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Bronze Member Username: DaedilusPost Number: 32 Registered: Jun-05 | On these forums I have seen a lot of people making some very ill informed choices regarding selecetion of equipment. Entering these forums and making a post like: "I just bought a 100 dollar piece of trash from somewhere and hooked it to my 8000 dollar plasma and now the picture looks like crap" Doesn't really serve anyone, least of all you. SO here are the 10 questions you must ask yourself before you EVER purchase a piece of equipment. 1: What are my goals? 2: What is my budget? 3: What is my timeframe? 4: Does my timeframe relate to my budget in a realistic way? 5: Does the equipment have the capability to meet my goals? 6: What is my technical prowess in operation? 7: Are my goals in line with my physical limitations? 8: Do my physical limitations need to govern my purchasing? 9: Should i involve a professional? 10: Why am i doing this? 1: what are my goals? It is most important that you embark on a journey with a destination in mind. The Aimless traveler on the road to home theater is going to leave alot of money and broken dreams along the way in his travels. Create an idea of what you would like your home theater to look like and do. Be realistic in your visualizations as they relate to the physical layout of your room and social setting. For instance if you like in a highrise of apartments or flats, the 18" dual voice coil 50,000 watt neighbor-hater subwoofer is probably not for you. What is my Budget? I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a plasma screen today. Once again you must temper your visualizations with a good dose of reality. Smart financial planning is the key to all goals in the modern world, HT is no exception. DO NOT go into debt to set up a surround sound system. Home theater is a luxury, and perhaps one you are not quite ready for. Only disposable income should be used in it's purchase. If you do not have at least a 6 month supply of cash on hand to live off of in the bank, and a stable job, then put off the notion of starting this journey until you do. HT will still be around when you are ready. 3: What is my timeframe? Puttin' on the Ritz! Most of us are not going to have the 30 or 40 thousand on hand that a state of the art home theater would cost, hense we set our goals for equipment that we would like and timeframe to find these items at prices we can afford. A HT is a work of art and just as michaelangelo didnt hammer out David in a day, you shouldn't try to assemble your theater in a day either. Learn the capabilities of the equipment you will need, make smart choices buying 1 costly piece at the time which will still be pertinant to your goals when you finish. 4: Does my timeframe relate to my budget in a realistic way? Yes sir, as you will see this apartment has in wall plasma screens installed in 2 rooms with full surround sound in ceiling speakers.... Make sure your goals and budget are something you can live (or move) with. If conditins warrant you having to move, you dont want to be stuck leaving a good block of your budget installed in a wall somewhere. Make sure you are going to be in one place long enough for you to reach your goals or buy equipment that can move with you. 5: Does the equipment have the capability to meet my goals? For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost, and all for the want of a nail. http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Fountain/5540/Forwantofanail.html Your Home theater is a Chain, from source to output, and it is only as good as its weakest link. Now... do you need 1000 dollar a pair translucent audio speaker cables for your speakers? Probably not, but its good to know that some speakers require them. Spend some time online searching equipment manufacturers. Pull the manuals off line and compare their outputs and inputs in the pictures with the outputs and inputs of the other equipment you intend to buy. You dont necessarily need to know what optical audio or component video do so long as you know your DVD has an optical output and your receiver has an optical input, likewise that your dvd has a component video output and your receiver has an input with an output to your tv. Create the wiring chain on paper and make sure the components you want to use have the needed inputs and outputs to accomodate each other. 6: What is my techie prowess in operation? Every day my company charges a few people $75 an hour to show up at their house and press the input button on their TV because they were too stupid to operate their system and too cheap to buy a remote that would do this for them. Take operation into account when budgeting your system. Many new receivers have video conversion and other features that allow them to send everything from composite video to hi def out of one output to your tv. Much easier than selecting multiple inputs on multiple boxes. Perhaps you should even consider buying a macroable remote so even the kids or grandma can operate it. 7: Are my goals inline with my physical limitations? 8:DO my physical limitations need to govern my purchasing? Yes, i want to place the 425 pound CRT up on top of the mezanine there so i can put a potted plant on it. Plan for space and ease of access. Dont buy a 75 inch tv to go on your 76 inch wall. Leave room for the equipment. Is your room in an odd configuration? corner loaded, irregular wall lengths, insets or closets which will have to still open? Take all of these factors into account, buy smaller speakers on stands which are much easier to move. Possibly ceiling mounted speakers. And for the love of GOD don't cram 10 pieces of equipment into a shelf space meant for 5. Plan to leave at least 12 inches of VENTILATED airspace open on top of each Amplifier and cable or sat box. 9: Should I involve a professional? It all depends on how much time and brain power YOU are willing to commit to this project. There is no task on Earth, brain surgeon, rocket scientist or nuclear bomb disarmer which you could not do given the proper training. What is the scope of your system? is it going to require carpenters? sheetrocking? plumbing to move pipes in walls? electricians? Depending on the scope of your system you may not have time to learn all of these things. A professional is a handy option to bring all of these factors into line. For the average person that consults these forums I should think that the time needed to learn the basic hookup and operation of AV equipment should not be too daunting. In fact in the time you have taken to read this manifesto thus far you could be an expert in the operation of your AV receiver by now. 10: Why am i doing this? If that last question surprises you or if an answer doesn't snap immediately into place in your mind then we have found a problem. It is entirely possible to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. The answer should be, "Because I enjoy it", or at the very least, "Because i WANT to enjoy it" If your reason was: a)Beacuse its expected of someone in my position b)Because Dave down the street got one C)Because my tv set told me i wanted one Then you need to stop right now and seriously re-evaluate your life. Advanced HT systems should be purchased only for your personal interest in them, they involve a significant intellectual and monetary investment on your part, and if you're not really interested in knowing how it works then you are not interested enough to own one. Take the money you would have put into it and make a donation to a worthwhile charity instead. Or better yet donate to The Buy Michael Britt a Pair of Martin Logan Statement ES2's Foundation |
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New member Username: Brandon_bPost Number: 8 Registered: May-05 | Excellent post. I have big dreams of a large high end HT but being realistic I don't have the budget or the space to make it happen yet. I have however managed to put together a system over time, that my family and I find very enjoyable by doing a lot of research and taking a lot of time to figure out how things work. If I had had this kind of advice in the beginning, I wouldn't have had to upgrade to get where I'm at and I would probably have a nicer system to boot. Brandon Brandon |
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Silver Member Username: Joe_cOakwood, Ga Post Number: 388 Registered: Mar-05 | good post mike. |
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phart buster Unregistered guest | Informative if verbose. Guess a little extra gas never hurt. |
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Silver Member Username: ClaudermilkPost Number: 159 Registered: Sep-04 | Nice, well-thought out post. I did many of those things myself in initial research; I probably spent 4-6 months just deciding what to get and have spent the last 9 getting pieces and probably still have a year before it's "done." But, what is installed already will stay with me for a long time and I'm very happy with the pieces I have. |