I am huge home theatre fan, a huge Meridian fan and have hit a road block so thought where better to ask for advice and input than here...

I will try to provide the right balance of detail but should you need / want more then let me know...

There is a room in my basement that I would like to convert into a dedicated home theatre (i.e. 100% Blu-Ray or HDTV, 0% music) and to this end I hired a well known engineering firm to draw up the specifications which addressed all aspects of home theatre design (i.e. optimal speaker placement as well as suggested speakers, optimal screen size as well as suggested screen, rerouted HVAC, separate electrical, separate room for the equipment racks and projector, sound treatment, etc.)..you name it, it is in the specifications including 7 speaker for L/C/R/RR/RL/SR/SL, 12 subwoofers, etc.

What is the problem you ask...well, in a word, the cost because when I started the process I was told (by both the engineering firm as well as by the excellent integrator that I use) that the cost to build plus additional equipment would be $X but the price tage is now coming in at $2X which i) I do not have the cash on hand at the moment given the economy ii) I would likely not spend even were I flush with cash as the cost is stagerring (i.e. think a small house in a large metropolitan city)...

With that I have a number of options some of which include:

i) Proceed with all the equipment (i.e. audio inclusing custom wall to hold the front speakers and screen, seating, video, etc.) / positions recommendations without any of the construction (otyher than the risers), sound isoltation / treatment but to some extent I feel that this is a little like winning the battle and loosing the war as the audio performance will be less that it could be while still having a major hardware expenditure (i.e. remember those 19 speakers + equalization +...).

ii) Scrap the whole plan and do what most of us here do...purchase an on-wall screen (as opposed to the AT screen), purchase 5 or 7 DSP speakers (i.e. likely DSP 5200's) + DSP subwoofer (as apposed to 7 in-wall speakers, 12 subwoofers and professional eq equipment), purchase a comfortable couch / seating for 3 to 5 people (as opposed to the theatre seating, risers, etc.) and do a much more modest but very nice looking decor and call it a day.

iii) Wait...that is, do nothing for now and save money until all this is in the affordable range which raises other problems...what do I do with all my kit (M557, M558.2, M800, M861, Marantz VP-11S2 projector, Lumagen RadianceXE, etc.)...will I be comfortable / satisfied with the 50" plasma that is in my family room for 3 years...etc.


iv) Whatever other options you can think of...

Very disappointed at where I am ending up as the dream theatre which I thought was in my reach -- based on the initial pricing estimate -- no longer appears to be so, very deflated which is something only those who frequent here can possibly understand...

Looking forward to everyone's feedback...


PS. Apologies for any and all typos as I am typing this on my BlackBerry...

Audio: Triad Monitor Golds, Surround Golds, Silver Subwoofers; Procella P-18 Subwoofer; QSC DCA 16622s, 1644, 3422, BASIS 922uz; ADA MACH IV B
Other: APC S-15s; Crestron
Sources and Video: Ran out of characters .....................