Post your home theatre setup

[K3RMiTdot]

SHOW SOME PICS!! hahaha

[ganesh]

Bonus Room
Display – Pioneer PDP4300
Receiver – Marantz Reference series SR 19EX
Center – Boston Acoustics VR920
Front – Boston Acoustics VR 975
Rear – Boston Acoustics VR 940

Dedicated HT Room
Projector – Panasonic PT-AE-4000
Screen – Grandview 120” Fixed screen
Processor - Rotel RSP-1570
Power Amp – Rotel RSP-1565
Center : Monitor Audio GSLCR
Front : Monitor Audio GS 60
Rear : Monitor Audio In wall CPW GS
Sub : Velodyne (It is going to be replaced by a REL sub pretty soon)
Bluray – Oppo BDP 83

All the Interconnects are Ultralink.

Dedicated 2 Channel
Power Amp – Bryston 4 B SST
Pre Amp – Bryston BP 26
Speakers are PMC TB2i Signature series – Limited edition
Speaker Stands – Target HiFi HR60
Source : Marantz CD player (Going to be replaced by a Audiolab 8200 CD)
Pro-Ject Debut turntable and Pro-Ject Phono Box.
All the interconnects are Quad and Rega.


Review : For the most part I am happy with my HT setup. It needs to fine tuned and most likely I am going to add another Power Amp to add a little bit more power to the front two channels.
I love my 2 Ch set up. In my humble opnion Bryston and PMC are a match made in heaven.

Future Upgrades/Consideration :
1) Will replace the Monitor audio with PMC.
2) In the next house I will most likely get a Runco projector screen

[SOAB]

Originally posted by ganesh
Bonus Room
Display – Pioneer PDP4300
Receiver – Marantz Reference series SR 19EX
Center – Boston Acoustics VR920
Front – Boston Acoustics VR 975
Rear – Boston Acoustics VR 940

Dedicated HT Room
Projector – Panasonic PT-AE-4000
Screen – Grandview 120” Fixed screen
Processor - Rotel RSP-1570
Power Amp – Rotel RSP-1565
Center : Monitor Audio GSLCR
Front : Monitor Audio GS 60
Rear : Monitor Audio In wall CPW GS
Sub : Velodyne (It is going to be replaced by a REL sub pretty soon)
Bluray – Oppo BDP 83

All the Interconnects are Ultralink.

Dedicated 2 Channel
Power Amp – Bryston 4 B SST
Pre Amp – Bryston BP 26
Speakers are PMC TB2i Signature series – Limited edition
Speaker Stands – Target HiFi HR60
Source : Marantz CD player (Going to be replaced by a Audiolab 8200 CD)
Pro-Ject Debut Phono and Phono Box.
All the interconnects are Quad and Rega.


Review : For the most part I am happy with my HT setup. It needs to fine tuned and most likely I am going to add another Power Amp to add a little bit more power to the front two channels.
I love my 2 Ch set up. In my humble opnion Bryston and PMC are a match made in heaven.

Future Upgrades/Consideration :
1) Will replace the Monitor audio with PMC.
2) In the next house I will most likely get a Runco projector screen

shit. any chance of a screening? haha.

[ganesh]

Originally posted by SOAB


shit. any chance of a screening? haha.

Maybe

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by rage2
I had a pretty sweet 7.1 setup in my bedroom. I've now gone completely backwards in the interests of clutter removal by switching to a soundbar + wireless sub hidden under the bed. Still trying to get used to the massive drop in sound quality, much happier that the setup looks clean, just a floating TV and speakers. Only have to hide the xbox somewhere.

I think I'm getting old.

I am looking at a soundbar (Yamaha), rather interested in your set up to compare. I know there is a trade off for the clean sound bar look. Can you give some detail to your set up? Would you go for the same system if you were to do this over again? Right now I have a terrific Panasonic plasma TV but the sound is a total dud.

[Neil4Speed]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


Speaker/sub calibration is the single most "noticable" thing you can do to a home theater IMO. Even my mom, who is perhaps the most technologically UN-advanced person on this planet, noticed without anyone telling her after my dad ran Audyssey on his setup. You can do an OK job with a few hours and a SPL meter but it's not the same.

MCACC (Pioneer) is good but you need to calibrate your sub separately as it only measures down to 67Hz.

Audyssey (Denon, Onkyo, etc.) is very good, and will usually do a pretty good job with the sub too. Definitely not as good as an actual sub calibration though.

ARC (Anthem/Paradigm) is as good as it gets. I believe you can get it with Anthem's new "affordable" receivers haha.

Trinnov (Sherwood/Newcastle) - Excellent as well, pretty sure the one that comes with the Sherwood receivers is almost as good as the $20,000 dedicated Trinnov room correction. It's absolutely not worth that kind of money though, especially with stuff like ARC around.

And when I calibrated my Sub with a Paradigm PBK-1, that was the second most noticeable difference I've ever experienced in the audio world. Completely transformed the sub having it behave according to the room's acoustics. All the rattles in the room went away, and the bass hardly leaves the room at all, which is why I never get noise complaints. Removes all resonant frequencies, nulls, and boomy spots in the room. Best $300 I ever spent on my home theater.

Fascinating stuff, thank you for breaking that down for me. I have been on the look out for a good price on a Pioneer elite receiver for the future (not exactly in a rush), and having MCACC is a definite for me now.

Cheers

[JZS_147]

^ it doesn't necessarily need to be an Elite. My receiver for example was only made in Canada, and has the same internals, ratings, specs and extended warranty as the elite. The fucker weighs 40lbs, whereas the cheaper non elite reveivers are around 15-20lbs.

the 9040 is a great receiver, you might be able to find one booting around for a couple hundred bucks.

Pioneers newer receivers all kinda suck. Sound quality just isn't there. The Onkyo 609B kills almost everything in Pioneers lineup right now. Only ones worth picking up are the Elite SC's.

Another awesome receiver is the HK3600 and 3650. I installed one in a theatre a couple weeks ago and was super impressed! If I see one of those for cheap I'll snatch it up. I'll either get that or a Denon 3312 or 4311.

[ZEDGE]

This thread is kinda pointless with out pics..

[RX-7_TWINTURBO]

Here's my "semi budget" system so far, I'll probably be adding on to it in the future.

Audio:
Processing: NAD T747

Fronts: Emotiva XRM-6.1 X-Ref Monitor
Center: Emotiva XRC-6.2 X-Ref Center/LCR
Surround: Emotiva XRS-4.1 X-Ref Surround
Sub: Emotiva X-Ref 10 DSP Powered Subwoofer

Video: Panasonic TCP65ST30
BDP: Playstation 3 for now

[r3ccOs]

I have a very modest and "old" home theatre setup...
old HK340 reciever - but it is warm and has enough power as my speakers are very effecient (still dolby digital lol, 6.1 but no hdmi)

Mirage OM-10 and OM-5 srrounds/center (the OM-10's are actually very decent stereo speakers and image like gangbusters, I'd say at to the same level almost as Paradigm Studio 100 V2s (v1's were better)
Mirage OMNI-10 subwoofer
PS3 for blue-ray/gaming
WDTV for everything else streaming

but it works well for my bonus room

I think with home theatre, blending a sub is fairly easy... set the reciever x-over @ 80 hz, turn off the low level xover on the sub and adjust phase/volume as long as you place the sub somewhere in a 1/3 wall to wall

Where as, using a high-level (line level) input on a subwoofer for a stereo setup as mine is much toughter, but still just takes time to tweak

my stereo setup had varied, but now I'm down to:
GF A-88 KT88 tube amp - it sounded nicer than my Cary SLI-80
Jolida JD100A modded tube CDP/Rega Planet origional (very vinyl sounding)
Totem Arro's
Athena PS-400 subwoofer
Tara Labs RSC-Prime 1000 speaker cables
Nordost valhalla ICs
various tubes I've rolled from Sylvania chrome dome 6sn7's to NOS golden Lions KT-88's/6550s
GF PC-1 Power cables
Richard Grey Power Conditioner

I used to have Coincident bookshelves, Paradigm Studio 100 V1s, PSB Stratus gold, Totem Hawks, Theil 3.1, and a few more and componants ranging from Marantz vintage 2225, Luxman LV-103s, Musical Fidelity A3, Bryston 3bst, Macallister audio, etc...


for home theatre, I'd say the giant killer's these days are:
Oppo (but the transport can still be better, but nevertheless decent)
Sherwood Newcastle (but reliability is questionable)
Marantz

speaker wise? the Axiom stuff is very very good for home theatre
to me, they are competitive to the MA Silver line and even maybe the Paradigm studio v4 line
I wouldn't use it for my stereo, but the price point for the quality, effeciency and SPL's are damned good

subwoofer wise? HSU all the way
value for doller it blows Paradigm, Velodyne, Sunfire, SVS out of the water
BUT... for music, you have to look at subwoofers like REL, Totem, Martin Logan (descent), and maybe the Velodyne DD series

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by SOAB


shit. any chance of a screening? haha.

Runco rocks!

where do you find PMC or demo PMC in this city? I've heard they're very dry and analytical, but I think that was when they were paired to a Krell setup

I want to get a set of Green Mountain Audio Pico' speakers

and "if" i do my basement with a proper home theatre, I think I'm going to go with a full PA setup (built in) from http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/ and or the same designs from Yorkville sound over at long & mcquaid

I think this would be cheaper than going the MK route

the tapped horn subwoofer is just bloody amazing and PA equipment with balanced connectors can just take and give a pounding

probably would look to find some used 4 b sst or 6b to power em, and find a decent processor like a lexicon

[ganesh]

Originally posted by r3ccOs


Runco rocks!

where do you find PMC or demo PMC in this city? I've heard they're very dry and analytical, but I think that was when they were paired to a Krell setup

I want to get a set of Green Mountain Audio Pico' speakers

and "if" i do my basement with a proper home theatre, I think I'm going to go with a full PA setup (built in) from http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/ and or the same designs from Yorkville sound over at long & mcquoom. aid

I think this would be cheaper than going the MK route

the tapped horn subwoofer is just bloody amazing and PA equipment with balanced connectors can just take and give a pounding

probably would look to find some used 4 b sst or 6b to power em, and find a decent processor like a lexicon

I bought PMC from Audio Room and like i said before I love them. For music they are awesome.

[milhouse]

Dedicated Theatre

Epson Home Cinema 8350
106" Dalite Highpower Screen
Onkyo 609
Centre Speaker - Soundstage (looking to replace)
Sub- ED A7-350
Speakers - Klipsch
PS3
360


Family Room
Samsung 52" LCD
Pioneer 1018
Sub- Nuance (Dual 10's)
Centre - Yamaha
Speakers - Mission
Samsung Blu-ray player
Wii
360

[brucebanner]

Just a 2-channel for now but I'm very happy with it.

Sharp 70" LC-70LE734U
Harman Kardon AVR 3650
Polk Audio Monitor 70 front towers
Polk Audio PSW 505 12" Sub
Xbox 360

[mushi_mushi]

Here are some crappy pics of my home theatre setup.

front:

front-left:

front-right:

rear:

Equipment
Projector: Epson 1080ub
Screen: Carada 110" screen
Sub: SVS PB10 NSD
L/C/R (inwall) Speakers: RBH mc 884 L/R, RBH mc 616 Centre
Rear Speakers: Axiom Qs4
Seating: Reclining home theater chairs from london drugs

The reason the equipment cabinet looks empty is that I took out the xbox 360 and the htpc. Im upgrading the os drive of the htpc to an ssd and will be building an unraid server shortly. Will post pictures of the running setup in a few weeks. Currently using an ipad to navigate xbmc. (name of the app is xbmc commander)

Overall I love projection setups. The room is less then ideal because its not light controlled. The seating distance is also close to the screen, couldnt move it any further because there a structural support beam right behind the seating area.

To be honest I dont use this all to often, but as someone who enjoys watching movies, it does provide a very nice immersive experience.

[msommers]

Bump

[Loose]

2ch:
Krelll KAV-400xi amp
Dali Helicon 400 speaker (my absolute favorite piece)
Cambridge Audio 740C
Grant Fidelity B-283 MKII
IPhone (haha)

HT:
Sanyo PLV-Z2000 projector
Pioneer VSX-1326 receiver
NAD 216 AMP
Energy C7/C-C3/C-R1 speakers
HSU VTF-3 MK2 sub
PS3

[Mar]

Mine's pretty weak but I really enjoy it, it's fun.

A list:
- Legend 42 inch plasma television
- cheap Sony 7.1 surround sound setup
- top loader Nintendo with wireless controller
- Boxee Box with Live TV
- Nintendo 64 with extended cables, Goldeneye and Mario Kart
- Playstation 2 with wireless controllers
- Sega Genesis
- huge lot of Nintendo games

I built the unit out of MDF, it's pretty basic:



The main use is the Boxee Box used for Netlifx and Pandora:



And I added a Boxee USB tuner:



And if it's not Boxee, I'm usually playing Nintendo, this is a pretty rare top loader version I picked up last weekend. It's much more reliable, no blowing in the game. Works every time.

[msommers]

Does anyone use a Harmony remote for their system (if so which model)? In particular, people with WDTV Live and Telus Optik? Does it work for amps as well as receivers? Also I updated a post above but I'll just put it here instead.

Looking for more ideas towards a 2.1 stereo setup w/ HT use as well. I quite honestly don't know a heck of a lot regarding this stuff. I'm sure all I need for my purposes are a receiver, amp and speakers but maybe I'm missing something.

My plan for now is to use the setup for music mainly and also to have it for movies etc to improve the sound from the TV. Speakers and amp I'm sure are going to be dictated by budget, which I haven't quite figured out yet. But I'm of the mindset to buy something that'll last awhile and not feel like upgrading all the time (within reason).

I'd like to have all my HDMI devices (4 now, maybe an extra to be safe later) to play through the sound system. I'm not sure if a cheap receiver will work well enough or if I should opt for something higher end because the guts in them will be more transparent when it comes to playing music, leaving the speakers and amp to their true audio characters. Or maybe the receiver plays no part in the that and a cheapy will be fine. The Pioneer Elites have a wireless function to use iTunes from the computer which is great but most of my non-compressed music is in FLAC and use Foobar2000. I think I have coax and toslink-out on my computer, so if I can do it wirelessly without the sound going to shit that'd be awesome but hard-wired is still possible. Some of these 9.1 setups are not necessary but eventually when I have a bigger space I'd like to use it for dedicated HT purposes so I guess 5.1/7.1 for later use. In essence, a receiver that may be more expensive and over the top for my needs now, but could be a very good unit when I get a dedicated HT setup later.

I'm sure receivers all sound different but are most built for HT and therefore fairly analytical or are some more warm than others and if so, which should be looking at?

[Palmiros]

Originally posted by msommers
Does anyone use a Harmony remote for their system (if so which model)? In particular, people with WDTV Live and Telus Optik? Does it work for amps as well as receivers?

I'm using a Harmony 650 I believe, it's the entry level one, or the one just above the entry level, can't remember.
It controls up to 7 devices I believe. Costco sells them.
I'm running a projector, receiver with multiple modes (radio, TV, PS3) and Telus box (OptikTV) off of it with no problems. It does need an extra adaptor for the PS3 though, everything else is done through Harmony's on-line configuration process.