Please Help..We Are Lost!!

Hey Guys!!

My dad and I just purchased a Panasonic TH-42PM50U Plasma..(is it good?) We now want to set up a mini theater in our basement.We want some powerful great sounding equipment , but dont know what to get. Please help us. We also want to know of a HD DVD player that can play backed up DVD copies and give us that surround sound we want. Any ideas? Our budget is about $2500us. But if we have to go over a little we wouldnt mind hearing specifics on the recievers and speakers and whatever else we need to enjoy our cinema.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

I don't know anything about your plasma (read some decent reviews thought) but regarding your sound system, how large is the room and secondly, will you be using the system strictly for video or for music as well? With what you're willing to pay, you should be able to get something really decent, not the top of the line best, but certainly something really nice if you shop carefully. Regarding your DVD player, I would wait because some AVRs come equipped with upconverters that are really amazing...Gerry

 

Thanks Gerry for taking the time to help us out...The system will be mainly for movies. We want that theator feel. The room is 35'x 24'...the viewing area where the tv and the couch will be is 10' x 15' the height of the basement is 6'4"...

 

i bought a yammy rx-v1500 for about 6 bills on clearance...
any brands of a receiver that you like? for the budget you have listed, and room dimensions, i'd look into the onkyo txsr-702 )7 channel, 700 watts, auto room set up) nice receiver. i almost bought that one, but came across the yammy for a deal and bought that one.
speakers for that onkyo, polk always sounds good with onkyo, just get matching speakers so you have timbered smooth sounds. give me a bit more info.... what brands you like, we can go from there...

 

To be honest. I am new to this and out of all the names i've seen on here...Sony,Bose and Yamaha are the only ones that I know. I am looking for whatever is great for the amount of money that I have in the budget. All I have is the Plasma...I dont even know what else I need to make it complete. Please give me the models/# so I can start to price it out and read the reveiws on them. This is so foreign to us...so as much help as we can get...we are willing to listen ...because we want this to be somthing we enjoy right off the back...

thanks for your time and advice

 

you can get advice for free, but what one suggests you get, may not sound the same in your room due to accoustics, size, set up, power, the list goes on and on.
i mentioned a model, the onkyo txsr-702 (circuit city has)
i'd personally stay away from Bose, much to expensive and over rated, but that's my opinion.
check these out for your viewing pleasure........
http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=TX-SR703&class=Receiver&p=i
this is the 703 model, but the only difference is, they added XM radio
here is mine.......
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/receivers/RXV1500.htm



get you some nice towers........ like these..
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/floorstanding/monitor50/
then a good center, don't skimp on this one, because all your dialogue will come from this piece...... like this one...
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/center/cs1/
very good di-pole/bi-pole surround speakers......
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/surround/fxi3/
and last, but not least.......a GOOD sub
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/individual/subwoofers/psw12/
thats a 12" sub, but you can get a 10 incher for less

i only pasted a few modles, not that i suggest you get those exactly, but you get the idea. stay with matching speakers and lines if possible. with a 7.1 system (which is more common now a days) you can still run 5.1 and be good. there are not many dvd's out on the market today that are actually in 6.1 (very small handfull)
and nothing is out in 7.1 yet............. YET
when blue ray comes out, things may change.
but use that as a starting point.
try these as well, to read up and get good info from, other then that, ask, i will do my best to answer you.
http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/avhardware/audiovideosetup.php
http://www.audioholics.com/showcase/systemguide/index.php
http://www.fosgateaudionics.com/hometheater/index.asp
http://www.htexplained.com/abridged/Chap 8.htm
this will get you headed in the right direction.
let me know if you have questions ok !!

 

I am going to make a suggestion which may well start people to screaming! You see, there are different sorts of personalities looking to buy video/audio equipment. Gear and I have different systems yet similar in many ways; we enjoy the set up process, the techie stuff etc. I have a Denon 3805, I thought the set up process was easy and kind of fun. A friend liked my system and bought an identical one. While I thought the set up was both fun and child's play, he was really frustrated and ready throw the system out of the window. I set it up for him. Even now, if he has to make changes, he calls me. He's a very bright guy and I don't understand why he finds it so difficult... just a technophobe who goes into a panic, I suppose. With the money you have to spend, you could still get a very impressive out of the box system which are a piece of cake to set up and equally easy to operate. Don't let anyone tell you that such systems are junk and don't sound good...let your own ears be the judge of that; guys like me like our toys and gadgets and we can assemble some truly awesome systems, we often forget that there are scores of people who end up with migrain headaches trying to do what we find so fun and easy. You've got a good chunk of change to spend and could get the top of the line of such systems and some DO sound really incredible. I don't mean any offense and I hope you don't take any but you do sound like my buddy who I spoke of earlier who wants awesome sound, yet, just isn't the sort of personality who really gets into set up, following the on-screen instructions for the units etc. I've seen many of those top of the line, yet, out of the box systems that were very impressive...and you've got the bucks to buy just such a system. I've heard some nasty remarks about Bose on this site...and while I know where these guys are coming from, I've got to disagree with them. I've heard out of the box systems by Bose, Samsung and a number of others that were very impressive sounding, more than enough power, awesome bass and front/surround effects and, very important to some, designed to be easy to set up and operate...useful when it will be used by multiple people. The old saying that you get what you pay for is true; the low priced packages suck, but you've got the bucks to get some top of the line packages. I believe both Denon and Yamaha make such packages now. Both Bose and Samsung make some that are very impressive. I'd stay away from Pioneer and Sony though. Sending you model numbers tell you nothing; go and hear them for yourself then read reviews on those you thought were the best. I've been promising Gear to send him this great site for reviews but lately it's been one thing after the next. I hope to send it tonight and I think it would be useful to you too. I guess one thing I would add is that most of these box systems are designed for watching/listening to movies and the top of the line systems are damned good but not necessarily good with strictly music which is why I had asked for your primary use. Gear once said that if a system is really good with music, it will no doubt be awesome with video and that is true but it doesn't work the other way around. A system can be awesome with video but that doesn't mean that it will be the same with purely music. Well, sorry to ramble on. I'll send that review site tonight if it's the last thing I do! Hope you are well...Gerry

 

at least you have the concept gerry, i am having an ongoing debate with another guy in another forum on high end stuff. i dont intend to sound like i know everything, which i dont, and the day i say i do, is when i stop learning (same goes for my profession as a auto technician).
anyway, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but me personally, i dont like bose. i had a cousn who worked for a retailer and had many product testing and literature on bose, and all i can say is, i did not like it then, even now.
anyway, if you buy individual components, thats your best bet. a HTIB is not my cup of tea...

 

Thanks again for your time and advise..I wished more people would have added their 2 cents to help a novice out...but thanks for guiding me to the right area

 

i almost feel hurt.......... like as if mine and gerry's input was not worth your while...

 

ok, check this guy and his stuff........... along with my comments...
nevermind the cable questions,go to page 2 and look for bigbob, but check his stash and what he pays for it......... then reconsider your purchase !!

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/216122

 

Thanks again...You guys really made a difference

 

so did you buy anything yet? post what you get/got !!!

 

not yet...i will be looking this week..i sure will not be able to do it the Bigbob way...lol...ill let you guys know before i even make my purchase...

 

sounds good......

and that guy bigbob has been around the business (he says) since age 12
and now owns his own store.

either way, let us know

 

I have the Harmon/Kardon AVR 435, if you want superior theater sound then go with that, but it also depends on your speakers. You can have the best receiver, but with crappy speakers you'll get crappy sound. The AVR 435 has a microphone that will set up the speakers to the size of the room, Very easy to use.

 

@ chubbyinc
most newer respectable receivers now a day have a room mic available for auto set up. and a nice feature it is to have, especially for the ones who have no clue how to set it up. the ideal way is with a SPL meter and set and aim your speakers accordingly.
i almost got an H/K receiver, but opted for a Yammy instead.

 

Your space is problematic since you have a huge area behind the couch that would suck up your sound. You may need a lot of power. Here is an example system.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/systems/floorsystems/showsystem.php?id=231


just don't get their sub, it's not great. Spend a bit on the sub or build your own sonotube sub. Since you are in a big room, the sub can be home made and out of the way and you will be very happy with its performance.

For receiver, get a Yammy 1500 and it should be good enough.

If you can provide a bit more info on what kind of sound you like, perhaps I can narrow it down better.


here is another one, I guess more aesthetics than performance. I have not heard these particular speakers but I do have their speakers.

http://www.definitivetech.com/loudspeakers/mythos/mythos.html

 

Gear and bl_NY: I won't bother with the site I spoke of; you've already posted it gear! Didn't recognize it until I found what I'd printed on my Denon. Bl_ny, I read your post in the displays section and someone suggested you find someone to help you set up if you're not too certain; that's always a good suggestion if you're not experienced at this sort of thing...you'd have more fun and learn at the same time. I suggested earlier about the out of the box systems; I have indeed heard some bose and samsung that were quite good but have never read the reviews because, like gear, just not my type of system: I mentioned them because of ease of set up. Even with putting a system together though, given the small listening area in a large space, a basement with ceilings only just over six feet and the fact that the system won't be used for music, I'm still of the feeling that top of the line small speakers would serve better than towers. I have Mirage's flagship speakers of the OM series... which I love but I just can't imagine them in that sort of setting. I just can't imagine that the effects either through fronts to center and sub or fronts to rears would be as clear and distictive when faced with the massive wall of sound in front of you in such a small place. I've heard mirages onmistat and microstat speakers which are small, on a 3ft stand and unbelievable sounding (not as expensive as the towers but certainly not cheap either). I've got to think that, under the conditions outlined, such speakers would sound way better. Some people fervently think bigger is always better but I just don't think so from the description of the space. Such speakers, provided they're high end, still connect to AVRs like my Denon or Gear's Yammy and work with equal power and very high quality sound but with the AVR's speaker selection set to small fronts, someof that lower end sound blaring right at you in a small space is, instead, produced through the sub making the effects stand out more (again, in such a small listening area). Sounds great for video but I'm not crazy about them for music...not that they don't sound crystal clear but that missing lower frequency from the fronts to the sub makes it off balance somehow with just music. So too, I'm not sure if all AVRs, when set to small fronts, work in the same way...Gerry

 

Thought I'd send the specs on my stuff. Not quite the system bigbob has but I'm still proud of my baby:

Fronts:
<http://www.miragespeakers.com/om5.shtml#>
Center:
<http://www.miragespeakers.com/omC3.shtml#>
Side surrounds and Rear surrounds:
<http://www.miragespeakers.com/omR2.shtml#>
AVR:
<http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/356.asp#>
Sub:
<http://www.klipsch.com/product/product.aspx?cid=55&dmore=True&rmore=False>

My sub is actually the weakest link in the system but it still does very nicely. Fronts and bi-amped and bi-wired. Gerry