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The Best Gear for Building Your Home Theater

Home Theater and Smart Control System

Everyone loves watching a great movie on a big screen with a great speaker system.

A Good Design Solves A Problem. A Bad Design Will Create One.

But few would not complain about the sticky floors, uncomfortable seats, and kids on their bright smartphones.

Our team spends thousands of hours each year to find the best looking and sounding home theater equipment.

Whether you have a dedicated theater room planned or are thinking of upgrading your weeknight living room movie night, we have recommendations covering whatever space and budget you have.

We understand that it’s not totally clear how everything fits together.

This step by step guide starts off by prioritizing AV needs- Read on

 

You’d be surprised at how little it can cost to upgrade your at home watching system from functional to enjoyable. There’s so much value in a minor upgrade.

Anything is better than TV speakers.

For less than $1,000, consider a soundbar + subwoofer. It will offer a huge step up in quality for most existing setups and leave enough money in the budget for media streamers and a universal remote.

The same cost-prohibited mindset goes for the perceived high cost of a high-performance dedicated theater or even multi-purpose family room.

1

Start with Video

Since video is typically the center of the room, we need to choose between a TV or Projector. How large can you go? How big is too big so it doesn't throw off the design of the room? Don't worry, there's a calculation for that below!
2

Audio - AV Receiver

Now it's time to choose the receiver that's right for you. Budget matters here. Surround sound typically looks like 5.1 where the "5" are the speakers and the ".1" represents the subwoofer. You might see 7.2 which would mean the surround sound receiver is capable of producing surround sound to 7 speakers and 2 subwoofers. Many receivers also let you partition 2 channels of the receiver to create a second zone like a patio for example.
3

Audio - Choose the look

In-ceiling, In-Wall, Bookshelf, Reference, Invisibles or a mixture?
4

Audio - Performance

Ask yourself about the content you hear most often: Movies, Sports, Music, Video Games. Then dial in the best type of speaker: Silk, Kevlar, Metal or horn tweeters. Different materials produce different sounds.
5

Network and Wifi

Everything talks to each other on a network now a days. Who wouldn't want better and faster speeds? Something to always consider when you're redoing your theater room and electronics.
6

Control

Perhaps the most forgotten aspect of any AV System. If you have more than 3 remotes or 3 apps that control your systems, consider a universal a remote.
7

Sound Absorption

Last but never least,echos, yuck! Hard surfaces affect audio. Carpets, Drapes and pictures are most common but consider stylistic acoustic paneling or base traps to combat echos.
8

Calibrate it!

Dive deep in to the audio settings in the audio receiver and in the menus of the TV to ensure you're getting the best performance, everything is in sync and it matches your room conditions.

How Big is Too Big for a TV?

TV Size Calculator – Example is for a 75″ TV

The calculation is:

1.5 – 2.5 x the diagonal of the Television.

In this case, if the wall  has room for a 75″ the appropriate viewing distance (couch) would be 9-15 feet.

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