Finally finished my HT

[apac]

After bargain shopping the components over about 2 years I've finished my home theater. Most of the speakers were purchased used for roughly 1/2 price from the klipsch forums or a local seller. In fact I think the only thing I purchased new was the subwoofer. Total cost ~$2500 ...good lord in retrospect that's a lot, but I figure at worst case it's an investment that will probably not depreciate much. The combined specs are

(All Klipsch)
RF-35 main LR towers
RC-35 center
RF-3II surrounds

HSU VTF-3mk2 subwoofer
Onkyo TX-DS575X receiver

Infocus Screenplay 4805 projector
DIY 86" screen (cost me ~$60 and an afternoon)

No dedicated HT room unfortunately because I'm in my last year of college, but the place I'm in now is pretty good for what I needed. On that note I haven't decided how to mount the left surround so it's still hanging out on the back of the couch.

Pics!
HT 1
HT 2

Movies and HD content (even with 480p) look and sound fantastic. I'll try to post some content shots when the sun goes down. Ambient light is really the only drawback of the setup, but I go to work/classes during the day anyway.


Cliffs: I get to show off my toys .

 

[wfbberzerker]

i'll take one, please.

 

[Quasmo]

what is the screen made out of? Is it Ploywall? I stopped using a screen after I moved cause I'm lazy and have pretty good matte white walls, I get a 9'10" image (was restricted to 96") but it's not on a screen.

 

[KoolDrew]

Nice! :thumbsup:

 

[apac]

It's the $13.97 Do-able board from Home Depot. They had at least 20 sheets here locally, seems to be stocked regularly.

 

[imported_LoKe]

Beer on that table, FTW!

 

[yosuke188]

Damn, I'm jealous of those Klipsche surround sound.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: yosuke188
Damn, I'm jealous of those Klipsche surround sound.

I highly recommend the Klipsch reference line. They're considered very bright speakers but the sound quality is astounding.

 

[Kaido]

Congrats, feels good, doesn't it? I *was* finished with mine, but I'm adding just one more mod

 

[SolMiester]

Nice, better audio than mine, however I have 100" 4x3 screen

 

[dr150]

You need a Home Theater Master MX500 to tie up all those remotes...

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Nice. I still need to make a border for my DIY screen, but I'm so lazy

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Nice. I still need to make a border for my DIY screen, but I'm so lazy

It's amazing how much difference a border can make, definitely worth the time and effort (I wrapped velvet around 1x3s). The color contrast illusion really makes the colors pop out.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

Looks pretty good OP. Wish I had one

 

[Garet Jax]

Originally posted by: apac
Total cost ~$2500 ...good lord in retrospect that's a lot, but I figure at worst case it's an investment that will probably not depreciate much.

Like all electronics, things will depreciate (especially the TV and the receiver), but you will be able to reuse a lot of things for your next setup.

I just upgraded mine recently and upgraded only the TV and receiver. I needed to buy a couple more speakers for 7.1 (instead of 5.1) and a few more cables, but I reused everything else.

 

[Raduque]

Nice setup.

APAC! I work for you, pay me!

 

[rocadelpunk]

that's a sexy border!

 

[Horus]

I see a DCT6200/6412 for HD Cable, methinks.

 

[Nohr]

Isn't the couch blocking the left main a bit much?

Nice setup, but damn, get a remote that'll do it all.

 

[Juno]

nice setup!! i want to build mine.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: apac

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Nice. I still need to make a border for my DIY screen, but I'm so lazy

It's amazing how much difference a border can make, definitely worth the time and effort (I wrapped velvet around 1x3s). The color contrast illusion really makes the colors pop out.

Yeah, in the old room I used to have a border and masking system going.
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughli.../1%20Current%20Room/screen%2016by9.jpg
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughli...%20Current%20Room/screen%202.35to1.JPG
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/spmclaughli...b/1%20Current%20Room/screen%204to3.JPG

I know it's going to be a bit of a project to get the screen mounted, line up the image, and then figure out how large I need to make the masking bars

 

[conehead433]

Nice job. I had gone through the trouble of makin some nice 2" felt wrapped moldings for my 129" screen but ended up not using them at all. I used builder's foam wrapped with felt and blacked out the entire area around the screen. Worked out pretty well and I have a slightly larger screen than I would had. You may need some black out shades behind that curtain if you do much daytime viewing.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: Nohr
Isn't the couch blocking the left main a bit much?

Nice setup, but damn, get a remote that'll do it all.

Hahaha yeah I really should program a HT remote but I haven't gotten around to it.

As for the main, I still live with a roommate and for asthetic reasons moving the setup far enough from the couch wasn't possible, but the blockage is not too bad. The bottom half of the tower is all cabinet space (pic) and only the lower woofer is slightly blocked. In my calibrations I found the left to be ~1db lower than the right, which is relatively unnoticed because the tweeter is not blocked at all.

 

[apac]

Originally posted by: conehead433
Nice job. I had gone through the trouble of makin some nice 2" felt wrapped moldings for my 129" screen but ended up not using them at all. I used builder's foam wrapped with felt and blacked out the entire area around the screen. Worked out pretty well and I have a slightly larger screen than I would had. You may need some black out shades behind that curtain if you do much daytime viewing.

Daytime viewing is only mediocre anyway. What you can't see is there's a skylight in the peaked ceiling above the setup, and on the opposite wall is a row of windows above the kitchen counter. As I said, I'm usually busy working (working hard right now )or at class during the day.