I Wish I'd Known This BEFORE Building My Home Theater | PART 2

[@BuildMontage]

💬💬💬 Join The Discussion on Discord - discord.gg/wvtvkaP

[@damiantommy8966]

i realize it's kind of randomly asking but does anyone know of a good site to watch new movies online ?

[@antoniostanley8019]

@Damian Tommy Try FlixZone. Just google for it :)

[@ivanissac858]

@Antonio Stanley yea, I've been using Flixzone for months myself :)

[@kamdenreyansh1632]

@Antonio Stanley Thank you, I went there and it seems like they got a lot of movies there =) Appreciate it !

[@messiahkendrick5007]

@Damian Tommy no problem =)

[@onthecasejase]

Good advice Tony. Buying the best speakers that you can afford within your budget can’t be overstated!

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks Jase. Case in point, your Paradigm speakers :)

[@masterstacker2833]

So true. Great speakers never go obsolete.

[@weekendsketches]

some good advice there, can you also make a video on Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 vs 7.1.2 vs 7.1.4 and quality impact between them, you can check this by disabling your speakers and configuring your Denon AVR. There aren't a single video on this topic. I know most of the 4k bluray movies are mix at 7.1.4 by the studio.

[@BuildMontage]

Essentially, for Atmos, more height speakers will give you more precise sound as there are more speakers to blend the sound across. But it could be in interesting topic for a video.

[@dpTheFallen]

4 Atmos height speakers is the best option. Even if you only go with 5.1.4 and not 7.1.4. Lossing the rear 7.1 speaker for 4 on the ceiling is a good trade off. (Only if you don't have the money to get 7.1.4)

[@shaneducholke364]

When I build my dedicated theater 16 years ago and I put most of my money in speakers. I got a decent panasonic projector and a decent Harmon Karmon 7.1 AVR. I upgraded proctor when it died after 6 years. I upgraded AVR about 3 years after that. I just upgraded to a. DENON 6700 and now I can start to add amps as I can afford. Once I have 11 channels of amps to run my 7.1.4,thwm I can and A Processor when I find the right one for me. In between I added acoustics, theater seating, additional subs and a few other little things. My speakers still sound great so not planning to change those until each other piece of the theater room is where I want it and then I can save up for what I want. I started on a budget and because I had solid speakers, not once was I ever disappointed and feel I HAD to upgrade something, I just did when I wanted or could afford to.

[@AudioBoutique1]

Tony, you may not be a professional AV installer, however the advice you are giving is inline which the advice we would provide. Having a vision for the endgame is not easy, some people will invest in the glamour of a room, for some it is all about the function. Home Cinema need not be expensive the experience should be available to everyone at any budget. The best way to save money is to make less mistakes, so planning is key. Your advice and past videos are blueprints anyone can follow saving them time and money. Keep it up.

[@BuildMontage]

Kind words from a professional. Most of what I’ve learned has come from people like yourself and Michael :) I’m just sharing it with the community. Agree, it shouldn’t matter the budget, it should be accessible to everyone.

[@commanderrussels2612]

This is great, realistic, advice. Completely agree about the processor/receiver. There just isn't a huge difference until you get up to crazy expensive stuff, so be realistic about this and get something with good pre-outs and call it done.

[@TheJoeyPeacock]

Your comment at the ~3 minute time stamp about having to continuously upgrade your AVR (i.e., loss of investment) is why investing in a pre-pro processor like the ACURUS Muse or ACT 4 makes so much sense - HDMI board and processor module are both field upgradeable...and if you elect to have factory do the upgrade, they'll restart the 5-year warranty (which has always been their process). Yes...upfront cost is more, but getting reference quality sound, incredible warranty, and path to upgrade means best longterm investment.

[@BuildMontage]

I haven’t seen any Acurus products in Australia. But yes, this is what I meant.

[@TheJoeyPeacock]

@@BuildMontage check with these guys... cogworks.io/

[@1wired4sound]

Once again, solid advice. One thing I’d add, if you are going with a receiver, get one with preamp out connections. That way if any of your speakers need more power, you are all set. Just get an outboard amp for how ever many speakers need a boost

[@BuildMontage]

Great advice Greg. Your setup for pre-pro and amps is a thing of beauty! One day I’ll get there with my setup!

[@garyharper2943]

Nice job, one of the last things I bought, but maybe most important was a battery backup so I can shut the projector down when I have a power outage.

[@BuildMontage]

I have both a power conditioner and a ups for this exact reason :)

[@costafilh0]

Mid-range Laser 4K HDR, sound treatment and end-game Speakers should last 10+ years with good results. IMO those are the ones to focus on because they are the ones that make most difference. Good well kept speakers should last 20+ years! If it's out of your budget you should just WAIT and save more! On the long run it will save you a LOT of money!

[@mhk_hassan]

Thanks for the video mate! Building a new home soon and going with the following configuration: BENQ W5700 Klipsch PRO-250RPW LCR Klipsch PRO-160RPW PAIR for REAR Klipsch PRO-160RPC PAIR (ceiling) KLIPSCH: R-120SW (sub) Marantz: SR5015 Budget around $12k AUD Let me know your thoughts 😊

[@BuildMontage]

Be interested to know more about your setup and your room. Why not jump on our Discord server? The link is in the description.

[@TorinTPG]

Another in-wall brother! I like it!

[@eli_il3333]

Awesome video Tony, great to see how you prioritise your budget.

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks Eli :) Appreciate it!

[@mfkhometheater7742]

Great video, great advice! I really have to promote DIY speakers over any commercial brand however. These days with miniDSP modules available it's pretty easy for almost anyone to build speakers that will out perform most commercially available systems. Designing passive crossovers requires significant knowledge and CAD software like LspCAD but to dial in an active crossover with miniDSP is really easy. Yes you may need multiple amplifier channels for each speaker but not all of those channels need be high power. I've been designing/building my own speakers for almost fifty years and it's never been easier or cheaper than it is today. DSP didn't exist in the early days nor did good measurement systems much less free measurement systems. You can get sound quality that would otherwise be far out of most peoples budget and do it affordably. To me it's the only way to go.

[@catchtheaman]

Quality Video! Helped me alot.

[@TorinTPG]

I finally got to sit down and watch. Woo!! Where was this video a few years ago? It could have saved me a lot of money. Agreed that solid speakers should be a first choice. Man...those Krix MX-10 are gorgeous 🤤. Add it to my life goals! Beard is on point! I still want to learn about separates and how it would benefit my setup. Build Montage discord will be my best ally for this. 👊

[@CharloBagis]

Excellent video as always Tony 👍 Adding to your list of recommendations is getting HDMI 2.1 cables to avoid changing them in the future

[@BuildMontage]

Yes, for sure, or in the least, add a tube in so you can fish it out easily!

[@theformalreview7045]

Agree with a lot of these points!

[@kiranraj123]

I truly agree. Speakers lasts really long.. I can pass on them to my kids aswell 😂😂.

[@BuildMontage]

I’ll be buried with mine... jks!

[@riverst79]

Awesome honest video.

[@BuildMontage]

Glad you liked it

[@hansosu]

I just found Tony's videos, as I am setting up a basement home theater, and I am very impressed with the advice/layout. It has really helped me focus on what I need to consider and a better step by step process than I originally had. Cheers!

[@BuildMontage]

Glad it helped :)

[@mattadam1759]

Hey Tony. Your AVR is upgradable. Denon came out and said that they are willing to upgrade the flagship models with a 8k 2.1 board. At a cost of coarse.

[@BuildMontage]

Yes I did hear that, I was lucky I guess :) but still sounds like it won’t be a cheap upgrade.

[@mattadam1759]

A lot cheaper than upgrading the receiver bro 😎

[@BuildMontage]

Yes definitely no doubt!! I heard it was around $750 but probably would be more.

[@TwoGuyzTech]

Lots of great info Tony! You're doing a great job getting more and more people into the HT community. All of the new video gear looks great!! Very cinematic feel :)

[@cpt.hindsight]

Nice video👍 I'm in the process of building a garage with ht room in the second floor. I changed my receiver to a more expensive/wpc one, and my speakers sounded much better, so if you are using just a receiver, buy quality...

[@BuildMontage]

Yes, it's all about finding the right balance. When you're starting out its super hard to know which way to go, and how to balance the budget.

[@keepingupwiththejones2933]

I would invest money in a quality screen . A higher end screen can make a mid range projector appear sharper and brighter than the budget screens. You date the projector but marry the screen. Quality screens like Stewart can last decades.

[@BuildMontage]

I like that analogy. My latest screen looks fantastic and my projector is pretty decent as well, but not high end by any means, it looks fantastic on my screen. To me - the audio is where it's at!

[@shaneducholke364]

Good speakers and a budget receiver will ALWAYS sound better than a good receiver and budget speakers. Whatever your budget is, budget gear on clearance or discontinued proved and whatever is left spend 80% on speakers, 5% or less on cables and the rest on acoustics. Use an old couch of you need to. Go cheap on cables, you will never notice a difference unless you have super high end audio listening gear and even then only 10% can actually hear the difference. If you audio clear is less than 10k, then get cheap 12-14 guage wire from amazon and banana plugs and make your own. Never spend more that $30 CAD on an individual cable under 15 feet. I bought 10 gauges oxygen free, shielded, encased and braided silver/copper wire from an industrial supplier and got 400' for $200. Equivilant quality from an Audio store would be 5 times the price but I didn't want to change it and when every white was almost 50 feet long, you need high guage to keep up. Sound integrity I had some long runs and back then you needed to have every speaker wire the same length because they was no room correction. Needless to say I have well over 100 feet of wire on vacuum tubing throughout the walls and ceiling of my theater room

[@BuildMontage]

Yes, audio for me is number 1... I have a friend that said "spend 95% on audio, and everything else with what's left" LOL!

[@shaneducholke364]

@@BuildMontage they would have to be a big budget because $1000 for a projector, screen and 4k player is like driving a rusted out Ferrari with a miscoloured fender. Those 650 horses will sound beautiful but you rarely drive it cause it is unbearable to put your eyes on.

[@davidevans4609]

Tony, you bloody bearded legend! Good video buddy. Is there any chance you can go through the server setup in a very basic way in a future video?

[@MikeB-ly5du]

Great video! Do you have the link to the company you used to print on fabric fit your acoustic panels??

[@BuildMontage]

Sadly they won’t print them any more. I know there are heaps out there. I’ll see if I can find for you.

[@peterwood2633]

Wish I'd known that the £199.99 ex demo Onkyo all in one 5.1 set I bought from Richersounds would snowball into a £10,000 7.2.4 projector setup

[@BuildMontage]

This..... love it!!

[@vuminhnguyen6951]

Good advice and very informative Tony. Now I to get home theatre room. That's the first thing then speakers. Lol

[@BuildMontage]

Boom! (How did that room go with the converter cables?)

[@vuminhnguyen6951]

All good. Worked as expected

[@Soyanation]

Great video once again Tony🙂

[@SpecOfTech]

Great video Tony! Speakers and processor are very important, you got that right...cheers buddy!

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks Barrett! Speakers for me seem to be the biggest focus... my next challenge is pre-amp and amps!

[@SpecOfTech]

@@BuildMontage I am upgrading to a Preamp, waiting on its arrival. I hope to hear a difference between that and my Denon AVR. I also bought XLR cables for the whole works. What preamp are you thinking of going with?

[@BuildMontage]

Honestly? A trinnov alt16. This is a big ticket item so I'll be saving and hoping to come up with the cash within a year or two. The Denon x8500h will work really well till then, but I'll be investing in a couple of Elektra amps for my speakers first so I'll be ready when the time comes. What prepro are you looking at?

[@SpecOfTech]

@@BuildMontage That sounds like a slick setup man, I need to check out those Elektra amps, dont knoe anything about them. Right now I bought the Marantz AV7706. Should be here in a week or 2. That said, I am considering trying the Anthem AVM70. I like the discrete DAC idea for each channel and they look slick.

[@ozzieroxs333]

Great video 👍🏻

[@jimmy_dee]

Hi. Another great video. I noticed in one of you previous videos you had a Vonyx amplifier. The Elektra is considerably more money, have you noticed a big improvement with the Elektra.

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks, and it’s no comparison. The Vonyx was a cheap 2 channel class d amp only for adding Atmos. I want the Elektra for the fronts so need an A B amplifier for better quality and less distortion and more power.

[@gameroomtheater]

Very informative advice!

[@michae1a1ee]

What is the 3 channel amp you're looking to power your front stage with? Why are you choosing that model?

[@BuildMontage]

Elektra is a hand made local product to Australia and are very highly rated by everyone ho has one.

[@Espiritiv]

@@BuildMontage So...you only pre amp your main 3 speakers, and drive the remaining off the receiver?

[@BuildMontage]

For now, while I save up for more amps. One at a time till all are on separates.

[@masterstacker2833]

A good follow up to part 1.

[@BuildMontage]

I may be working on a Part 3 for 2023!

[@johnsmith-qz4bv]

great video ..great advice

[@BuildMontage]

Thank you!

[@saswatmishra5730]

Hi Tony . Nice set up . I am also planning to keep AV equipments outside of Home Theater room . I would like to understand if there is any difficulty in using the remote inside the Media room . Can I start the processor , amplifier from media room .

[@BuildMontage]

Yes of course. Universal remote through wifi. That’s how I use mine :)

[@TorinTPG]

I remember that lil gopher from another video! Hmmmm...I'll have to go back and watch to find it :)

[@BuildMontage]

Yep same gopher :)

[@can5projects563]

awesome video mate

[@chris198004]

very nice setup but a little out of my price range at the moment! would you go a projector or a laser tv at the moment? just about to start my own setup. already have decent audio so id like to start with a decent projector and update audio later on Cheers!

[@BuildMontage]

All depends on the setup, use case, size of the room, viewing distance, ambient light, budget... so many factors when choosing a display. I have plenty of videos on this subject so if you're interested let me know and I can drop some links for you :)

[@chris198004]

@@BuildMontage I can appreciate that was a very open ended question! I guess basing the purchase on the price of a average laser at $5-6k for 100-120 inch. would there be a better option in a standard projector. I have room to do either. Room is 4m wide by 5 long. Screen is going on 4m wall. Any recommendations on current spec models would be awesome! Great channel by the way. Getting lots of ideas!🤪

[@victorpulos823]

Nice video

[@fletty123]

Im going to start building a dedicated home theater room from ground up. How far should the screen be from the front seats (main seating area)? I am going to be putting a one foot drop in the concrete for these seats. There will be two rows of seats. I am doing the work myself. Any advice would be great. Im thinking 12 feet from the sceen would be good but not sure. My screen will be 150" 2.4

[@BuildMontage]

Jump on my Discord server and we can chat more :) links in description.

[@ralentinovossi8081]

Hi Tony, came across your channel, awesome content and promptly subscribed. I'm in the middle of researching for a home theatre set-up in a newly built house, and like you, I didn't think about anything apart from the projector wiring during the construction. Can I get your opinion on the Krix MX-5 (my room is about 4m x 5.5m), and if they're worth it over the Krix Symmetrix In Walls or Megaphonic On Walls?

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks for watching. Ok so your room is bigger than mine and I’m running the mx-10s for my mains. I also have 4x Symmetrix in walls too for the stealthy look but megaphonix on walls are great as well. Have you gone to hear them yet?

[@ralentinovossi8081]

@@BuildMontage Krix recommends the MX-5 for 20-25 sqm and up to 6m deep, was there a particularly reason why you went with the bigger MX-10 which is for a bigger room? I've heard only the bigger MX (30/40) but not the MX-5 and 10. Another problem is that my back wall has a large window, making wall mounting rear speakers impossible, would you have any recommendations for the solution? Thanks.

[@BuildMontage]

@@ralentinovossi8081 Hi Carter, I can discuss offline if you like? I have a discord server if you click the link and join we can message privately.

[@krixdotcom]

@@ralentinovossi8081 Hi Carter, give us a call on 08 8384 3433 if you like and we can discuss your room and options. Just ask for Michael. Cheers.

[@BRBearUSA]

I just think you're so much richer than I am... LOL. Cheers, be well, R.

[@BuildMontage]

I don't know - everyone's personal circumstances are different. I work super hard, three jobs and KZbin to save money to afford all of my home theater gear.

[@keepingupwiththejones2933]

Can you do another video about how you convince your wife to allow you to have a home theater budget?😅🤣😂

[@BuildMontage]

I'll let you know when I do... my way was around the problem and I self funded it! I saved and saved on the side of my usual income.

[@chevron916]

Build Montage I'd love to know how 'you' saved when I get told it's 'our' money 😀

[@l0rdstrontium]

10 thumbs up!

[@BuildMontage]

Thanks for watching :)

[@Espiritiv]

is your screen 1.78 or 2.4 ratio?

[@BuildMontage]

16:9. Would love a scope screen but I lose too much for standard content.

[@erikhenriksson6658]

👍

[@TorinTPG]

First!

[@BuildMontage]

Lol! Did u like your cameo?

[@ashtongrist]

To write and star in funnier movies instead of pot?

[@BuildMontage]

Huh?

[@jonesfamily3403]

The lively decision consistently long because parallelogram originally water up a assorted governor. guttural H habitual, obeisant field