My kit list what do you think?

First movie on my new cinema


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Blueled

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Hi all.

Ok so think this mag be my first forum post ever I am not sure. Please be kind.

So I am upgrading from my trusty ultra reliable super epic 19 inch tekinika 7 year old telly to well I was thinking of a 75 inch uhd all singing makes your moring coffee for you 6 grand samsung whatsit. And I was thinking with the black bars. My movies (which btw i refuse to watch on my little telly i have my reasons) are still going to only be maybe 70 inch diagonal if not less i havent done the maths.

Projector it is then. And i didnt want to spend 6 grand anyway. So with that in mind ive chosen a kit list from a well knows friendly store. And i am wondering what you experts all think. I am going for a good value budget (i dont use the word cheap) but this is my first exploration into the world of home cinema.

So here is the list.

Optoma 50hd
Homegear 120inch 16:9 motorized screen
Onkyo txsr444
Mordant short m20 fronts
Mordant short m10 rears
Cambridge sx70 centre
Yamaha ystfsw050

Oh and speaker wire

Do you think that kit will work well together. The room its going in will provide either a 3 or 5 meter throw. Living out in the sticks ive not been able to see many projectors in action. Only that one and the benq 1070 i think it is. But the benq had more ambiant light in the demo room. The room the cinema is going in can be turned into the 'bat cave' so that isnt a problem. Apart from my daughter not getting of her iphone.
I am worried about the screen. I have even less expeiance with those and i was considering building a fixed screen but dunelm only sell black out cloth 54 inch wide. Not wide enough.

Anyway ive babbled on enough. Id love to know what you all think. And any pointers will be most welcome.

Please assume my knowlage of all this is the same as a monkey discovering his own feet.

Thanks
 
I see one thing that is wrong... Your subwoofer.
 
Projector - ensure you have a demo of DLP to rule out rainbows being a distraction for you.

Projector - ideally get it into your room and have a play with image size (relative to your seating) before you finalise on your preferred screen size.

Sources - any plans to cater for the new UHD 4K Sources such as SKY Q, UHD BD or 4K gaming?

Loudspeaker layout - becomes more of a challenge once you front project unless you are planning to use an acoustically transparent surface.

Loudspeaker layout - keep in mind you have Front LCR + Side Surrounds in a 5.1 layout, you add in Rears for 7.1.

Speaker Setup Guide

Loudspeakers - the Centre Chanel is arguably the most critical speaker and should be a good tonal match with your Front LR, best to keep the Front LCR from the same manufacturer/range.

Heat - keep in mind projectors can pump out a fair amount of heat during the course of a Movie so you may need to plan for getting cool air into the room/hot air out of the room.

Joe
 
Thanks for input. My subwoofer i was thinking that was the weakest point if this. I might rethink that. See how well i can haggle. All though i dont strictly have a budget 1700 seemed like a bit if a mental budget for me and all that kit there just made it in. I know 1700 is a big difference from 6 grand but i never wanted to pay 6 grand for a telly anyway.
So Joe my loudspeaker placements. Non of them are going to be behind the screen. Mordant short dont make a centre that is supplied by richer sounds unfortunatly. The kits coming from there on a package so i am limited to what they stock. I did concider the cambridge sx50 for fronts and starting off with a 3.1 system but got swept away by the demo having surround. Maybe wise maybe not i dont know yet.

The projector i have had a demo of it. We watched john whick a little then a little of star wars ps4 game then i think some disey animated film. So ive seen a wide selection of content darkyy blacks to bright whites and rich colours. Ok its not as bright as a tv. The pic was sharp and very smooth in ation mode. I actually liked the slight dimmer look to it. It didnt give me a headache instantly like the tvs. Dimmer is wrong. Its just as bright and virbrant but its subtle. I dony think that makes sense. Basicly i really liked the picture. I was more impressed by the uhd stuff that glossy. But i liked the projectored image from the optoma more. Didnt notice any rainbowing at all. I am aware thats dependent on person though for me not a problem.

Just on an aside about how would uou guys rate the hd50 next to the epson tw6100? I cant get a demo of that.

My scource is my mothers blu ray player i bought her from christmas several years ago. Shes listened to one or two cds on it and said she doesnt like it and asked me to put her video player back in. Its a samsung smart blu from tesco. Good enough for the next year or so. Mainly because its free im not gonna be going for skyQ i use a now tv box for iplayer but what i watch on that i wouldnt use the projector for anyway. This is gonna be for blu rays and net flicks films only.

Speaker lay out i havent given a massive amount of thought too. Apart from rears above my ear hight ish and slightly behind and fronts at ear hight and well infront with the sub where it fits. So i will have a good look at that guide shortly.

Thanks for your comments so far. I will see how i get on with it all and let you know if i change anything when i click buy this week.
 
'Non of them are going to be behind the screen. Mordant short dont make a centre that is supplied by richer sounds unfortunately.' - I would rethink that one, give your supplier the problem of sourcing the correct kit or look at an alternative Supplier/alternative speaker system with a matched Front LCR.

Projector - if you like the Optoma and it works for you in terms of third distance, brightness, connectivity etc I'd go with it.

'sub where it fits' - is often the way, though that may not be the best sounding place for the Sub. Again its worth experimenting in your room.

Joe

Budget - its probably best that some of us never add up how much we have spent over a period of time to assemble a system(s)!!!
 
Thanks for the advice Joe.

I have considered mission floor standers and centre. But if I go with those I would either have to do without a sub or the rears with the first setup. I appriciate what youre saying about the LCR part. (i think that means left centre right) I think the models are mx3i floor and mxc1 centre. Perhaps with the mordant shore m10s for the rear in the near future.

Would mx3i's make up for not having yamaha sub running. I am trying to figure that out as the mx3i's are advertised as having a bass woofer in each tower anyway.

I realise I could throw money at this and still have picking option problems. This absoloutly shows an advantage of a soundbar or boxed package. But i'm not going down that route with this.

I think the truth of this really is that untill I get a set up up and going I won't know if I like it or not.

I heard a quote on you tube with audio stuff. Usually you have 3 options, good looks good value and good performance. You can pick 2. I quite like that even if its not always the case.

Francis
 
Full Range vs. using a Sub - the problem for many folk with full range speakers is how you place them close to a rear or side wall without causing overblown bass.

Movies - are mixed for limited range Speakers + the LFE (Sub) channel so in most cases you are best to follow that with your choice of speakers.

LCR - as you say Left, Centre, Right. Ideally you use three identical speakers. Many systems use a horizontal format Centre - which some folk argue is a mistake and if you can accommodate them it is better to stick to three identical speakers.

LCR - I would try and avoid mixing different brand/ model of speakers.

Joe
 
Thanks joe. With all that in mind and the selection available too me ill get the best i can afford. Had a quick google and in the manchester area i cant find another supplyer. Although it was a quick google ie types in av shops and top answer was richer sounds. Gonna search more today i think.

Richer sounds do a full chambrige audio pack which looks tempting. Sx120 sub sx80 and 70 lfc and sx50 rears. Ok that blows my budget but i may take the plunge.

Lol im turning into an advert for this place but i think its where im gonna go as its accessable.

Right here goes
 
So an update on my system. So far I have bought the front left and right speakers. Found what seemed to be a reasonable deal on ebay for nearly new.

These are monitor audio mr 4s.

Also Ive been into a few more stores and have pretty much changed everything.

Viewing some different projectors today after i just missed put on a sony new HW40ES for a grand. I tried the optomas hd26 and 27 i think they were also the benq w3000.

I hadnt seen rainbow effect before untill the fellow pointed out what it was properly. Then i was seeing it all over the show. Maybe i could live with it. Thinking back i didnt see it on the hd50. I was inpressed by them all but black detail on the optomas was non existant and on the benq even worse in my opinion.

Out of interest i tried the 3 grand epson with the same scenes the 9200 monster. I didnt let him put the 4k sony on because i didnt want to walk out of the shop crying that i cant afford that. The 92 was very impressive. But out of my price range.

In there was an end of line epson tweh6600 ex demo with 150s on the lamp and no remote control and no box. So he has offered me that at £100 under the already reduced price. So 900 in all. But because its ex demo he will still provide the 6 year guarentee with it that RS usuall give for new magic boxes.

I was very impressed with the 6600.. so now im torn between the hd50 and the 6600.

Also my new speaker package is looking like it will consist of the mr4s for LR the monitor audio mr1s for rears with the mr centre. That way all my main dialouge and action speakers should in theory work well together.

The sub is still the kicker though. Nothing in my price range with from what ive seen ie £100 for the sub will produce lower frequencies that the mr4s anyway. So i am still thinking about the yamaha HW40ES.

So there we have it.

Oh gonna go for a duronic screen as well now. 100 inches they seem to have better reviews than the homegear.

Any thoughts good or bad are always welcome.

Also thanks for voting in my poll.
 
So for any that are interested. Having listened to all your advice. Ive gone and brought some kit not perfect but i think its a good start.

Epson ehtw 6600 on a couldnt refuse deal.
Monitor audio mr4 fronts and mr centre.
Warfdale diamond 9 rears (bit of a compromise)
And onkyo txsr 252 avr.
No sub for now.

I havent unboxed it yet. Gonna be a week or so i think. But for now im happy with it. I will keep updating with my experiance of this.

Main thing is im 500 notes under budget with this system so i have plenty of room for improvements now if i think i need or want them. Or more importantly buy some awsome blue rays because whats the point of a mini cinema if i have nothing to watch haha.

Thanks

Francis
 

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