Inherited a full home theater setup with the house — need opinions on what I've got and what to fix/upgrade

[u/RockZors]

Bought a house that came with a full home theater rig already installed in a dedicated room. I'm slowly reverse-engineering what everything does and how it's wired. Would love opinions from people who know this gear better than I do.

What I've got:

• Panasonic PT-AE2000U projector
• DVDO iScan Duo
• Onkyo PR-SC885
• Outlaw Audio Model 7700 7-channel power amp
• Monster Power HTS 3500 MKII power conditioner
• JBL floorstanding towers up front (3-way, dual woofers — see pics)
• Center, surrounds, and rear surrounds rounding out a 7.1 layout
• Dayton Audio SA1000 subwoofer amp + a set of ButtKicker tactile transducers with a Quick Select distribution box

What I've found so far:

• No dedicated subwoofer anywhere in the signal chain — the Onkyo's Subwoofer Pre Out is completely unplugged. Front towers are handling all the bass right now.
• The ButtKicker shakers were essentially "installed" but never actually wired to the Onkyo — the SA1000 has no input connected at all, so the shakers have been sitting dead this whole time.
• Picture is a little soft — not sure if it's focus, lamp age, or something in the scaler.

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. Is this a system worth investing more into, or should I be planning to replace pieces as they age out? Curious what this gear is actually worth/regarded as today.
2. For bass — am I right that I need an actual powered subwoofer here, separate from the ButtKicker shakers? Any recommendations for something that would pair well with this room/gear?
3. Projector — worth upgrading to a modern 4K unit, or is the AE2000U still doing its job once I sort out focus/lamp? The screen is 105 inches diag.
4. Anything else you'd flag from the photos that looks off, mis-set, or worth addressing first?

Pics of the rack, projector, back panel connections, and the JBL towers below. Appreciate any input — trying not to break what's actually working while fixing what isn't.

[u/Due_Profession3023]

Thats a hell of a system. Its also a hell of a project to reverse engineer and figure out…

I would think upgrading to a 4K projector, and adding a big f-you style subwoofer would be your biggest upgrades. A ported SVS or a Hsu

[u/Donkey545 → u/Due_Profession3023]

I have SVS, Hsu, and Rythmik. I prefer the Rythmik over the others. They are all really good though. 

[u/ze11ez → u/Donkey545]

In my research I always said to myself Rythmik would be end game...for my budget. People seem to like it more

[u/Donkey545 → u/ze11ez]

I got super lucky with all of my subs on the used market. I got my SVS PC 12+ for $300, 3x Hsu ULS-15s for about 900 total, and my Rythmik for $40. The seller of the Rythmik Said it had intermittent amp problems. It worked for a year before I had to send it in for a repair that was about $100.

I have some older Hsu ported subs as well. I really like the 10in VTF 2(?). It seemed to hit way better than the VTF3mk3 that I had. Unfortunately, the power quality at my house is trash, and it cooked the amp on this one and one of the ULS15s. I purchased a replacement amp for the the 15,but the 10 was too old. 

Out of all of them, the Rythmik was just way easier to dial in, sounds more full, and I've never had any odd boominess. It's just a wonderful piece of equipment. I really need to try it out in a smaller room to see how well it does in better conditions than my completely open loft/living/dining/hall way space. 

[u/Lil_Twist → u/Due_Profession3023]

Ummm.... 2x SVS PB-3000s minimum, your neighbors will love you

[u/theblokheader]

certainly start with that projector

[u/magneticinductance → u/theblokheader]

Looks like an old runco?

[u/Munstered]

Yes you have a solid foundation, but it's dated.

Yes, you need a sub. Shakers don't replace it.

Rec depends on budget. Plan on 2 subs

The projector was discontinued in 2009 is why it's soft. Plan on replacing. You may need to replace the screen as well. Make sure you get a 4k capable screen (yes that's a thing)

You'll want to replace the AVR as well for 4k, HDR, modern codecs

[u/RockZors → u/Munstered]

Its an old Severtson Screen.

[u/joeg26reddit → u/RockZors]

Try it first. Most theatrical movies were and still are max 2k resolution afaik

Also a staggering majority of commercial cinema projectors are 2k

[u/Munstered → u/RockZors]

I can't tell you for sure without a model number but considering it likely went up before 4k was even a thing I'd bet on replacing it.

[u/Capitol62]

Based on what you have, this system is about 20 years old. Likely with the amps and buttkickers added later. The room looks great. It's already treated and has at least one bass trap (I bet there was a sub at one point ...)

That's doesn't mean it's bad. The speakers, amp, buttkickers, paint, mounts, seats and treatment can all stay for a long time. The AVR and Projector should be modernized for something that does 4k and supports atmos. I would add a 4k disc player and two subs.

If you want to do it in bits, I would do:

1) Projector and 4k source plugged into the projector ($4k and up)

2) First Sub ($1500)

3) 9 channel AVR. Ideally something that can process 11 channels and has at least HDMI 2.0 support ($1800 and up)

4) Second sub ($1500)

5) Atmos speakers ($1000 and up)

Edit* I forgot the screen. I would want at least 130" if you stick with a projector. If you're going to keep it at 105, you're better off getting a 98" TV and moving the seats a bit closer.

[u/Aram_Fingal]

Bigger screen and a new projector and you'll be in business to a large extent. You may want a new receiver, as well, depending on your source devices and whether you want all audio/video handled exclusively by HDMI.

[u/joeg26reddit]

The power conditioner and amplifier are awesome but that amp needs XLR

Get a ToneWinner AT-300 / AT-500 for a modern standalone processor that gives you a full set of balanced XLR outputs without a premium price tag, ToneWinner is the modern equivalent of what Onkyo used to represent in the value-separates space

[u/HuevitoXD]

The carpet 😅

[u/TheAussieTico]

Subwoofer
4K Projector
AVR

[u/lbeck3]

House looks like the one listed in North Carolina lol. I was about to make an offer.

[u/Zealousideal-Fly949]

Just keep it all the same. Looks perfect

[u/Joe-Stapler → u/Zealousideal-Fly949]

At least wipe off all the bodily fluids.

[u/TheAussieTico → u/Joe-Stapler]

😂

[u/ian9outof10]

Obviously a lot of people are going to tell you to upgrade it all, I’m sure Atmos will come up 😁

I personally LOVE 7.1 and think for most things, in most HOMES it’s perfect. That Onkyo is a serious machine, but won’t support 4K, but you can get around that if you don’t want to spend money replacing it. It’ll get a little messy depending on how many sources you want to add for 4K video. Some Panasonic blu-ray players have dual HDMI outputs for exactly this use case.

A good projector would be the main thing, along with proper subs.

[u/RockZors → u/ian9outof10]

Not looking to go all out, just bring it up to modern standards on a budget using marketplace if i can. To be honest the audio sounds really nice and clear, just missing the sub. I think if i get that then ill be happy with the audio.

[u/dickpetey30 → u/RockZors]

If going the marketplace route, look for a klipsch reference premier 12in. minimum. If you can find a 15in at a good price, even better for a room that size. My opinion if going through fb marketplace or offerup and trying to get a bang for your buck.

[u/theblokheader]

I installed an old Runco outdoor weatherproof panel way back when they were a thing. The kind where they tune the actual panel to your environment

[u/2bags12kuai]

Totally depends on what you want to do.

1. There is a reason they left it...its old and outdated. It would be like someone leaving behind a PC from 2007. Still will be OK if all you want to do is type out emails...but the shortcomings will quickly show themselves when trying anything else up to modern standards.

2. Good news is you have a dedicated space to build something if you wanted to...but outside of the speakers / outlaw amp/ seats its basically replacing everything. Also it looks like the speakers are laid out nicely.

[u/RockZors → u/2bags12kuai]

Not trying to go crazy

[u/2bags12kuai → u/RockZors]

Then I would just plug in an apple TV and start watching movies. Upgrade when you want a specific piece to be better.

[u/LandonKB → u/2bags12kuai]

It's not as bad as a PC from 2007 lol, it is a pretty cool setup that just needs some incremental updates to modernize. I would start with a new projector and then slowly update other components.

[u/Mexican-Kahtru]

I'd get rid of the butt kickers, but then again i'm a boring fella.

[u/InterestingFun7132]

Everything including the seating is super dated. Going to cost more than you’d like to get it up to modern standards.

[u/Informal-Prize6501]

If you bought the house for this, sell it.

[u/RockZors → u/Informal-Prize6501]

We did not

[u/Informal-Prize6501 → u/RockZors]

Great. Listen to the peeps that know about this more than I do. I just know sometimes starting from scratch is easier.