Please help me decide by voting and leaving feedback:
I'm obsessed with TVs or display devices that provide great pq (not unlike many in this forum). I calibrate them myself and an obsessed with getting them as close to perfect as possible. But that's not my largest motivation for abandoning my basement HT: It's mainly because we never use it as a family, but rather I use it alone most nights leaving my wife to watch TV on her own upstairs since she doesn't like to watch it in the basement.
I am thinking of selling my FP (Epson 1080UB LCD projector) as well as other HT gear like the screen, and speaker system, etc. to get a Pioneer 151FD.
I need someone to tell me "I'm crazy to do that as I should be happy with my current setup as I won't get as much enjoyment out of making the change I am planning to make, and that I'm getting amazing pq right now, and have a dedicated HT room to isolate audio"...or something like that. I need your opinions on what I should do!
Let me elaborate on my setups and then what I plan to do:
Basement HT Room with fixed panel Carada Criterion 106" Brilliant White screen, which I sit 14' away from with a 1.6 viewing ratio to diagonal screen size, so it looks pretty big but not overwhelming.
Epson 1080UB 1600lumens projector (fully calibrated to D65 with Eye One)
Paradigm surround sound speaker system (Monitor 7 series)
Marantz receiver
It should also be mentioned that I finished the basement (about 2 years ago) with the HT in mind (i.e. running wires behind the walls, mostly sound proofed the ceiling with insulation, etc.).
In my family room upstairs, I have an older Sony Grand Wega III 42" RPLCD.
Here is my main reasons for wanting a change:
1. The basement setup is awesome for when friends come over and for me alone to have a place to escape to and get some privacy, but my wife and kids never want to sit down there to watch TV or movies.
The FP in the basement seems to be such a chore to go watch for our family, since we don't have a kitchen down there or even a bathroom.
Rarely do we go and sit in the basement and watch a movie as a family or a couple, but yet I'm down there almost every night alone while my wife is upstairs watching TV in the family room on in the bedroom on a 32" CRT.
This is mainly because she doesn't like to sit in the basement when we have a great house on every other level + being so far away from the kids while they are sleeping upstairs.
2. As initially mentioned, I have an obsessive need to own a set that has the best pq, and the 151FD fits that bill.
What I'm thinking about doing:
Selling the Epson 1080UB, 106" Carada screen, and speaker system (I'm keeping the Marantz AVR).
Buying a Pioneer Kuro 60" 151FD and putting it in the family room upstairs.
Taking the Sony 42" RPLCD and putting it up in the bedroom.
Buying one of those Yamaha sound bars that reproduces surround sound and putting it in the family room for sound with the 151FD and the Marantz (i.e. wife doesn't want the Paradigms upstairs, thus why I'm selling them too).
I'd be left with a finished basement that was initially constructed mainly for the FP setup (wired that way and also sound insulated), that now would essentially just be a very rarely used games room for when we have a rare large group of people over.
However, I'd have the amazing 151FD in a room where it would get much more use (i.e. wife and I would watch it together every night, and kids would watch it more easily too).
Given the viewing distances ratios to screen size, I'd be a little worse off with this new setup with about a 1.9 ratio, where right now in the basement the ratio is about 1.52.
I'd also be losing out in audio: going from 6.1 true surround to simulated surround or maybe one of those bose acoustimass systems.
But, I'd be gaining better pq than my current setup (someone please tell me that's right, otherwise forget it
AND most importantly, my HT would once again be restored to a room where the whole family would enjoy it more conveniently.
Finally, it should also be mentioned that to make this happen, even after the sale of my existing HT items, I would have to shell out an additional $2,800 for the 151FD + whatever else for the diminished speaker system.
Someone please provide me with some feedback on this. I've heard that many say that they would never go back after having a BIG screen, but my situation is kind of more than just that.
What would you do?
I'm obsessed with TVs or display devices that provide great pq (not unlike many in this forum). I calibrate them myself and an obsessed with getting them as close to perfect as possible. But that's not my largest motivation for abandoning my basement HT: It's mainly because we never use it as a family, but rather I use it alone most nights leaving my wife to watch TV on her own upstairs since she doesn't like to watch it in the basement.
I am thinking of selling my FP (Epson 1080UB LCD projector) as well as other HT gear like the screen, and speaker system, etc. to get a Pioneer 151FD.
I need someone to tell me "I'm crazy to do that as I should be happy with my current setup as I won't get as much enjoyment out of making the change I am planning to make, and that I'm getting amazing pq right now, and have a dedicated HT room to isolate audio"...or something like that. I need your opinions on what I should do!
Let me elaborate on my setups and then what I plan to do:
Basement HT Room with fixed panel Carada Criterion 106" Brilliant White screen, which I sit 14' away from with a 1.6 viewing ratio to diagonal screen size, so it looks pretty big but not overwhelming.
Epson 1080UB 1600lumens projector (fully calibrated to D65 with Eye One)
Paradigm surround sound speaker system (Monitor 7 series)
Marantz receiver
It should also be mentioned that I finished the basement (about 2 years ago) with the HT in mind (i.e. running wires behind the walls, mostly sound proofed the ceiling with insulation, etc.).
In my family room upstairs, I have an older Sony Grand Wega III 42" RPLCD.
Here is my main reasons for wanting a change:
1. The basement setup is awesome for when friends come over and for me alone to have a place to escape to and get some privacy, but my wife and kids never want to sit down there to watch TV or movies.
The FP in the basement seems to be such a chore to go watch for our family, since we don't have a kitchen down there or even a bathroom.
Rarely do we go and sit in the basement and watch a movie as a family or a couple, but yet I'm down there almost every night alone while my wife is upstairs watching TV in the family room on in the bedroom on a 32" CRT.
This is mainly because she doesn't like to sit in the basement when we have a great house on every other level + being so far away from the kids while they are sleeping upstairs.
2. As initially mentioned, I have an obsessive need to own a set that has the best pq, and the 151FD fits that bill.
What I'm thinking about doing:
Selling the Epson 1080UB, 106" Carada screen, and speaker system (I'm keeping the Marantz AVR).
Buying a Pioneer Kuro 60" 151FD and putting it in the family room upstairs.
Taking the Sony 42" RPLCD and putting it up in the bedroom.
Buying one of those Yamaha sound bars that reproduces surround sound and putting it in the family room for sound with the 151FD and the Marantz (i.e. wife doesn't want the Paradigms upstairs, thus why I'm selling them too).
I'd be left with a finished basement that was initially constructed mainly for the FP setup (wired that way and also sound insulated), that now would essentially just be a very rarely used games room for when we have a rare large group of people over.
However, I'd have the amazing 151FD in a room where it would get much more use (i.e. wife and I would watch it together every night, and kids would watch it more easily too).
Given the viewing distances ratios to screen size, I'd be a little worse off with this new setup with about a 1.9 ratio, where right now in the basement the ratio is about 1.52.
I'd also be losing out in audio: going from 6.1 true surround to simulated surround or maybe one of those bose acoustimass systems.
But, I'd be gaining better pq than my current setup (someone please tell me that's right, otherwise forget it
AND most importantly, my HT would once again be restored to a room where the whole family would enjoy it more conveniently.Finally, it should also be mentioned that to make this happen, even after the sale of my existing HT items, I would have to shell out an additional $2,800 for the 151FD + whatever else for the diminished speaker system.
Someone please provide me with some feedback on this. I've heard that many say that they would never go back after having a BIG screen, but my situation is kind of more than just that.
What would you do?
