Building First Home Theater

N

niveka

Audiophyte
Hello all, I am hoping you guys will be able to help me pick out some speakers for my first real home theater. I am refinishing my basement and am setting up a 7.1 surround system. The room is not huge, 20'x12' dedicated to home theater with another 20'x16' off to the side for a bar area, so total room is 40'x16'. Based on the research I have done these are my current selections (i'm starting to question some of my choices):
AV Receiver - Denon 4311CI
Left & Right Mains - Axiom M80 v3
Center - Axiom VP180
Left, Right, & Back surrounds - Yamaha NS-IW480CWH 8" 3-Way In-Ceiling Speaker System

I went with the 4311CI because it seems to be a real winner in most everyone's opinion, only drawback being the price but I think I can get one for around $1300 which is acceptable to me for the features it has.

I went with the Yamaha surrounds because only half the room is for home theater so I have no wall to mount the left and rear left speakers on. So I want with 4 of these mounted in the ceiling. Probably not the best configuration but I think its good enough, I'm interested in other opinions on this decision.

And now for the decision I'd really like your input on. I went with the Axiom speakers because I really wanted to spend the money once on a top quality system, and be happy for a very long time with my choice, i.e. I'm ok with making a reasonable investment in the left, right, and center speakers, just so long as I end up with top shelf results. In some of the recent reading I have done I'm starting to realize two potential errors in my choices:
1. Putting these speakers in this size room might be a bit excessive, perhaps even a bit idiotic. Could a lesser set of Axioms such as the M60's paired with a VP150 or VP160 be the smart move here?
2. I have recently read some disturbing things about the quality of Axiom internals. Should I be looking at other brands? If so, can you make some good recommendations for alternative Left, Right & Centers for less than 2K?

I would like the system to sound equally nice with home theater and with music.

I'm all very new at this and just want to make the right choices. I know speakers are subjective to each individuals listening tastes, but some common sense recommendations would be a great help.

Thanks to any of you who take the time to give me some guidance!
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Since when 6400 cu ft is not considered large? It is , at least as far as subwoofer concerns... speaking of subs - I don't see any in your setup - this is really not recommended - you must have good sub or even two to run anything resembling real theater

I'm not too keen on using Axiom speakers ether, especially Axiom VP180 - dual horizontal twitters is a huge design flaw and should be avoided like wild fire.

Some bloggers dissected M80's and found nothing encouraging ether

In looks like all in all you are trying to build a budget system and in this config going with 4311 is an overkill

My recommendations are:

a) stick to very efficient speakers - Klipsch for example if you like the sound
b) change to much cheaper avr - Yamaha A1010 would drive klipsch easily
c) add solid sub or two go with ID brand: HSU, Outlaw, SVS, Rythmic
 
N

niveka

Audiophyte
Thanks for the reply. I am looking at the Klipsch floorstanding speakers here: klipsch.com/floorstanding-speakers and trying to figure out what the Right & Left for under 2K model would be. Some are listed with "(each)" after the price, others are not, is it safe to assume that the ones without the "(each)" are sold as a pair? If so, it would seems that the RF-7 II at $1600 a pair would be the recommendation, however I suspect these are actually $1600 each even though its not written with the "(each)". Any idea if the $1600 is for a pair of just one?

Thanks for the comment on the sub, I had not got that far in my thinking yet. One nice thing about the 4311 is that it can run two of them (i think).
 
N

niveka

Audiophyte
Any idea if its ok to elevate floorstanding speakers? The TV and the speakers will be flush with the wall, fitting into built in recesses, however, there is an obstruction at ground level so the speaker recesses would need to start 18" above the floor. Would this cause problems such as the tweeter being "too high"? A rough estimate says the tweeters would be 58" off the floor.
 
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BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
Thanks for the reply. I am looking at the Klipsch floorstanding speakers here: klipsch.com/floorstanding-speakers and trying to figure out what the Right & Left for under 2K model would be. Some are listed with "(each)" after the price, others are not, is it safe to assume that the ones without the "(each)" are sold as a pair? If so, it would seems that the RF-7 II at $1600 a pair would be the recommendation, however I suspect these are actually $1600 each even though its not written with the "(each)". Any idea if the $1600 is for a pair of just one?
I can't help you much with pricing, but it is safe to assume if it says SPEAKER it's priced as each.
You best bet is to visit local stereo shop/Magnolia and listen to few speakers, including Klipsch to see if you like the sound


Thanks for the comment on the sub, I had not got that far in my thinking yet. One nice thing about the 4311 is that it can run two of them (i think).
Sub is more important component that you consider it and Imo should not be afterthought - you could skip surrounds, but invest in solid bass
Subs are mono so running 2 subs from 7.1 AVR requires very cheap Y split cable. Don't get stuck limiting to x.2 AVRs

Please list your total budget for this project
 
N

niveka

Audiophyte
I'd say I'd like to end up under 4K for the speakers and the AV receiver.
 
N

niveka

Audiophyte
I'd be curious to understand why dual horizontal tweeters should be avoided, can you elaborate on that?
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
I'd be curious to understand why dual horizontal tweeters should be avoided, can you elaborate on that?
here's some good reading:
Center Channel Speaker Design Additional Considerations — Reviews and News from Audioholics
Vertical vs Horizontal Center Speaker Designs — Reviews and News from Audioholics

After you read both: a)
b) I hope I could convince you than if possible center should be vertical, which is unfortunately rare - you'd need have a projector and acoustically transparent screen

ps:
Axiom Audio VP160v3 Center Channel Loudspeaker Preview — Reviews and News from Audioholics

They learned and stop doing this horrible layout as VP180 did
 
timoteo

timoteo

Audioholic General
You want an outstanding system for the money?

5.1 System
Yamaha RX-A2000: $829 (on eBay)
Salk Song Surrounds as Mains: $1495 pair
Salk Song Center: $795 ea.
Polk Audio Vanishing 70-RT In-Ceiling: $249 pair
VTF-15H Sub: $879 ea.

I would not worry about 7.1 but instead concentrate on a good 5.1 system. Later you can add a second sub & 2 more in-ceilings if you want. The Salks above will sound fantastic with BOTH movies/music. Since you have a large, yes large, space to fill, the VTF-15H sub will handle all the mid & low bass nicely which releases the need for towers up front. Since Salk doesn't make in-ceilings that I know of & since surrounds aren't nearly as important as the front speakers, the Polks are actually well fit for the back. The 3rd driver that is mounted up behind the mid/tweeter they have a good crossover point of about 80hz. All this for about $4250 +tax/shipping.
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Since you are doing some research and study - and you are thinking
about raising towers high. I would look into the Boston BT2 speakers.
They are made for medium and large rooms, They can go in-cabinet,
in-wall and behind the screen, or on stands. Made for movies + music,
and for the left/center/right channels - and can/will take the power.
Info here
http://www.bostonacoustics.com/BT2-Refurbished-P838.aspx

Good price here
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/BOSBT2/BOSTON-ACOUSTICS-BT2-3-Way-LCR-Speaker-w/Dual-8-Inch-Woofers/1.html

Manual here
http://www.bostonacoustics.ca/PDFs/BT1_2Man.pdf

Nice price on in-ceiling speakers here
Snell
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/SNELLOHT7/SNELL-OH-T7-Full-range-6.5-inch-coax-Direct-Power-waveguide-Each/1.html
 
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