Slow Home Theater Creation

[MobiusMu]

I just moved into a new home and had to leave my old built in speakers behind, which is a good thing. I am going to convert one of the rooms into a home theater. The room is 11'x15' and 10' ceilings and has one window in the back that I will black out. The only components I already have is a 9 year old Denon 1908 receiver and a Velodyne 12" sub. I have a 60' HDTV in there currently and was thinking I would start slow and do this over time.

The plan:
B&W CM10's now
Soon ad the matching center channel
Later this year add the rear speakers, projector and screen (and possibly the receiver)
Then sometime after add acoustic panels and lighting

A couple of questions:
Will the Denon 1908 drive the CM10's?
Should I get an external amp?
This room is primarily for movies and TV but will also serve as my listening room but to a much lesser extent. Are the CM10's overkill? Should I just look at getting the CM5 or CM6 bookshelves?

My budget is $10k-$20 but want to save where I can and spread out the cost over time.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[TheWarrior]

Your room is as important as your speakers. So what condition is the room in, that sounds like a basement? Cement floor, is anything finished?

 

[MobiusMu]

It is a sitting room next to the master bedroom. It has carpet and dry-wall walls and ceiling. On one wall it has two sets of double doors; one for a large closet and another set of sliding doors that open up into the master. I live in Florida so under the carpet is cement.

I was going to put the system in the family room but it is 24'x24' with 20' ceilings, hardwood floors and DOZENS of windows and french doors. The worst acoustic room ever! I cannot understand the what people are saying next to me, let along watch a movie.

 

[TheWarrior]

Does that mean the room is open on at least one side? Can it be closed off?

Ouch, get ready for a rude awakening this summer tho. I have a friend with a similar open main floor that was two stories high. HVAC bills were a nightmare!

 

[MobiusMu]

It is closed off. One wall is 15' long and flat (no doors or windows), the opposite wall has the two sets of doors but they stay closed. The one 11' wall has the door into the hallway and the screen will be next to it so it will not be centered on the wall (unfortunately). The opposite wall has the couch along it with one large window with plantation shutters.

It has already been a nightmare this winter just getting the house comfortable when it is cold.

 

[TheWarrior]

So $10k-$20k is strictly for equipment? Did you already buy the B&W's?

The 1908 should be adequate for the B&W's to reasonable volumes, but not when you add surrounds. It does not appear to have any preamp out connections so adding an amp is not an option.

 

[MobiusMu]

Yes, the $10k-$20k is just for equipment (speakers, receiver, projector, screen, cables and wiring).

No, I have not bought anything yet. If I get the much cheaper bookshelves I can get the surround now and the 1908 may be able to support them, but I want to build this for the long haul and don't want to compromise now and regret it later.

I have moved and am currently balancing two house payments and have a lot of cash tied up in both homes and don't want to drop that much cash right away but also am currently listening to the built in TV speakers and it is killing me. That is why I was thinking of just buying the CM10's now and then I can add the other items later when my other home sells.

Thanks for the 1908 info, that is what I was curious about but was not sure what to look for.

 

[TheWarrior]

Yes, the $10k-$20k is just for equipment (speakers, receiver, projector, screen, cables and wiring).

No, I have not bought anything yet. If I get the much cheaper bookshelves I can get the surround now and the 1908 may be able to support them, but I want to build this for the long haul and don't want to compromise now and regret it later.

I have moved and am currently balancing two house payments and have a lot of cash tied up in both homes and don't want to drop that much cash right away but also am currently listening to the built in TV speakers and it is killing me. That is why I was thinking of just buying the CM10's now and then I can add the other items later when my other home sells.

Thanks for the 1908 info, that is what I was curious about but was not sure what to look for.

Where are you located? That's a lot of money to spend without knowing what you are looking for. Go out and seek as many auditions as you can!

 

[MobiusMu]

I live in Orlando. I have listened to a lot of speakers; Kef, Paradigm, B&W, Martin Logan, etc. and I like the sound of the B&W the best. I have spent hours in a local place listening to my demo music on their Diamond series 802's but I am not ready to spend that much just on the two towers.

I think I am going to buy the CM10's now and when my other house sells then just buy everything else, including a new receiver. I am just impatient, unfortunately.

 

[Latent]

For HT only use three good bookshelves for LCR with a good sub setup is probably better. For this application floorstanding speakers are mainly for looks or better 2.0 channel music use.

 

[TheWarrior]

For HT only use three good bookshelves for LCR with a good sub setup is probably better. For this application floorstanding speakers are mainly for looks or better 2.0 channel music use.

I respectfully disagree, those high ceilings, and near square room size, need bass frequencies to be well distributed! Capable towers are needed to anchor whatever number of channels OP intends to use. I adore 2 channel, and even 2.1 (and sometimes 2.2, sub in the back = surround sound

What kind of music do you enjoy? What percentage of the time do you spend listening vs watching?

Before you pull the trigger, I highly recommend you look in to Philharmonic Audio. The Phil 3's are one of the finest loudspeakers I have ever heard, at any price! They will have infinitely more bass output than the CM10's, and the high's are fatigue-free at ANY volume!

In 2-channel, with the cabinets open backed, and no padding on the ribbon, the dispersion is so wide that I have had to check several times that I was in Stereo and not running the center channel by accident.

Dennis Murphy frequents these forums, and is delightful to communicate with. I wrote a review recently of a pair that I am still fortunate enough to be caretaker of.

And since you're itching now, I'd even say a pair of AA Monitors would partner perfectly with your receiver, and give you an introduction to the idea that there is much more to a speaker than it's name!