First "Budget" Home Theater

[DrZeau]

Am in the process of finishing a basement, parts of which will be used as a kids playroom. The basement has approximately 1200 sq ft of living space, of which 350 will be dedicated to a home theater (though not in a separated room) so the lighting will be an issue at times.

With 2 small children (ages 6 and 2) I am cognizant of kids having "access" to equipment and, thus, will have an enclosed rack for the A/V gear and wall mounted speakers.

After careful review and w/in the contraints of a $5-6K budget, I have narrowed my search to the following w/ "a" being my first choice and "b" my second:

Front Projector:
a. Panasonic PT-AE700U
b. Hitachi PJ-TX100

Screen:
a. Da-lite HCCV (gray)
b. Carada Criterion Series (gray)

A/V Reciever:
a. Yamaha RX-V2500
b. Denon AVR-3805

Speakers:
a. Aperion Audio
Center: Intimus 522D-VAC Center Channel
Front L/R: Intimus 522D-LR Bookshelf Speaker
Surround: Intimus 522D-SS Dipole Bipole Surround Speakers
b. Axiom Audio
Epic Grand Master Home Theater

As a "newcomer" to home theater, would appeciate any feedback re: my choices....or other recommendations!

Thx.

[Tarheel_]

obviously researched every piece of the puzzle. The most important person to keep happy is yourself. Assuming you've listened or played with the eq...you should enjoy the results. And the Asperions are returnable, so no loss there.

Add a universal remote and possibly black out shades to windows

[midfiguy]

Hello,

It looks like you've looked into things quite a bit from your choices. However, the only noticable thing I've noticed is that you're trying to mix the optimus speakers and Aperion center. Why is that? It might infact be okay, but timbre matching is ensured when using fronts and center that are tonally matched. (i.e. a car that drives from left to center to right on the screen sounds like the same car when it goes through all 3 speakers). Try out something to see if you notice a huge difference from speaker to speaker.

Also, you're going to want a nice powerful subwoofer. You should be able to find an adequate one for $400 to $800.

[jxnew]

>>>
However, the only noticable thing I've noticed is that you're trying to mix the optimus speakers and Aperion center. Why is that?
>>>
Intimus is the model name of Aperion.

[midfiguy]

Oh my bad, never mind then

[Worf101]

speader packages? Any difference in driver size? What about any difference in the subwoofers between the two systems? Speakers can make a tremendous difference. I know they're both Online companies, does either offer an in-home trial? Those are the only things I would consider...

Da Worfster