Highly budgeted 1st timer

Hello All,
Can't say enough about how much I learned from lurking this site in regards to setting up one's own media room. I had to post the result of a lot of hard work, penny pinching, lots of dealing/shopping/negotiating, and just overall patience.

Being in Texas, basements are not common so for me the conversion would be one of our unused guest rooms. All deco and overall set up is based on compromising to one huge component...the wife. So blacking out the room, knocking something down, huge holes in the wall, etc. were deemed unacceptable from the get go. With that in mind, this room MUST also be able to be converted back into a regular bedroom in little to no time...so says the wifey.

So we got the wife constraint, room contraint (small bedroom), and a budgetary limit. Less than 4k on the entire system. Yes, that was my given budget...what the heck...let's give it a whirl. I need to find a way to save some dough while not sacrificing huge quality. This wasn't easy but I think I did it.

Let me put a few posts up so I can insert some pics.

1.) Okay...first way to save money, plan to do it myself. I'm not the handiest of guys but I do have patience and can really analyze my situations.

2.) Research - query the heck out of this site and read user opinions on budget projectors, cables, DVD players, screens, etc. Go to Best Buy and Circuit City websites and read ALL the customer reviews, some of them are useful and some I will take with a grain of salt. Opinions are that...opinions, I was just looking for facts.

3.) Shopping - find reputable dealers online, in stores, look at warranties, compare prices and see what I come up with. Quickly highlighted any product that folks claimed on here as 'bang for the buck'.

4.) Be smart - do it right the first time, take my time, read instructions thoroughly, time is money and mistakes costs both time and money.

I've attached a sheet of the prices and all expenses all the way down to extension cords. The items used that I did not list were items I already had on hand. I'm not ashamed of how much I spent. On the contrary, pretty proud, and if this helps anyone else find a great price or help them decide on what to go with then it's worth it for me to post.

Receiver:
Sony STRDG810

Projector & Screen:
Mitsubishi HC4900
Elite EZScreen - 92" White

Speakers + Sub:
Dayton Audio HTS-1200B
Infinity HTS10B (hand me down)

DVD:
Toshiba HD-A30 (Open Box)

Projector Mount:
Omnimount Floating Component Shelf

Acoustic Panels:
ATS Acoustic Panels 3 x 48"x24"

 

HT Budget.txt 1.314453125k . file

Alrighty...pics time. This is what I'm working with.

Let's start painting and putting in the little things...and the screen.

Speakers mounted and brackets ready for screen.

Projector is next...shelf mounted instead of ceiling mounted.

Here are the pics of my DIY rack in the closet.





I'll be cleaning up the wiring a bit more soon.

Add a little deco and just got in the furniture.









The chaise is paradise.

Acoustic Panels tacked on

Front speakers wired and screen mounted





and I'm spent. It's finally done.

Yeah, I've asked about that, the walls aren't that bad (pretty dark khaki) and the goal was the ENTIRE room but I was able to lobby for one wall. I was giving the whole spiel on how the picture will pop more on a darker background and with darker surrounded walls there will be less reflection...and the reply was "that's nice, well you can do an accent wall and that's it...and make sure it's a nice pretty color". My answer..."Sure, Babe".

I really like your budget room as well.

I'm impressed, this set was to be place holder until I budget up for some other drivers but I'm quite happy. I don't have the best receiver in the world but I tuned it myself (not auto calibrate) and I'm pleasantly surprised about the clarity and a louder volume. Overall, very happy with that piece of the system so far.

Great idea, I might try that.

13.5 x 11.5

I actually did want to mount the center channel below and the front stage off to the side but the slight compromise were the aesthetics and my own abilities. Mounting the CC below the screen, I'll agree the sound right off the bat was pretty good. After I put the drivers up where I have them now I had to tweak the angles of the speaker a few (dozen) times until I finally got the stage to where I was quite happy. It came pretty darn close to when I had the center channel plus fronts lower. Even with the speakers being that high I cannot tell the sound is originating above the screen. Ideal location sound was a 8/10 at best, where I have them now about an 7.5/10, a slight sacrifice and a possible upgrade in the future.

Thanks for the compliments ya'll. Yes, all the wiring was handled in the attic and what made things easier was a large grommet pre-run for me when the house was built so everything could be run into the closet. All of the wiring was run into the grommet and just pulled through via tied string. Sounds easy until you take into account tons of fiberglass in the attic I had to wane through to find the grommet. It was my first experience and after reading the forums I know I'll gather more info, ideas, and tips (that hopefully may not involve more money ) to improve the room.

As I mentioned before, pleasantly surprised. My intent was to buy some drivers - 'just for now' that were decent quality and inexpensive. The build of the Daytons are quite good, the sound was much better than expected - great midrange and impact (need sub though due to lack of true midbass) and the price, quite a bargain. Not looking to replace them anytime soon.