My Budget HT setup...

My Budget HT setup... With TT.

I snapped some pics of my setup recently and figured I'd chuck them up here for constructive/destructive comments, criticism, ridicule or whatever!!

This post is ripped from another forum, where I posted these pics a few weeks back, so there are a couple updates i'll add.

Equipment is:

Samsung 50" DLP Rear Pro
Benq W1000 DLP Front Pro
Home made ~90 Inch screen

Yamaha RX-V863 Receiver
3 x Emotiva UPA-1 (LCR)
Sony PS3
Toshiba HD-E1
Foxtel IQ2
Rega Planar 2 w/ Acos R200 and AT95E cart with Hyper Elliptical stylus and an XTM1 Acrylic mat. Also has the Rega white belt.
Logitech Harmony One

Aaron ATS-5 Mains
Aaron CC-240 Centre
Wharfedale Diamond 9.2 Surrounds
Crappy Sony Sub & slightly less crappy Yamaha Sub

The screen was a hastily thrown together job to be used to gauge size. Almost 12 months later and it's still going strong, although I'm putting together plans now for v2.0 which will include a black border and i'll make two screens - one at 16x9 and one at 2.35:1 and just hang the one I need at the time. The house is a rental, so a few small holes in the ceiling is all I could get away with, and am comfortable repairing at the end of our stay.

Update: I've hit screen V1.1a which includes a black border. That's made a huge difference to the quality of the picture. Still have plans to increase size though.

The subs are a weak point, and i'll look into some DIY solutions down the track when money allows. The speakers are also a weak point, although I do love them. For the price, they do well and i've had them 10 years without missing a beat and they get used all the time!!

So, considering the small room which limits the number of watchers at any one time, it's a setup that get's used constantly (movie nights are done here regularly), and does alright considering the relatively small outlay. The TT is the latest addition and I love it... I've just added a Bren1 Lite TT weight to this. Haven't really done critical listening to decide if it's an improvement or not yet.

Pics below.

Current as of 28/05/2012

Here are the pics:

And some more:

Thanks!

I stick it up against the wall in a spare bedroom.

It's not too heavy, so your idea would certainly work, but this house is a rental and that's the extent of the damage i'm prepared to inflict on the ceiling!!

For the first week or two, i'd take the chains down and put them on shelf out of the way, but now they stay dangling from the ceiling!! Too lazy.

I intend to take some updated pics soon... Might try my hand at screenshots too.

No worries. Next time you're down under...

I'm fairly keen on DIY for the subs, although a mate recently got an SVS PB-13 and it's quite capable!!

Hmmm... Haven't made any updates to this thread for quite some time, but there are changes to be mentioned!!

With the Emotiva sale starting in the past couple days I decided to get them to ship 3 UPA-1's to the other side of the planet to power my front 3 channels!! Woohoo! It's exciting, although they won't be here for at least a week or more depending on availability.

There's been a couple other changes too, which I'll mention here then add pics in the next day or so.

I've added a Yaqin tube phono amp for the Rega, although sadly it hasn't been used for a little while. Prob don't have enough hours on the tubes yet to make a final decision about it, but I do like it.

I've also gone up in screen size to about 96" and have made two screens. A 16x9 and a 2.35:1 obviously! With the 2.35:1 the projector just shoots it's black bars over the top and under the screen, were they are barely noticeable on the wall behind. Works quite well and was certainly cheap.

I'll grab some more pics asap, and just sit patiently and wait for the monoblocks!!

I intend to build a flexy rack to house the setup in the next couple months too, so that'll be another change. Using mono's will allow for short speaker wire runs, so that's part of the intent with getting all the equipment up front. Hope those bright blue lights aren't too distracting.

Some pics of my different screen setups.

16x9, 2.35:1 and a 50" TV for regular use. The TV has way too many hours on it's original bulb and the plan is to replace it in the not too distant future. This is a low priority due to not really using it for anything worth watching. That's what the PJ is for.

16x9 PJ screen size is approx 98".

Now just hanging for the UPA-1s to arrive.

And some more pics...

This time screenshots. My first attempt, and only using a point and shoot compact, so not the greatest. These are from off center and I had the 16x9 screen up, so can see the not quite black bars that the W1000 produces. There's really on two problems with the W1000, and that is the black levels aren't all that great, and some slight rainbows.

When it comes time for an upgrade, i'll try my hand with LCD, perhaps something in the Panasonic range.

Anyway, pics:

And some more...

New additions...

Attachment 228576

Attachment 228577

Temporarily install location till I can get a new rack built.

These are 3 second exposures to try to capture the lights. They're slightly blurry though.

Attachment 228590

Attachment 228591

Just a quick update...

Have made a change to move the equipment to the front of the room. I picked up 4 x Ikea Lack Side Tables on Castors.

I was having an issue with the remote not working on the sat box since replacing the DLP rear pro with the plasma. I figure the smaller screen wasn't reflecting the IR signal as well or something, as that was the only change at the time.

Anyway, all sorted now, and I much prefer this configuration. I have some work to do with cabling though... It's a mess! My only gripe with this configuration is having the TV sitting directly on top of the center speaker. The speaker can handle the weight, I just don't really like it. Can't wall mount for obvious reasons though.

Apologies for the sub par photo too. I will attempt to get some more when light conditions are better.

Thanks. I can't claim the idea as mine though. The Ikea Lack side table is well known, and others have used this model before too.

Works well for my purposes and budget though! I'm happy with them.

Was playing some vinyl today, and thought I would snap a quick pic.



10 points if you guess the album!!

Thanks mate. That is a Yaqin MS-22B phono pre-amp. I've upgraded the tubes to Sovtek 12AX7-LPS. I haven't had a good listen yet to note any improvements. My speakers aren't that revealing though, so I may not notice any difference.

When comparing the phono stage in the Yamaha receiver, I don't think there's too much difference (to my ears anyway), with the exception that the bass is much more apparent and a definite improvement.


Hi Limp Fox, nope they come exactly as you see them (well, flat packed in Ikea style of course). Check em out here.

They come in a black/brown which is what these are. They're very dark so appear black in the picture, and they're not far off in reality too.