Very small 8' x 9' 'man cave', TV or projector?

I love my projector, but I wouldn't use one in that room. It's just too small. About 55" to 60" diagonal would be good.

I wouldn't shy away from a projector in that space, out of hand. You will need to buy a short throw projector, and watch what screen size can be had.

I would be thinking 45x80" as a mimimum size screen.

Is recessing the projector in the back wall a possiblity?

A projector will give you more bang for the buck. A white wall could serve as budget screen and you could have a 100" screen easily.

He is going to sit 7' from the screen, and you're recommending a 100" diagonal screen? YIKES !!!

Well just last night me and my daughters piled in to watch "The Lorax" on our 120" screen, where we snuggled in was about half way of a 15' room and we enjoyed it very much. For the regular viewer bigger is better, however once someone gets the upgrade bug.. $$$. As a married man with children, don't make your room too cool, otherwise your man cave will be invaded.

The projector i bought for my HT was from a guy on craigslist who had a setup very similar to what you're proposing. He had one of those new suburban homes with very small bedrooms. I would guess he had it set up in a room about 10 x 11. The projector was as far against the wall as he could put it, and the couch directly under it. It was quite overwhelming to look at when i went to view it. I could imagine eye fatigue being an issue in a very short period of time.

I would definitely second the opinion of a nice 55" or 60".

Consider posting the same question in the projector section. I have a little knowledge with projectors, people there have much more than I do.

At that distance you will be able to have a screen size of 65" to almost 70" see projector calculator http://www.projectorcentral.com/Optoma-HD20-projection-calculator-pro.htm. You will not be able to watch with the lights on.. Flat panel would be the way to go.

You say you are putting the screen on the 8'4 wall? You later talk about mounting a projector on the 8'4" wall. This means the room length would be 9'8" and would help with mounting a projector. Are you sure you don't mean the screen/projector would be mounted on the 9'8" wide wall?

I would suggest starting with a 2.1 system first and then adding center/surround speakers. I first started with a small Klipsch 5.1 system and realized later how much better a real sub and speakers sounded. Hsu Research sells a nice Value 1 2.1 system for $630 shipped. They provide discounts for future purchases or you can get something from their clearance center. If you would rather start with 5.1 then I would recommend the Performance 1 Package for $562 shipped. I have setup two of these systems and they sound great in a smaller room. You don't need to use the 6th speaker that is included. Just keep it as a spare.

ShopOnkyo has an Onkyo TX-SR309 (it is free to become a member) for only $139. It should be a good step up from what is included in the HTIB. I have bought several cheaper receivers for family/friends from here.

You should be able to find a nice 720p projector for fairly cheap used (I know someone selling one here ). Since the image size will need to be under 80", you won't be able to tell much difference from a 1080p projector. If you use an HTPC for gaming, the lower resolution helps with fps. The small image size will also greatly increase the brightness of the projector for use during ambient light.

Initially you can project on the wall or you can buy a piece of Center Stage XD fabric from Seymour AV for $65-$75. You would only need 3-3 1/2 linear ft. You can make a wooden frame for a few bucks and mount the screen on the frame. Just hang it on the wall for now and move it forward a foot if/when you add a center speaker. By the way, I use a phantom center in my room and it is larger than yours.

This system could cost a little over $1000, but would give you a great starting point. Don't forget to budget for cables, wall mounts, and stands.