First home Cinema, what kit

deus3x

deus3x

deus3x

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Hi,

I have my first house and soon plan to turn one of the rooms into a Cinema. :D

I want a middle to High end setup but of course best bang for buck.

Some questions.
1. Projector or TV.
2. What are the commonly used speakers.
3. Cables

Is there a website which focuses on this kid of setup.

I will be working on the room so will plan my kit then can hide the cables behind the walls.

Any other advice.

Thanks,
 
Hi Grimley,

Well the room will be getting re plastered, my friend is a plasterer.

I would say my budget would be around 2k but could let this stretch if needs be, that would be all the hardware. TV or projector/speakers and what ever else i need..

Excluding the labour for plastering the room.

Are there any specific seats people use or just a normal sofa, i am a noob but always dreamed of a cinema. :)

Thanks
 
decide first if you want a TV or a projector based on

how big is the the room
what is the viewing distance
how big size screen do you want

things you will need

1) screen (tv or projector based)
2) amp
3) speakers
4) cables


as an example you can get something like the HD20 projector with screen, cables and bracket for under 1k

the rest spend on amp and speakers
 
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Hi Paul,

The room dimensions i will get later then we can decide on tv/projector.

What about sound deadening, in the cinema they have lights facing up, how much these cost and sound proofing. Woth doing while i am re plastering?

Ill get some pics of the room soon and decide how many power sockets and best way to run cables etc.

is 2k a realistic budget for Tv or projector/Speakers/amp and cables?
 
deus3x said:
Hi Paul,

The room dimensions i will get later then we can decide on tv/projector.

What about sound deadening, in the cinema they have lights facing up, how much these cost and sound proofing. Woth doing while i am re plastering?

Ill get some pics of the room soon and decide how many power sockets and best way to run cables etc.

is 2k a realistic budget for Tv or projector/Speakers/amp and cables?
Click to expand...

sound proofing depends on the location of the room and how near other people are to it

if its the upstairs in a house you will have a hard job sound proofing the sound to not go through the floor (within a reasonable budeget anyway)

also depends on the build of the room in the house ? stud walls ?

floor lights that face up are not too expensive

in a way, you need to work backwards..

decide first on what equipment you want/need and then you will know what cables you need and where you need power sockets etcl

and layout wise, where to run speaker cables

also you need to think about what source you want to use ?

budget.. thats down to you. for 2k im sure you can kit out the place quite nicely ..


rough workings i guess are

projector 900
amp 500
speakers 500
cables 100

obviosuly if you want to spend more than these prices you can but then it wil start to get very expensive..if you can spend 1000 on an amp and 1500 on speakers it would offer an improvement.

best thing is to go and demo some and see if you think more expensive ones sound nicer to you / worth the money
 
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Paul that is great advice, I can push the budget up more but i want it priced within reason.

Jak, I totally agree.

My room dimensions are
13'0" by 8'6" (3m 96cm x 2m 59cm)
512970000054img050000.jpg

Sorry pic sucks.

now TV or projector? :)
Also what speakers and amp are recommend. One Jak said?

Thanks again for all the help.
 
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Definitely a Projector. The HD20 would be a good choice as Paul11 said. You'll get a 92" screen for the throw distance (I would say about 12 feet, assuming you use the length rather than the width of your room)

assuming you spend 1200 notes on said projector & sub I'd get;

Sony STR-DA2400ESB for 250 notes (bit of a bargain right now given its original selling price)

SONY BDPS370 for 120 notes to match said receiver

Speakers = 3 pairs of q acoustics 2010 (300 notes)

get a decent quality HDMI cable if you plan on a long run cable (10 metres/30 foot) with the rest of the budget

Job done :D
 
Grimley your a star, thanks dude.

What colours are best to paint the walls, also is wood floor better than carpet or doesnt matter?

I will check them items out now :)
 
Carpet is technically slightly better as it reduces reflections of sound, but unless you use deep pile and carpet your walls and ceiling it will make negligible difference. Basically whatever suits the room best. You should post up some pics when it's all done:D
 
Hi Jak,

I will get the room pics up when I get home in a few weeks, 'work away'. Will need some advice on placement of plug sockets etc.

Also finalize the Kit/Cables :)

thanks
 
hi deus3x

Grimley is spot on, at 12ft you could get a 92" screen and it would look perfert (this is what hi have)

or a 50" plasma

you dont have to have carpet, you can always put a large rug down (this will help with the sound)

if you can decide first if your going projector or not as the leads will have to go to different places if you are

speakers:

what jak recommended was just a sub woofer, this is only part of the overall speaker package.

you need a sub and 5 other speakers (front left and right, centre, rear right and left)

you can buy these as a package. or as grimley suggested by them separately...

i dont know the kit he has recommended personally but maybe go demo some
 
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Thanks Paul,

I move in soon so will get the wardrobes moved and strip back the old plaster walls. Then get some designs made, then can decide on placement etc.

Projector will probably be the idea:)

Speakers, are there any recommened kits. All in ones?
 
actually thinking about it buying speakers second hand might be a good idea (maybe amp too)

you could probably pick up some bargains if you shop around

i suppose you should first decide if you want sub: satellites (this is a sub woofer and 5 small speakers)

something like this "Mordaunt Short Alumni Speaker System" (search for them in google)

or you can buy floor standing speakers... something like this "b&w 603"

these are just examples , there are many different brands.
 
I will most likely go with tthe satelites as i am re plastering can make the most of this.

Once i am sure about the room Ill get my deign up and see what's recommended. Going to be a complete build so ill keep this log alive :)
 
Hi im after a little help with the reciever you suggested

i have an onkyo 605
and im thinking of upgrading to another reciever and was looking at the Sony STR-DA2400ESB
is this classed as an upgrade
or any other suggestions im on a budget of say £250 above what i sell my 605 [£150]

or one of these SONY STRDH810 HOME CINEMA RECEIVER
 
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Will you be using this room for general TV watching or just for 'special events' and dedicated movie watching? Watching something on a projector every day will use up the lamp life quite quickly and replacements aren't cheap. If you're only doing events on the projector that's fine, but if you start watching normal TV on it I'd recommend a TV over the projector, maybe even something like a 32" LCD for standard watching and then you can pull the screen or turn the projector on for those special occasions.
 
indeed.

If its a cinema room, then great go with the projector, if its a general living room i'd get both if possible - decent 50" LG or Samsung plasmas can be had for ~£500 and shave a bit on the projector and other bits.

I had satellite fronts originally, but soon upgraded to floorstanders also.
 
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