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Home theater critique

F

FP

Diamond Member
I have finally finished all of the prep work in our family room (cable runs, floors, etc) and am ready to start purchasing a new HT system. I have been doing research for the last 6 months and have narrowed everything down to these components. Opinions? Thoughts?

The viewing area of the room is 13'x13'.
The TV will be about 11' from a viewers head.
We will be using the room for 50% HD cable, 25% DVDs, 25% gaming (Wii, Xbox360)

TV: Pioneer PDP-5070HD (50" 720p plasma)
Receiver: Denon 3806
Front/rear speakers: av123 x-series x-ls
Center speaker: av123 x-series x-cs
Subwoofer: av123 x-series x-sub
DVD player: Oppo DV-981HD

Anything I am missing? My total budget for the entire room was about $7000 so I am coming in well below that.
 
HD DVR? Nice universal remote? Antenna? Maybe you weren't including those.

I'd definitely consider a harmony or similar remote. My denon remote (3803 remote, I think) is flaky at best, and can make life difficult sometimes.
 
Originally posted by: cubby1223
Geez, you can get a Toshiba HD-A1 for about the price of that dvd player.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am waiting for a while to make the HD-DVD/BluRay plunge. I have a ton of DVDs and a Netflix sub so good video processing was a requirement which the Oppo has. It is much cheaper than buying a stand alone video processor.

I plan getting the Comcast HD DVR once everything is set up.

A Harmony remote is a good idea, thanks.

Is there anything an OTA HD antenna will get me that my Comcast HD cable box won't?
 
Originally posted by: binister
Originally posted by: cubby1223
Geez, you can get a Toshiba HD-A1 for about the price of that dvd player.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I am waiting for a while to make the HD-DVD/BluRay plunge. I have a ton of DVDs and a Netflix sub so good video processing was a requirement which the Oppo has. It is much cheaper than buying a stand alone video processor.

I plan getting the Comcast HD DVR once everything is set up.

A Harmony remote is a good idea, thanks.

Is there anything an OTA HD antenna will get me that my Comcast HD cable box won't?
Click to expand...

The HD-A1 is considering by most to be be the best at upscaling standard DVDs, if that's what you mean.
 
Have you thought about a projector? A 13 square-foot room is a pretty decent size. A projector could give you an image twice the size of that plasma you're buying -- for the same price (or less!).

Also, your receiver looks pretty nice, so it may not need it, but I always like to buy a separate equalizer.
 
RE: Antenna... depends on your area. Here, we don't get Fox or CW in HD through cable because the cable company is rubbish and won't pay the fox or cw fees. Also, in most or all cases, cable companies don't carry sub-channels or PBS. And finally, the PQ of OTA is often reputed to be better than cable PQ. Plus it never hurts to have a back up in case cable is out. The are only $20 or so.
 
Why are you not spending so little on the speakers? $200 for mains isn't very much, especially if you're spending $1200 on a receiver.
 
Originally posted by: fanerman91
Why are you not spending so little on the speakers? $200 for mains isn't very much, especially if you're spending $1200 on a receiver.
Click to expand...

Mostly for the upgrade path. I will eventually get some av123 Rockets ($800-$1500/pair) for the fronts. I just couldn't afford those and a separate amp this round. The x-series speakers have been very well reviewed. I plan on auditioning them for a couple of weeks to make sure they fit the bill.
 
Ditch the 720p and go with 1080p. I hope it is a typo on your budget. 7,000K is SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS, not home theatre budget.
 
Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
You should go with a better sub, that won't really do much for a room that size, IMO. SVS PB10 would work very well.
Click to expand...

I agree. Either the SVS you mentioned or a Hsu STF-2 would work nicely.

How much does everything add up to right now?
 
I would seriously consider replacing the center channel specific speaker with one identical to the L/R. If you can only buy in pairs, consider a 6.1 setup 🙂
 
Originally posted by: sdifox
Ditch the 720p and go with 1080p. I hope it is a typo on your budget. 7,000K is SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS, not home theatre budget.
Click to expand...

lol I read that too. I was like holy ******!!!
 
Originally posted by: binister
Originally posted by: fanerman91
Why are you not spending so little on the speakers? $200 for mains isn't very much, especially if you're spending $1200 on a receiver.
Click to expand...

Mostly for the upgrade path. I will eventually get some av123 Rockets ($800-$1500/pair) for the fronts. I just couldn't afford those and a separate amp this round. The x-series speakers have been very well reviewed. I plan on auditioning them for a couple of weeks to make sure they fit the bill.
Click to expand...
I would consider going with a little less expensive receiver and seeing if you could get a pair of the rockets in. Fit those with a decent sub and a pair of the x-ls for rears, and you'll have a good 5.1 setup.

How long from now will you be upgrading if you eventually upgrade? If it's less than 2 years or so, I would just go for the Rockets and not try to upgrade. It'll save you the hassle of swapping things out, selling the old stuff, etc.
 
Originally posted by: Kwaipie
I would seriously consider replacing the center channel specific speaker with one identical to the L/R. If you can only buy in pairs, consider a 6.1 setup 🙂
Click to expand...
This is the matching speaker that is meant to be the center channel with the x-ls pairs.
 
Originally posted by: sdifox
Ditch the 720p and go with 1080p. I hope it is a typo on your budget. 7,000K is SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS, not home theatre budget.
Click to expand...

Whoops... Yeah, $7k 🙂

I don't need to go with 1080p because I am going to be sitting 11' away from the TV at which distance the difference between 720p and 1080p can't be seen.

Ok, you guys have convinced me to upgrade to the SVS PB10. Are the SVS surrounds as good or better than the av123 x-series?

AgaBoogaBoo: I'll upgrade when the wife forgets about this purchase 🙂 Probably 1-2 years. I am also considering the new av123 xl-sls towers.

 
Too bad you missed the rocket deals. With a $7k budget I wouldn't be looking at the x-series from AV123, but the rocket series.

That receiver would go great with rockets. No need to get an additional amp right away (if ever for a room that size)

 
Originally posted by: binister
Originally posted by: sdifox
Ditch the 720p and go with 1080p. I hope it is a typo on your budget. 7,000K is SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS, not home theatre budget.
Click to expand...

Whoops... Yeah, $7k 🙂

I don't need to go with 1080p because I am going to be sitting 11' away from the TV at which distance the difference between 720p and 1080p can't be seen.

Ok, you guys have convinced me to upgrade to the SVS PB10. Are the SVS surrounds as good or better than the av123 x-series?

AgaBoogaBoo: I'll upgrade when the wife forgets about this purchase 🙂 Probably 1-2 years. I am also considering the new av123 xl-sls towers.
Click to expand...

So get a 720P Projector. 11' should accommodate 100" 🙂
 
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