Late Bloomer

It took five years to get started on this project. All planning initially ceased after some rough mental math tallied all the components necessary for a nice home theater setup at about $20,000. Since then pretty much all the technology has changed. DVI, HDMI, LCD, Plasma, 7.1, iTunes, wireless, optical, HDTV — all are things that weren’t really options five years ago but are now standard fare in every single store and an increasing amount of homes. Still, the price point for a top-notch home theater is basically the same. Of course, I’d like to do it for less than half of that high tally, including furniture and to do so I’m willing to make some compromises along the way. Admittedly, it’s easier to make compromises when I’ve set the ceiling so high and I’m sure I could walk out of Sears or Best Buy with something decent for $3000 and just be done with the whole thing. But would I still like it in another five years? And that right there is the biggest mental struggle. Is it possible to find gear that doesn’t scream out its limitations while not wasting my life savings on something so frivolous as television? Can it be done without making it the focus of my life for the next six months? Can I get decent sound and video without feeling like a pompous spendthrift? I don’t yet know the answers, but the time to find them has come. The walls have been painted, the furniture has been allen-wrenched, and I’ve got some shopping to do.