2. home-theater
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Is $18,000 enough for a high end HT?

This will be my first attempt at building a HT. My room size is: 19'L x 11'2"W x 8'H. This room is a library. I want high-end stuff. I want my windows to rattle when the Apollo 13 takes off. I want to be tempted to get up and dance when a good music score comes on. I want to build it myself as I think it would be a lot of fun. I have plenty of vacation time that I could use. The following is what I would expect:

1. A projector with Texas Instruments' Mustang/HD2 and 16:9 aspect ratio
2. Recessed screen
3. 5 on or in ceiling speakers (Thiel or Triad I’m thinking)
4. 1 Subwoofer
5. DVD player
6. Power Conditioner
7. Processor
8. A 5 channel Amplifier
9. Cables for the items on the list

When I priced every thing I wanted individually the price came to over 25K. Bare in mind $18,000 is a lot of money for me. However, I figured since we spend a ¼ of our lives watching TV it is well worth the investment. I invested some money a few years ago explicitly for my HT. Besides, I figured if my wife is not happy with all the money I will be spending, I could just say, that I am not taking the money from our cash flow, rather from a fund specifically set up for a HT. I am thinking maybe I should pull money out now. But is 18k enough? I am not willing to spend that kind of money if I will not have a great HT. Perhaps I should wait a couple of more years until I save up more money and the technologies go down in price. (I'm concerned that I will say that in two years again as I did two years ago. There are always newer technologies coming out.) I have no experience with any dealer and want to know if I could expect such a deal from a reputable authorized dealer. I read in Robert Harley’s book: “Home Theater For Everyone” that choosing the dealer is far more important then choosing the manufacturer of the components. In my experience for other purchases I find this to be very true. It seems there will always be tech support issues. Also, when I want to upgrade and add components, the dealer will know exactly what I have and all of my issues and I would be able to get his/her valuable input. I plan on adding within the next year or so, an AMX system for control, a video processor and an HDTV set top box.

The cables I would start off not so high end as I want to see for myself over time if they make a difference. However, the cables that would go in my ceiling I would want high end because it would be a big pain to replace those. I would also be flexible with the projector, I would settle for a refurbished or demo unit (with valid warranty). I would even settle for a good one that has an HD1 chip and an XGA resolution. I have seen some of those and they are definitely good enough.
captaincapitalism
lokie's avatar
lokie
528 posts
 
I have a fealing that you would not get much more enjoyment out of a $50,000 system than you would with something like Krelldog's system. Your on the right track with this thread. Just keep asking questions.
msbornerb4af
2 posts
 
I see a lot of people on this site think of "high end" as the best of the best. $18,000 for a high-end home theater? Absolutely! It can be done and quite easily at that. $18,000 for a "state of the art" high-end home theater? Probably not.
scottht
398 posts
 
I think it depends on how much of the work you can do yourself. If you do everything yourself and buy used equipment, you should have a decent HT system. $18,000 will buy a nice system, but this does not do anything for the room. The room itself has a huge effect on the HT environment and sound. You couls easily spend another $18,000 on the room alone. I have about $30,000 invested in my HT room and I did all of the work myself. I would not consider my room Hi-End. It is awesome and people freek when they walk in for the first time, but it is not HI-End. (In my mind) Hi-End would cost you about $75-100,000. Everyone has different opinions of what Hi-End is, but lets face the facts. It's not going to happen on $18,000
mrpoindexter
63 posts
 
If you are smart about spending your $$$, you will have a kick ass system.

First off, no need to spend a fortune on the video path.

NEC XG-110LC $3500 used
Home Theater PC with Immersive H3DII - less than $2000 new
Da-Lite 48"x84" 1.5 gain screen. Do not get a retractable unless it is tensioned, which is expensive. A fixed screen will do well and if you want to cover it up, put up some drapes.

This will give you a video path that will smoke ANY digital projection system AT ANY PRICE as long as you are not wanting to run an insane sized screen where the brightness of a digital is required. The HTPC will scale anything including HDTV!

You would be out less than $6500 for your video system.

For audio, a nice 7.1 system with speakers, sub and processor/amp combo could be had for $6000. Not high end by Audiogon standards, but high end by J6P standards, easily. I will leave that part of the equation to others.

With the remaining $$, you could get an SDI modified DVD changer ($1100) and HTPC control software/hardware (MainLobby, DVDLobby, DVDProfiler, sLINKe $400) and you will have a 300 disc Escient style system for DVD. Add in $500 and get yourself a D-Theater HDTV VCR and another $600 for a Samsung SIR T-165 and you can watch anything in the native rate it was broadcast in (720p for ABC, 1080i for others) and record HDTV on your HDTV VCR.

Add another $1000 for a Buttkicker, amp and parts to make a floating platform and you will have some bass sensations you cannot get with subwoofers at any price. Or, you could pass on this part and upgrade the sound system by $1K.

You can even pay for tax if you don't buy out of state and still have $500 left for some movies.
redwoodgarden
150 posts
 
It is possible to have a high end HT for $18,000, but you are going to have to work hard to do it.

First you have to educate yourself on the equipment out there so you can get the best bang for your buck. Asking questions at this forum is a good start. I have been involved with this forum for a year now. At this point I feel informed enough to set up a good system.

Don't be afraid to buy good used equipment at this sight for half price. You are taking a chance, but if you are informed, you can usually get a good bargain. Most people that sell used items here are honest and just want to sell their equipment so they can take the next step up the ladder. Large TVs need to be purchased locally, but everything else could be gotten used over the internet.

Some equipment needs to be high end to get good results, some equipment is not cost efficient at the high end. With a 19 foot room for example, a large screen HD projection TV is a much better bargain, than a plasma TV, or front projection TV. Speaker wire and interconnects reach their point of deminishing returns with about 99.9% pure copper. Nordost has 99.999999% copper with a silver coating up to $3,000 a yard. Obviously that would be a wasted investment on a $18,000 system. On the other hand, speakers, amplifiers, digital processors have to be high end to sound good. Just make sure that you get them used to stay in your price range. This is enough to keep you occupied for a while. I hope this helps.

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