Home theatre questions

[G-MONEY]

IMO go big or go home.

1. Get a 700-800W receiver
2. Get a good (big) center channel
3. Get some nice size floor speakers for the LF and RF
4. Get some bookshelf speakers for the RR and LR speakers
5. Get at least a 12" sub

[Tequilasun]

Ok, based on those ideas guys, I think I might be stretching what the capabilites of the Home theater is designed for.

So I'm gonna go ahead and throw the $400 budget out the window

Let's concentrate on just the Surround sound set up.

How many speakers?
What kind of power requirements?

The "room" for the viewing area of the main screen is 10' by about 30', with the TV on the short side, if this makes much of a difference. The seating area will be close to the middle of this rectangle. My plan was to put the Sub in the rear of the room, with the other speakers in the classic arrangement around the seating area.

Do you think this will work, or should I think about moving the Sub closer to the seating area?

Also I'm told that I need to keep the front speakers close to the screen, and at ear level, is this correct?

[spharis]

While the smaller screens don't need to play audio through the system, when all screens are on the same thing, I don't want to have the audio coming from the main screen....does that make it any clearer?

That's going to be hard to do without having seperate stereos for each. Some recievers have output selection that allow for multiplte configurations (usually for more than one room to play music) so that would work here, but you aren't going to get that feature in a boxed type reciever.

You might want to just use the tv's built in speakers on the remote tv's, and have the surround setup on the main screen for "movie time".

[sparky216]

Spharis thanks.

I'm looking for honest opinions about my budget, I have just taken a quick look, and found that the Box systems start around the 400 buck mark...

*of course as I write this I think the more I can save in the audio portion, the more I can spend on the TV

The issue with the room is, it is in the shape of an L. with the Screen in the short side of the L kind of tucked in the corner, and the rest of the "entertainment areas" in the other portion. I have experienced in similar set ups that the sound noticeably comes from the Screen area. I want to be able to have it also fill the other areas. I am planning on 3 smaller screens around the room, think Sports bar set up. While the smaller screens don't need to play audio through the system, when all screens are on the same thing, I don't want to have the audio coming from the main screen....does that make it any clearer?

I don't need the music to play in the bathroom or in another room.

I have read that Onkyo is a good beginner brand, what are your suggestions as to brand?

Tequila,
We have a Marantz/Paradigm system in the media room, but bought one of those big box systems for the kids bonus room and to be honest with you, the sound is 10x better with the Marantz/Paradigm system but I dont know if it was worth 20x more. I paid $400.00 for a JVC 6disk/sub/5speaker system and is sounds just fine. Onkyo/Denon they are all fine but your budget will dictate what is reasonable for you. With $400.00 I'd go with the big box system.

"While the smaller screens don't need to play audio through the system, when all screens are on the same thing, I don't want to have the audio coming from the main screen....does that make it any clearer? "

That makes no sense to me

[Tequilasun]

Spharis thanks.

I'm looking for honest opinions about my budget, I have just taken a quick look, and found that the Box systems start around the 400 buck mark...

*of course as I write this I think the more I can save in the audio portion, the more I can spend on the TV

The issue with the room is, it is in the shape of an L. with the Screen in the short side of the L kind of tucked in the corner, and the rest of the "entertainment areas" in the other portion. I have experienced in similar set ups that the sound noticeably comes from the Screen area. I want to be able to have it also fill the other areas. I am planning on 3 smaller screens around the room, think Sports bar set up. While the smaller screens don't need to play audio through the system, when all screens are on the same thing, I don't want to have the audio coming from the main screen....does that make it any clearer?

I don't need the music to play in the bathroom or in another room.

I have read that Onkyo is a good beginner brand, what are your suggestions as to brand?

[spharis]

1)OK
2)Can you explain further....do you mean you want to have in ceilings in a bathroom for music to play over?
3)In a box is for budget and budget only.....if you are an audiophile, you detest the idea. Those in the box systems are very underpowered, and you will have trouble upgrading in the future.
4)OK
5)I think you need to spend more
6)You will get room filling sound from just two towers and a sub,if you choose correctly
7)That's good to know

If I were in you situation, I would start with a couple of really good components, and expand down the road. However you indicate that you are not an audiophile, and just want room filling sound, so an in-the-box setup will probably fit the bill. I would drop $400 on just the reciever. Some of the box setups have come a long way, but they are going to be limited on optical inputs, digital inputs, etc. Those inputs and processing are what gives the sound you are looking for, more so than the components themselves. The reciever has to decode the audio to know what sound goes to what speaker. Just know that an in-the-box will probably give you hours of good sound, and will fit a budget nicely, but I would plan on a complete replacement to get that "next level" sound many of us go for with home theaters. You could always give that one to the kids for their tv, and then go all out with some JBL or Klipsch when the time for "yours" gets here. An boxed setup is gonna be awesome for a while, then you are going to start to notice it doesn't perform what you want; especially if you have friends with some nice gear. End thoughts: if you choose to go with boxed, plan on no future expansion, and limited inputs. If you go with components, plan on dropping more than $400, and only having 3 of the 6 required speakers to have true surround sound (two towers, and sub), but the availability of expanding and having a really awesome system later. You are probably going to get the same enjoyment out of either depending on what you currently have. If you currently have a built in tv speaker, as Billy Ed would say, happier than a retard at the Chuck-E-Cheese.

[Tequilasun]

I want to get a Home theater system for my almost completed basement rec room/theater room. Any suggestions?

Here's what I'm working with:

1) I need a surround sound system.
2) I want to be able to play music in the other areas of the room, so that it doesn't sound localized to the TV...I know, more speakers, but how do I set it up so these other speakers won't throw weird echo's when I'm using the Surround sound.
3) Home theater in a Box stuff looks like the best price point way to go, but are the systems comparable to individual componets?
4) I want individual speakers for the Surround Sound, no Bose two speaker made to sound like 10 type of set up.
5) Budget is probably around 400 bucks +/- unless I am convinced that I need to spend more.
6) I'm not an audiophile, and honestly the room setup won't be the most ideal for super high quality audio...wood floors, lots of hard surfaces, etc, but I would like "room filling sound"
7) This system will probably be moved upstairs to our other viewing area in the future, so expansion/retraction would be helpfull. It will also probably be replaced by a more in depth setup in the future.


Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.