Lu Flu Strikes Home Theater

[Dom_P]

Last year my wife and I decided to remodel our family room and it struck me the perfect time to think about better 2 channel listening and HT options.

Many of you helped me spend a bit more than I was planning for 2 channel and it was musical bliss

That left my budget for HT pretty flat .

With some advice from Ivan, while I was upgrading electrical to help source the Mac amps you folks helped me pick, I had the electrician run electrical to the ceiling. A little more advice from Ivan indicated that I'd also better get an HDMI cable up there as well while the ceiling was open.

And so, a Wireworld package from MasterLu later, the cable was installed.

There it lay for near a year… lonely, buried behind a outlet plate, not an electron passing through it, while I researched for the item to place at the end of it.

And so one day, in my typical AA lurking fashion, I notice that Master Lu became a dealer for the exact thing I needed to connect to that cable. So with a refreshed bank account, and with the wife now recovered from the 2-channel upgrade, a PM goes out to MasterLu.

“Ivan, I hear you’re a Sony dealer now… can you get me a VPL-HW55ES?” As I hit the send button the doorbell rings, and this is on my doorstep.



Ok, fine, it wasn’t that quick, but it was amazingly quick. I spoke to Ivan Friday afternoon and it arrived Tuesday morning. Very impressive Ivan.

Ivan twisted my arm slightly to increase the size of the screen from the paltry 90 inch 16:9 screen I had planned, to 100in. The look on my wife’s face was priceless as I framed out the 100in screen using some blue 3M painters tape.

A call back to Ivan indicating the 100in would fit nicely quickly turned into an order for a fixed frame Stewart screen with FireHawk G4 material.

Ivan also helped me pick a ceiling mount (Peerless PRGS-UNV), and although he was a dealer for the mount, told me to order it on Amazon as it was a few bucks cheaper — class act that MasterLu.

On Monday the mount arrived, and I installed it. Thank goodness, because as I said, a day later the projector showed up. After getting home from work, up it went!





And finally the cable had a mate





Here’s a few before and after pics.

Before (65in Mitsubishi DLP)



After (HW55ES throwing 100in picture) - the photos don't do the picture justice.







I'm waiting for the screen as that needed to be custom built (though Ivan tells me that’s shipped as well). Even with out it, on a wall painted a fairly dark coffee color, the picture is outstanding. Quite a good projector for Sony’s entry level. Great contrast, amazing blacks, and very bright. Even in a room with ambient light, the picture looks fantastic.

Will post a few more photos when the screen goes up.

Thanks Ivan for all the advice, putting up with all the questions and for the fantastic support.

And thanks to all the AAers who have helped with this build along the way.

[chessman]

Too cool! Congrats!!

[Yamaki]

Fantastic upgrade!!! Congratulations.

[Masterlu]

Dom... It pleases me more than you know to hear how much you both are already enjoying the new Sony Projector. The real potential will be realized when the screen arrives this week!

[-E-]

Go big or go not-to-home!

Only way to go. Superb! (and just wait until that Stewart screen arrives... then it gets "real.")

[Volks]

Very nice!

[trek737]

Dom,

Congrats on your new Sony VPL-HW55ES. My calibrator, Jeff Meier from AccuCal, is very big on this projector and to me that says a lot... He has done great things to my room.

Enjoy your new gear!

Looking forward to seeing the screen up...

Cheers,

[1KW]

Congrats��

[bart]

Congrats!
Enjoy!

[thughes]

That LuFlu is probably incurable, but then it's too late to let you know. You already have it.

Your installation has me thinking about another room in my house.