A Tale of Two Home Theaters!

[Vcash]

Hi Folks,
So over the next couple of months, I will be setting up two separate HTs for a new apartment that my family and I will be moving into by July. I have already started sourcing some components and would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on my intended setup and also solicit your advice in terms of what components are right especially in the HT department.

1. Dedicated Media Room

This room has been conceived for having our family home theater. Attached is a diagram of what the room looks like. I intend to purchase a 50+ inch Plasma for this room. Other components would include a Blu-Ray player and a HTPC with HDMI and Optical Audio Out. We will primarily watch movies here, mostly from the HTPC. No gaming or music needs in this room at all.

Currently I am contemplating a 5.1 Channel HTIB for this room.



2. Family Room

Now this room is the hub of the house. It is the focal point where people come and go and I thought it would be nice to have a TV here. Not planning on installing a HTPC \ DVD player here and the only input will be a DTH. As of now I am contemplating installing a 46" LED TV. Ordinarily I would not care for a HT system at all in this room, however as you can see, the room is fairly large at almost ~700 Square Feet. It also has high ceilings and has a lot of large glass doors \ windows and an internal stairwell. I was contemplating installing a soundbar or a 2.1 channel system here but since the apartment was still under constructions, I have got the room wired for speakers and a sub as well in case I wanted to install a 5.1 system. Now the only problem is that the wiring all had to be done at a height of almost 10 feet. I have attached a diagram for this room as well.



So now that you have seen my setup here are my questions:

1) My combined budget for both systems has to be under 50K. Ideally, I would like to have it at 35K if possible. I understand that the latter price looks a bit low, but I have priced out 5.1" Onkyo \ Yamaha HTIB's outside India for 15 to 20K. Similarly Sound Bars can be had for under 15K as well.

2) For the dedicated media room, I am assuming a 5.1 setup is a given. Can you recommend some models and brands?

3) For the family room, would you recommend a 5.1 system for casual DTH (Tata Sky HD+) viewing or can I go with a 2.1 or a sound bar? Recommendations on which setup to go with would be appreciated along with any any model suggestions.

4) I can source components from Dubai as I am travelling there and I saw that I can get a Onkyo 3400HTS-3400 for AED 1000 which is around 15K. I also read that someone has picked up a Yamaha YHT-296 for arounf 1200 AED - That would be around 18000. If I can get these components at these prices, I would love to pick them up as it would be under my budget by quite a bit. Any risks here?

5) Can someone list entry level 5.1 \ 2.1 and sound bars across the popular manufacturers that I should explore - Denon \ Onkyo \ Harmon (JBL) \ Polk etc.

Thanks for going through this long post and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Thanks,
V

 

[rajadeep]

Vcash I hope u don't mind me giving you a small suggestion... As you are making a dedicated HT room for watching movies would it not be better to go for a projector instead of a plasma... Another FM Santy too was looking to buy a 50" plasma to replace his 32" LCD but after a lot of consideration & some suggestions he decided to go in for a 720p projector(hd66) instead & he seems more than satisfied with his choice... My calculation is this... A 50" plasma will cost u anywhere from 60k-90k depending on which model u go for... This budget is more than enough to buy a decent projector+ screen... Say ur budget is 60k for a plasma then u can go for a HD66 from amazon for less than 40k & then spend 5k or so to build a 100" DIY plywood based screen ... So u have a setup for 45k which is 15k cheaper than a 60k plasma & has 4 times the size of ur 50" plasma... If you are thinking of a 90k budget then even better as you can go for a Mitsubishi HC4000 or epson 8350 both of which are about 80-85k & build a 100" DIY screen for less than 5k thus giving you a full HD beautiful HT setup which will beat a 50" plasma anyday... Just my point of view...

 

[Vcash]

Thanks for the suggestion. I was initially thinking of getting a projector and a screen but shelved the idea because the room will get way too much light. It is flanked by 7 feet high french windows and doors on either side. So therefore thought that a Plasma setup would be better. Your thoughts?

I am currently in DXB and getting some mouth watering deals on HTIB's and AVRs. Here are some sample prices (converted to INR)

1. Onkyo 3400 - Rs. 14000
2. Yamaha YHT-296 - Rs. 17000
3. Denon 1312 with Denon speakers - Rs. 21000
4. Onkyo s5405 - Rs. 25000

Some of the AVRs are also available with higher end speakers for more money. Any suggestions here - Out of the ones I have listed, which one would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[kray]

Among these, you can close your eyes and buy Onkyo 5405 for that price. However, you might even get a better combo if you opt for different AVR and speaker packages.

standard speakers with Denon, Yamaha and Onkyo arent great, so its best to buy an AVR separately and go for package speakers. For AVRs, you can go for Onkyo/Denon (assuming usage is mostly for movies) and but a decent speaker package separately.

BTW, does DXB means Germany?