£2000 to spend on a cinema setup

[Dreamweavernoob]

Okay, before I start off, I know £2000 isnt that much, but im young, and I am paying half, and cant really afford much more.

Just wondering whats the best I can get for this cash?

I have a HTPC already built if needs be, so if a pc is part of the equasion, consider it bought. (has Blu-ray).

So what would you say my best bang for buck is? Im sick and tired of my crappy Z-5500 which has crap bass and have FAR to much treble (i actually think its giving me tinnitus :|)

cheers


P.s just any thoughts at all are cool. :) I am open to projector and Tv suggestions (bear in mind I need some speakers as well).

I can possibly go over my budget a bit but it would have to be worth it :o

[Toss3]

I'd rather spend the money you have now on either a decent projector and screen setup or sound system - not both. The reason being that you're either going to end up with a crappy sounding system with great video or the other way around.

You could also go the regular TV route, but a 100 inch screen is just too gorgeous to pass up. ;)

I'd just get a Sony VPL-HW10 coupled with a ~100inch screen(should go a bit over your budget but boy is that a good looking home theater setup!). Trust me - you're not going to regret it! :)

[Revs]

My advice would be to read some reviews; get What HiFi and What TV. Once you've seen what you can get for the money you're looking spend, go out and have a look/listen to the stuff you've been checking out in the mags.

It just happens that I've spent about £2000 over the last few months on my home cinema stuff. TV is a 46" LCD Samsung (£1000), Amp/Receiver is a Denon AVR-1508 (£200) and the speakers are the 5.1 KEF-1005 kit (£300). I've recently added a pair of Q-Acoustics 1050i speakers too (£350) for music. The KEF's sound awesome but are a little lacking in the woofer range for music on their own. Now I've got it setup as I like it, it sounds fooking amazing. The Denon amps are great value, I would never have thought a £200 amp could have so much kick with really crisp quality.

The point is, you should be able to get some really nice kit for £2k. Just take your time and don't buy anything without seeing/hearing it in action.

As for a projector, IMO you'd have to spent all the £2k and maybe more to get a satisfactory image. And then there's the problem of bulbs. £250-500 for a bulb every 6-18 (depending whether or not you smoke) months or so is enough to put me off.

How big is the room your setup is going in? This will be a major factor in choosing speakers. Anyone who knows there sh!t in a hifi store will ask you this.

[XDanger]

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?q=60%22+lcd+tv&oe=utf-8&cid=13417472851524258580&scoring=p#ps-sellers

Have a look in the bargain bin...
http://www.richersounds.com/clearancebargains.php?cda=clearancebargains1

Are these your speakers Revs?
http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=KEF-KHT1005

[Revs]

Are these your speakers Revs?
http://www.richersounds.com/showproduct.php?cda=showproduct&pid=KEF-KHT1005

Yeah that's them. They were replaced by the 1005.2's last year but there are still a couple of shops with the old ones in stock, as your link shows, for cheap cheap. The new ones are black and do look better, but the active sub isn't as good IMO (less x-over and phase options on the new one). They were over £500 when they came out and I would still have been happy if I'd payed that, but £200 is a steal! The satellites are superb quality, each weighing about 2kg and, although they don't look like it, they are 2-way (the silver dome in the middle is a tweater).

These are the Q's..

http://www.laserlinehifi.co.uk/images/xosc_l_1050group.JPG

and this is the amp..

http://www.big-screen.de/deutsch/image/produktbilder/hifi_sound/elektronik/denon/denon_av/denon_1508_600.jpg

Although it has been replaced by a new model now.

BTW Richer Sounds is probably the best place to be looking for a bargain.

[Dreamweavernoob]

my room measurements are 18ft wide x 12ft width x 8ft (height)

http://i41.tinypic.com/2wh1oc4.jpg


the green things are windows and the orange a door.

[Dreamweavernoob]

I'd rather spend the money you have now on either a decent projector and screen setup or sound system - not both. The reason being that you're either going to end up with a crappy sounding system with great video or the other way around.

You could also go the regular TV route, but a 100 inch screen is just too gorgeous to pass up. ;)

I'd just get a Sony VPL-HW10 coupled with a ~100inch screen(should go a bit over your budget but boy is that a good looking home theater setup!). Trust me - you're not going to regret it! :)

Tbh I dont actually have much money. 2000 is around my upper limit and will be for the forseeable time. :o Recession and whatnot.



My advice would be to read some reviews; get What HiFi and What TV. Once you've seen what you can get for the money you're looking spend, go out and have a look/listen to the stuff you've been checking out in the mags.

It just happens that I've spent about £2000 over the last few months on my home cinema stuff. TV is a 46" LCD Samsung (£1000), Amp/Receiver is a Denon AVR-1508 (£200) and the speakers are the 5.1 KEF-1005 kit (£300). I've recently added a pair of Q-Acoustics 1050i speakers too (£350) for music. The KEF's sound awesome but are a little lacking in the woofer range for music on their own. Now I've got it setup as I like it, it sounds fooking amazing. The Denon amps are great value, I would never have thought a £200 amp could have so much kick with really crisp quality.

The point is, you should be able to get some really nice kit for £2k. Just take your time and don't buy anything without seeing/hearing it in action.

As for a projector, IMO you'd have to spent all the £2k and maybe more to get a satisfactory image. And then there's the problem of bulbs. £250-500 for a bulb every 6-18 (depending whether or not you smoke) months or so is enough to put me off.

How big is the room your setup is going in? This will be a major factor in choosing speakers. Anyone who knows there sh!t in a hifi store will ask you this.

Thanks. Ive got a month or so to get some reviews down. Considering my current cinema setup is a Z-5500 and a 24" monitor, I think it wont take much to beat it.

Also, is there any way to semi cheaply sound insulate a room?

[XDanger]

is there any way to semi cheaply sound insulate a room?

http://www.ascott-dairy.co.uk/acatalog/Fibre-Egg-Tray-pack-of-140-30-egg-PY36.html

Fibre Egg Tray pack of 140 (30 egg) Ref: PY36
Pack of 140 fibre egg trays, each tray holds 30 hens eggs. Suitable egg size up to large.
Tray size 295 x 290 mm
Price: £14.49 (Including VAT at 15%)

They take PayPal :)

[Dreamweavernoob]

http://www.ascott-dairy.co.uk/acatalog/Fibre-Egg-Tray-pack-of-140-30-egg-PY36.html

Fibre Egg Tray pack of 140 (30 egg) Ref: PY36
Pack of 140 fibre egg trays, each tray holds 30 hens eggs. Suitable egg size up to large.
Tray size 295 x 290 mm
Price: £14.49 (Including VAT at 15%)

They take PayPal :)

:lol:

cheeply indeed.

[Revs]

It don't look too hot but it works :lol:

Just have as much fabric and carpet in your room as you can without it looking like a hippy den ;)

[XDanger]

And some really deep flock wallpaper...


The downside of eggboxes (aswell as the aesthetics) is they'll turn your room into a furnace given the chance.



Having all your speakers on the ceiling pointing downwards means the sound doesnt migrate, Or so Ive heard.
But that would be Sh*t.

[Dreamweavernoob]

It don't look too hot but it works :lol:

Just have as much fabric and carpet in your room as you can without it looking like a hippy den ;)

Oh, sorry :o, I thought you were making a pun on chickens and "cheaply (cheep). My bad.

And some really deep flock wallpaper...


The downside of eggboxes (aswell as the aesthetics) is they'll turn your room into a furnace given the chance.



Having all your speakers on the ceiling pointing downwards means the sound doesnt migrate, Or so Ive heard.
But that would be Sh*t.

Do you mean its a serious fire risk? That and the asthetics would put me off. If it made the room warmer I would not complain :lol:.

I seem to remember reading once that you could get these shapely shapes you could put on the wall. Must be mistaken :o.

Also, there is a curious oddity to my room. If I step outside the room, I can actually feel bass, where as in the room there is no discernable bass. :wtf:

[Toss3]

Also, there is a curious oddity to my room. If I step outside the room, I can actually feel bass, where as in the room there is no discernable bass. :wtf:

The low frequencies of the subwoofer are omni-directional and the waves are long, so when they go through a wall or are reflected back their strength increases and the sub can sound "louder"(You should also keep in mind that waves tend to cancel each other out, so a wrongly placed subwoofer can sound less boomier thanks to reflected waves(also called interference)). The sound is usually degraded, but putting a sub in a corner where three walls meet can make quite a bit of a difference when watching an action movie for example.

Here's a good guide on how to properly place you subwoofer:
http://www.sonicdesign.se/subplace.html

[Dreamweavernoob]

Thank you for that very interesting guide, I shall have to have a look into it. I always assumed you just plumped it down wherever.

It is currently placed just right of the 18ft label (on the above picture). The top, left and right walls are all solid stone walls with the bottom wall (long one with door) being some crappy wood or plaster. :|

[XDanger]

Fire hazard yes.

[bacon12]

Why would you suggest that projector when you he could get a Kuro elite in the same price range?

[Dreamweavernoob]

I would love to get this tv:

http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com/product/WD73737

But they are only american :(

Big shame :(

[Toss3]

Why would you suggest that projector when you he could get a Kuro elite in the same price range?

Because a projector > plasma in almost every situation(especially when it comes to movie-watching). Just look at the screenshots from the guys at avsforum and you'll see why. ;)

[Revs]

Because a projector > plasma in almost every situation(especially when it comes to movie-watching). Just look at the screenshots from the guys at avsforum and you'll see why. ;)

It's a personal choice, but I don't agree. Quality > size :)

[Toss3]

It's a personal choice, but I don't agree. Quality > size :)

Depends on what you prefer - if you want a more accurate rendition of what the director intended then a projector is the way to go, but if you like ultra inky blacks then a plasma would be the choice for you. :) I had a 46" Panasonic PZ-80 plasma a while back that I sold because it just couldn't live up to the cinematic feel of my projector and 92" screen.

I may get flamed for this, but imho plasmas and lcds just aren't good for watching movies(a rear projection unit would be a much better choice). :o

[Revs]

:firedevil

:D

[Dreamweavernoob]

Just wondering because my only experience of a projector was one that I borrowed from school, is the black levels on a projector good? I can pick up a HC5000 1080p Mitsubishi projector for £800. I know it sounds like im cheaping out, but im a future student in just a few short months :o.

[Toss3]

Just wondering because my only experience of a projector was one that I borrowed from school, is the black levels on a projector good? I can pick up a HC5000 1080p Mitsubishi projector for £800. I know it sounds like im cheaping out, but im a future student in just a few short months :o.

Well, the black levels of a Mitsubishi HC5000 aren't that great by today's standards, but it would be a good projector to get you started! Black levels aren't as important for projectors, as they aren't as noticeable as they are on plasmas or lcds. You could also get a grey screen to further improve contrast however.
The HC5500 sells for a bit more(~£1100), but would be a better choice imo because the hc5000 has been discontinued since april 2008 and is starting to show its age. Another thing the HC5500 has going for it is the long lamp-life which is rated at 5000hours in ECO mode.

Personally I prefer DLP-projectors because of their film-like image quality so the infocus X10, IN80, Optoma HD800X(not the xlv model) or benq w5000 would be first on my list.

Remember to check the projectors placement flexibility as that will seriously limit the screen size(the hc5500 and most dlp-projectors have a 1.2:1 zoom ratio, which means that you'll have to have a throw distance of about 4m to fill a 92inch screen).

Is there any retail store near you where you could demo some projectors to see which one you prefer?

EDIT: Just checked out projectorpoint.co.uk's deals and you can get a hc6500 for £1679 with an extra bulb(which is a nice thing to have)!

EDIT2: Heh thought I'd try to get you even more excited about getting a projector - here's a post from a guy at avsforum who just got his first projector(benq w5000):

Today I received my refurbished BenQ W5000. This projector is one of those milestone moments in your tech life when you realize "I can never go back". I have felt this way a few times in my life; iphone, broadband internet, blu-ray.......etc. I'm throwing the image on a wooden paneled wall in the basement and I am blown away. What must a screen look like. I have not even adjusted it yet. I can't stop smiling. It's so sharp and quiet. My bulb had no hours on it. No noise in the picture. I just keep popping in movie after movie just amazed. I really can't thank this community enough. I would have never experienced this if not for this place. Thank you all.

[Dreamweavernoob]

Unfortunately being a humble student, I cant afford the £1,600 price tag :eek:

*unless you wish to paypalz me some money :D

The only reason I was looking at the Mitsubishi one is because I cant see any other 1080p for less than a £1,000.

Its going to be used for:

Games
Blu-Rays


Thanks for your help btw, much appreciated :)

[Revs]

Another issue I have with projectors, other than the bulbs is; the light that is reflected off the screen then reflects off the walls in the room and reflects back on to the screen, making the blacks less black. You can get round this by having all dark walls, which won't reflect the light back on to the screen as much, but I don't like dark rooms. The only way I would be able to enjoy a projector fully is to have a dedicated room (with very dark walls) for it.

No trying to put you off but it's just something to think about if you go the projector route :).