Home theater companies

We started looking into building a home theater for our house and need some help / suggestion about who we should use ?

1) Meyer Emco
2) Tweeter
3) Best Buy
4) Independent company

We are looking to install screen / projector / 7.1 sound system. Does anyone have any experience using any of the four options ? and how was your experience?

Thank you for any suggestions.

 

oooh, can I come over to play? But seriously the number #1 thing you should already have in mind now is your budget and general vision for the end results. That will greatly influence the answer to your question on who to use. Each one of the choices you listed has pros and cons. And there is nothing wrong with doing a combination of contractors and stuff you do yourself.

You could do really well with buying the equipment yourself but obviously if you offer a package install to someone, you could get a better bang for your buck.

Are you looking to actually do construction on the room? Or is this an existing room and you are set with construction and only need to convert the space?

There are also a ton of resources online that you can read about your project and ideas and get to see pictures of other projects etc. Let me know and I can paste a few links for you.

 

http://www.avsforum.com/

Great site for home theater

 

We will start framing for this media room soon and I was looking into getting these guys in after framing / before dry wall.

I am torn about doing some of the work myself or hiring of these professional to complete wiring / design / actual installation / programming.

Thus asking if anyone has used one of the methods to get their media room completed. What they liked about it / what would they change if they could start over and so forth ?

Thank you.

 

We used Infusion audio and video. Prices were very reasonable and service was top notch. They even installed theatres in many of my family members homes. In some cases he framed and drywalled the space himself The contact is Jeremy 540 435 2625

 

Fred,

Thank you for the info. I will give them a call.

 

There is a guy named Nathan Carr in Brambleton who does this kind of work as well. His business is known as the "Home Theatre Guy" and his phone no. is 571-238-6745.

 

Yeah AVS is a great resource for everything HT =) We've had a front projector for years and nothing is like a big screen (no, 42"-65" isn't big... )

1080p projectors are getting dirt cheap, too!

 

Agree 100%. I'm finding good 1080p projectors for under $3000 ...

 

you can now find a DLP projector in that price range now too...

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hdtvs/2472/optoma-hd80-1080p-dlp-front-projector.html

 

I used Audio Buys in Manassas. They had an awesome selection and great quality stuff. I had a less than perfect experience with my Sales guy -- ask for someone other than Barry and you'll be fine -- but the installation guys were top notch. In particular, a guy named Tim was the chief installer and the most experienced of the bunch. He was great to work with.

 

goofus,

Not sure which set up you ending up going with in your house ..but if you got several quotes from other companies .. using similiar set up ..how does Audio Buys cost compare say to Meyer Emco / Tweeter or anyone else you got an estimate from ?

Cost of equipment being about equal .. I'm seeing a big variance in cost of installation / programming.

Can you share your experience if possible ? Thank you.

 

My primary criterion was total integration for new construction (i.e., finishing a basement). I wanted a 'single throat to choke' for the hardware, wiring, installation, and overall design.

I recall not looking at Best Buy because they didn't have that type of comprehensive service (because it was before they launched their Magnolia 'store within a store' concept. I didn't look at Myer-Emco (don't remember why). I looked at a place in Herndon (can't recall the name), but ultimately selected Audio Buys based on (1) better hardware, (2) more professional installation, and (3) willingness to partner with my builder on the specifics. They were a little bit more expensive, but they offered a total turnkey system.

Audio Buys delivered on items 1 and 2, but part of my beef with my sales guy was his failure to live up to item 3. They would never pick up the phone and talk to my construction crew. The construction guys would never call Audio Buys. So, in the end, I had to be the intermediary between them. In the end everything worked out great, but it wasn't without its headaches.

If it wasn't for Tim -- the aforementioned installer at Audio Buys -- I would not recommend them. But he was on the front line and pulled this one out of the fire.

There are more companies offering this service than when I did mine 2½ years ago, so you should have plenty of options.

 

Recommendation for Tweeter:

We purchased a 64" Sony rear projection TV, Yamaha receiver, a new DVD player, and had 5 speakers installed into the walls of our basement from Tweeter. The customer service was excellent. We had to bring our 4 year old son with us during the consultation and purchase, and our rep kindly put in the Cars DVD to keep him occupied. Tweeter will send the very same rep from the consultation to your home for an evaluation to determine the best type of equipment (speakers, in particular) to purchase for your space. The staff is extremely knowledgeable, and they don't pressure you to buy the latest and greatest. In fact, our rep recommended a receiver that was last year's model, explaining it was considerably cheaper than this year's and had just the right bells and whistles for what we needed. From what I remember, they will also match any lower price that you find elsewhere. Two electrical engineers came out to the house and spent about 8 hours installing the equipment, and gave us a thorough orientation afterwards to show us how it all worked. Plus, Tweeter has a vast selection of A/V equipment. My husband drools anytime you mention their name.

We had a wonderful experience, and highly recommend them.

 

A good local resource for audio video installation is http://www.networkcablingdc.com/