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Old 01-22-2021, 01:59 PM   #11250
Pre
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Originally Posted by blue-sun View Post
You're right, if I was going for an end all be all crazy theater experience, I'm sure I could easily spend (not that I have or would_) 6 figures on an top of the line set up.

I just want theatre like experience in my basement. I have and always will love the movie going experience, and now especially in COVID, I miss going to a dark theatre to watch a movie.

I don't think the dimensions and layout of my basement theater is ideal for spending top dollar $ on.

I think a $500 screen plus a ~$2000 4k home projector in my space will be "good enough" considering I have under $1000 in the receiver/speakers. I'm not looking for super high end audiophile stuff, just something that works and is affordable and usable.
What are the dimensions of the room? My HT is 15 X 13 and I'm using the 15 foot length as my viewing portion. The 13 feet walls are the sides. My 75" panel is wall mounted and the panel sits about 4" from the wall. Front of the seats are approximately 10 feet from the panel, with the back of the seats being 3 feet from the wall behind so your ears are approximately 3 feet from rear wall, and your eyes are sitting at 12 feet from the panel once the recliner is in lean back. Walls and ceiling are painted a medium gray so once the lights go off, it's pitch dark, theater style. There is a window but it has a blackout shade as well as a blackout frame so in the middle of the day in the summer it's still pitch black.

A lot of people get hung up on screen size and they don't even have a room to accommodate. I could have done a 85" screen but it would have overpowered the room and I would have had to flip everything around and it would ruin audio setup as well as seating. You need to look at the room as a whole. Many people spend the largest portion on a panel then muck the audio, which is equally as important. Like I said, 75" or 85" you can move your seats closer to it to blind you to get that theater, first 1/3 of the theater type setup.

I spent I think 12k all in with wiring, all components, seating, new breakers/electrical. Sony X940E, Marantz SR8012, Sony 800M2 4k player, Apple 4k box, Dish 4k Joey, component shelf, Octane seating, JBL Studio 5 Series for the 7 channels, JBL Studio 210 for Atmos X 4 (wanted full range speakers for Atmos to future proof as the studios are increasingly sending more sound through Atmos channels) and two HSU VTF-3 Mk5 subs. I got everything at cost, or well below cost (All JBL's) sans the subs and seats. The panel is the best LED panel that Sony has ever made for cinema. They quit making it and the series on purpose to push people into OLED. The JBL Studio 5 series, if you hunt, you'll catch them for steal prices. They have bi-radial horns and are absolutely stunning. I had a friend over who has built home theaters since 1979. He was appalled at how little I spent for what I got. And he was especially pissed at the JBL's because he did not know they still made bi-radial horns. Bigger rooms the front channels should go with 3 590's, laying one of them horizontally for the center channel. My room is not large enough for that setup so I went with 580 towers and the 520c center channel. I have the 530's for sides and rears and they are one of the best speakers I have ever heard. 11 JBL's, cost me $1650 shipped. They sound like they cost 10X that amount.

Don't chintz on your audio. It's what makes it a theater experience. My audio setup mutilates even an Imax theater. Together with PQ there is no point ever setting foot in a commercial cineplex, even Imax, ever again. The subs have chest slam and will rattle your brain. I could have went with dual 12" subs but got the 15's for overkill. And the gains are on the lower end, and it still shakes the room in spades. If you want to spend less then go with 5.2.2, but at least get 2 Atmos channels. It really does make a massive difference because it creates a bubble, or 3D like sound. Rain, sound effects, it makes a big difference, to me, because you have sound all around you. 7.2.4 is ideal. I've been to people's houses who have the fanciest OLED made, and have a sound bar hooked up to it and I The sound is horrible. The movie theater experience is having that sound pan all around you. In a dialog movie it's not as important (you still need a quality center channel) but if there is a killer soundtrack, either music or sound effects, you are missing the boat.

The screen is just one thing in a list of things to get a room right. Like you I was dead set on a 4k Projector and screen for many years. A few friends big into HT, with one of them going back to 1979 building his own HT's said no. And that guy has money, I mean F U money. Even he quit using projectors when he did the 4k migration. He has an 85" panel now. And his JBL's are commercial grade, big $$$, the kind of JBL's they put into commercial cinemas. So if he is not using a projector and he has the deep pockets to drop on a 40k Sony 4k projector (commercial projector) then it spoke volumes, to me. Projectors are for big rooms where you are going to have multiple rows of seats. Pivot and get the audio right. It's just as important as the screen. I did this almost 2 years ago and it was worth every single cent. I put a lot of it on 0% and just now paying the room off.
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