Any AV guys on the boards? Media Room Set up

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Moved into a new place and finally have a dedicated 15'x14' theatre room that will be used for movies, TV, and sports. It can be 100% dark, but I'd probably only do that 25% of the time for movies. The rest of the time, the door will be open, and there will be ambient light.

• 120" Projector or 83" OLED TV?
• What screen if I go projector?
  • Most say SI Black Diamond, but I have a local guy saying the value isn't there and I should go XY Black Crystal for several $K less
• What projector?
  • Almost all quotes for my budget are pairing me with an Epson 4050
• Audio set up is another can of worms.
  • Room is wired for 7.1, but the side speakers don't make much sense as the audio closet is where they would be placed. Everyone has quoted a 5.1.2
  • Most are suggesting Klipsch with SVS, but one is suggesting Definitive Technology
  • I don't want in-wall speakers because we don't know how long we'll be living in this house. Everything but the atmos speakers has to come with us if we are spending this money
• Budget
  • $10-$15k. Ideally, on the low-end OTD.

Ignore the Living room on quote 3 and 4. That was crazy expensive to hang a TV, so I went with someone else.

Quote 1/2 are the same company
Quote 3/4 are the same company
Quote 5/6/7 are the same company

Do I just say F this complexity and get an 83" OLED and a $2,000 Sonos Arc immersive set and call it good? I've heard the Sonos and it's pretty good, just nowhere near the level of the Klipsch/SVS setup I heard from the guys with quote 3/4.

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QUOTE 7

 

[fmo24]

@paradise I believe does high end systems he may be able to steer you on systems

 

[paradise]

Moved into a new place and finally have a dedicated 15'x14' theatre room that will be used for movies, TV, and sports. It can be 100% dark, but I'd probably only do that 25% of the time for movies. The rest of the time, the door will be open, and there will be ambient light.

• 120" Projector or 83" OLED TV?
• What screen if I go projector?
  • Most say SI Black Diamond, but I have a local guy saying the value isn't there and I should go XY Black Crystal for several $K less
• What projector?
  • Almost all quotes for my budget are pairing me with an Epson 4050
• Audio set up is another can of worms.
  • Room is wired for 7.1, but the side speakers don't make much sense as the audio closet is where they would be placed. Everyone has quoted a 5.1.2
  • Most are suggesting Klipsch with SVS, but one is suggesting Definitive Technology
  • I don't want in-wall speakers because we don't know how long we'll be living in this house. Everything but the atmos speakers has to come with us if we are spending this money
• Budget
  • $10-$15k. Ideally, on the low-end OTD.

Ignore the Living room on quote 3 and 4. That was crazy expensive to hang a TV, so I went with someone else.

Quote 1/2 are the same company
Quote 3/4 are the same company
Quote 5/6/7 are the same company

Do I just say F this complexity and get an 83" OLED and a $2,000 Sonos Arc immersive set and call it good? I've heard the Sonos and it's pretty good, just nowhere near the level of the Klipsch/SVS setup I heard from the guys with quote 3/4.

QUOTE 1
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QUOTE 3
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QUOTE 4
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@paradise I believe does high end systems he may be able to steer you on systems

Hey xtrm I’m driving right now but will check these out ASAP. Are you doing install or are these installed? What is more important to you, audio or picture quality? Do you want a true theater level experience at reference level or are you just looking for a more glorified media room?

Movies your thing or more just TV/sports? Gaming?

where is the door in relation to the screen? ALR screens typically only work if the light is coming from a direction other than the projector location. If the door is at the back of the room it won’t make much if any difference.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Hey xtrm I’m driving right now but will check these out ASAP. Are you doing install or are these installed? What is more important to you, audio or picture quality? Do you want a true theater level experience at reference level or are you just looking for a more glorified media room?

Movies your thing or more just TV/sports? Gaming?

where is the door in relation to the screen? ALR screens typically only work if the light is coming from a direction other than the projector location. If the door is at the back of the room it won’t make much if any difference.

@paradise these are installed by each of the companies. Installation on the quotes seems small, so I'm guessing they are making their $ on the equipment. It's my first media room, so I don't really know what is more important. In the past, I've been happy with a 65" OLED and sound coming from the TV. I've never had the movie theatre experience, but I've always just had a living room with light coming from everywhere...including skylights. Projectors were never an option, and any projectors I've seen at Bestbuy sucked.

If I had to weigh one or the other, I'd say picture quality trumps all. I've only had Plasma/OLED since I moved out.

We watch movies once or twice a week; the rest is TV, with college football and the Super Bowl during the season. I don't game much.

The door is in the center of the rear wall of the media room. It's offset slightly from the cardio room, so half of the opening is blocked by a hallway, and the other half currently gets light from the cardio room. The cardio room will be blocked with a barn door in the near future, so there will be no direct sunlight entering the room. Any light will probably come from the can lighting on the sides.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

I have no idea why those posted sideways....new server issue?

 

[JENKS]

Just my .02$ but I currently have a 65" lg oled, a denon 3700 receiver, definitive technology bp7002 towers bp2500 center and definitive surrounds, also have a emotiva xpa5 channel amp powering the speakers. My room is medium sized and I am renting so I didn't want to add extra speakers for atmos or side surrounds for 7.1. If I owned this house I definitely would have added the necessary components for 7.1 and atmos. I have had these speakers since 2006 and they still amaze me. The deftech towers have built in subs and amps and sound way better than klipsch to me. To this day I'd rather watch a movie at home than a theater. The audio and visual quality is excellent!

My recommendation would be install it yourself it isnt hard and you can use the $ you save to get a better receiver and a amplifier. Buy the top end deftech towers and matching center and surrounds. The new towers come with atmos speakers as well as built in subs and sub amps so no need to buy more speakers. You will be suprised by the bass output. It rattles picture frames and makes the couch shake. And please don't spend hundreds of dollars on hdmi cables. Buy high quality 8k high speed cables from monoprice. I have been a audiophile for 30 years. Avs forum is your best friend for info regarding home theater. If I didnt buy deftech again I would go wirh the new top of rhe line svs speakers with 2 of their subs but that would be more $$.

 

[H20 Toie]

Honestly i would go with a good quality tv instead of projection, and i have a bunch of projectors including 4k cinema projectors that cost over $100k

Also dont make the mistake and go to big of a tv or you will hate it by the time you finish watching a movie. imagine sitting front rows at movie theaters.

When you are sitting down you need to be able to see the whole screen without turning your head

 

[Mr. C]

Honestly i would go with a good quality tv instead of projection, and i have a bunch of projectors including 4k cinema projectors that cost over $100k

Also dont make the mistake and go to big of a tv or you will hate it by the time you finish watching a movie. imagine sitting front rows at movie theaters.

When you are sitting down you need to be able to see the whole screen without turning your head

All good answers. I forget the feet away from screen per size of picture but I’m H20 or paradise has those numbers. If you go to big you will not enjoy it in the long run.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Honestly i would go with a good quality tv instead of projection, and i have a bunch of projectors including 4k cinema projectors that cost over $100k

Also dont make the mistake and go to big of a tv or you will hate it by the time you finish watching a movie. imagine sitting front rows at movie theaters.

When you are sitting down you need to be able to see the whole screen without turning your head

Seating will be about 11' back, but I can move the sectional forward several feet to get immersion. I think THX suggests 9.3' on an 83'.

You make a good point though, I think THX suggests a 100" screen for an 11' viewing distance. 120" may be too big.

 

[paradise]

Just my .02$ but I currently have a 65" lg oled, a denon 3700 receiver, definitive technology bp7002 towers bp2500 center and definitive surrounds, also have a emotiva xpa5 channel amp powering the speakers. My room is medium sized and I am renting so I didn't want to add extra speakers for atmos or side surrounds for 7.1. If I owned this house I definitely would have added the necessary components for 7.1 and atmos. I have had these speakers since 2006 and they still amaze me. The deftech towers have built in subs and amps and sound way better than klipsch to me. To this day I'd rather watch a movie at home than a theater. The audio and visual quality is excellent!

My recommendation would be install it yourself it isnt hard and you can use the $ you save to get a better receiver and a amplifier. Buy the top end deftech towers and matching center and surrounds. The new towers come with atmos speakers as well as built in subs and sub amps so no need to buy more speakers. You will be suprised by the bass output. It rattles picture frames and makes the couch shake. And please don't spend hundreds of dollars on hdmi cables. Buy high quality 8k high speed cables from monoprice. I have been a audiophile for 30 years. Avs forum is your best friend for info regarding home theater. If I didnt buy deftech again I would go wirh the new top of rhe line svs speakers with 2 of their subs but that would be more $$.

Honestly i would go with a good quality tv instead of projection, and i have a bunch of projectors including 4k cinema projectors that cost over $100k

Also dont make the mistake and go to big of a tv or you will hate it by the time you finish watching a movie. imagine sitting front rows at movie theaters.

When you are sitting down you need to be able to see the whole screen without turning your head

I can tell you the guys aren't making much on those speakers Well below MSRP and their labor rates are crazy low.

With the layout of the room and the budget I have to agree with H2O. I am a big fan of projection (in the right space) but any direct light is going to make your viewing experience much less enjoyable and kill your contrast ratio at the budget you're looking at. If you were comfortable with closing the door for all use I would probably steer you in that direction but only if you fully understood the drawbacks and were still looking for that immersive video effect. Understand too that everyone is different. What some people think is too large is too small for others. If you want the immersion go with projection but accept that you will need the door closed. If you want to leave the lights on you'l want some sort of ALR screen. Otherwise, go TV

As for speakers, klipsch is going to give you some of the loudest speakers for the money but I don't find them to be overly pleasing to the ear in most situations. I don't personally have any experience with the Def Tech speakers but I know some of my guys love them.

If it was me, with that budget I would probably go with a TV and spend more on the sound, but that is the direction I lean. I'd probably go with some JTR speakers and subs, Emotiva for processing and amps and a nice midrange Sony 85". If you wanted to go with projection what they proposed is good but expect to keep the doors closed. Maybe look at EMotiva for speakers too if you want to do it yourself.

Shoot me a PM if you want any direct pricing on anything.

 

[bowtiejunkie]

In my realm of budget and/or bang for buck, quote 2 isn’t that bad if you dumped the projector and screen and supplied your own TV. You can certainly do better price wise via Crutchfield for equipment and Monoprice for cables. Depends if you’re a DIY guy or not.

We have a 13x20 media room and use the short 13’ dimension for TV and seating (door and a window are on the longer dimension). As such, we have a 75” TV. Any bigger we’d be scanning to view the screen. You really enjoy a media room. Get some comfy seating and stock it with candy!

 

[MPHSystems]

Honestly i would go with a good quality tv instead of projection, and i have a bunch of projectors including 4k cinema projectors that cost over $100k

Also dont make the mistake and go to big of a tv or you will hate it by the time you finish watching a movie. imagine sitting front rows at movie theaters.

When you are sitting down you need to be able to see the whole screen without turning your head

From the photos, the room seems on the small size for a projector.

back in the day, I would install projectors because none of the wall mount TVs could hold a candle to a good 8” CRT

now days the TVs look almost as good as a CRT with higher resolution for 1/10th the price.

 

[dread Pirate]

Klipsh does excellent online sales often. 30-50% off. Just have to be on it when they do..

 

[paradise]

One other note, tape out both the screen and tv on the wall. That will give you something to compare.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

I can tell you the guys aren't making much on those speakers Well below MSRP and their labor rates are crazy low.

With the layout of the room and the budget I have to agree with H2O. I am a big fan of projection (in the right space) but any direct light is going to make your viewing experience much less enjoyable and kill your contrast ratio at the budget you're looking at. If you were comfortable with closing the door for all use I would probably steer you in that direction but only if you fully understood the drawbacks and were still looking for that immersive video effect. Understand too that everyone is different. What some people think is too large is too small for others. If you want the immersion go with projection but accept that you will need the door closed. If you want to leave the lights on you'l want some sort of ALR screen. Otherwise, go TV

As for speakers, klipsch is going to give you some of the loudest speakers for the money but I don't find them to be overly pleasing to the ear in most situations. I don't personally have any experience with the Def Tech speakers but I know some of my guys love them.

If it was me, with that budget I would probably go with a TV and spend more on the sound, but that is the direction I lean. I'd probably go with some JTR speakers and subs, Emotiva for processing and amps and a nice midrange Sony 85". If you wanted to go with projection what they proposed is good but expect to keep the doors closed. Maybe look at EMotiva for speakers too if you want to do it yourself.

Shoot me a PM if you want any direct pricing on anything.

Just looked at JTR...I think a pair of the fronts eats up my entire speaker budget with a $4k TV. LOL

 

[Mr. C]

Klipsh does excellent online sales often. 30-50% off. Just have to be on it when they do..

I have Klipsch and Polk speakers. For my ear I prefer the Polk. But that said my klipsch sub rocks.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

One other note, tape out both the screen and tv on the wall. That will give you something to compare.

First thing I did.

11’ back. Hard to tell in a pic, but both look fine.

 

[dread Pirate]

I have Klipsch and Polk speakers. For my ear I prefer the Polk. But that said my klipsch sub rocks.

I've got the towers with the 8's or 8.5's in the house and La Scala's in the rec room. Been a Klipsh guy for over 25 years, but at this point my hearing is going from working in music and drag racing, so I just need it loud..

 

[paradise]

Just looked at JTR...I think a pair of the fronts eats up my entire speaker budget with a $4k TV. LOL

Layaway maybe? We get a little better deal than the site shows but we’re doing a project with 2 theaters with 3x 215’s for the front stage each

The Emotiva Airmotiv 1’s were good. We used to use some of their amps and still use their processors occasionally. Another option to throw in your list to check out. I want to say they had a great return policy too?

 

[paradise]

First thing I did.

11’ back. Hard to tell in a pic, but both look fine.
View attachment 1147280

Here’s a thought. Have you looked at ultra short throw projectors yet? You can have some amazingly good ambient light rejection with those and get the bigger size you’re looking for. haven’t priced lately but check them out!

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

I can tell you the guys aren't making much on those speakers Well below MSRP and their labor rates are crazy low.

With the layout of the room and the budget I have to agree with H2O. I am a big fan of projection (in the right space) but any direct light is going to make your viewing experience much less enjoyable and kill your contrast ratio at the budget you're looking at. If you were comfortable with closing the door for all use I would probably steer you in that direction but only if you fully understood the drawbacks and were still looking for that immersive video effect. Understand too that everyone is different. What some people think is too large is too small for others. If you want the immersion go with projection but accept that you will need the door closed. If you want to leave the lights on you'l want some sort of ALR screen. Otherwise, go TV

As for speakers, klipsch is going to give you some of the loudest speakers for the money but I don't find them to be overly pleasing to the ear in most situations. I don't personally have any experience with the Def Tech speakers but I know some of my guys love them.

If it was me, with that budget I would probably go with a TV and spend more on the sound, but that is the direction I lean. I'd probably go with some JTR speakers and subs, Emotiva for processing and amps and a nice midrange Sony 85". If you wanted to go with projection what they proposed is good but expect to keep the doors closed. Maybe look at EMotiva for speakers too if you want to do it yourself.

Shoot me a PM if you want any direct pricing on anything.

Another question I have is, are matching towers in the rear better than surrounds? Most setups don't have this, but quote 3/4 say it's mostly the Wife Approval Factor. In theory, all speakers should be the same and full range. Any truth?

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Layaway maybe? We get a little better deal than the site shows but we’re doing a project with 2 theaters with 3x 215’s for the front stage each

The Emotiva Airmotiv 1’s were good. We used to use some of their amps and still use their processors occasionally. Another option to throw in your list to check out. I want to say they had a great return policy too?

LOL like everyone else on this site.. cash only. No financing.

 

[Mr. C]

I've got the towers with the 8's or 8.5's in the house and La Scala's in the rec room. Been a Klipsh guy for over 25 years, but at this point my hearing is going from working in music and drag racing, so I just need it loud..

Haha. Had Klipsch for about as long but had to get rid of the big tower speakers. That is why I switched to the Polk. Size and sound. And of course price is reasonable. Been in a QC room for work for 30 years so I get the hearing is going.
Truthfully I don’t even want to watch a movie when I’m home or go to a movie. But like nice sounding music.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

Here’s a thought. Have you looked at ultra short throw projectors yet? You can have some amazingly good ambient light rejection with those and get the bigger size you’re looking for. haven’t priced lately but check them out!

I have, but haven't been impressed with the picture. Not to mention I'd want to go with a Salamander cabinet which puts us right back into the regular projector realm.

 

[paradise]

Another question I have is, are matching towers in the rear better than surrounds? Most setups don't have this, but quote 3/4 say it's mostly the Wife Approval Factor. In theory, all speakers should be the same and full range. Any truth?

In a perfect world yes, every speaker would play down to 20hz and at reference level; not the most realistic though.

That is pretty Low on my personal wish list.

 

[Caydens Cat]

cool thread. Emotiva certainly. Discrete amps will get you there. As for the subs why would there be a mismatch?! @paradise might know, but that seems the wrong direction (Off the cuff)!!!! Grab a 16” Monolith for 2k. Hopefully there’s an explanation for that.

There is also short throw laser…

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

cool thread. Emotiva certainly. Discrete amps will get you there. As for the subs why would there be a mismatch?! @paradise might know, but that seems the wrong direction (Off the cuff)!!!! Grab a 16” Monolith for 2k. Hopefully there’s an explanation for that.

There is also short throw laser…

Mismatched subs are to put the little guy on the center channel, so I get the deep base in dialogue. Think Smaug in the Hobbit.

Is Monoprice stuff good?

 

[paradise]

cool thread. Emotiva certainly. Discrete amps will get you there. As for the subs why would there be a mismatch?! @paradise might know, but that seems the wrong direction (Off the cuff)!!!! Grab a 16” Monolith for 2k. Hopefully there’s an explanation for that.

There is also short throw laser…

Shoot I meant to bring that up too.

What the heck is with a 10 and 12??? I like dual subs in a theater but 1 of each is weird.

Monoprice has come a long way for consumer gear. Their monolith processor is supposed to be nice too…

 

[paradise]

Mismatched subs are to put the little guy on the center channel, so I get the deep base in dialogue. Think Smaug in the Hobbit.

Is Monoprice stuff good?

Never heard of that, not to say it isn’t a good idea but typically you set the crossover for what the speaker will do and the subs will handle the rest. I’d rather spend the money on a better center speaker personally.

 

[SoCalDave]

I can tell you the guys aren't making much on those speakers Well below MSRP and their labor rates are crazy low.

With the layout of the room and the budget I have to agree with H2O. I am a big fan of projection (in the right space) but any direct light is going to make your viewing experience much less enjoyable and kill your contrast ratio at the budget you're looking at. If you were comfortable with closing the door for all use I would probably steer you in that direction but only if you fully understood the drawbacks and were still looking for that immersive video effect. Understand too that everyone is different. What some people think is too large is too small for others. If you want the immersion go with projection but accept that you will need the door closed. If you want to leave the lights on you'l want some sort of ALR screen. Otherwise, go TV

As for speakers, klipsch is going to give you some of the loudest speakers for the money but I don't find them to be overly pleasing to the ear in most situations. I don't personally have any experience with the Def Tech speakers but I know some of my guys love them.

If it was me, with that budget I would probably go with a TV and spend more on the sound, but that is the direction I lean. I'd probably go with some JTR speakers and subs, Emotiva for processing and amps and a nice midrange Sony 85". If you wanted to go with projection what they proposed is good but expect to keep the doors closed. Maybe look at EMotiva for speakers too if you want to do it yourself.

Shoot me a PM if you want any direct pricing on anything.

This^^^^