Does anyone here have a home theater?

Visit the tech board. Lots of home theater threads.

That’s definitely a thought that’s already in my mind. If I did it, I think I’d just go mid range everything so I don’t spend too much and won’t be upset when the next best thing comes out.

And you’re right, it probably won’t be the death of theaters, that’s an exaggeration. But if I can use that as an excuse to convince the future wife to let me build a theater/man cave... I’m using it.

I built one in the bonus room in my last house and loved it. It was my place for sports and we had a weekly family movie night as well.

I was about to pull the trigger on a projection system for the new house but the really big screens have become so reasonable that it makes it a tough choice. Go deep on the audio system, great speakers aren't going to change tech and buy the biggest subwoofer you can find for the real theater experience.

Goldenear Technology FTW

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If you get one or two subwoofers, get these: LINK

Monoprice 12in 150-Watt Powered Subwoofer, Black

They're cheap and they're awesome

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Any subwoofer that won't go below 50hz is not really a subwoofer.

This would be WAY better.

I do. We just finished my second house build, and both times I put a theater in them. I'll try and put my build as best as possible, and I'll tell you what I prefer to have done.


Screen: Stewart Firehawk 135" - $3600 (this is the "black" screen that helps with ambient light)

Projector: Sony VPL-W295ES - $4500 (While I preferred the JVC, the sony's price was just too good to pass up. It had great reviews too. Cheapest true 4K projector. I think the picture is great)

Receiver: Denon AVRX 4300 - $1100 (I find this a clean sound, but I miss my Yamaha. Just seems to miss a bit of that oomph that the Yamah had. My music is very good but a bit week, and the surround seems to be slightly less pronounced. Then again I could be listening with bias)


Speakers (surround): Difinitive Technology - Don't remember price (you don't need anything too high end for surround. These or Klipsch work great IMO)

Speakers (tower for music): Paradigm (I bought these about 12 years ago for $3K, and they still blast pure clean sound as if I just purchased them. My model, which I don't remember off hand, is the last one before they "updated" their technology which resulted in poorer quality speakers. I got lucky. LOVE THESE)





To sum up, it is not cheap. It's definitely a high upfron investment, and I don't recommend it unless it's something you are passionate about and will use. That you are considering a LED/LCD tv tells me that's what you should do. You are talking about $3-4K for that (LGs are awesome IMO) vs $7-8K for the screen and projector.

Keep in mind that mine are considered mid range, so they get much more expensive than this lol. It's a bit silly really. The picture quality is more cinematic with the projector, and of course you can get massive screens; however, they simply can't match the brightness of televisions. At least not at my pricepoint.

Regardless of which you decide on, you will absolutely have to invest in a surround system to get that cinema effect. I love Yamahas, but Denon, Sony and Pioneer are very nice as well in that $1500 range. As for speakers, do NOT get Sonos. They are garbage for this. They are acceptable if you want an easy way to run speakers around your house that can play remotely, but they pale in comparison in terms of sound quality. DT and Klipsch are your best choices for mid range setups.

I'm sure others will have differing opinions than mine, and I suggest listening to them as well. My system I built up over the years, and all I had to buy when moving into my new house were the screen and projector. It's just so damn much money to do all at once.

If you do want a projector setup, make sure your room is big enough. If you can eliminate all light in it (windows and such). Light is a projector's enemy.


Hope this helps

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t I’ve always been concerned dropping a bunch of money on a home theater. Simply bc I’d be afraid as soon as I sign the check, new technology would advance and my setup would be old ne

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I have one and this was my concern at first. Then I realized it is a room in my house for me to hang out, watch sports and movies. I have an 85" + Qt 2 36" TV's. 7.2 sound. And 2 rows of theatre seats (from www.theaterseatstore.com), 3 on bottom row, 5 on top row.

Once you get past the "4k whatever, next gen" is coming and you won't have it, it is fine. Mine is 5 years old and I still enjoy the room almost everyday.

You can spend as much, or as little, as you want and have a home theater that works for you. I think your room will decide a lot about what you can do. If you have a room without much (or any) natural light, then you can get a project for $2k that does a pretty darn good job (and $1k will do a decent job depending on your expectations), and you can cobble together something that sounds pretty great on the cheap as well. I wouldn't be a bit afraid of used speakers if you find some that have been taken care of. If you have rooms with some or a lot of light coming in, a TV is likely your best bet.

A native 4K projector and a Stewart Screen would be on my list like someone mentioned above...but those alone will cost more than most people are willing to spend on everything.

Regardless, if you have to start from scratch, most budgets are do-able as long as you manage your expectations. I worked at Circuit City many, many moons ago and the biggest problem I had was when folks came in with $100 to spend and expecting the $100 speakers to sound like the $1,000 speakers. As long as they didn't listen to the $1k speakers, they usually ended up pretty happy with what they purchased

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I worked at Circuit City many, many moons ago and the biggest problem I had was when folks came in with $100 to spend and expecting the $100 speakers to sound like the $1,000 speakers. As long as they didn't listen to the $1k speakers, they usually ended up pretty happy with what they purchased

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You really do get what you pay for with speakers.