Another HT dilemma, need your valuable inputs.

[harryneopotter]

Ok but after getting used to pb1000 in the bedroom set up you may not like the sw300 in the living room. It’s meant to be used in small rooms at moderate volumes. If u crank it up it’s going to chuff and sound muddy

Yes yes, I understand that. To me, the lower end performance in my room is better than what I get at a non-imax Pvr. So I think I can live with that for now. I mean, I am not buying the sw300 (already have it spare) so no harm in trying it once. The swap is always the last option if needed.

 

[avenue_sound]

Hello good people of the forum, here I am back again with another dilemma on where to spend my (very) hard earned money.

I already have an entry level home theater-ish setup for my bedroom (10 feet viewing distance, LG 65C9, Taga 806 5.0 Package, Polk Owm3 x 2 mounted on ceiling, SVS PB 1000 sub, Denon x1400h ) which I love and adore.

I always dreamt of having a dedicated home theater room, but that wont be happening for a few years at least. So now I am thinking of setting up a semi home theater in the living room (of my rented flat). Since it is a rented flat, there is very limited scope for any structural changes or modifications. So the setup should look clean at the end.

Now the difficult part, very very limited budget of 1.5-2lakhs INR which makes the equation very hard to solve (atleast for me). So I see only two options:

1. Get a good entry level 4k projector like TW7100 (around 1.3l) + a decent screen (approx 10-15k) and a good 5.1 soundbar like Sony 40R or Samsung HW67E/XL with the remaining budget.

Pros: Good picture quality, easy to manage and setup, less wires to conceal (though HDMI cable from the PJ to the soundbar would be a pain to hide), surround sound in budget​

Cons: I am not sure if such soundbars or budget HTiBs can do justice to the big screen and help with the immersion factor at all.​

2. Get a decent 1080P PJ like Optoma HD30HDR or TH585/685 + screen + a basic AVR and 5.0 speaker combo (whichever I can fit in the budget). I already have a spare subwoofer (Yamaha NSW-300) so will save some money on that.

Pros: Better sound (hoping it can rival normal theater sound, NOT IMAX), more future proof if I want to upgrade the sub or speakers in the future​

Cons: Not sure how would the 1080P PJ fair on a 100/120 inch screen with a viewing distance of 10-12 feet, tons of wires/cables to hide, NOT neat looking etc​

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The room is huge (2 portions of 12 x 18 feet each), but the viewing area is around 12 feet wide and around 18ish feet long. My main usage is movies (OTT, BR Rips etc), occasional cricket matches and some light music on parties. The room gets ample day light in the day but I can control it a little using blackout curtains etc. But it wont be fully dark in day time.

Now which of the two options stated above will give a better immersive experience, I am not sure about. Any input or suggestion is welcome

Forgot to add: for both options I can get the projector or the AVR from UK as a friend is coming in November first half, which would help save some money for the rest.

I would definitely suggest go with the 1080p projector and surround sound system. Run cabling like a 4k HDMI so that you can upgrade to a decent 4K projector later. Try and do a fixed screen. A screen in that budget will not do much justice to a 4k projector and the foot lamberts required to product good 4k images from that distance will not be possible for a projector in that budget.

Also a soundbar will not do much other then provide great sound from the front for a room of that size. To get a proper surround sound experience the best thing you can do is put atleast a 5.1 system and run wiring to expand that in the future. Hope that helps.