Equipment

Projector: NEC XG-75

This is a 8” digital chassis CRT projector with digital focus. I chose a CRT projector because of the excellent black levels and the overall dependability/longevity of the CRT projectors in general. While being more complex to set up, the NEC XG has excellent color levels. My only complaint would be the massive amount of heat that this unit pumps out.

Receiver: Kenwood VR-6070 DTS 6.1 THX

At 100 watts per channel, this receiver does an excellent job of surrounding you with the theater experience. A big plus is the RF remote control so I don’t need a clear view of the receiver the change the settings. Another plus is the LFE (Low Frequency Effects) capability which outputs beautiful bass to the subwoofer, especially in movies such as Lord of the Rings and Gladiator.

Screen: I constructed a 60” by 96” screen out of MDF for the projection, then covered it with a rubber-backed screen material with a 1.3 gain. The painted screen I used previously worked well enough, but when I started using the actual screen material, the image really popped out.

Input: Denon DVM-1805 5-Disk DVD Player

While suffering from the well-documented subtitle bug, this DVD player produces an excellent picture on DVD playback. Other than being slow to load, this player is excellent in the theater and is quiet compared to many multi-disk players.

At this time, I only have the DVD player for input into the system. While I do have the room/system wired for broadcast television, I choose not to hook it up as I do not want the theater to become a TV room. Once I switch over to HD, I will probably display it in there because of the excellent resolution of the projector, but that will be a future upgrade.

Speakers: Mains: 100 watt standard three-way. These were originally from a stereo system bought back in the 80s which I replaced the drivers and the crossovers. I am currently designing the replacements for these to be built later this year.

Center: 150W watt MTM designed and built by me. I used a tried and true design for this one and built the crossovers specifically for my theater. If you don’t have an adjustable crossover in your center channel, I suggest you build your own.

Surrounds: Fluance SX-HTB Two-ways. I picked these up cheap on E-bay and couldn’t be happier with the sound. I had originally planned on building these, but the smooth, natural sound of the Fluance speakers have changed my mind.

Subwoofer: 180 watt 12 inch sub. I built this subwoofer around a very nice Jensen titanium driver with a massive Vas. Forward firing, multi-ported, and adapted from the Parts Express Titanic version, this subwoofer has outperformed even my greatest expectations. The multi-port design will actually make a breeze in the theater during bass-heavy movies.

Video: TAW Rock video processor

This stand-alone computer-based video processors has an excellent picture. While many would argue the capabilities and quality of the TAW Rock, I have found it to be an easy-to-use method of scaling video. The capabilities of this unit go way beyond anything that I would use in my theater, so there is no need to upgrade.

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