I know this is a little off topic but i was curious. I was looking at the "post your ps3 pics" topic and after walking into that thread, i felt like a guy that walked into a room of 10-12 inch penis's when my is only 7 inches. I felt good about it until i saw everyone elses... anyways i was also wondering how much it would take for a great setup... anyways..

60 inch sony xbr2 - i spent 3,100
onyko 7.1 - 399 for that...
sony stand - 150

that is all i have spent.. everything else in my room was hand me down (couch etc...)

Yea, my setup definitely isn't "great" - I have a 40" Samsung and a really old Denon HTIB setup I bought from Sears almost 10 years ago (but still sounds great, IMO). I prefer to spend my money on the games, myself.

You might get some more replies if the first part of your post wasn't so....well, gay, for lack of a better word :p

On to your question: are you talking about from just a home theater equipment perspective, or furniture (furnishings), etc.?

You'll probably get a skewed sampling from a picture thread, because those with the nicest setups are most inclined to post their pictures. Obviously, this isn't true for all cases (see pics of that one poster's petri dish of a living space), but on the whole it applies.

Personally, I've probably spent 6-7k on my theater equipment in total.

You might get some more replies if the first part of your post wasn't so....well, gay, for lack of a better word :p

Quote of the day!

well mine is surly not as great as most of yours, here is mine
Denon 4306 amp $1700
TV Panny 50PZ700U $2800
Panny BD10 Blu-ray player $450
PS3 $400
B&W Center channel $400
B&W Front in-wall speakers $600
B&W Rear in Ceiling speakers $1200 (4 of them for 7.1)
DCM sub $500
800 DVD movies not sure on price
40 Blu-ray movies not sure
12 PS3 games
since they are adding house price into this I had mine built for $360,000

Wow i must have the worst setup on all of AVS.

Phillips Plasma 50"- $1900
Logitech Z-5500 - $200
PS3 - $400
Sat Box - $180
Home Theater PC(5+ years old now) - $3600

Well see this isnt fair. I wanted a proper HT so I set out to build one only to find out that I wouldnt Never be able to enjoy it because of the neighbors. So I built a house for my HT set up. so it goes like this
Sony XBR 50" $2,200
PS3 $600
Kilpsch 5.1 speakers $2,800
Onkyo 804 $750
Furniture. $3000
I dont even want to add up all the cost of Media. (DVD/ Blu ray DVD/CD/SACD/ and games..)
and a house to put it all in..$230,000
Debt for the next 20-25 years or so....

Its got nothing to do with how much money you spend, but how much quality you get for the money you've spent.

I'm still using equipment I bought in 1999 and 2001 and its holding up incredibly well, particularly my receiver and speakers.....even my original big-screen TV is still running just fine (65" Mitsubishi), on the audio side I have no real desire to upgrade to anything newer.

The only thing I've added since then is I've got two projectors now (One for movie watching and one for gaming) and both of them combined still cost less than the 65" set did in 2001 ;)

My current set-up:
Display: Mitsubishi 65" WD-65833 - $2,300
AVR: Harman/Kardon 745 - $2,000
60 GB PS3/14 Games/2 Controllers: - $1,440...and counting
Speakers, Fronts, Backs and Center: Bohlender-Graebener X7's and X5's - $4,400
Speakers: Surround Backs, Lorden Audio LM-7s (small start-up Co. that my friend is trying to launch) - Prototype, Free
Subwoofer: Lorden Audio Sw12-250 (" ") - Prototype, Free
Cables/Connectors: Roughly - $1,100+/-
Power Protection: PureAV 11 Outlet Center- $150
DVD: Sony 655P - $200
Media Storage: Western Digital 320 GB USB 2 Drive - $120
Wireless Router: Apple Airport Extreme N - $180

Wow, when you see it spelled out in a single list...I can't believe what I've spent over the years and this pales in comparisons to some around here...man this is an expensive hobby!

Samsung 5265F - $1999
Onkyo 603 - $350
PSB Image T45 - $700 (front)
PSB Image 8C - $200 (center)
PSB Alpha B-1 - $200 (surround)
Dayton Audio 10" Powered Sub - $125
xBox 360 Elite w/warranty - $600
PS3 - Gift
Harmony 550 - $50
Games/movies...no idea.

It's not about how much you spend...it's about what you do with what you've got

proper placement, good wiring and a little extra elbow grease will go a LOT further than dropping an extra few grand on equipment. I think it's insane how much some people spend just to have the top of the line, when the gear at half the price or lower will do practically the same thing. If you are really at the point where your eyes and ears are offended by a setup that costs less than $10K...you need to get outside more.


That being said

Panasonic 50" Plasma - $1500
Onkyo Refurb receiver - $200
PS3 - $300
Onkyo Refurb 7.1 speaker setup - $250

System works beautifully and I get compliments on it all the time

Panasonic 42inch Plasma $2,000

Currently using a Denon 3802 AVR $1,000

$2,500 in Klipsch speakers which include(new):
(4) RF-3 towers
(1) RC-3 center
(1) KFW-15 (I think) sub

60 gig PS3 Don’t remember what I paid for it. $500 maybe
Xbox 360 $400
Wii $250

Sony 300 disc player $300.00 (new in 2000)
Sony 400 +1 disc changer $300 (new 2002)


For a grand total of ............ $7,250.00 over 8 years so that’s 900.00 a year on electronics not including media (cd’s DVD’s & games)

Lot less than you guys lol.
But planning to spend like you as soon as I can. I want a 50" or More HDTV with 1080p.
I currently own a Vizio 37", Very good TV for the price and It will move in the Bedroom when I'll get new one.
I also want to get the Onkyo 606, Polk speakers,...I currently own a RCA receiver. Does the job pretty good but I want lossless.

i guess what is crazy to me is the money spent on speakers i just can't justify that type of money on speakers because i can't really tell that big of a difference. Visually i can tell a difference between a great tv and a ok one.... also i am married.. hahahhahha

hey bud I am married and 2 kids, also I did all what I listed in a 2 year time, that includes building the house. I had polk audio and I tell you something the difference between B&W and Polk is unreal. The B&W makes Polk sound like raido shack speakers. I was very impressed with them and I really love the sound that comes out of them.

Don't really know the cost as I've built it up over the years, but here's my setup:

Hitachi 51f59 51" RP-CRT 1080i television
Harman Kardon AVR 247 receiver
JBL S310II, S28II, S-Center Studio series speakers
Sony PS3
Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player
lots of excellent cables and wiring (thanks Monoprice!)

Very happy with my setup. :)

It's not about how much you spend...it's about what you do with what you've got

proper placement, good wiring and a little extra elbow grease will go a LOT further than dropping an extra few grand on equipment. I think it's insane how much some people spend just to have the top of the line, when the gear at half the price or lower will do practically the same thing. If you are really at the point where your eyes and ears are offended by a setup that costs less than $10K...you need to get outside more.

Not to poke holes in your theory but....as with most things in life, you get what you pay for and nowhere can that be more apparent than in AV equipment and no amount of "elbow grease" can make up for lower quality parts and cheap craftsmanship, not to say that your system possesses these, just examples. I mean sure, a Ford Focus can be very nice and very satisfying to most people but it's no Shelby GT500KR Mustang, if you get my meaning...you get what you pay for.

If your cool with your set-up that's really all that matters. I try not to fret over what I don't have or what others have have over mine, rather I enjoy what's in front of me - my HT is better than some, worse than others, oh well such is life.

I know this is a little off topic but i was curious. I was looking at the "post your ps3 pics" topic and after walking into that thread, i felt like a guy that walked into a room of 10-12 inch penis's when my is only 7 inches. I felt good about it until i saw everyone elses... anyways i was also wondering how much it would take for a great setup... anyways..

60 inch sony xbr2 - i spent 3,100
onyko 7.1 - 399 for that...
sony stand - 150

that is all i have spent.. everything else in my room was hand me down (couch etc...)
42inchA10 2,200
Audio equipment 4,000

i guess what is crazy to me is the money spent on speakers i just can't justify that type of money on speakers because i can't really tell that big of a difference. Visually i can tell a difference between a great tv and a ok one.... also i am married.. hahahhahha


Some people just can’t hear the differences between speakers, know how to or just don’t care. I have tried too many times to have my girlfriend sit and listen to different speakers with me and explain what she is hearing and she has no concept of a soundstage, width or depth of sound. The only thing that I can do/show to her is the stereo trick where I put the receiver in Direct mode (stereo) with only the left and right speaker playing. I put on a track with a strong vocal with few instruments and ask her to tell me which speaker his/her voice is coming from. 9 times out of ten they point at the center speaker. Then I have her walk up to the speaker and that’s when she realizes that the speaker isn’t even on. All that does is confirm to her what I am saying but she still can’t tell/hear it.

I stopped counting during the remodel of the HT a few years ago. I dont' want to know!

I know it was enough that I will never do it again. No dedicated HT in our next home. Too much work and too much $$$.

The real 'key' here is what did you get for the money spent ...

I have a $20,000.00 MSRP system that I spent about 1/4 that amount to build ;) .

-- Jason

I'd list each source/part, but it's absurd.
My Totem speakers (about 10K).
Not to mention my Projector ($5500), screen (2K), amps (6K), Audio Request ($2500), and Crestron Control system (6K). All in all, about 30K - 40K (MSRP) for my "theater/media room" setup, and I haven't even built the "Real" room I want with acoustic panels and seating.

Thank goodness I am in the business of Home Automation and A/V Installation or I would never have what I have. I have been able to swap labor for equipment and roll bonus money over to get things, all at cost or below depending on the manufacture.

I have spent too much, but ironically not enough?

Does that make sense?

I have spent too much, but ironically not enough?

Does that make sense?

Complete sense. After all I have put into my system, I am looking upgrading my surround processor yet again for all the new codec's.

Each year I upgrade one thing or another. One year is audio, the following is for Video. This year is audio again. I can't wait to play games and movies in DTS HD!

61" Sammy DLP-$2100
Stand--$300
Onkyo 7.1-$400
PS3---$240
Xbox 360 Elite--$480
TOSH HD-A2--$98

Next up: Onkyo 705 for lossless stuff.

Its got nothing to do with how much money you spend, but how much quality you get for the money you've spent.

I'm still using equipment I bought in 1999 and 2001 and its holding up incredibly well, particularly my receiver and speakers.....


Oh please, your "quality" 1999 receiver has no HDMI and therefore you can't get losless PCM/TrueHD/DTS-MA audio from current Blu-rays out of your PS3.

I wouldn't go watch a Blu-ray in your house even if you paid me. Especially now that I've heard the difference in sound quality (having upgraded my receiver to HDMI).

It's almost too painful to outline all of it.

Main HT:
71-inch Sammy DLP
Onkyo 905 as pre-pro
Sunfire Cinema Grand amp
2 Sony 400-DVD changers
ps3
360+HDDVD
series 3 Tivo + 1TB eSATA expansion
mac mini HTPC + 4 TB of ext storage
APC and Panamax UPS's
Harmony 1000
Apple Airport N router

AV123 LS-6 speakers as mains
AV123 RSC200 center
AV123 X-MTM surrounds
Epik Conquest sub

Lots of acoustic panels


Office setup:

Westinghouse 42-inch LCD
Onkyo 875 as pre-pro
Outlaw M2200 monoblocks x 3
ps3
series 3 Tivo + 1TB eSATA expansion
400 DVD changer
Harmony 880

AV123 Strata Mini's as mains
AV123 X-CS as ctr
old Onkyo HTiB mains as surrounds (next thing to be replaced)
SVS 16-46PC+ sub
Apple Airport N router

Getting ready for full acoustic treatments in there.


Total amount spent? I'd rather not add it up. Thank goodness I don't have ps3's in my secondary HT or bedroom yet. I can pretend that I don't need to add them to the mix...

For the living room where the PS3 is:

$ 600-PS3 60GB
$1600-LG 42" plasma
$1100- Yamaha RX-V1700 w/HDMI
$2200- Definitive Tech speakers
$ 800- Install & cabling
___________
$6300.

This was a total re-do of our living room, though. The deal was that she could do whatever she wanted with the furniture and walls and I could upgrade my A/V in there. I think she actually outspent me by the time it was all done.

I got by on much less...

Mitusbish WD-Y577 - $1,399
Onkyo HT-S780 - $469
TV Stand - $79
AV stand - $79
PS2 - $100
XBox 360 Elite - $450
Wii - $259
I live in an apartment - $1,000,000+ (entire complex)

There's more but my brain isn't working right now.

wow, I think I feel obligated to post my setup due to its extraordinary crapiness...

Sony 20" WEGA CRT-$449.99
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers-$99.99
PS3-$524.99
Xbox 360-$219.99 + $79.99 (20GB HDD)
Xbox 360 HD DVD Drive-$19.99
A/V Switch-$29.99

Plus an Xbox, NES, SNES and N64 that are rarely used. I definitely drop a lot of dough on my actual games. 11 PS3 games, 15 Blu-Ray movies, 54 PS2 games, 19 PSX games, 11 Xbox 360 games, 26 Xbox games and 5 HD DVD movies. Definitely more proud of my game collection that my setup haha. I'm also in university, so paying for books and an apartment certainly don't help. Cheers!

TV 50" Pioneer $2700
Speakers Rocket 850's L&R $1400
Rocket RSC200 $ 450
Rocket RS300's $ 500
Polk R15's $ 80
Sub SVS PB-12 Plus $ 900
Receiver Yamaha RX-V757 $ 500
Amp Emotiva LPA-1 $ 500
Surge Protector $ 100
TV Stand $ 250
HD-DVD Player Tioshiba A2 $ 100
Game Consoles PS3 $ 320
360 $ 500
Wii $ 250
Total $ 8450

Let me see... (my prices at the time of purchase)



Head:
Onkyo TX-SR805 ($900)


Speakers:
Front: Polk RTi12 ($1300)
Center: Polk CSi5 ($400)
Surround Polk FXi5 ($450)
Rear: Polk RTi8 ($400)
Sub: Outlaw LFM-1 EX ($600)
B Channel (outside): Polk Atrium 60 ($300)


Video Theater:
Panasonic PT-AE1000U at 14' ($4000)
Screen Innovations 133' Electric Screen 1.1 gain ($1800)

Samsung 46" LCD (71 series 120hz) ($2400)

BlueRay/Games/Media Streaming: Sony PlayStation 3 ($600)
Toshiba A30 HD-DVD ($400)
DVR: Comcast HD DVR ($6 a month)
Media Server: AMD 4200 X2, GF 7600 (passively cooled), 2 X WD 76 gig raptor 10K RPM drives (Raid), 2 x 750gig drives raid (1.5 TB) for storage, 2 gigs of Corsair plat ddr3200 RAM, Windows Vista, Asus A8N SLI-P. ($2500)


Video Rear Media:
Sony SD 27" TV (used as monitor only) ($600 years ago lol)
Slim PS2 ($130)


Amps:
7 X Outlaw 2200 Monoblocks (fronts, Centers, Rear and Surround) ($2300)
Onkyo M-282 (2 X 100 Watt): Running the Atriums Outside in the back yard ($250)


Seats:
7 X Berkline 78's Black / Motorized / Alum cups ($6000)


Power Conditioner:
Belkin PureAVPF31d ($200)



Totals Estimate:

Room (Electrical, paint, drywall, insulation, etc...):
$14,000

Equipment: (added speakers, amps, projector and screen, sources):
$17,000

Furniture (chairs, racks and stands):
$6,000

Media (past 1 year)
$2000 (50 BR's, 20 HD-DVD's, DVD, PS3 games)

Future:
$1200 for Acoustic panels
3TB+ NAS ($1000)


HT
http://www.silverti.com/ht/March%2016,%202008/DSC04000.JPG

Causual HT (work in progress, PS3 #2 will go here in June)

http://www.silverti.com/ht/December%2026,%202007/DSC01089a.JPG

Living room HT (Wii) (aka the "kids" Ht)
http://www.silverti.com/ht/December%2027,%202007/DSC01261a.JPG

Bedroom HT
http://www.silverti.com/ht/December%2026,%202007/DSC01106a.JPG

Some ridiculous setups thats for sure! Mine is rather typical, but great for where I live now.

TV: Sony KDS-50A2000 $2600 new (at the time prices)
Receiver: Yamaha RX-V2700 $1500
Speakers: Klipsch reference RF-52 setup, with RW-10d sub $2400
DVD/Game Systems:
PS3 $500
Xbox 360 $400
Toshiba HD-A2 $200
Cables, Surge Protectors, etc:
Monster surge protector, AR flat speaker cable, tons of monoprice cables: ~$400
Furniture: Matching stand for Sony TV $400

Econo-set-up

50" Panny LiFi- $1000
PS3- $500
Onk 705- $450
Stand/av rack/speaker stand- $310
eD 5.1 (3 5t5; 2 5tc; a3-300 sub!!)- $800

Looking back I guess it's not so econo

wow tleavit excellent setup. makes mine look like childs play lol. here goes mine

Sony 40v3000($1300)
PS3($400)
Onkyo sr700 ($280 refurb)
wall mount and Target home tv stand($170)

best part about this was punching 2 holes in the wall so i could put all my wires behind the mount and behind the stand. looks like garbage if i do say so myself.

Display:$1500.00 60" Sony 120hz SXRD (60A3000)
$300.00 (I think) Techcraft stand

Audio:
$700.00 Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver (130x7, all the HD codecs, yada yada)
$400.00 (for the pair) Energy Reference Connoisseur RC-30. Front Floor standing speakers (rosenut)
$350.00 (for the pair) Energy Reference Connoisseur RC-10. Rear bookshelf speakers
$700.00 VTF-3 HO Subwoofer

Toys:
$595 ($500 20GB PS3+$95 for 160GB HDD) Perfect Toy for the Gamer and movie enthusiast :D
$60-90 (can't remember) Linksys wireless, sold my 360 wireless and upgrade to this to use on both before the 360 croaked.
$250 Wii
$50 ($100-$50 Best Buy gift card :D) HD-A3 (with 10 freebies).

Wires: not sure, but I used mono price for most things, $10 HDMI cables, etc.


1500
300
700
400
350
700
595
90
250
50
$4,935.00

Yikes, and that isn't including all the games, movies, comcast fees, etc. Well at least it wasn't MSRP which would have been around double for everything :eek: Plus it was built up over many years and the enjoyment my family and friends get out of it is well worth it.

I don't even add stuff up anymore, I'm almost 40 years old and still looking for more.

just a guess:
pani ae900 $1900
sami 54 lcd $2500
axiom speakers $3700
denon 4306
hddvd $800
Ps3 $500
wires: $300

Priceless!!!

Well, since this is a hobby for most of us, I am not surprised that the costs for us are what they are.

Given that I purchased calibration equipment, took courses and built my own Home Theatre in the basement, my costs have been over $60K and most of it has been purchased at cost.

My whole system is controled by an RTI T3 controller. Anyone else using RTI, Crestron or AMX for control of their system.

Well, since this is a hobby for most of us, I am not surprised that the costs for us are what they are.

Given that I purchased calibration equipment, took courses and built my own Home Theatre in the basement, my costs have been over $60K and most of it has been purchased at cost.

My whole system is controled by an RTI T3 controller. Anyone else using RTI, Crestron or AMX for control of their system.

I am currently using Crestron for my home setup. I'm familiar with all of those you listed, as well as Control 4, Universal, Pronto, Intellicontrol, etc......I have programmed all of those remotes listed at least a few times.

I'm familiar with AMX from way back when it was also known as Panja and Phast? Any of those ring any bells?
I also have Crestron Lighting control with Crestron Control of my HVAC. But I've used Lutron as well. I am also certified in Lutron Homeworks Interactive and Illumation as well as Radio Ra and Graphic Eye's for lighting control.

I'm also HAA certified and ISF certified, but no longer practice. I'm too busy with other projects so I just outsource them to people in the area.

Maybe it would be easier if I posted my resume?:D:D:D:D

I love this stuff. Gear and Gadgets for the home, is my bread and butter.

TV: 32" Bravia XBR ($2K)
Audio: Logitech z560 4.1 computer speakers ($150)
+used center speaker from a cheap HTiB (free)
+used low-end pioneer receiver (free)

But all 100% ghetto.

tleavit, what do you do for a living?? how did you come up with enough cash? how long did it take you to do all that??

Oh please, your "quality" 1999 receiver has no HDMI and therefore you can't get losless PCM/TrueHD/DTS-MA audio from current Blu-rays out of your PS3.


I'll run right out and kill myself right now. I have young kids in the house, so the days of me cranking up the volume to reference 80Db levels are gone for the forseeable future, so.....lossless sound isn't really on my radar at this point. A shame since my system plays loud and clean.

But to your point, I could buy a BD player that supports analog outs and run them into the 5.1 analog inputs of my receiver and get it that way. I just have no desire to.


I wouldn't go watch a Blu-ray in your house even if you paid me. Especially now that I've heard the difference in sound quality (having upgraded my receiver to HDMI).

Relax, I wouldn't invite you into my house to watch a BD, so we wont have any issues there.

What did you upgrade to, exactly....and what speakers do you run. If you're about to tell me about your new Sony system with bookshelf or gigantic Kliptch speakers from Best Buy let me know, I don't want to spit soda out of my nose laughing.

TV - 46" Sammy DLP ($400 on craigslist)
Audio - Yamaha 5.1 HTIB(Free, thrown in with tv)
Wireless adapter for rear surrounds ($40)
PS3 ($325)
Cables ~ 25 (gotta love monoprice)

Wouldn't mind upgrading Rec to a current one(hopefully soon)

TV: Sony KDS-60A3000 $1665
Receiver: Sony STR-DG985(?) 7.1 receiver (DD and DTS) $400?
Front speakers: Athena LS-500 floorstanders (http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=ATLS500) $300
Center channel, 2 sides, 2 rears: Athena Point 5 MKII (http://www.athenaspeakers.com/point5tech.htm) $140
Subwoofer: KLH 75W - $99
Butt kickers (sofa mounted): 75W amp - $50, 2 Aura Pro Bass Shakers (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=299-028) - $40 each
XBox 360 premium - $200
PS3 80GB - $400
HTPC with 1TB of space - $no idea
Sony XL1B2 200 disc DVD changer - $99
DirecTV HD DVR - $200

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2119/2340887747_bacc661da7.jpg
http://flickr.com/photos/shapegsx/2340887747/sizes/m/

I'm looking to upgrade the receiver to a Denon 3808CI soon so I can take better advantage of the rear speakers.

I can't wait to play games and movies in DTS HD!
You are going to be waiting forever to play games in DTS HD as there is no point in waisting the processing power on compressing the audio output since any receiver which can decode such bitstreams will also accept multichannel PCM.

This year is audio again. I can't wait to play games and movies in DTS HD!

You are going to be waiting forever to play games in DTS HD as there is no point in wasteing the processing power on compressing the audio into a HD bitstream output, since any receiver which can decode such formats will also accept multichannel PCM. Also, as for movies, having the receiver decode a bitstream instead of the PS3 doesn't have any effect on the resulting sound either.

Before taxes.
PS3 - $400
Yamaha RX-V661 - $500
D* HD-DVR - $100
Pioneer Elite Pro 1150HD - $2400
5 X-Ls speakers - $600
X-Sub - $200
BJC HDMI's, Peerless Wall mount, Bias Light, Speaker wire, sub cable, ethernet cable, Tripp lite conditioners/surge protectors(2), molding to hide wire runs, paint(for display wall), av rack in closet for all my gear(display and speakers w/sub only visible) and speaker stands -- ~$850

= ~$5,350 with tax.


....some people are listing the msrp prices at release time. These prices are much higher than most of thios gear could have been bought for even new at diffeent places, let alone now.
Like my Yamaha would be $400 now, or even $350. The rest are still the same price pretty much.
Just thought I'd throw that out there for anyone reading this thread to help get ideas for future purchases.

You are going to be waiting forever to play games in DTS HD as there is no point in wasteing the processing power on compressing the audio into a HD bitstream output, since any receiver which can decode such formats will also accept multichannel PCM. Also, as for movies, having the receiver decode a bitstream instead of the PS3 doesn't have any effect on the resulting sound either.

It's all just semantics to me. Uncompressed PCM, DOLBY HD, TRUE HD, DTS MA, etc.....it's all the same to me. I don't really care about the fine details. I just care that I have a the ability to listen to what ever I want, when I want, how I want.

It's all just semantics......don't get too involved in the hype machine, it's just gonna pass you by. People on AVS get way too "involved" in this kind of debate, have fun with it, but leave me out of it. I've got enough to deal with.

tleavit, what do you do for a living?? how did you come up with enough cash? how long did it take you to do all that??

A lot of it has been bought over time. Like that Sony TV in my bedroom was bought like 12 years ago.

My wife was telling me last night that I'm spoiled. I’m an IT manger and my wife is a nurse manager.

I really don’t think I have a lot of money into my systems, in fact I consider my setups more of a "bang for the buck". People around here got more money in their front speakers then I do in all of that.

Projector - Mitsubishi - HD1000u - $800 with 3 year lamp warranty
Screen - DIY WilsonArt laminate - ~$150
L/R - Axiom M22 (Used) - $275
C - Axiom VP150 (Used) - $250
HSU VTF 3.3 - $600 (Summer sale)
Onkyo 805 - $600 -$150GC (Happy Birthday to me!)
PS3 - ~$200 (-$100GC from HD-DVD death/-$100GC current promotion)
Toshiba A3 - $100

Bose surrounds - had for over a decade couldn't tell you how much I spent so I consider the cost incurred ;-) ~$0

A lot of research and a some patience can get you pretty far :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v189/patrickisawesome/hometheater/xmas2007-018.jpg

46" lcd 3k
32 lcd 800$
20" lcd 400$
paradigm front and center 1k ish
Defentive prosub 800 400$
Yamaha v995 amp 599$
ps3 500$
three 360's 1400$
two ps2 600$
HD dvd add on 159$
media pc 700$ (WCG Shuttle)
additional hard drive 200$
3 head cassette deck 500$
minidisc 399$
turntable 400$
reel to reel 1200$
svhs deck 699$
hdmi splitter 99$
various cords and lights, hand built shelves

It was put together over many years. It is messy and cluttered. But it brings my friends and I much happiness.

...don't get too involved in the hype machine, it's just gonna pass you by.
That second part of the quote is the advice I was attempting to give you, since you were the one getting hyped up about getting a receiver which can decode DTS HD when doing so will get you squat if you already have one that accepts MPCM.

Its nice to see what other have. I went a litte overboard with my equipment years ago, but then that was when we were DINK's (double income, no kids). I have the continuous urge to upgrade, but I have been on a hiatus for years with other priorities. I purposly left out the prices, because they are ridiculously high.

Panny AE900u

Proceed AVP --> upgraded to AVP2
Proceed HPA2
Proceed HPA2
Proceed PMDT
Cinepro 600
Cinepro 600

VMPS RM40's
VMPS center
Atlantic technology mains for rear and sides
HSU sub

many other superfulous equipment -not seeing much action
Sony LD player
Sony VHS
Sony multidisc CD player
Unity motion HD reciever (for those huge satelite antena people used to have)
Focus Enhancement video scaler-deinterlacer

and of course the PS3 and Xbox

I have been itching to upgrade my AV processor, but the Proceed is an amzing machine, and even after 10 years, it churns out amazing sound. Likely when Lexicon finalizies their next version, that will likely catch my eye. Similarly my projector is 720p, but the picture is amazing even at >120", and even though I want a 1080p projector, I am waiting for the bulb to die before buying a new projector (since bulbs are exteremly expensive anyways).

That second part of the quote is the advice I was attempting to give you, since you were the one getting hyped up about getting a receiver which can decode DTS HD when doing so will get you squat if you already have one that accepts MPCM.

I don't think you need to give home theater advice to somebody who does this for a living.

I started building my system in '04, and I have always tried to be extremely budget conscious...

Display: Hitachi 51F500 CRT ($600 on ebay)
Audio: Recently purchased Sony STR-DG720 ($300 minus $100 from gift card)
speakers: Subwoofer- Sony SA-W2500($100)
FL and FR- KLH B-PRO6 Titan Series 2-Way Speaker ($9.99 open box clearance!)
the rest of the surrounds and center - holdovers from HTIB system ($89)
extras: PS3 80GB ($500 minus $400 from gift cards)
Univeral Remote MasterControl PowerPak Combo ($140)

that all adds up to $1740, probably add $50 for cables, speaker wire, power strips and electrical tape, it adds up to just under $1800, minus $500 in gift cards, I think I've done pretty well. I wouldn't put my HT up there with the best of them, but no one I know has an HT that looks or sounds better, and most, if not all have spent more than $1800 on their display alone.

I just upgraded the AVR from my 5.1 setup this past week, the next upgrade will come in Dec./Jan. when I pick up a +65" display, looking into a Mits LaserVue, a Sammy LED DLP, or possibly a used SXRD. The funny thing is I may spend twice as much on my next display as I have spent on my entire set-up thus far...

I don't think you need to give home theater advice to somebody who does this for a living.
I had figured that someone who does this for a living would want to understand the technologies he dealing with rather than continuing to operate under the assumption that ""It's all just semantics." Even if he doesn't care, and regardless of your apparent lack of interest, I like to keep the facts straight when I can, for the benefit of those that do care but might otherwise have been mislead.

I am actually posting just to see how much I have spent as I do not know... so here goes

Panny 58pz700u - $3800
TV Stand - $600
4 speaker stands - $250
Onkyo tx-sr705 - $600
Kilpsch RB 51's, RC-51, RS-42's, RPW 10 (5.1 system) $1150
PS3 - $300 (Thanks to a lot of gift cards... includes cost of a 250 gb hard drive upgrade)
Speaker wire, cables, power strip, etc. $200

So I guess mine comes out to $6900 or so... That doesn't take in to account all the blu-rays, ps3 games, HD-DVR fees that come with the HD territory... I suppose i should count the $3k or so I spent on my PC build too as it is a luxury item....all in all, I'm quite happy with my setup... even if I should ahve saved this $10k for a condo!!! :)

mindwarper. what is the purpose of having 2 tvs right beside eachother?? thanks

Samsung 4661 - 1399.00 price match
STR DG1000 - 499.00
PS3 60GB - 599.00
Xbox 360 - FREE (found in garbage looking for boxes to move; MS repaired RRoD)
WD 250GB - 119.00
Polk CS2 - 189.00
Polk Mon 60s - 400.00
yamaha satellites 200.00

(cables, blu-ray, games, accessories, etc. - quite a bit)

Just got the final pieces of my system together a few months ago and have been enjoying it ever since. I'm extremely happy but certainly have the bug of upgraditis now. I look forward to my families move to a home with a basement to put together a true HT. Until then, my modest (to a point) living room theater will have to suffice.

Display: Sony KDS-60A3000 $1800
AVR: Denon 1908 $400
Speakers: 5.1 Elemental Design, 3 5t5, 2 5tc and A3-300 sub $900 and worth nearly that for the sub alone. A true beast.
PS3 $400

$3500 total.

And the wife can look at our 10megapixel vacation pictures on our huge display and think it's the cat's pajamas. Money well spent.

I had figured that someone who does this for a living would want to understand the technologies he dealing with rather than continuing to operate under the assumption that ""It's all just semantics." Even if he doesn't care, and regardless of your apparent lack of interest, I like to keep the facts straight when I can, for the benefit of those that do care but might otherwise have been mislead.

Avarice, thanks for reading between the lines and understanding what I was trying to say.

Stepping on my soap box......
As for kylebisme, dude you should really chill out and not try to point out meaningless things that really don't matter. I DO NOT HAVE A RECEIVER THAT HAS PCM VIA HDMI!!!!! I'm using optical. That's why I am upgrading to something that will allow the new codecs. I was just using DTS HD as a placeholder for what ever codec that you would want to use, depending the software being used (Games or BD). Again, your talking semantics. :rolleyes: I deal with so many different technologies, and I have to deal with them as if they are all just general and vague. Other wise I end up with a bunch of confused clients like most of the poor lost souls on these AVS Forums. When you start installing 500K Home Integration systems, come talk to me about why I would waste time concerning myself with all the small minor details like Uncompressed PCM vs. Optical vs. Coax Digital! Most of my system don't even use this kind of setup yet. The systems are too advanced and this new HD Audio Codec technology is too young for me to bother sweating or trying to get working. We'll deal with that in 5 years when it's widespread and in ever single AV component. Hell, most of my installs still don't even has Blu-Ray or 1080p becuase clients want to dumb it down and we use Component video and Coax Digital audio to distribute it out to the TV's in the home. Apparently you don't know what MOST people want or what technology for these types of systems have available (That actually work). With the issues of HDMI, the last thing I am going to do is use it to distribute Whole House A?V using it. I'll stick to good 'ol analog thank you very much!

Chill, BUDDDDDDYYYYYY (In my pauly shore voice)

You should stop trying to read so much into postings on a message board. I mean, don't you think a general observation is good enough without going into extreme detail. This is a PS3 forum, not the SAT's, we are not being graded on this.
Stepping off my soap box.

Sony 50a2000 - $1900
PS3 - $400
Denon 2307CI - $650
Monster HTS3600MKII - $300
Axiom VP150 (center ch) - $400
Axiom QS8 pair (side surrounds) - $540
Axiom M80 pair - $1300
Bose 401 pair (back surrounds) - $300?
Velodyne Sub - $500

total= $6290

Future - 2 Outlaw mono amps for the M80s - $650

Avarice, thanks for reading between the lines and understanding what I was trying to say.

Stepping on my soap box......
As for kylebisme, dude you should really chill out and not try to point out meaningless things that really don't matter. I DO NOT HAVE A RECEIVER THAT HAS PCM VIA HDMI!!!!! I'm using optical. That's why I am upgrading to something that will allow the new codecs. I was just using DTS HD as a placeholder for what ever codec that you would want to use, depending the software being used (Games or BD). Again, your talking semantics. :rolleyes: I deal with so many different technologies, and I have to deal with them as if they are all just general and vague. Other wise I end up with a bunch of confused clients like most of the poor lost souls on these AVS Forums. When you start installing 500K Home Integration systems, come talk to me about why I would waste time concerning myself with all the small minor details like Uncompressed PCM vs. Optical vs. Coax Digital! Most of my system don't even use this kind of setup yet. The systems are too advanced and this new HD Audio Codec technology is too young for me to bother sweating or trying to get working. We'll deal with that in 5 years when it's widespread and in ever single AV component. Hell, most of my installs still don't even has Blu-Ray or 1080p becuase clients want to dumb it down and we use Component video and Coax Digital audio to distribute it out to the TV's in the home. Apparently you don't know what MOST people want or what technology for these types of systems have available (That actually work). With the issues of HDMI, the last thing I am going to do is use it to distribute Whole House A?V using it. I'll stick to good 'ol analog thank you very much!

Chill, BUDDDDDDYYYYYY (In my pauly shore voice)

You should stop trying to read so much into postings on a message board. I mean, don't you think a general observation is good enough without going into extreme detail. This is a PS3 forum, not the SAT's, we are not being graded on this.
Stepping off my soap box.
This Audio/Video Science Forum. If you don't have any interest broadening your understanding of the science involved, that is your own bag. But again I'll continue correcting misunderstandings where I see them being propagated for those who might care. And your ranting along with excessive caps while telling someone else to chill is pure comedy.

This Audio/Video Science Forum. If you don't have any interest broadening your understanding of the science involved, that is your own bag. But again I'll continue correcting misunderstandings where I see them being propagated for those who might care. And your ranting along with excessive caps while telling someone else to chill is pure comedy.

That's what I thought of you post. Good thing we can agree to disagree. Lighten up.
I am very active here, at least in reading up on things. I just find it very very funny how people get so caught up in things that just so petty. Good luck with that, seems to suit you well.
I have real world experience, and what I wrote didn't need correction. Thanks for telling me what I already knew. Wow, you really straightened me out.

By the way, I hate feeling like I'm being attacked by someone. That's how you are making me feel. Thanks for making me feel like I need to defend myself.

I never really thought about how much I have spent.
50e200- $1500
hd-dvd a2 $199
ps3- $499
denon 687- $299
tv stand- $300
denon cd player $150
aperion 2-4b 1-4c $330 (trading up for 5b & 5c)
aperion s-8 $279
athena as-ic6 (surround) $150
athena as-o6 (outdoor) $150
cooling fans and controllers $100

total: $3956 ($4336)


...but heres the kicker.
estimated current value: probably under $2000.

Well people....... Here's mine (granted that it is not as good as my 2 Channel Rig...... but it is pretty good for what it is........ and it is in a state of flux right now as I am downsizing it and upgrading at the same time, if that makes any sense at all):

Television/Monitor: Panasonic TH-42PZ77U Plasma TV -- 42" -- $1,800.00 (Includes Extended Warranty)(2007)
DVD Player: Denon DVD-2910 Universal Digital Player -- $750.00 (2005)
DVD Recorder: Toshiba RD-XS34 DVD/Hard Disk Recorder -- $500.00 (2005)
Audio/Video Receiver: Yamaha RX-V1600 Audio/Video Receiver -- $1,100.00 (2004)
Speaker System: KEF 2005.2 Speaker Package (Includes Subwoofer) -- $1,500.00 (2005)
Headphones: Sennheiser HD-580 Headphones -- $300.00 (2000)
Cables: Monster Cable M-Series -- $650.00 (Total)

And just like I have mentioned at the beginning of this post, I did say that I am upgrading and downsizing my system at the same time. And with that said, in my current set-up, right now, in addition to the TV, only the DVD Player, DVD Recorder, Headphones and the Cables will be retained. The Receiver and Speakers are going to be replaced over the next year. The components that I have my sights set upon are listed below:

Speaker System: Polk Audio SurroundBar -- $600.00 to about $900.00 (Fall 2008)
Powered Subwoofer: Polk Audio DSW PRO-400 -- $500.00 (Winter 2008/Spring 2009)
Audio/Video Receiver: Harman/Kardon AVR-354 -- $900.00 (July 2008)
Blue Ray Player: Sony BDP-S500 or 2009 Equivalent-- $600.00 (Spring 2009)
TV Stand: TBD...... But I am looking to get one with a TV Mount on it -- $400.00 (Late Summer/Mid Fall 2008)
Universal Remote Control: Harmony One Advanced -- $250.00 (August 2008)
Power Conditioner: Monster Power HTS1600 -- $600.00 ($300.00 x 2)(2008-09)

Total (so far...... on my system in its current state....... not counting the forthcoming upgrades...... the upcoming upgrades will modify the total one way or another in the upcoming year): $6,500.00

When will the madness end??? (LOL)

--Charles--

I have real world experience, and what I wrote didn't need correction. Thanks for telling me what I already knew. Wow, you really straightened me out.
Again the DTS HD in games you said you were looking forward to simply isn't ever going to happen. Apparently you don't care if people are misslead by your suggestion the contrary, but I like to keep the facts straight for those who might care.

Again the DTS HD in games you said you were looking forward to simply isn't ever going to happen. Apparently you don't care if people are misslead by your suggestion the contrary, but I like to keep the facts straight for those who might care.
I said "movies in DTS HD" but I can see your confusion since I didn't spell out what kind of audio I would like to play games in..... :rolleyes: ...I was never an English Major or a writer.
Also, never say never..... :rolleyes: ....merely a "you fill in the blank" hundred years ago people thought the world was flat, and no one ever thought we would land on the moon. (try not to dissect this last sentence and take it so "literally again")
You are attacking my post without even asking a question. Thanks! At least allow me a chance to further explain.

I was simply pointing out that games have no use for HD surround sound compression formats since your comment " I can't wait to play games and movies in DTS HD" suggested you were looking forward to hearing games in DTS HD. My comments were never intented as an attack, again I was simply sharing the facts of the subject for those who might care to know.

Lets see

Panasonic 42px60u Plasma ---$1099
Insignia BS21111 4 speakers (phantom center) ---$65
Onkyo 605 Receiver ---$311.99
SVS PB-10 ---$300
SVS PCi 25-31---$250
Toshiba HD-A3 ---$68.99
40 Gig PS3 ----$499 (bundle from Costco)
assorted cables about $20-$30 (gotta love monoprice)

I also have a Samsung BDP-1400 that I originally got a while ago for $260 and
a Toshiba A2 that I got for $249.99 that I have as backup players (never sold when I upgraded.

all in all a kick ass system for a good price.

samsung lnt 4042h - ~1400
20gb ps3 + 160gb hdd - ~600
LG LDA-531 upconverting DVD player - ~200
cheap stand - ~40
too many cables to count.

don't even remember what i paid for my sound system, nor do i remember the model numbers: but i have: older yamaha receiver, 2 psb floor standing speakers, 2 polk audio rears, paradigm center, 12" paradigm powered sub.

i'm buying a 46" 1080p lcd soon, and i've narrowed it down to a toshiba 46xv540, sony kdl-46w4100, or a samsung 46a530, which will set me back about ~1800-2000.

52" sharp aquos 1080p LCD
x box 360
Onyko 705
ps3
hd-dvr
cables
speakers

right around $6,500...thanks for the topic..now i'm depressed:rolleyes:


Good thing my wife doesnt come to this site:D

That doesnt include any blu rays, hd-dvd's, just equipment.....

hmmm lets see:

Sony Kde50xs955 50" plasma - 5000 (Because i just HAD to be the first idiot on the block with one)

ps3 - 500
onkyo 705 - 700
axiom 5.1 speaker system- 2600
sony dvdrecorder - 300
wire and cables (monoprice) - 100

diamond bracelet my wife bought because "if you're getting a G*damn stereo system that we don't need then i'm getting something TOO!" 5000

total 14,200 and a never ending assualt of "TURN IT DOWN" screams coming from the hag in the other room =)

diamond bracelet my wife bought because "if you're getting a G*damn stereo system that we don't need then i'm getting something TOO!" 5000

total 14,200 and a never ending assualt of "TURN IT DOWN" screams coming from the hag in the other room =)

!! ROFL :D

yeah my wife is always yelling at me to turn the sub down. One of the requirements in the house we are building is that the bedroom is on the opposite side of the living room...

Upstairs:
Pioneer Elite 940HD 42" plasma - $1900 (calibration by Avical $375)
BDI Vista stand - $300 (floor model - retail is $1100)
Oppo 970 dvd - $150
Harman/Kardon AVR235 - $400
Harman/Kardon HTKS8 speakers - $300

Downstairs:
Panasonic TH-50PX80U 50" plasma - $1279
Init stand - $150
PS3 40gb - $399 (+99 for 250gb hd upgrade)
Xbox 360 Elite - $479
Wii - $249
Toshiba HD-A35 hd-dvd player - $450

I may move my HT stuff down to the basement eventually - or possibly just get something new. We'll see.

I was simply pointing out that games have no use for HD surround sound compression formats since your comment " I can't wait to play games and movies in DTS HD" suggested you were looking forward to hearing games in DTS HD. My comments were never intented as an attack, again I was simply sharing the facts of the subject for those who might care to know.
Again, that was your opinion, and you attacked me for no reason....Thanks for the English lesson.

Nothing too high end.

Panasonic TH-42PX60U - $1,200
JVC RX-D702B receiver - under $600
media stand - ~$150
Klipsch Synergy Sub-12 subwoofer - $500
Klipsch Synergy Quintet III - $500
wiring speaker cable in the wall for satellite speakers - ~$600 (I think?)
Leather Sofa, Love Seat, Chair, Ottoman from Macy's - $2,000 (I think? It was a really good deal for the entire set)
Coffee table and corner table set from Macy's - $800 (I think? We bought a bunch of furniture at the same time, so I can't remember exactly)

My media stand supports up to a 60" flat screen, and I intend on upgrading my TV to a 58" Panasonic 1080p TV when they get cheap enough. Probably around the holiday season.

yeah my wife is always yelling at me to turn the sub down. One of the requirements in the house we are building is that the bedroom is on the opposite side of the living room...

If i knew then what i know now i might not have married the woman.. How can any human see an explosion in a movie/game and not want their skeleton to shake from the bass?

For the record, my wife doesn't read this forum :P

I actually have 3 tvs and 3 360s. So We can:

play co op games or just any multiplayer games together.

watch football on one tv while playing madden on another

play vs a friend and put porn on one tv to distract my oponent.


mindwarper. what is the purpose of having 2 tvs right beside eachother?? thanks

Again, that was your opinion, and you attacked me for no reason....Thanks for the English lesson.
Again, what I presented were not opinions but rather statements of fact, and it was not done as a an attack but rather as an attept to be helpful to those who might care to know those facts.

Again, what I presented were not opinions but rather statements of fact, and it was not done as a an attack but rather as an attept to be helpful to those who might care to know those facts.

No you didn't, you read something out of context and wanted to "Teach".

Downstairs:

Panny 50" plasma PX60U - $1,750
Onkyo 605 (refurb) - $300
Athena Audition Series 5.1 - F1 mains, C1 center, B1 surrounds, P6000 12" sub - about $900 total mostly bought off of e-bay
PS3 40gb - under $200 after selling all the blu-rays that came with it and the extra controller
360 elite w/hd dvd external drive - $600
Samsung 841 dvd/sacd/dvd-a (refurb) - $35
Directv HR-20 hd dvr w/ 750gb Seagate external HD - around $200 for both
Logitech Harmony remote (xbox version) - $50
Denon AH-D1000 stereo headphones - $80
D-Link dir-655 draft N router - $120

Upstairs:

Westy 37" 1080p lcd - don't remember how much it cost
Athena Micra 6 5.1 - $130 or so used on ebay
Panny xr-55 - don't remember
Panny 27 dvd - $50
Tivo hr10-250 upgraded to 500gb - don't remember

Special Occasions:

Infocus Screenplay 4805 pj - $900
Da-Lite 106" high power screen - $283

When I first came to AVS four years ago, I had a 27" panny sd crt and a phillips htib. I have a serious love/hate relationship with this board.

No you didn't, you read something out of context and wanted to "Teach".
What, specificly, are you attempting to suggest I didn't do? Also, I read your exlciamation "I can't wait to play games and movies in DTS HD!" in the context of your plans to upgrade your audio system, and hence was compeled to point out that playing games using HD surround sound compression methods isn't something any of us will be doing regardless of what components we use. What context are you suggesting I was missing?

kylebisme & fuseman13 ,

Let it go or take it to PM's please .

Thank You ,
- Jason

40" Sony KDL-40V3000 - $1000
40GB PS3 - $400
Sony DVD Player - $125
Logitech Z2300 - $150
TV Stand - $175

Total: $1850

What, specificly, are you attempting to suggest I didn't do? Also, I read your exlciamation "I can't wait to play games and movies in DTS HD!" in the context of your plans to upgrade your audio system, and hence was compeled to point out that playing games using HD surround sound compression methods isn't something any of us will be doing regardless of what components we use. What context are you suggesting I was missing?

Next time you are compelled to point something out....don't! (at least if it has my name next to)
I'm done with your opinion.

kylebisme & fuseman13 ,

Let it go or take it to PM's please .

Thank You ,
- Jason

Jason,
This is now over for me.
-Jason
(great first name by the way. I'm kind of partial to mine as well :D)

well after reading all this i am buying a second tv for my living room (after fighting with my wife).

OK, after reading so many posts, I decided to finally put my system into dollars just to figure out how much I have spent over the years. Here we go:

Panasonic plasma TH-50PZ85U (2008) $2245
Denon receiver AVR3801 (2001) $1000
Boston Acoustics 5.1 speakers (2001) $1000
Sony 60GB PS3 bundle (2007) $499
Tivo Series 2 dvr (2004) $299 +$13/month
Samsung DVD recorder (2006) $179
Bush TV Stand (2008) $300
Speaker Stands (2 pair)(2001, 2008) $200
Monster Surge Protector (2001 - I know I was stupid, it won't happen again) $199
Other various cable and wires (2001-2008) $200

For a grand total of $6745 with the Tivo service included

I just found out that I am going to need to replace 1 of my front speakers (and who can ever replace just 1 since they have to match, right?) so I am preparing to add another $150 to the mix.

I'm also getting the upgrade bug for my receiver because I want the latest audio codecs and my receiver doesn't have any HDMI ports on it. I'm thinking about the Onkyo 605 or 705 so add another $499 for the 705 on Amazon this morning.

So $7394 after I make my replacements and fulfill my upgrade wishes.

And I forgot the biggest reason :

Two nfls games and one madden game to keep it interesting.

I actually have 3 tvs and 3 360s. So We can:

play co op games or just any multiplayer games together.

watch football on one tv while playing madden on another

play vs a friend and put porn on one tv to distract my oponent.

Panasonic 42px75 $1,150
Playstation 3 60gig $650
Xbox 360 Prem. $430
Nintendo Wii $450 (ebay right after launch)
Custom TV stand $80
PSP x 3 $700 (I have bought 3 and sold 2 of these so far.... yes it was stupid
DS x 2 $320 (upgraded to the lite

(games, movies, blu-ray, anime..... don't even ask.)

I actually bought my PS3 because of Gran Turismo, and bought my TV because of the PS3 LOL. I could never have afforded it if not for Best Buy's 3 years 0% financing. With the fact that the dollar loses value over time and the that I can earn interest on the money by not having to pay for it in one lump sum, it was a bit less painful.

Sonly Bravia 52" 1080p LCD HDTV - $2300
Logitech Driving Force GT - $150
Sony Playstation 3 - $399
Final Round 3 - $29
Grand Theft Auto IV - $59
Oblivion - $29
God Hand - $19
Grand Turismo Prologue - $39

I need to buy a home theater system, but I can't seem to find one I really like. I like the
Onkyo HT-SP908 7.1 Channel Home Theater System but I can't seem to find one for a good price. Not many places seem to carry it, and the seller from Amazon is charging a over $70 for shipping and handling.

Samsung LNT4065 - $1,599
PS3 - $599
Paradigm 5.1 Monitors - $2,500
Yamaha AVR - $500
Furniture - $2,000

I think I've managed to get good prices on most of my equipment.

TV - Olevia 337H - 500
Mount - 60
Equipment Stand - 50
Pre/Pro - Marantz AV500 - 100
Remote - Marantz RC 2000 - Free
Amplifier - AdCom GFA-555 - 400
Crossover - Rolls SX-45 - 100
L/R - Axiom M22Ti - 500
Speaker stands - 30
Subwoofer - Elemental Designs A5-350 - 600
HTPC - 900
PS3 - 300
Media/Accessories/Cables - Roughly 400

All in all, a bit over 3,900 which is definitely more than I should have spent on it. And it's only 2.1, too, so the upgrade bug is always biting.

The PS3 encouraged me to purchase my receiver and TV. My current setup is:

Samsung 1080p 50" DLP: $1600
Marantz SR7001: $1000
Toshiba HD-A30: $350
Panasonic RP82: $300
Directv HR20: $200
PS3: $400
M&K S-125 L/C/R: $1,500
M&K SS-150 LS/RS: $1000
SVS 16-46 pci: $650

Total: $7,000

Sure didn't feel like it since it took me about 10 years to slowly build the system I wanted. I still eventually want 7.1 and to upgrade my fronts to the M&K S-150s and go with a smaller sub like the JL Fathom, but other than those few things my system is done.

If you add up all the MSRP's
Toshiba DLP 62": 2900$
B&W 704 Front speakers: 3600$
B&W HTM7 center: 700$
B&W DS3 Surrounds: 900$
Axiom EP500 Sub: 1200$
Onkyo TX-SR702 or something like that (the top end one): 800$
PS3: 500$
Xbox360: 400$
HD-DVD: 170$
Other stuff: 300$
----------------------------------------
Total: Over 10,000$....in retrospect...i kinda wish i cheaped out on the speakers a bit....my car needs a big brake kit and new coilovers :(

well add another tv to my setup... thanks to this thread, it inspired me....
Samsung 40A550 $1,099

I'm on a budget, so my gear is nowhere near high-quality. All the speakers were bought used and from mixed brands and quality. I know what you're thinking but hell, it works for me until I can afford something decent.

Main setup
Vizio GV42L 42in: 1,050$ (Tiger Direct sale)
Onkyo TX-SR506: 400$ (Brand new)
Speakers, center: 120$ (used)
Speakers, front: 160$ (used)
Speakers, rear: Free (had 'em already)
Speakers, sub: 140$ (used)
PlayStation3: 500$ (picking up the MSG 80GB tomorrow)
XBOX360: 350$
Wii: 350$
HD Cable box: 200$
Furniture: 280$
Remote, Harmony 880: 220$
Cables: Approx. 500$ (most of the cost from before I found Monoprice)

Total setup cost: A bit more than 4,000$ right now, not counting the games and such.

[EDIT] Oh, and these are Canadian prices.

svs 25-31pci 599
ascend acoustics 340c (300) and 4 170s (350) = 1000
harman kardon 430 = 600 (need to upgrade)
samsung ln46a750 = 2500 (actually 500, after lemon policy)
bell'o tv stand = 450
omni mount speaker stands = 200
center speaker mount = 35
xbox 360 and hd player = 399 + 169
wii = 250
ps3 = 599

i guess ~7K

Westy 37" 1080p $1800 ( got in 2005 )
Logitech Z5500 Pro $249
PS3 60GB Launch $599

TV: Sammy 4671
BluRay/Game: PS3
Receiver: Pioneer VSX-917
Remote: Harmony 890
Package: Around 3K

Here we go:

Philips LCD 30" from outlet.philips.com 2005 - $700 <---- Need to upgrade
Onkyo TX-ST674 from Frys.com 2007 - $400
Wharfedale Cinema Speakers 2005 - $125
12" Dayton Sub Parts Express 2007 - $125
PS3 from Circuit City 2007 - $400
Techcraft THC SWP60 Circuit City 2008 - $325
Motorola STB from Verizon FIOS 2008 - $Free
Philips HT Surge/UPS woot.com 2008 - $100
Harmony Remote 6XX Series 2006 - $100 <---- Need a new one

Total: $2275

Samsung 52" LN52A650 lcd- $2675
Onkyo 605 receiver: $350
Ps3: $399
xbox 360 and Hd-dvd add on: $580
Wii: $300
definitive technology procenter 2000: $220
definitive tech promonitor 1000 l/r: $350
def tech promonitor 800 surrounds: $200
logitech harmony 1 remote: $250

total: probably a bit over $6000 including taxes and cables.

OT. how much did you spend on your current setup

I spent somewhere between "way too much" and "holy crap is that really my credit card statement, really?"

Samsung 5054 50" plasma $1250
40 gig ps 3 280 (amazon gold box trick plus sony $100 credit card rebate)
pioneer hts xbox surround system ($70 from buy.com around Christmas)
Directv hd receiver upgrade $100
Tv stand for 50" plasma $150 from worst buy

Not a bad little system at all for $1800 but I came from a 32" standard def crt, standard dvd player and tv speakers, but I am very happy for the price I paid for the entire setup.

Oh please, your "quality" 1999 receiver has no HDMI and therefore you can't get losless PCM/TrueHD/DTS-MA audio from current Blu-rays out of your PS3.

I wouldn't go watch a Blu-ray in your house even if you paid me. Especially now that I've heard the difference in sound quality (having upgraded my receiver to HDMI).

First of all, there is such a thing as analog outputs and many "quality" receivers have an input for this.

Second, there's a whole lot more to the final audio quality that reaches your ears than whether it's lossless and passed through HDMI. Ponder this, I can easily go to Ebay and Audiogon, spend 5 minutes, and put together a non-HDMI lossless system based on DD5.1 (so no analog out) that will crush most of the lossless HDMI setups people are running for what is likely a very modest price on the used market. Power is important. Speakers which produce the actual sound are important. The source is also important but lossless is more an incremental improvement over DD/DTS as opposed to some monstrous enhancement that can overshadow the before mentioned factors. Essentially, the HTIB with HDMI can be crap compared to even a modest setup with DD5.1.

So rather than buying the hype, the real determination in whether you should go to his house to watch a Blue Ray is...how good is the video quality regardless of the type of display he has. How good is the audio quality regardless of the name on the equipment or whether he's using an HDMI cable. And finally, does he have good beer.

I think i did pretty good this year:

50" Pioneer KURO PDP-5010FD 1080p - 4800$CAN
Pioneer 7.1 Receiver Dolby® TrueHD & dtsHD® VSX-9120THX - 900$CAN
Athena LS-300 Floorstanding Speakers
Athena LS-C100 Center Channel Speaker
LS-100 Bookshelf Rear Speakers
Athena AS-P4100 400 watt 10” down firing subwoofer / -1100$CAN
PS3 & XBOX 360 w/HDMI / -1000$CAN
New stand / 150$CAN
Harmony Remote / 120$CAN

about 50 games / ...???$CAN ( i prefer not to know)

Sony KDS-55A3000: $1299

Xbox 360 + HD-DVD add-on: $400

Onkyo HT-SR700: $280

Sony DVD Player: $99

Toshiba HD-A2: $50

Monoprice Cables: Unknown



Total: $2128 + Cables

Sony KDS-55A3000: $1299

Xbox 360 + HD-DVD add-on: $400

Onkyo HT-SR700: $280

Sony DVD Player: $99

Toshiba HD-A2: $50

Monoprice Cables: Unknown



Total: $2128 + Cables


Well done. you did your homework.

Sony KDS-55A3000: $1299

Xbox 360 + HD-DVD add-on: $400

Onkyo HT-SR700: $280

Sony DVD Player: $99

Toshiba HD-A2: $50

Monoprice Cables: Unknown



Total: $2128 + Cables

No PS3?

Well done. you did your homework.Thanks. I guess good things really do come to those who wait.

No PS3?I'll be picking one up in the very near future!

I'll be picking one up in the very near future!

Cool. I only asked because this is a PS thread and didn't see it listed.

BenQ W5000 - 2200.00
Carada 148" 2.35 screen - 1200.00
HTB Anamorphic Lens-600.00(coming soon)
PS3 - 600.00
7 Polk Speakers, mixed models - 1200.00
Onkyo 605 - 400.00
HDA2 - 100.00
HR-20 - Free, monthly service isn't though
DIY eD sub with 2 19Ov2 -550.00
Cables(all sorts) - 500.00
Addition to house, just for a home theater(soooo glad my wife doesn't read this forum) - 87,000.00 (I'd say the room alone was 30,000.00

Total without the room is $7350.(all what I paid, not MSRP)

I'm just glad my wife is understanding, I'm sure in the back of her mind she knows, but she hasn't said anything yet. I guess she got a larger house so she's happy. The whole second floor is MINE though:) I swear this site is the worst thing to ever happen to my wallet. About two years ago lightning struck my 32" Sanyo tv and I went out and bought a Hitachi 51" RPHDTV. I found this site trying to research about the tv. 2 years later, look where I'm at.

-Olevia 232v LCD HDTV..... $600
-Pioneer VSX-D914K 7.1 110wpc receiver.... $275
-SVS SBS-01 5.0 Speaker package..... $600
-Elemental Designs A3-250 sub-loofer..... $375
-PS3..... $400
-Xbox 360..... $400
-i1Display LT colorimeter..... $150
-AVIA and SPL meter with REW software..... $80
-IdeaLume Standard bias light..... $60

-Hatred of sunlight..... $priceless

-Brian

lets see....equipment alone......4+5.......cables.........:eek:

I have spent WAY more than I ever thought I would spend on this stuff. Here is my list of goodies in my main area:

Anthem D2 w/arc
Anthem P2
Emotiva MPS-1
Denon 3910
PS3 w/upgraded HD (250gb)
Xbox 360
Wii
DIY PC Media server and gaming machine
Logitech Streampoint for control of server from deck
Paradigm Signature Servo V2 Sub (2)
Focal Utopia BE Divas
Focal Electra CC1000BE
Polk LC60i (4) Surrounds
Polk Atrium 55
Anti-Cables
Signal Cable Power Cables
ATS Acoustic Panels and Bass Traps
Furman Reference 20i
Dish HD Receiver
Dedicated 20amp circuit
Sony 60" SXRD

About 2 years ago I thought everythhing was great w/my Denon 3805 and 3910, Velodyne SPL1000 II sub, and Mirage Omnisats in a 5.1 setup. Then a buddy of mine let me hear a set of Focal Profile 908's on a Krell system and I was floored......that was the beginning of the madness. I think I have finally got to a point where things should be stable for a while.......may add a projector a couple years from now......crazy hobby!

My wife has her own setup consisting of Sony Receiver and DVD Player, the aforementioned Velodyne sub and Polk RM10 speakers paired up to a 50" Panasonic. She is not an enthusiast, but her ear has been turned.

Current:

Wii: $199
PS3: $484(40GB bundle w/ MGS4 + DS3 from Game Stop)
Samsung PN42A450: $897
Monoprice cables for PS3/Wii: $20
New couch and love seat to go along with TV: $670
Old couch and chair and a half still in the living room: $1200(also 8 years old)
Yamaha HTR-5280: $600 (I think...it's almost as old as the couches)
PS2: $150 or $120?(Bought it the day PS3's came out)

Still working on building my sub here and I'll end up with some towers from us too but right now I'm at about $4200.

Loving HD stuff at 137 inches Pics in the link in my sig.

Under three grand in electronics, that includes:

Panny xr57 receiver
PS3
HD dvd player
5 in wall paradigm speakers
bic h-100 sub
Mitsubishi HD1000U
HDMI switcher
Harmony remote
Cables

This should of been a poll as well just to see how sick we are compared to others :)