My showoffy suburbanite friend converted his garage into a $20,000 home theater system with 5.1 surround, a rear-projector TV, the works. I want to do the same thing, but I don't have that kind of cash and I live in a studio apartment and can't put holes in my wall. What do I do? --Covetous in Chelsea

Dear Mr. Covetous:

You're in luck! Small rooms, like most studio apartments, make for great home theaters because you won't need a massive, costly sound system to adequately fill the space with theater-quality sound. And with a halfway decent projector, you'll be able to fill one of your walls with the magic of movies. For just a couple grand, you'll be able to have home screening nights -- the kind of luxury usually associated with Cribs episodes and Hollywood producer-douches.

Sure, two grand is still a chunk of change, but my inner salesman would like to point out that this investment pays for itself over time. After all, it would cost four people roughly $45 to see a movie at the theater. That's $45 that can be plugged right back into gourmet Chinese takeout and a case of imports. (Or, you know, you could also use it to pay off that two grand home theater system. Your pick.)

There's a dizzying array of home theater setups covering all kinds of price ranges and room sizes, but I'm just going to share the equipment I like best for your problem, along with some pointers for converting your pad into a mini movie theater. This week, we'll cover the audio part -- you'll want to figure this part out first to get the lay of the land, starting at the speakers and working towards the screen. (Next week, we'll handle the projector part of the equation.)

If you've got a tiny 14-foot-by-14-foot apartment, you can't clutter your place with an eight-speaker setup -- six is already making you feel like the walls are closing in. Your best bet is the Cambridge SoundWorks SurroundWorks system. This all-in-one solution has just three pieces -- a CD/DVD player, a central speaker, and a subwoofer. In a small room, you won't need more -- the ingenious engineers at Cambridge have created a multidriver, multichamber main speaker that convincingly simulates a big, complex sound, while the subwoofer provides the warmth and deep, explosion-friendly bass you yearn for.

The Cambridge SoundWorks SurroundWorks ($999) uses just three components -- a subwoofer (at left), a main speaker (top left), and a CD/DVD player -- to do the work of eight speakers.

Sometimes you don't need eight speakers, just two really great, well-placed ones -- the trick is properly setting up those speakers. You want to put the main speaker right below the projected image, firing it head-on into the seating area. Then, aim the subwoofer at the wall behind the seating area -- the sound bounces off this wall, adding power to the bass and warmth to the soundscape. If you want even more bass, point the subwoofer toward the corner of the room -- about two to three feet away -- since a corner is, at point of fact, two walls.

(One downside: the SurroundWorks CD/DVD player isn't Blu-Ray or HD compatible, so if you want to open that visually gorgeous, logistically vexing can of worms, you're going to have to plug in your HD DVD player into the SurroundWorks device. It's a little awkward, but totally doable, which is good news for people who own an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.)

In a bigger is better world, it can be hard accepting that less is more. One of the counterintuitive truths of home theater audio is that the summer blockbuster explosion fests need less powerful sound systems to get their point across. Their dum-dum sound design is really geared for crummy systems -- they're already recorded at earsplitting volumes, the loud noises are mixed low, and the low noises are mixed high. The result is that they're incredibly loud in a bad way, sonically cluttered, oppressive, and relentless. Point is, you could actually save money and go for cheaper audio if your cinematic predilections lean towards, the oeuvre of Messrs. Ratner and Bay. (If you're more inclined towards, the subtle, overlapping dialogue of Altman or the oddly quiet films of Jarmusch, you're gonna need more watts to lift and separate the complex layers of sound in those kinds of films.)

If you've got speaker envy and can't bear to get by with two, you've got a ton of options. The $1,099 Onkyo HT-S907 has seven speakers, a subwoofer, a CD/DVD player, and an impressive 90 watts/channel receiver that will deliver the well-staged sound Altman deserves. If you already have a receiver, the $1,099 JBL CS6100 is a five speaker-and-a-woofer set with insane clarity, ably providing a trippy stereo experience that can only come from six crisp speakers. Happily, the JBLs also look good in your apartment -- the slick little black pods have that Wall Street, Sharper Image, ostentatiously high-end stereo look that will have your suburban friend swooning with jealousy.

Next week: Why projectors are a cineaste's best friend, and a magical can of paint.

Got a question for the Tech Therapist? Please e-mail him at thetechtherapist@gmail.com.

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