Home Cinema - Anyone into it?

[gus607]

Pirates of the Carribbean sounds well esp the bass !

My next door neighbour complained that I caused her ornaments to fall off the wall !

 

[neil_g]

One reason I haven't turned my sub on many times since we moved into a flat

 

[Little John]

I'm saving up for a detached house so no neighbours one of them moans to everyone on facebook any time we watch anything.
I bought my setup with the cash from my 21st and I just turned 33.
I was a huge Sony fan so
Sony STR 930 amp
Sony DVP-S725D dvd player which I had chipped for multi region. I added a cd player and minidisk deck to as well.
Speakers are
Fronts mission 773e's
Rears are a pair of mission 7Ds and
centre is a mission 77c1.
Sub a REL Q201e.

It all still works and sounds great and with the moaning neighbour doesn't really get used any more so not replacing anything till I find a house. It was all after going to a friends who had just bought a pro logic setup and he put starwars a new hope on from a video and the open sequence of the star destroyer coming in from behind blew me away.

Films I love through it for particular scenes
Blade the club scene watch for the circular room bit
The matrix I think it was chapter 29 on the original DVD lobby fight to rescue Morpheus awesome
Air force one when they fire on airforce one.
Ronin the chase
Saving private Ryan beach landing better with the US DTS version
Pod race in Starwars episode 1 (first time she moaned at the noise that one LOL) and I didn't have the sub at that point.

I love any film though as it really immerses you in the film you hear things you never heard before even things like casino the background noise is more prominent but doesn't distract from the film. It is strange it is like watching a new film again. just a shame I have a miserable neighbour best thing is she paid for part of it (gave me money for my 21st)

 

[wack61]

I used to have it all, amp, projector 5.1 surround sound but I got bored with all the setting up , I've got a Yamaha tv stand with it all built in , throws the sound round the room , works ok too

 

[snotfactory]

I still love my Denon 5.1 system I got about 7-8yrs ago. Sound is incredible on it, when it's up loud the windows shake.

In terms of great sound, the scene in Thor when they fight the Ice Trolls sounds mental. Really put my speakers through their paces. The new Tron movie really uses the surround effect brilliantly too, every time I watch it I notice something new.

My favourite scene is still the Balrog in LOTR, I'll never get bored of watching just that scene.

My best and cheapest addition to my 43inch plasma setup was adding some bias lighting.

You'd never imagine something so simple could make the picture look so much better.

 

[Raymond Lin]

How did you light that? I am kinda doing something similar but just plonked a spare lamp behind it lol Not ideal but it kinda works but it's tungsten light so its yellow instead of white :/

 

[mattyg]

My mrs doesn't understand why we have a KRP-600 in the living room and a KRP-500 in the bedroom.




I told her its the same as her having 2 pairs of black shoes.

I hope I dont spot another 600 going cheap or we'll have a 500 in the kitchen

 

[digitalfailure]

How did you light that? I am kinda doing something similar but just plonked a spare lamp behind it lol Not idea but it kinda works but it's tungsten light so its yellow instead of white :/

You just need something like this from Ikea Ray

 

[Slimbert]

I've had ££££'s worth of AV kit over the years, even running a full THX system at one point, but have finally settled down to a rather tasty stereo set-up.....the gear lust has finally stopped, and I haven't changed a single component for roughly 18 months!!

 

[srichards]

You can't beat a big screen. Although some things in HD are a bit grim...you do see rather a lot more wrinkles and ear hair then you would normally wish to!

After getting used to the peace of a detached house there is no way I could have a joined property again. It's bliss not being able to hear their blaring tv, arguments, phone, hoover and other general noise. And I can play loud music at midnight if I feel like it.

 

[jamesoliverstone]

I am big into home cinema, but all mine is now running through an acer revo running linux with xbmc connected to a 12TB SAN. My setup only has a 42" LCD and 5.1 HD DTS but that thing rocks my house.

I love home cinema, and I spend most of my life ripping blu-rays onto the media centre as I love the front end of XBMC as it suits my techno gadget house rather well

 

[MartynK]

We had a pretty good sound system, and 5.1 surround sound with a 40" TV, back in South Africa. Mainly Onkyo gear, but I can't remember what speakers we were using. They worked very well, but we gave the lot to the kids when we left. No problems with neighbours, but my wife can't stand anything turned up above the lowest background sound level - if she can hear it in another room it's too loud - so it was probably a bit of a waste of money. No TV or sound system at all now. I don't really miss them.

 

[snotfactory]

How did you light that? I am kinda doing something similar but just plonked a spare lamp behind it lol Not ideal but it kinda works but it's tungsten light so its yellow instead of white :/

Argos do a kit for this, I'll dig out the name when I get home from work. It's was about £24 I think. Very similar to the IKEA producted already quoted but the light is a lot whiter - there was a massive thread about this on AVForums and I think a fair few people took the IKEA set back as the light is too yellowy. Needs to be as close to 6500K as possible IIRC.

In my setup I have three LED light strips attached to the back of the plasma, angled slightly. The difference is insane if you get it setup correctly. It exaggerates the blackness of the blacks so you can actually have the brightness and contrast set higher to lighten the blacks and pull out more detail... yet your brain still sees inky black on the screen The best setups use fishtank lighting apparently.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Added LED back light to mine last night!

The package, there is minimal instructions and it doesn't tell you that the LED will only work if the strips and plugged in 1 way even though they fit either top side or upside down.

As you can see, there are 3 strips. the remote has a button for all the colours, top buttons control brightnees, ON/OFF. The there are a button for cycle through the colours, pulse etc

It can also cycles the colours, the camera picks up the flicker that isn't there in real life.

[youtube]KUXMF_6stLM[/youtube]

 

[u8myufo]

Another vote for Saving Ryans Privates, any of the Pirates of the Carribean, and dare I mention it Even Waterworld has got a decent sound track and effect to it I got a bit of a mish mash at the moment, although fortunate to have walls that are about a foot thick of solid stone Just need to pursuade the other half that two side speakers would improve things

Onkyo 818 Amp
B&W DM602 S3 Front low
Accoustic Energy ae1 Front High
Accoustic Energy ae1 Rear
Accoustic Energy Evo centre
Yamaha powered Sub

 

[G12RDH]

Bose Lifestyle v35

Nice system but a tad overpriced i think and pretty much anythink sounds the buisness on it but i agree the pirates in DTS 5.1 is amazeballs

 

[wack61]

I've recently bought a Samsung 64" Plasma TV

I'm amazed how clear the picture is, HDTV is good but Blurays are fantastic, much better than the Panasonic I had , it's also surprising how quickly you get used to the size

 

[nigpd]

When we moved in to a bungalow last year, we took the opportunity to turn the second bedroom in to a bespoke cinema room.

We now have a Pioneer home cinema amp and bluray player, B&W MT60 surround speakers with the amazing PV1 subwoofer. Star of the show is the Panasonic PT-AT6000E projector putting a superb picture on to a permanent 96" screen.

Blackout curtains and a reclining setee complete the set up.

Band of Brothers, Transformers, Avatar are a treat to watch

 

[TriggerHappy]

When we moved in to a bungalow last year, we took the opportunity to turn the second bedroom in to a bespoke cinema room.

We now have a Pioneer home cinema amp and bluray player, B&W MT60 surround speakers with the amazing PV1 subwoofer. Star of the show is the Panasonic PT-AT6000E projector putting a superb picture on to a permanent 96" screen.

Blackout curtains and a reclining setee complete the set up.

Band of Brothers, Transformers, Avatar are a treat to watch

When's the TP meet?

 

[cosmicma]

iv'e been into hifi since my teenage years ( 70's ) but only really started playing with surround a few years ago
the setup iv'e settled with are the kef eggs and a kef q90 center with an additional sub so the subs run at less power ( the kef subs have a habit of destroying themselves ) but combine give the same volume
these are hooked up to a yamaha 5.1 amp which sounds ok i did consider integrating the surround into my existing hifi but the cost is too excessive
the existing hifi consists of meridian cd , meridian pre and power amps hooked up to kef reference model 4's to integrate surround into that lot would mean getting at least 3 more mono blocks, a meridian surround pre amp and some decent kef speakers for centre and rear
well it's never happened and i doubt it ever will the cost is running into the thousands and i can't warrant spending it

the hifi really does sound good though

 

[nigpd]

When's the TP meet?

bring the popcorn (although I'm toying with the idea of putting a popcorn maker in there to go on the fridge )

 

[srichards]

I've used an old panny projector with a 8 foot screen instead of a normal TV for a few years now. Even sd content looks ok. HD is better but freeview hd signal isn't always robust. Max res is 1080i as its a 2006 model.

No cinema system on the planet would make me find avatar any good

Signed up for netflix recently and that via the appletv is pretty good. Haven't tried any iTunes hd content beyond trailers but that is pretty decent.

Projector is really in need of an upgrade but with the lack of stuff to watch it will probably take another couple of years to wear this bulb out!

 

[Cheffievrs]

Jurassic park on laser disc dts takes some beating, the DVD is no where near the sound quality....! Fifth element is probably my favourite on DVD. I'm running

Tag mclaren Av32r
Tag mclaren DVD32r
Tag mclaren 100x5r
Pioneer 925 laserdisc player
Nordost spm cables
B&W 603's
B&W 601's
Dynaudio centre speaker
Rel sub

Things help when your best mate worked for two of the above companies

 

[mid_gen]

Used to have B&W LCR60/601/602 S3 + REL sub setup, but moved to something more compact now I'm living abroad. Have the B&W MT-50 system...the sub isn't great for floor-rumbling movie soundtracks, but it's great with music.

Would upgrade the sub, but living in a Hong Kong apartment block I have it dialled right down most of the time for the neighbour's sake!

 

[u8myufo]

Jurassic park on laser disc dts takes some beating, the DVD is no where near the sound quality....! Fifth element is probably my favourite on DVD. I'm running

Tag mclaren Av32r
Tag mclaren DVD32r
Tag mclaren 100x5r
Pioneer 925 laserdisc player
Nordost spm cables
B&W 603's
B&W 601's
Dynaudio centre speaker
Rel sub

Things help when your best mate worked for two of the above companies

What, he nicks components to order?

 

[onomatopoeia]

After getting used to the peace of a detached house there is no way I could have a joined property again.

Nods agreement.

When listening to music I just turn it up until the whole house is filled with sound .

 

[Nod]

Try the long opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan - if you aren't ducking and trying to hide behind the sofa, then turn it up a bit more

for the opening scene of SPR as a surround workout!

Fairly basic (and now fairly elderly!) Technics amp/speaker system here - no sub since it's a semi and I'm not antisocial! Went for surround as it was actually cheaper to do that than get another stereo amp and speakers... Wanted more air moving than the telly's speakers could shift.

 

[Russ77]

Made my first "proper" venture into surround sound in 2009. Upgraded from a Sharp 5.1 kit (which to be fair wasn't that bad) to 7.1 set up:

Onkyo 606 amp
Tanoy SFX 5.1 speaker kit
Kef Q1 front speakers

Love the way it sounds but it'll often scare the bejeeesus out of the missus

Front speakers are now on stands

The other two rear speakers are hidden in this shot but you should get the idea

Well my trusty Onkyo 606 met it's maker..... the HDMI board went U/S after 4 years which apperently is a common fault. Luckily I'd paid £30 for the Richer Sounds Supercare policy but after they'd had it for 8 weeks they decided enough was enough and as I was itching to upgrade to he newer 616 they gave me £150 off the new unit

Worked out very very well indeed as we've just moved house and the new lounge wasn't conducive to 4 rear speakers and the new amp can be set up to have Front High speakers.

Once O2 eventually get my internet connection sorted I'll be able to make use of the LAN functionality too

 

[PsiFox]

I have an Onkyo AV receiver running sky and a Blu Ray through it to a set of Tannoy 5.1 speakers (active sub)
Films are great as are the well put together DD programs on Sky.

F1 in 5.1 is lovely as well.

 

[DorsetDude]

Added LED back light to mine last night!

The package, there is minimal instructions and it doesn't tell you that the LED will only work if the strips and plugged in 1 way even though they fit either top side or upside down.

As you can see, there are 3 strips. the remote has a button for all the colours, top buttons control brightnees, ON/OFF. The there are a button for cycle through the colours, pulse etc


It can also cycles the colours, the camera picks up the flicker that isn't there in real life.

hm I fancy something like that I must admit. Some Q's if I may:
do the light strps attach to the rear of the telly? If so how?

What colour do you find best in use? For film watching? Id probably only turn them on when I dim the room lights for when Im watching a blu ray or whatever.

cheers.

 

[Cheffievrs]

What, he nicks components to order?

No, however he got a significant staff discount...

 

[Raymond Lin]

hm I fancy something like that I must admit. Some Q's if I may:
do the light strps attach to the rear of the telly? If so how?

What colour do you find best in use? For film watching? Id probably only turn them on when I dim the room lights for when Im watching a blu ray or whatever.

cheers.

The LED comes with a double sided tape stuck on the back so it's easy to install.

I find purple the best colour, I thought white would be but I really like purple as a back light. I have the room light totally off as the LED are bright enough to lit the ambience.

 

[Lynton]

Try the long opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan - if you aren't ducking and trying to hide behind the sofa, then turn it up a bit more

Sorry not read all the other responses but yes with 5.1 on 3/10 that is noisy!!!

Mrs S is worried about the neighbours though... 1 side are away all the time and the other side are inconsiderate muppets, drilling at 6am, so **** em!!!!

 

[Lynton]

i bought a klegg (believe it is american) surround sound, 5 speakers and a big sod off sub... and seperate amp form a well known auction site... no iea if it is crap or awesome in the home cinema world but I like it...

Its 700W RMS.. never turned it up past 3... and that was when both sides away....

could well be six nations in surround sound tomorrow.....

 

[Slimbert]

i bought a klegg (believe it is american) surround sound, 5 speakers and a big sod off sub... and seperate amp form a well known auction site... no iea if it is crap or awesome in the home cinema world but I like it...

Its 700W RMS.. never turned it up past 3... and that was when both sides away....

could well be six nations in surround sound tomorrow.....

It's not Klegg, it's K|Egg.....as in Kinder Egg.....what you've got is a toy out of a childs chocolate treat!!

Being serious for a minute, what you've got is more a "lifestyle" system, which is less about overall sound quality, and more about looking good and getting lots of noise out of small speakers.

There are some very nice pieces of very expensive "lifestyle" kit about, but generally, you won't find many audiophiles using a satellite speaker system set-up. The physical size of satellite speakers mean they are flawed, and for me, running a sub (sometimes) as high as 120Hz, just isn't great for sound quality.

Oh, and 700w RMS means b****r all tbh.....think along the lines of a 12MP camera phone vs a 12MP Nikon D700. Numbers are the same on paper, but the reality is very different.

 

[Raymond Lin]

And 3 on the scale is also meaningless

My amp currently shows -35db as a scale and as I turn it up, it gets closer to 0db and i have no idea what it means.....someone once explained it once but it went over my head.

Either way, i do know i can rattle my door if I want to lol

 

[u8myufo]

And 3 on the scale is also meaningless

My amp currently shows -35db as a scale and as I turn it up, it gets closer to 0db and i have no idea what it means.....someone once explained it once but it went over my head.

Either way, i do know i can rattle my door if I want to lol

And my wife thinks I am Deaf Talking of which, is it just me that gets moaned at for having it too loud? And then when there is something she wants to watch, it goes up as loud as I have it She just tells me it`s a woman's prerogative

 

[Unijak]

Been into it for some time, though the only thing that's changed in the last few years is a 6090 in the front room replacing the 608D which I now have in my office.

My multichannel Kef Reference/JL Audio setup:

More pics and info can be seen here if interested. I must get round to updating the pics too!

 

[TriggerHappy]

Been into it for some time, though the only thing that's changed in the last few years is a 6090 in the front room replacing the 608D which I now have in my office.

My multichannel Kef Reference/JL Audio setup:

More pics and info can be seen here if interested. I must get round to updating the pics too!

The tech in your house is just outrageous! Are you accepting lodgers?

 

[Unijak]

Lol when I do I'll give ye a shout Trigger!