Hvac /mini split questions

[waheri3]

I am in the process of building a home theater/music room and before I go any further I need to figure out the cooling. I know the optimum way would be to run an AC unit with ducts and silencers and the whole nine yards but my budget will not allow for that.
I was looking into mini splits but I had no idea how expensive they were when you have to have them installed. I was quoted from $3800 to $9800 for a 12,000 to 24,000 btu unit. The room is a little shy of 500 square feet total and there will also be an equipment room that is approximately 30 square feet and a bathroom that is approximately 30 square feet.
I was researching the DIY mini splits that come pre-charged such as the Mr. Cool units for far less money and I have enough people around me who are more than competent to do the installation but naturally all the HVAC salespeople are telling me that they are complete junk and that they will cost thousands to fix when they do break because no one will want to touch them.
The idea of a swamp cooler (evap cooler) blowing humid air on my expensive music equipment is not something I would want to do and they are super noisy as well.

So at this point with my price range, the only thing I can think of for my options are
1. to take a chance on one of the higher-rated mini-split systems online

2. a portable air conditioner and have to have ducts go out the wall along with a drain or having to change a water pan once in a while

3. I was thinking that I could install a wall AC system (like the window versions but they make some that are made to go through the walls) in the equipment room since it will be fairly sealed and then run a duct in the ceiling over to the main room. In theory, since the room will be sealed and the equipment needs to be cooled anyway that would be logical but the downside would be I would have to go inside the equipment room to change the temperature every time unless it has a smartphone app or something.

Any ideas or input? I can do electrical work and am handy enough to do some work but I need to keep the cost under two grand for sure. I don't necessarily need the unit to heat as well either.

[waheri3]

I am in the process of building a home theater/music room and before I go any further I need to figure out the cooling. I know the optimum way would be to run an AC unit with ducts and silencers and the whole nine yards but my budget will not allow for that.
I was looking into mini splits but I had no idea how expensive they were when you have to have them installed. I was quoted from $3800 to $9800 for a 12,000 to 24,000 btu unit. The room is a little shy of 500 square feet total and there will also be an equipment room that is approximately 30 square feet and a bathroom that is approximately 30 square feet.
I was researching the DIY mini splits that come pre-charged such as the Mr. Cool units for far less money and I have enough people around me who are more than competent to do the installation from Maxim Air AC Company but naturally all the HVAC salespeople are telling me that they are complete junk and that they will cost thousands to fix when they do break because no one will want to touch them.
The idea of a swamp cooler (evap cooler) blowing humid air on my expensive music equipment is not something I would want to do and they are super noisy as well.

So at this point with my price range, the only thing I can think of for my options are
1. to take a chance on one of the higher-rated mini-split systems online

2. a portable air conditioner and have to have ducts go out the wall along with a drain or having to change a water pan once in a while

3. I was thinking that I could install a wall AC system (like the window versions but they make some that are made to go through the walls) in the equipment room since it will be fairly sealed and then run a duct in the ceiling over to the main room. In theory, since the room will be sealed and the equipment needs to be cooled anyway that would be logical but the downside would be I would have to go inside the equipment room to change the temperature every time unless it has a smartphone app or something.

Any ideas or input? I can do electrical work and am handy enough to do some work but I need to keep the cost under two grand for sure. I don't necessarily need the unit to heat as well either.

thanks in advance for any help