Home Theater Setup Help

[93mr2gt]

Hey guys,

I have a older hometheater system which has been sitting in the basement from 12-15 years ago. I need some help setting it up or perhaps upgrading certain parts of it. Here are the specs.

Musical Fidelity Amp SP80
Musical Fidelity PreAmp SA80
Marantz Receiver AV600
3x Marantz THX mono amps (currently used for rear speakers, Marantz receiver, and the BPS150 subs
2x Mirage BPS150 subs
2x Mirage BPS100 subs (1 not working, not sure why)
2x ProAc Response 2 centers
2x Vandersteen Model 1 towers
2x Rear Mirage M290 speakers

I have a laser disc player and a DVD player hooked up to it right now, debating which projector i should get for it (viewsonic or Optoma, because i read some good reviews on those).

Now, my question is, since 1 of the BPS100 sub is not working, where can i take it to, for repair or diagnostic? If i decide not to fix it, what sub should i put in to replace that 1. As well, I might replace the receiver so i can utilize HDMI cables and plug it into my new projector, what do you guys recommend?

I just moved the system into my new place and only part of it are setup. I dont want to spend a ton of money on it. Need some suggestions please.

Thanks

[Mitsu3000gt]

Whats your projector budget? Do you have plenty of freedom regarding where to put the projector, or will throw distance & adjustability be an issue for you?

Whats your receiver budget?

[Muji]

Mitsu is right, budget, throw and mounting area, room darkness factor, etc are the issues. From there go to the actual projector brand, thinking about bulb life, etc.

[93mr2gt]

it will be in my bonus room, so a bit of sunlight, but i am trying to find some blackout curtains for it...

I think Optoma and Viewsonic at Costco is pretty good for the price, what do you guys think?

Optoma http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10339422&search=projector&Mo=19&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-CA&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Sp=S&N=0&whse=BCCA&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Ne=4000000&D=projector&Ntt=projector&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

Viewsonic http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10344698&search=projector&Mo=19&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-CA&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Sp=S&N=0&whse=BCCA&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Ne=4000000&D=projector&Ntt=projector&No=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

I am still debating on receiver, the one i have now is pretty good, just trying to see if it will make a big difference with a different receiver

[Muji]

Originally posted by 93mr2gt
it will be in my bonus room, so a bit of sunlight, but i am trying to find some blackout curtains for it...

I think Optoma and Viewsonic at Costco is pretty good for the price, what do you guys think?

Optoma http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10339422&search=projector&Mo=19&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-CA&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Sp=S&N=0&whse=BCCA&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Ne=4000000&D=projector&Ntt=projector&No=0&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

Viewsonic http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=10344698&search=projector&Mo=19&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-CA&Nr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Sp=S&N=0&whse=BCCA&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BCCA&Ne=4000000&D=projector&Ntt=projector&No=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

I am still debating on receiver, the one i have now is pretty good, just trying to see if it will make a big difference with a different receiver

Out of the two, the Optima (sale ends soon) looks best to me, I had a top of the line Panasonic a couple of years ago. The screen makes a decent difference as well. IKEA has roller blackout blinds, I had some in my condo last year as the light from the condo security lights were an issue.

I would stick with your sound system for now, you'll like it or not and can upgrade later. Frankly, the screen wow of a projector cannot be beaten IMO.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Both projectors are good for their price categories. What you really need to watch is throw distance, offset, etc. and make sure your room and desired screen size all can handle it. You wouldn't want to get it all home and find out your projector can't fill or hit the screen completely with where you have it mounted.

If you can bump you budget up a bit into the low $2000 range for a Epson 6500/8500 UB or Panasonic AE4000 projector, you will enter a whole new level of performance. If all you want is a decent huge picture that will still have a lot of "wow" factor, the ones you listed will be fine. Another thing with these projectors, particularily with the Epson, is it has an excellent video processor in it (Reon HQV) to upconvert HDTV, DVD's, etc. to 1080p which is more and more important with the huge screen sizes.

Definitely get blackout blinds, or put something in the windows to kill ALL of the light.

For a screen, either order from Carada in the states, or buy from Grandview in Canada. Both are an excellent product and look just as good as the really expensive screens (Stewart, Da-Lite, etc.). If your room is normal, you will want a white screen with a standard 1.0 gain. I recommend a fixed screen vs roll up or whatever else.

What will probably make the biggest difference to your ears is a receiver with good room correction (Audyssey, MCACC, etc.). People underestimate this aspect all the time, and it's probably one of the few things that even someone who doesn't know the first thing about HT would notice the difference of. Same goes for subwoofer calibration.

If you do want to upgrade your receiver, Denon and Onkyo typically offer the biggest bang for the buck. Both are excellent product. You should be able to get a Denon 3310 or 2310 or similar for pretty cheap these days.

Also without actual 1080p content you won't be getting the most out of your projector, but it will still look awesome with any HD content if you wanted to add blu-ray later.

Hope that helps.

[93mr2gt]

Thanks for the advices.

I have a screen setup already, Luma draper is the brand i think, it was ordered from the States.

I have about 20' from 1 end of wall to the other, screen size is 100-120" i think. what kind of throw ratio will i need?

I have a few receivers kicking around, but they are all pretty old, got 1 harmon kardon, 1 denon. I think i will probably keep the Marantz for now and upgrade that in the future. The only reason why i wanted to upgrade it is for the HDMI capability for blu ray and such. As for the projector, i think i will go with the Optoma one. Worst comes to worst, if it is not good enough, I can use it in the basement for my golf simulator setup.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by 93mr2gt
Thanks for the advices.

I have a screen setup already, Luma draper is the brand i think, it was ordered from the States.

I have about 20' from 1 end of wall to the other, screen size is 100-120" i think. what kind of throw ratio will i need?

I have a few receivers kicking around, but they are all pretty old, got 1 harmon kardon, 1 denon. I think i will probably keep the Marantz for now and upgrade that in the future. The only reason why i wanted to upgrade it is for the HDMI capability for blu ray and such. As for the projector, i think i will go with the Optoma one. Worst comes to worst, if it is not good enough, I can use it in the basement for my golf simulator setup.

Go to www.projectorcentral.com and check out the throw distances for the projectors. If you have flat ceiling all over the place and mounting freedom, it will be a non-issue. Get the projector as close as you can to the screen while still being able to get the size you're looking for. 120" might be pushing it for these lower-end projectors, but if the room is pitch black and you get the projector as close as it will go it will probably be OK. The further away the projector is, the less bright the picture is (fewer foot lamberts), and the larger the image, the less bright it will be.

The Optoma will need to be a minimum of 13'1" away for a 120" screen, and 10'11" for a 100" screen. That's not too bad actually. You should still be able to get around 18 fL of brightness with a 1.0 gain screen at that distance, which is slightly brighter than your average movie theater. You'll want to leave yourself a bit of room for fine adjustments as well.

Also the Optoma does not have lens shift, so you will need to mount it VERY precisely in relation to your screen to avoid using digital keystone adjustment (i.e. lens perfectly centered to the screen and offset matched to the top of the screen).

[mushi_mushi]

Some really good advice from Mitsu3000gt, he knows what he's talking about. First determine what your total budget is, then decide what type of projection technology to go with based on your room/needs/budget. Im sure you can find some members on here who would be willing to demo their setup. Otherwise its very hard to demo this equipment because you wont find it at futureshop and the like. You can get a very nice projector and screen for 3000-4000.

My choices would be exactly what Mitsu3000gt stated. As far as projectors, the "Epson 6500/8500 UB or Panasonic AE4000" are very good.

What are the dimensions of your room, you mentioned 20'. Is is 20 x 20? what is the length, width and height? What's your budget? Check out projector central like suggested. Once you select a projector they have a throw distance calculator which basically tells you where the projector should be located given a specific screen size.

[93mr2gt]

So, i ended up getting the Optoma HD200x projector from memoryexpress 8 months ago for 800. i am pretty happy with the projector so far.

I will most likely get a 60+ inch tv next year for the same room (for gaming).

I am now debating on a new AV receiver so i can change my cables to HDMI. I am looking at Marantz, Harmon Kardon, Denon, Cambridge Audio. Budget for the receiver is max 1000. Any suggestions?

I am also trying to figure out how to manage my cables properly, especially ones from the projector, anyone have good recommendations?