Oh boy, another newbie's first home theater.

[ASacrifice]

Well hello Audioholics. As many people do I've been lurking the site for awhile now. Seems as if nearly every google search pertaining to audio leads me here eventually. Figured as might as well stop lurking and stop posting my halfwitted questions.


Let me start by explaining a few things about myself and my situation. My wife and I have a finished basement which is already occupied by aquariums, a computer desk and other pieces of furniture. We do not have cable TV or satellite. We prefer to stream utilizing Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, Redbox and gaming on an Xbox 360. We're still rocking my 32" Flat Screen tube TV from who knows when. As newly weds this was fine but as we see ourselves really beginning to utilize these services as a great way to relax and wind down I feel that I'm getting an itch for a better setup, so of course my young mind jumps to the idea of a home theater room. Now here is where it gets hairy. My budget of course doesn't always agree. Below I have screenshots of my idea as well as specifics of my plans. Please give me pointers as well as your opinions on the setup. None of this is set in stone and you won't hurt my internet feelings.

My budget is not amazing but I also don't mind not having the elite right off the bat. I'm looking for more of an entry level setup. I'll begin by explaining what I think I might do and then you guys feel free to tear it apart.

I guess it's important to note that this project will not begin until around 12/20/13 or so...financing will not be available until then.

Budget: $2000-$2500 (Projector, DIY Screen, Receiver, Speakers, Xbox One or PS4.....anything else I'm missing)

Projector: Benq w1070 ($890 Amazon)
DIY Screen: $100
Blu-ray player: Xbox One or PS4 ($400 or $500)
Receiver: Denon e300 or e400 (Hopefully catch one on sale for $300-$350....noticed Frys has the e400 going for $300 this week )
Front Speakers: ??? Possibly bookshelfs to save cost compared to floorstanding.
Center Channel: ???
Sub: ???
Rear Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1 speakers (If this won't work at all please let me know. I just happen to have the speakers from the Pro Media 2.1 setup and figured that I could wall mount then and save some cash for the fronts, center and sub.)

Of course I'd like to keep my budget closer to the $2000 mark but I just can't see myself finding fronts, center and a decent sub for $250, haha. So far the audio seems to be the hardest thing for me to decide on and stay within budget. I realize that I'm not going to get out of this world audio but I want something that is still worth my time, but I'm also not afraid to upgrade later down the road.

Now let's talk about the room itself. It's a finished basement with a drop ceiling and carpet with concrete underneath of course. It's generally a rectangle with a size of 26' x 11.5' however the seating and rear speakers will only be in configuration of about 14.5' x 11.5'. There are 2 aquariums in the room and they pretty much need to stay in place. There is a 125g which is 6' long that will pretty much consume the left side of the room when seated. The lighting from the aquarium is tucked neatly inside a canopy and does not bleed out into the room hardly at all. There is a set of french doors leading out of the basement however they are covered with blinds and extremely thick curtains that block nearly all light even during the day. The front and center speakers mounts are already in place along with speaker wire which is ran to the corner where the cabinet will be.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this book of a first post. I look forward to having some good conversations in here.

And here are a few screenshots.

 

[Pyrrho]

I don't think loud sounds will be good for your fish. I think they should be in a different room from your home theater.

 

[shadyJ]

Your projector choice is highly regarded among budget projectors, however projector technology moves fast, and since you aren't going to be buying anything until December, I wouldn't get stuck on that choice. Something better could easily come out between now and then.

As for your screen, do a lot of reading, there are a lot of great DIY projects out there. A couple of great resources for DIY screens is Home Theater Shack's DIY screen section and AVSforum's DIY screen section. Read a lot and don't be afraid to ask questions from those guys, it would be foolish not to take advantage of all that experience and expertise.

As for your speakers, you are right, you will not be able to get a decent 5.1 set for $250. I would just use that money to buy a decent pair of speakers as a foundation for a better surround sound system later on. I would get something like the Infinity Primus p363, it is a terrific budget speaker and frequently goes on sale for a bit over $100 each at Fry's. This week for instance they are on sale for $107 each. That is an amazing speaker for $107. I would start with two speakers and build from there as funds allow. Again, you should do some reading to see what kind of audio systems are out there and what you want. You could also get an amazing audio system for cheap if you are willing to go DIY on speakers as well. You might look around sites like this one for ideas about killer speaker system that can be built.

 

[Guillermo]

definitely ps4. I have a 360 now... and as you can read and follow on practically all reports, the tide has shifted. In this gen, Sony did their homework better, MS thought more about their own convenience... plus the hardware is better IMHO. As far as speakers screens, I am notqualified to give suggestions here!

 

[ASacrifice]

I realize the post is long and could easily distract, but I guess what I'm getting at is that I need some suggestions for the fronts, center and sub for my setup. I just didn't want to have to explain my full setup over and over again in this thread so I decided to get it out of the way in the first post.

Anyone have any suggestions on entry level components to fit my room?

 

[sholling]

I'll second starting with a 2.0 or 2.1 system and adding bits as money allows, and since you only have $250 for speakers I'd watch for a sale on the Infinity P363 towers that ShadyJ suggested - but it may take a while to find them cheap enough. The P363 will give you enough bass to get you started and you can add the matched PC351 center ($200) and a good sub when you have more money. Alternately you could listen to Pioneer's SP-FS52 towers ($125ea on Amazon) (review) and add the matched SP-C22 center ($100) when money allows. The reason that I suggest starting with towers is that a subwoofer powerful enough to properly fill that ~3000 cubic foot room is going to cost you $600-750 by the time you pay shipping. You just don't want to skimp on the subwoofer with a home theater.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Right now these are back on sale http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/deals-deals-deals/86263-pioneer-sp-bs22-lr-bookshelf-back-sale.html#post978579 at $99/pr
Some reports suggest even lower prices in Walmart.

I honestly believe that these are the cheapest,but still very good speakers that anyone could by. Cheaper than that and you're getting crap
I recommend you this system: two pairs of BS22's - front and rears. wait till matching center would be back on sale for $80. Thats 5.0 for $280 !!!! you can't beat that.
That leaves more budget for sub and you'd shouldn't go cheap. VTF-1 MK2 Subwoofer - would be ok in your smaller sized space.
Keep in might, that sub can "see" the rest of the space if it's open. you'd need to spec the sub according to total volume of the space including any opening, not just the HT "space"


Few notes:
Klipsch Pro Media 2.1 speakers - Will NOT work for rears..

You're placing speakers way too high. Ideally you'd need to have mains and center (tweeters) aligned on your ear height and surrounds a foot above it

 

[ASacrifice]

Thank you for answering the Klipsch speaker question BoredSysAdmin. I have the speakers up that high due to pre-existing mounts. The previous owner had some plans that he never completed, but I do agree that they are too high. Purchasing floorstanding speakers would be easier than running new wire and mounts for the fronts, however I do like the price on the BS22's. How do the BS22's compare to the SP-FS52's?

 

[sholling]

That leaves more budget for sub and you'd shouldn't go cheap. VTF-1 MK2 Subwoofer - would be ok in your smaller sized space.

That's really not quite enough sub for 3000cuft, the VTF-1 is basically just a tuneable Hsu STF-2. The OP can get by with it but I recommend saving a bit longer for more sub for exactly the reason shown below.

Keep in might, that sub can "see" the rest of the space if it's open. you'd need to spec the sub according to total volume of the space including any opening, not just the HT "space"

Exactly right, which is why I suggest a bit larger subwoofer.

Few notes:
Klipsch Pro Media 2.1 speakers - Will NOT work for rears..

The OP could perhaps in theory use the speakers (minus the sub) because they are pretty much the same speakers in the original Klipsch Quintet 5.0 system but full disclosure I haven't used them that way. The main difference is the connectors, the Pro Media speakers use a headphone type plug while the Quintet uses regular speaker terminals. I don't recommend using the Pro Media that way, but it can be done. I've used the Quintets as surrounds in a small room when I was broke, but the OPs room is really too big for them and they have no output below 120hz. I'd keep the Pro Medias plugged into the computer (where they rock) and do without surrounds for now or buy an extra set of those $100/pr Pioneer bookshelves and use those for surrounds.

You're placing speakers way too high. Ideally you'd need to have mains and center (tweeters) aligned on your ear height and surrounds a foot above it

Again BSA speaks wisely.