Dear All

I am building a dedicated home theatre room (7m x 5m x 2.5m) and am looking at installing the following equipment:

The M&K S-150THX Ultra speakers package which has the S-150THX for L, C & R, a pair of SS-150THX MkII's for the side rears, a pair of S-150THX’s for the back rears and a MX-350THX MkII sub (I may also be coming into some money and may upgrade this to the powered S-150P’s for the L, C & R, a pair of SS-250's for the side rears, and a pair of S-150THX’s for the back rears).

In regards to the amp/receiver, I was thinking of the Pioneer Elite VSX-49TX (VSX-AX10) or the Rotel RSX-1065 receiver or combination of the RSP-1066 & RMB-1095. I like the look of the Yamaha RX-Z1 (and it’s a lot cheaper here in Oz), but I like the idea of having a straight 7.1 receiver for two dedicated back rears (the Yamaha has only 6.1, not counting the two 45 watt front effect speakers).

In regards to DVD, I am looking at Pioneer Elite DV-47A (DV733A) or the Yamaha DVD-C920 or DVD-CX1.

For the projector I am looking at a choice between the Yamaha DPX-1, Sharp XV-Z9000 and Marantz VP-12S1 (looks very good, but are a bit more pricey).

As I am building a dedicated home theatre room what do you think about a perforated screen, with the centre speaker behind the screen. Does it reduce the quality of sound by much and how does the perforations affect the quality of image (will probably go for a 100” – 110” screen if possible). I am still looking at screen manufacturers, either Stewart of Da-Lite??

Any thoughts on the above would be most appreciated.

Well, let's see if the site chooses to work today. :(

The Elite DVD/CD players have always seemed overpriced to me compared to some other brands at the same quality level. That one could change my opinion, though.

If you are seriously into bass, then I'd compare SV Subs. Not even M&K can keep up with them, esp at the price.

You'll like separates better for future upgrades. There's an Outlaw 7-channel amp due out any day now. This plus any 6/7.1 preamp would give you the 2 rear surrounds you want. Check out these specs:

"Power output: 200 watts RMS x 7 (all channels driven simultaneously into 8 ohms from 20 Hz to 20 kHz with less than 0.05% total harmonic distortion). 300 watts RMS x 7 @ 4 ohms (other conditions same as above)"

For a ridiculous price of $1800 or less. (compare that plus a $1000-1500 preamp to flagship receivers like the Pioneer) Outlaw's preamp doesn't look too bad, either.

I don't see how the Elite receiver can keep up with the sound quality of Rotel or Outlaw.

well I can definately see where you are coming from, but the Pioneer is THX ultra 2 certified. This doesn't mean a lot to most people, but when you look at the processors in the outlaw (single 24 bit cirrus) compared to the vsx49 (dual 32 bit floating point sharks) and the component video switching that meets thx standards. Add up the features and make sure you research what you are buying. A Dodge Viper might have more horsepower than a Ferrari, but none of the refinement. Good luck with whatever you pick

The good thing about the 49 is that it actually CONVERTS everything to component video, which would be very convienent if you're using a projector. The Rotel seperates do sound alot better than the Pioneer.

The DV-47A is very cool, I would stick with it.

Stay away from the perforated screen if at all possible. It will just degrade video and audio, and that's what you're theater is all about.

I can't totally agree with MHO's comment about perforated screens. Yes, there may be some potential issues with video moire with some projectors, especially some of the DLP's which are already subject to a rainbow effect.

Having the center channel behind the screen certainly improves the effect of the sound coming from where it should. A good perfed screen will have a very minimal impact on audio.

Stewart is certainly the acknowledged king of screens, but in quality and service.Of course, the best comes at a price.

Go with the Elite DVD. Hopefully the Yamaha DVD-C920 does a better job than it's evil twin, the DVD-C900, which I had to flush. After that bowel obstruction I don't even want to think about buying a Yamaha DVD player.

However I'm completely pleased with my RX-V1. I had ruled out the DSP-A1 and was about to buy separates when the RX-V1 was released. The A1 just did not have all the rear panel functionality I thought it should have, but it was about the only contender in the receiver category that I would even look at (At the time).

The RX-V1 had all the stuff I thought was missing from the A1, and more. Separates are nice but would have complicated my installation and cost a lot more.

(You SCO people have too much elective spending capacity)