First, let me thank you for even looking at this post. I will admit I have no idea what I am doing, or how I should progress, or even what I have gotten myself into, but, I am just about to finish off my basement, and have a space that is 10'x14' for my "home theater." Ceiling (greenboard)is about 7 feet. Walls are galvanized studs, insullation, and greenboard, and floor is concrete slab but will get carpet (don't know if it makes much difference, but I don't want to leave anything out). There is open space in the back and to the left of the area, but it is kind of blocked off by columns. I am trying to figure out what would be a good HT set up. Music will not be played much on this. My budget for speakers, sub and receiver, would ideally be around $3k, though a little more would be okay. I was thinking of speakers in the ceiling to try to save space, if not, then wall mountable would be my second thought. I am guessing that wall mountable (not in wall) might sound better. I am currently using an old sony HTIB that I got when I lived in an apartment. But now I don't have to worry about complaints!:D I saw, (but did not listen to) and considered getting five Klipsch SLX's, and they look great, but I have not read great things about them. I would appreciate any help/recommendations. My electrician is coming in a couple of weeks, and if there is anything I should have him do, I would like to have it ready. ANY help/tips/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!!! The TV I will initially be using is a 60" Grand Wega (I forget the model #, because it is about 5 years old) that is in our bedroom, but will likely move up to a Pioneer Elite (or a projector if possible) in 6 months or so.

Run wires now. Regardless of what type of equipment you purchase, you'll need speaker wire, HDMI, coax for cable/sat and maybe even CAT5e and component cables for your TV. Even if you don't run all of these at first, put some PVC or conduit in the wall so that you can run them later. I ran two inch PVC from my rack to my front TV wall. Like you, I want to upgrade to a projector later but I have a wide open sofit from my rack to the projector location, so I can run those cables later.

Personally, I think you can get a killer sound system for $3k. Go to a good local store and listen to everything you can. I would suggest staying away from CC or BB because you have a good price range to work with. My personal fave is B&W. Very solid, well built and great sounding speakers. You can add good speakers to a $600-$700 AV receiver and be happy for quite some time.

Thanks JW. I forgot to mention, the cable is already done, and behind wear the TV will be is a storage area. I bought speaker wire, and just need to figure out what kind of speakers I will/should use. Am I right in thinking that ceiling speakers may not give me sound as good as free standing/wall mounted ones? I was looking at some Onkyo receivers, but I don't know anything about them.

Hmmm....does the projector hang on the ceiling? If so, then, how far from the screen would it go? Should I have an outlet on the ceiling, or can the electrician hardwire it? Hmmm.....and speaker wire from there as well? Especially since the ceiling will be sheetrocked, I want to run everything I can think of. PVC is a great idea, I just need to know how far to extend it. I have already split the incomming cable line to go to another room, and to the HT, (and another line going into my poker room) using a 4 way splitter.

This all just started about a week ago, so I haven't had much time to research, so I don't even know what questions to ask. I just hate to make costly mistakes.

Hmmm....does the projector hang on the ceiling? If so, then, how far from the screen would it go? Should I have an outlet on the ceiling, or can the electrician hardwire it? Hmmm.....and speaker wire from there as well? Especially since the ceiling will be sheetrocked, I want to run everything I can think of. PVC is a great idea, I just need to know how far to extend it. I have already split the incomming cable line to go to another room, and to the HT, (and another line going into my poker room) using a 4 way splitter.

I'm still in the planning/about to start phase of my basement, but I am going with a projector. Check out this site for great in depth reviews.

http://www.projectorcentral.com/home-theater-multimedia-projectors.htm

Also, once you click on a projector in this link, there is a calculator when you scroll down that will guide you as to how far away the projector would need to be, depending on the size of the screen you are looking for. Yes, have the electrician install an outlet near the projector location. I agree, a PVC conduit is a great idea.

Matt

Matt, MANY thanks. That was very cool. I used the option to find a projector, and it looks like I will be getting an optoma HD80. GREAT link.

Anyone have any thoughts as to speakers? Can anyone confirm my ceiling vs. wall mount thoughts?

Thanks!

I am a fan of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, mainly for the clean, stealth look. My budget was much less than yours, but I was able to piece together a decent system on eb@y for 500 bucks or so. I think the key to a good HT when it comes to sound is the bass. It seems you can sacrifice on your mids and highs as most budget speakers are usually up to the task, but I wouldn't scrimp on your sub.

Completely scrap the TV idea now and go for the projector. You will not be disappointed.

As for the electrician, I would recommend he put in some boxes for wall sconces. A HT just seems incomplete w/o them. Also, ask him to run a line from the PJ to your equipment room, so you can put your pj on a quality surge protector/UPS backup.

Good luck and have fun!

Hmmm....I like the clean look too, and they would really be out of the way. I had looked at the Klipsch in ceiling speakers, and while they seemed like a good idea, I have no way of listening to them first, and all of the speakers I have ever heard that were in-wall or in-ceiling, just didn't do much for me, and I really would like to hear them before hand. I have not heard great things about them, though I agree, they really would be great, especially in my configuration. I suspect I could get away with 2 surrounds, but as mains and center??? Also, can most in ceiling speakers be placed into insullation?

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on receivers? I looked at the Onkyo tx-sr705 or the 805? ($660 vs $800). It seems to me that the $140 difference is not that much, and may be worth the extra money. The only disappointment is, I wish I would have thought of this BEFORE everything wa framed out, because these components are more than 16 inches, and I would have done the storage area behind the wall a little differently so that I could have a built in space for the components. :( Oh, the brilliance of "winging" it. :D

Hey Frorule, your basement is awesome! I just had a chance to go through your post completely. I am very happy to see the vinyl flooring. I was going to go with carpeting, but am afraid of mold issues if I get water in my basement (possible, though I am working on that now). How forgiving is the vinyl floor? I know I am going to have to fill some voids in my floor, but does the floor need to be completely level and even? or would I have a 1/4 inch to play around here and there (my house is almost 100 years old and the basement shows it). I only dream of a good sized ceiling. :p :D

Windows are now finished, what a pain. Switching from that 100 year old crap, and then trying to fit everything was a real pita. So far, this place has not given me a break, and is fighting me tooth and nail.

Thanks for the compliment, Morley. You might stick with the carpet...with upgraded padding so you don't feel any flooring inconsistencies. The peel and stick vinyl strips work great on clean level concrete, but I did have an issue where one of the joints in the slab was uneven (probably less than 1/4 inch). My strips ran parallel to this seam, and I had a very hard time getting the adhesive on the strip to stick to the floor on the elevated side. I would say you would need to level your floor (a lot of work), or run your strips perpedicular to any bumps so you don't have the problems I did. If I was you, I would be more inclined to go with wood laminate flooring since it's rigid and is much more tolerant of an uneven subfloor... It's so good, you'd think the stuff was made just for basements.

Well, I am trying to stay away from anything too hard and unforgiving as I have two small kids (2 and 4) who somehow are still a bit clumsy, and next to the HT will be space for their play area.....so,maybe I will stay with some kind of carpeting, or perhaps outdoor carpeting if I can find something nice enough for inside. I have seams also, and I suspect I would run into the same problem.

Well, I am trying to stay away from anything too hard and unforgiving as I have two small kids (2 and 4) who somehow are still a bit clumsy, and next to the HT will be space for their play area.....so,maybe I will stay with some kind of carpeting, or perhaps outdoor carpeting if I can find something nice enough for inside. I have seams also, and I suspect I would run into the same problem.


Yeah, I went with carpet for the son's playroom as well. At 15 months, he's still a bit clumsy, too. If you have a sump pump, just drylok the whole thing and spread some concrete sealer liberally on all the cracks. Hopefully that should keep your carpet nice and dry. Cheers.