Need Help on Speaker and Receiver Selection - absolutely newbie

[mechth]

Absolutely newbie and this will be my first home theatre. I'm looking at the following for my home theater - price is based on crutchfield.com:

Sub: Definitive Technology ProSub 1000 1 x $374.99 = $ 374.99
Centre: Definitive Technology ProCenter 2000 1 x $262.00 = $ 262.00
Bookshelf: Definitive StudioMonitor 65 2 x $449.00 = $ 898.00
Surround: Definitive Technology XTR®-20BP 2 x $279.00 = $ 558.00 　 　 　 　

Total is $ 2,092.99. This is above my budget of $1500.

At this moment this will be 5.1 with possible of 7.2 expansion in the future.

Also looking at the receiver of Denon AVR-X3200W. Price is $599

The home theater will be located in the basement. the basement itself is about 22'x33'. the corner used as rec room is about 13'x22'. Front is projector screen, right side is built-in shelves, on left there is no wall, just a soffit for ducts, there is nothing on rear side except a 4.5' wide wall for washroom.

Wife wants bookshelf speakers and small surround speakers. Right bookshelf speakers will be put on the built-in shelf and left one will be on a support so that they will be at same level. Surround speakers shall be installed under ceiling.

Any suggestions?

 

[shadyJ]

The Deftech speakers are OK, at least the front stage ones. I have never been a big fan but not a hater either. Their subwoofer is pretty bad. I think you can do much better. I would be looking at some Ascend CBM-170 with a CMT-340 center and maybe some SVS Elevation speakers for surrounds. For a subwoofer, I would be looking at a Hsu VTF3 mk5, that will blow the Deftech sub out of the water so badly it is on a different planet of performance. Just an incomparably better subwoofer. Even the VTF2 mk5 would annhilate the Deftech sub without even trying. The Denon receiver is fine, and the speaker system I outlined should stomp on the Deftech system pretty easily.

 

[Diesel57]

For your Denon take a look at accessories4less.com, many of us here shop there...Enjoy

 

[mechth]

The Deftech speakers are OK, at least the front stage ones. I have never been a big fan but not a hater either. Their subwoofer is pretty bad. I think you can do much better. I would be looking at some Ascend CBM-170 with a CMT-340 center and maybe some SVS Elevation speakers for surrounds. For a subwoofer, I would be looking at a Hsu VTF3 mk5, that will blow the Deftech sub out of the water so badly it is on a different planet of performance. Just an incomparably better subwoofer. Even the VTF2 mk5 would annhilate the Deftech sub without even trying. The Denon receiver is fine, and the speaker system I outlined should stomp on the Deftech system pretty easily.

My budget is $1500 for speakers. Maybe VTF-1 MK3 will do the work? Not sure the percentage of each component cost wise is appropriate.

 

[shadyJ]

The VTF-1 mk3 would still be substantially better then the Deftech sub, but the VTF3 is worth the extra $. As for percentage of cost, keep in mind that the low frequency output of all channels is sent to the subwoofer, so you can think of the sub as doing the heavy lifting for all channels. In this sense, I would argue it is worth the extra cost. I can assure you that, in your budget, if you stepped the system back from a 5.1 to a 3.1 and went with something like the 3.1 Hybrid package here, it would be a far more impressive system. A good subwoofer is a lot more important than the surround channels for an impressive system.

Btw, here are some small speakers that are inexpensive and should do well for small surrounds that don't eat too much in your budget.

 

[cel4145]

My budget is $1500 for speakers. Maybe VTF-1 MK3 will do the work? Not sure the percentage of each component cost wise is appropriate.

Not in a room of 726 sq feet. You need to be looking at a good 12" ported sub, if not a 15" sub.

 

[mechth]

The Deftech speakers are OK, at least the front stage ones. I have never been a big fan but not a hater either. Their subwoofer is pretty bad. I think you can do much better. I would be looking at some Ascend CBM-170 with a CMT-340 center and maybe some SVS Elevation speakers for surrounds. For a subwoofer, I would be looking at a Hsu VTF3 mk5, that will blow the Deftech sub out of the water so badly it is on a different planet of performance. Just an incomparably better subwoofer. Even the VTF2 mk5 would annhilate the Deftech sub without even trying. The Denon receiver is fine, and the speaker system I outlined should stomp on the Deftech system pretty easily.

With VTF2 MK5 and other speakers you mentioned, total is $1585.

Sub Hsu Research VTF-2 MK5 1 x $ 539.00 = $ 539.00
Centre Ascend Acoustics CMT-340 1 x $ 298.00 = $ 298.00
Bookshelf Ascend Acoustics CMT-170 2 x $ 348.00 = $ 348.00
Surround SVS Prime Elevation 2 x $ 199.99= $ 399.98


This sounds like a better value for less costs. Thank you!

 

[Diesel57]

With VTF2 MK5 and other speakers you mentioned, total is $1585.

Sub Hsu Research VTF-2 MK5 1 x $ 539.00 = $ 539.00
Centre Ascend Acoustics CMT-340 1 x $ 298.00 = $ 298.00
Bookshelf Ascend Acoustics CMT-170 2 x $ 348.00 = $ 348.00
Surround SVS Prime Elevation 2 x $ 199.99= $ 399.98


This sounds like a better value for less costs. Thank you!

Also check out the post about the best speakers that's in the $500 range by the staff here.

 

[KEW]

This sounds like a better value for less costs. Thank you!

LOL!

Thank You for coming here and asking for suggestions before you buy!

You'd be amazed how often we get first posts from people who come here to tell us what they got when they spent more money than they should have on the wrong stuff (like spending 60% of their budget on the AVR)!

 

[mechth]

Is it a bad idea to mix and match those speakers from different manufacturers? I heard different opinions.

I realized the surround speakers are for wall mount. Is there mounting kit for ceiling installation or could you recommend ceiling mount (not in ceiling) surround speakers?

Thanks.

 

[KEW]

Is it a bad idea to mix and match those speakers from different manufacturers? I heard different opinions.

I realized the surround speakers are for wall mount. Is there mounting kit for ceiling installation or could you recommend ceiling mount (not in ceiling) surround speakers?

Thanks.

The center and mains should match.
Surrounds not that critical.
The idea is if car (or hoover-glider) passes from left to right on the screen in front of you, you don't want it to sound like a different car as it goes from the left speaker to center to right.
The content of the rear/surrounds is seldom anything so critical. Usually it is stuff like audience so you feel like you are in a crowded bar, or bullets whizzing by, etc.
If you know someone with a surround system, try watching a movie with the front speakers disconnected (disconnect at receiver, or be sure to make certain the banana plugs do not short at the speaker end of the cables). You will understand why it makes more sense to put your money into better front speakers!

 

[mechth]

The center and mains should match.
Surrounds not that critical.
The idea is if car (or hoover-glider) passes from left to right on the screen in front of you, you don't want it to sound like a different car as it goes from the left speaker to center to right.
The content of the rear/surrounds is seldom anything so critical. Usually it is stuff like audience so you feel like you are in a crowded bar, or bullets whizzing by, etc.
If you know someone with a surround system, try watching a movie with the front speakers disconnected (disconnect at receiver, or be sure to make certain the banana plugs do not short at the speaker end of the cables). You will understand why it makes more sense to put your money into better front speakers!

as you and other people said, the front, centre and sub are more important. I'm willing spend a little bit more on the bookshelf speakers. CMT-340 is 21" high which is too much on the right side. We are going to put it on a built-in shelf. Is there something smaller (even more expensive) yet powerful enough for the space?

Here is another option:

Sub Hsu Research VTF-2 MK5 1x $539.00 = $539.00
Centre SVS Prime Center 1 x $349.99 = $349.99
Bookshelf SVS Prime Bookshelf 2 x $249.00 =$498.00
Surround SVS Prime Satellite 4 x $134.99 $ =$ 539.96

total is $1926.95

note this is 7.1 setup.

Thanks.

 

[shadyJ]

Remember that the Hsu sub has an additional shipping cost, so that is $600 shipped. It is a killer sub though.

 

[mechth]

On SVS web site, Prime bookshelf 7.0 package is $1250. it includes 2 Prime bookshelf, 1 Prime Center and 4 Prime Satellite. With Hsu sub, total is 1850, not bad.

 

[mechth]

I got 200 ft 14 AWG speaker wires for in-wall installation for all speakers other than the subwoofer, which requires RCA. SVS got nice RCA cables but they confirmed it's NOT for in-wall installation. They also told me that 14 AWG speaker wires are too thick for RCA plug. I would need 1x30 ft and 1x25 ft RCA cables.

Other than the RCA cable I would also need 2x 35 ft HDMI cables from receiver area to projector and 2x 35 ft RG6 cables from breaker panel (this is where the satellite and antenna come in) to receiver area. All the cables must be in-wall rated. Any recommendations?

Thanks.

 

[KenM10759]

Depending upon which sub you have, an XLR connection for the sub would be less prone to ground-loop hum than a long run RCA. Do that if possible.

 

[mechth]

I feel it's difficult to find reliable cable with RCA connection for long run after some search on internet.

the sub I'm planning to buy is Hsu Research VTF-2 MK5 and there is no XLR connection. Only RCA for low level input and banana plug connection for high level output. Since I already have 14 AWG speaker wires, could I run speaker wires all the way from Receiver to wall plate and then use a banana plug to RCA adapter?

Thanks.