. It weighs 25lbs, and was just a little too big to put in my home entertainment unit. I wound up using a pair of B-Tech BT15 brackets to do the mounting. It is fairly nerve-wracking to put a heavy, semi-expensive speaker like that on the wall right behind your HDTV! However, it does seem to be relatively stable, so perhaps it was the right decision. The only advice I have is this: keep those extensions screwed tight.
And one other thing: if you wall-mount, try to leave some room for those banana plugs. The last thing you want to try to do is to a bind-by-hand to the binding posts while the speakers are hanging up.
Things you usually forget about
Subwoofers generally take RCA cables, not speaker cable, so make sure to get one of those.
One of the most useful things I bought from Monoprice was a crimper. They make working with speaker cables and banana plugs a snap.
Also, surge protectors are a must. I wound up buying three of them. I don't think power conditioners are a necessity early on, and I wouldn't waste money on them until you've got everything else purchased.
If I could make one recommendation: buy more than what you think you presently need. You'll either need it later on or you'll save your buddy some money by being able to give him a cable on the cheap.
The Future:
There are still a few things left to buy:
1. A good universal remote control. This is probably going to be a Harmony One.
2. A power conditioner for the TV, receiver, and Blu-Ray source.
3. Some sort of IR control for the PS3 (PS3IR-PRO, I think.)
4. A DVD/BR-D collection solution - either a mega changer or some sort of streaming.
To provide some insight and maybe help some folks, I thought I'd discuss what I did for my own home theater, but also provide some reasoning why I did what I did, what options I considered, and so forth.
Things to decide when starting out:
Ultimately, your budget is going to decide what you're able to buy. I don't care how much money you make - you _do_ have a budget in mind, and you need to commit that to some sort of absolute number. Whenever I read about someone saying "budget is not an issue, I go link them to some $250k speakers on Audiogon or something. Similarly, "cheap as possible" isn't a budget, it's a buying strategy.
For myself, I decided I wanted to keep this under $4000.
Once you've gotten that budget figured out, you've got to decide what you're doing with your home theater. It's never any one thing, either. Are you streaming music and videos from your PC? Are you planning on watching HD discs or DVDs? Do you care about SACD and/or DVD-A? Generate a list of applications for your home theater. Mine looked like:
1. Gaming
2. Cable HDTV
3. DVDs
4. Blu-Ray playback
5. Music
Finally, figure out the space limitations of your home theater room. Small rooms have obvious problems. Big ones, though, can also prove challenging - they're harder to fill with sound, cable runs have to be longer, etc. Definitely take note of where the walls and ceilings are, as they'll be important for wall and ceiling mounting considerations. Also, note other furniture already in the room that can't be moved out.
My home theater is in a fairly large room of the house. I can't mount stuff on the right-hand-side walls (blocked by bookshelves), but I can do a speaker wall mount on the back wall on that side. Similarly, I can't use a speaker stand on the left hand side of the back wall because a computer and desk are in the way. There is a fireplace on the front wall, which prevents a wall mount of a display.
Buying Tricks:
If you haven't used Craigslist before, now is the time to start doing it. CL is admittedly a somewhat scary venture, because you never really know who's going to be opening the door when you come to pick something up. But you can find some completely amazing deals on CL, and it's probably worth the (totally minor) risk, especially for heavy items that you don't want to pay shipping on.
Another trick is to use eBay, but use the "local search" option to find sellers within 25-50 miles of your zip code. If you ask politely, most of them will be completely willing to sell to you offline for a small discount. IMHO, the variety isn't as great as CL, but this will be a pretty good option for some BIN auctions. Also try using your work zip code, too, but maybe limit it to 10-25 miles (depending on where you work!).
Also, a popular place to look is Audiogon. I've not really had as much success with it, as it's primarily for high end gear, but I've seen some reasonable deals on mid-range stuff. Most of the people there know what their gear should be selling for, though, so don't expect any huge steals, especially on the low end.
What you're willing to buy used depends on you, but if you demo the gear first (and you ALWAYS should do that!), you're probably safe from getting burned too badly.
If you can't find it local, or need it new, then I would start investigating online stores, and then retail stores.
The Display
Since gaming and movies are my primary requirement for the HT, I wanted a display with a high refresh rate. My budget was around $1500, not including stand. Thankfully, most modern HDTV displays have high refresh rates, this isn't a big problem.
As mentioned previously, I have a lot of room to work with but can't do a wall mount for the display. Therefore, I started investigating DLPs, which seemed to provide the best bang for the buck.
Why not projector technology? The pricing seemed too high, and I had concerns about being able to mount one to the ceiling. I also didn't think "huge screen size" was a particular need of mine.
Why not LCD or plasma technology? I seriously considered them, but didn't feel the advantages of thin and light were worth the price attached to them for my needs.
I wound up stumbling across a Sony KDS-55A3000 demo unit while shopping in Sears with my wife. The 55A3000 is actually an SXRD, but is similar to DLP in most respects. This particular HDTV had received rave reviews by CNet and AVSForum members, and so I bought it for $1100.
What if you hadn't found it? I probably would have bought a Samsung or Mitsubishi DLP. The Samsungs are infamous for geometry issues, though, so I'm glad it didn't come to that.
Did you buy the store warranty? NO. I bought the five-year warranty from a third party (Mack) for $250 or so, and this included a pair of new bulbs (should they ever be needed). Store warranties are generally awful, and almost never cover consumables (and bulbs are considered consumables!).
The stand
When deciding on a stand, I had already decided that I didn't want something fancy - I wanted something big, sturdy, and as open as possible (due to game consoles generating heat!), while remaining under $200. I found this one at Best Buy, and am tremendously happy with it:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1196470814785
The Cable HDTV DVR
You don't really have much of a choice if you want to watch cable HDTV - it's TiVo, an HTPC, or whatever your provider foists upon you. I bought a TiVo HD used for $200, including a WiFi adapter. I am quite happy with it.
What about satellite? I gave some thought to using Dish or DirecTV, but the combo deal I was getting from Comcast was too good. I might switch to FiOS when that gets built here (presumably next year).
What about an HTPC? I was formerly a happy Windows Media Center user, and strongly considered buying an OEM HTPC with CableCards. But the budgeting didn't seem to work out, and I would prefer to have such systems in another room anyways.
The receiver
When you're figuring out home audio, you've got to start with the receiver/amp first. I had about $600 to spend on the receiver, and wanted something that could:
1. upscale my Wii and Gamecube (gaming)
2. put out 7.1 sound (Blu-Ray, PS3 gaming)
3. have 4+ HDMI inputs (PS3, TiVo HD, 360, expansion)
4. have 3+ component inputs (Wii, Gamecube, expansion)
5. Put out a reasonable volume level.
I wound up deciding on the Sony STR-DA2400ES, which I was able to locate on eBay for about $500 shipped (after Live Cashback).
But the amps on Sony receivers aren't all that good! You'll notice that music came last on the list, and I never claimed that deafening the audience was necessary. But, you're right - it was a compromise. If I ever regret it, I'll buy some better amps and hook them up to the pre-outs.
Why not the Denon 1909? Fair question. The 2400ES has pre-outs, another HDMI input, and excellent HDMI-CEC integration with my HDTV. If I had a different HDTV, I probably would have bought the Denon.
Why not the Onkyo 606? I am rather nervous about the heat issues associated with it, and wanted 1080p upscaling.
The speakers
Ah, and this is the fun part, and still a WIP. I wanted to spend no more than $1200 on the 7.1 speakers, with the following constraints:
1. Towers for the fronts
2. Towers or bookshelves on stands for the sides.
3. Wall-mountable bookshelves for the rears.
4. A sub woofer that could put out some real punch.
Why bother with 7.1? I have a 7.1 source (the PS3), and the additional cost involved was trivial compared to everything else. Certainly, I don't think it's super-necessary compared to 5.1.
This is where I really began to use CL extensively, because shipping good, heavy speakers costs a bundle.
The fronts are a pair of PSB Image T65s I bought off someone locally (found them on eBay, bought them locally) for a bit under $500. They are fantastic musical speakers, and are certainly not bad for HT, either.
Alternatives? I was strongly considering Polk Monitor 70s or Infinity Overtures, but didn't find anything priced to what I wanted to spend.
My center speaker is a PSB C60, which is the matching center for the T65s. It was purchased open box (but new!) for $275 shipped off Audiogon. Let it be known that this thing is huge - so huge it had to be wall-mounted behind the HDTV with a pair of B-Tech BT15 brackets. More on that later.
The side speakers are a pair of Infinity RS5s I found on CL for $115, which was a real steal. They're generally considered very good speakers, but never really got much press.
The rear speakers are a pair of Polk RT25s (the predecessor to the RT25i - they look more or less the same) I acquired from CL for $50. I actually suspect this wasn't an amazing deal, but I don't think it was a bad one, either. These speakers come with very good wall mounting options, though, and are perfect for my own needs.
Why didn't you get the rest of the PSB Image set? It would have nuked my budget, and matching rears and sides just aren't that important. What I have sounds quite amazing.
What are you going to mount the RT25s with? I wound up with Omnimount 20s, which worked out very nicely - see below. I also looked at B-Tech BT77s. Both are overkill for 10lb speakers, but you don't want them falling down, especially onto someone!
Finally, I still don't have a sub yet, but am planning on buying an A2 300 or A3 300 from Elemental Designs. That might change if I find a good deal on a Velodyne locally, but that seems unlikely. When you've got the rest of your setup done, you really start to notice that lack of the lower ranges - even if your fronts nominally go down to 30hz or so.
Thoughts on wiring
An almost inescapable fact of a serious home theater is that cable management is a non-trivial issue. A 7.1 home theater system is going to have a minimum of 17+ cables (7.1 speakers have 14-15 all to themselves) going into the back of your receiver, and that number only ramps up as you add more components (including, gasp, non-HDMI ones).
Therefore, once you're done, you might consider pulling out some or all of your cables, and then tying them up with velcro ties. And maybe even labeling them!
That leads me into the point I want to make: USE BANANA PLUGS FOR YOUR SPEAKER CONNECTIONS. They're relatively cheap over at Monoprice (get the closed plug variant), easy to assemble, and more to the point, way easier to work with than bare wire. If you ever need to rewire, you can reuse the bananas, too. Very few modern speakers don't work with banana plugs, and there is a reason for this!
Actually running the speaker wires can be an issue, too. Don't make the same mistake I did - if you're going to run speaker wire across the ceiling, give serious thought to where it comes down from there. It looks slightly tacky to have it just burst from the ceiling above your TV. For wall sideboard runs, try getting white speaker cable, which will blend in more with your wall (if it's white).
As for gauge... I think 16 is good enough for almost all applications. You only need 14 for runs greater than 70 feet, which are rather unusual.
Finally, buy more speaker wire than you need. Those 100 ft rolls are really only 50ft long, as they're counting both pairs of wires for the length. If you have extra, leave a little slack so that you can trim the cable and put fresh copper into your banana plugs once in a while (ever seen old copper? dark and icky).
Wall mounting
As mentioned previously, the rear speakers needed to be wall-mounted. I bought a pair of Omnimount 20s for $60 from Amazon (which wound up costing more than the Polk RT25s themselves).
The Omnimounts are surprisingly easy to use, although, IMHO, putting them up is a two-person job. I'm guessing this might be the source of some of the complaints out there that they don't hold their weight properly - holding the speaker in the proper position while tightening the bolt seems like an almost impossible task for fat, out-of-shape geeks like me.
Something I'm not worried about is it falling out of the wall. As long as you hit a stud when you're putting the mount in, it's going to stay in there until the end of time. Also, the Polk RT25s had neat little screw holes to use with the mounting bracket - these worked absolutely perfectly, and it was very nice to not have to drill into the speaker itself.
Another speaker that had to be wall-mounted was my center speaker. My center is a PSB C60. It weighs 25lbs, and was just a little too big to put in my home entertainment unit. I wound up using a pair of B-Tech BT15 brackets to do the mounting. It is fairly nerve-wracking to put a heavy, semi-expensive speaker like that on the wall right behind your HDTV! However, it does seem to be relatively stable, so perhaps it was the right decision. The only advice I have is this: keep those extensions screwed tight.
And one other thing: if you wall-mount, try to leave some room for those banana plugs. The last thing you want to try to do is to a bind-by-hand to the binding posts while the speakers are hanging up.
Things you usually forget about
Subwoofers generally take RCA cables, not speaker cable, so make sure to get one of those.
One of the most useful things I bought from Monoprice was a crimper. They make working with speaker cables and banana plugs a snap.
Also, surge protectors are a must. I wound up buying three of them. I don't think power conditioners are a necessity early on, and I wouldn't waste money on them until you've got everything else purchased.
If I could make one recommendation: buy more than what you think you presently need. You'll either need it later on or you'll save your buddy some money by being able to give him a cable on the cheap.
The Future:
There are still a few things left to buy:
1. A good universal remote control. This is probably going to be a Harmony One.
2. A power conditioner for the TV, receiver, and Blu-Ray source.
3. Some sort of IR control for the PS3 (PS3IR-PRO, I think.)
4. A DVD/BR-D collection solution - either a mega changer or some sort of streaming.
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