Home theatre setup ~12k

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#364037 6-Aug-2010 08:48

joker97: while all the talk about the components: the most important is the speakers - this is what you hear. avsforum says 75% of movie sound is from center speaker. most speaker series produce extremely 'weakened' centers ... choose wisely (even some of the "good" ranges slack on their center speaker). good luck!

Good point joker97 - The Wharfedale Diamond series in particular have good range on their center speakers.

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#364043 6-Aug-2010 09:09

re wharfedale diamond comments above. you could get 10.cm center 10.7 fronts and 10.1/2/3 rears. i ahve the eqvuivalents in 9 series and they are amazing for HT use. i live in chch you could audition when kids are at school and compare with those 5 times the price - i bet it'd come close! however they're regarded as budget speakers if you're after "status"

magu

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#364048 6-Aug-2010 09:20

I got a set of Klipsch 4xF-2/1xC-2/1xSUB10 that does miracles. Would only swap for those Theophany speakers, but I know they don't come cheap.

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cgrew

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#364054 6-Aug-2010 09:27

Even though Wharfedale speakers are classed as 'budget' HT speakers, Wharfedale exceed in quality not quantity.

Every single component including the speaker drivers themselves are made in Wharfedales own facilities in England, so the quality of everything is controlled.

I'm running a Diamond 9 series 5.1 surround sound setup with PS3 and a very powerful AV receiver that easily rivals equipment that is triple the price. You are more then welcome to come have a listen but I am located 20 minutes out of Chch.

Good luck!

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Conor

99GTB

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Wannabe Geek

#364064 6-Aug-2010 09:37

In terms of the remote situation I think my parent are quite keen on the touch as they seem to like my iphone i just got as the touch screen is quite good. Also the gestures to do volume etc and I like the flexibility of the app and would like to give it a go. If they don't like it I will buy it off them and they can get the likes of a harmony 1100 or something cheaper :)

Will contact you at some stage down the track masterpeice about viewing the projector setup etc and am definitely planning ahead as it is alot of money.

Went into harvey norman for a bit of a look at various prices etc of mainly speakers, then went to listening post.

Listening post had a yamaha rx-v3900 for $3000 which I didn't think was too bad with decent power output, about $1000 over what I planned though.

Also liked the look of some paradigm monitor 7s at $1700, paradigm CC290 centre at $1000 and some paradigm atom monitors at $700. How would these compare to others people have mentioned?

They also thought a paradigm sub dsp3200 at $1700 would be better than one of the cht 12 velodynes.

Also looking at a smaller screen after a visit there. I think a 100" 2:35 matrix white fixed frame screen would be a good choice.

Other speakers I was looking at in harvey norman was the klipsch f2s and the wharfedale 10.6.

wmoore

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Ultimate Geek

#364079 6-Aug-2010 09:53

The 20 Most Common Mistakes in the Home Cinema

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Jaxson

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#364104 6-Aug-2010 10:44

my 2c.

Ditch the PS3 as the source unit. By all means keep it for you for games etc, but no way is it ideal for parents who will use this room occasionally.

Get a stand alone freeview box with EPG and a stand alone Bluray Player.
Freeview on the PS3 is ok but once again a stand alone freeview device may be a better bet.

For only $99 more, get the harmony along with your iphone remote. If the iphone works out then all good, use the harmony somewhere else in the house. Don't understimate how many remote buttons/commands you may need with a full theatre setup.

You'll want to give some thought to assembling all this, as it's likely a bit more labourish than perhaps you have considered. Think getting cables and power up to your projector, building a step up landing and carpeting it for a rear couch to sit higher than the front couch etc.

I'm huge on a simple user interface. This is where your parents will accept or not.

The harmony does this spectacularly well. The iphone may do too, and it sounds cool as for sure. The PS3 has a bunch of oddball characteristics that regular users get used to (things like the triangle button to bring up the options menus). Occasional users are far more comfortable with a standard menu or remote button that says subtitles etc. The PS3 has none of this labelled via hand controller, but you can map this out to real buttons via the harmony adaptor/remote.

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magu

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BitSignal

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#364108 6-Aug-2010 10:49

For a budget this size, I'd go for a nicer Harmony than the standard $99 one. It just looks more professional, and it is touch-screen as well, with minimalist design.

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MrFlower

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Master Geek

#364123 6-Aug-2010 11:04

have owned a pair of Paradigm Studio 60 V4 previously, they are really worth the money they ask for.

I am not sure how their Monitor series compares to Studio series.

Currently using Wharfedale Evo 2 as mains, they are good, but I will switch back to Studio series when the time comes.

mentalinc

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#364127 6-Aug-2010 11:10

99GTB:
Also liked the look of some paradigm monitor 7s at $1700, paradigm CC290 centre at $1000 and some paradigm atom monitors at $700. How would these compare to others people have mentioned?

Other speakers I was looking at in harvey norman was the klipsch f2s and the wharfedale 10.6.

Use your ears not your eyes.

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LookingUp

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#364168 6-Aug-2010 12:09

I've got a set of Paradigm speakers, and rate them highly.

At the time, I auditioned quite a number of high-end equipment, as I was looking for something that were musical as a priority over HT "fizz". I picked the Paradigms on their performance, and can tell you they make damn fine HT speakers :-)

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juliant

96 posts

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#364546 7-Aug-2010 06:40

You don;t mention listening to music as a requirement. If it was I'd definitely be suggesting two subwoofers to provide a more even bass response across the room. Especially as your room is quite square. Another good idea is room treatments - I bought a couple of Nova Hush panels from Forman insulation and put in the 2 front corners and it really helps the bass. They wont help with the real low frequency room nodes (20hz-80hz) but its still surprising how much they help tighten the bass up. Cost me $155 for 2 50mm thick panels (2.4m x 1,2m) which I cut in half and stuck together to make 100mm thick.
Not a bad idea for the side walls either unless you have bookcase, thick curtains to dampen the first reflection points.
3rdly, a receiver that has a good room correction system helps a lot. I believe the Audyssey system leads the others in this area. Make sure its one that has MultiEq not just 2 Eq as this provides correction to the low bass frequencies.
Lastly, make sure you leave a metre or so from the couch to the back wall - not good to be seated right against the back wall because of room reflections

lyonrouge

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#364550 7-Aug-2010 08:11

wmoore: The 20 Most Common Mistakes in the Home Cinema

very useful, thanks. I have everthing right but the mains (still setup for stereo and not theatre), lucky I read this as I'm about to install inwall, repositioning that would have been difficult ;-)

Batman

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#364591 7-Aug-2010 10:33

2 subs if you're serious about the complete package.

cgrew

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#364592 7-Aug-2010 10:39

joker97: 2 subs if you're serious about the complete package.

Hmm to much LFE I reckon..

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