Need advice on first ever home theater

[bubbrik]

Hi all

I am in the process of finishing a room in my unfinished basement as a dedicated home theater room. I've been reading up on this forum and learned quite a bit since this is my first time attempting a home theater build. The more I read, the more confused I got with making my gear selection. So, I decided to join the forum and ask the experts for advice.

I've tried to capture the room dimensions in the attached picture. I don't have any gear at all. I would like to keep my budget up to $5K.

Could you please advice options for the following:

Receiver
Speakers for Atmos 5.2.4 setup
- prefer to have in wall speakers for surround
- prefer to have in ceiling speakers for height
Projector (plan to place this on top of the door to the storage room - shown in the second picture)
Screen

I don't plan to have formal home theater style seating in the room.

This may be off topic but should I go for 8ft uniform ceiling height across the whole room or is there an advantage to have 9ft ceiling height for half of the room?

If I'm off track with what anything I stated, please correct me as I'm new to all this.

Thank you all so much for helping me with this.



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[rojo]

For the projector, the Panasonic PT-AE8000U would be a good choice. At 22 feet, it'll project on any size screen from 112" diagonal (98" wide) to the limit of horizontal width of your screen wall. Play with this projection calculator. We'll estimate $400 for a DIY screen (material from Carl's Place + wood frame + L brackets and screws from Lowe's + black velvet tape border + a string of $20 LED lights to line the back edge if you feel like it). *shrug* That'll leave you around $2800 for speakers and AVR.

I recommend jumping on three of these JBL Studio 580 for your front LCR as soon as you can. No telling how long they'll be that cheap ($389 each as of this post). They're usually twice that much or more, and the JBL store has already reverted their price back to full retail. If you can score them, that leaves around $1400, but you'll have to source some acoustically transparent screen material from somewhere other than Carl's Place. I don't see any on their website at the moment. One of the other veterans can probably recommend somewhere.

Subwoofer: Hsu VTF-2 MK5. That'll leave about $800.

AVR: something cheap. Yamaha 5810 refurb, leaving ~$500.

Side in-wall surrounds: Monoprice w/ AMT tweets, leaving ~$400.

Pair of in-ceiling speakers: Monoprice w/ angled drivers, leaving ~$320.

My poor math: probably $320, leaving you with your entire budget spent. Enjoy! Spend the rest on Monoprice CL2 speaker wire, a Monoprice subwoofer patch cable, maybe consider upgrading the sub to a Hsu VTF-3 MK5 or adding acoustic panels, or budget for a Harmony remote. Or the acoustically transparent screen might eat up the remainder of your budget. Don't know.

But if you want more speakers, you'll have to increase your budget or go with a lesser quality front stage. 9.x channel Atmos-capable AVRs jump up an additional $400 on Accessories4Less I believe, then the speakers themselves will add another $80+.

 

[-Jim-]

I'd go for the Denon AVR-S920W for $30 more at Accessories4less to build around.

 

[rojo]

I don't plan to have formal home theater style seating in the room.

If you change your mind, Roman at rtheaters.com is an excellent source for them.

This may be off topic but should I go for 8ft uniform ceiling height across the whole room or is there an advantage to have 9ft ceiling height for half of the room?

Difficult to say. My guess is your bass response will probably be a bit more uneven with the dual-height configuration. It would've been uneven with a uniform height anyway, so it's probably not worth making an effort to avoid. The best way to combat that would be with dual subwoofers, for which your budget does not allow As a benefit, the staggered ceiling might trap and tame some other reflections and make your room a bit less echo-ey -- but probably not by that much. Ultimately, I'd just let aesthetics dictate your decision.

 

[Bryce_H]

Before you think gear, think about how to construct/finish the room. More than any piece of gear, your room will have the greatest impact on the sound. Many years ago I started with concrete walls and ceiling joists as I built out my basement theater in my old house. Comb through my old posts as I asked a ton of questions. For example...given you have open walls, run either conduit or all the wire you could possibly need now and in the future (I ran conduit and it saved me several times). Think about how to isolate sound from the rest of the house, particularly the upstairs through the ceiling. Think about where you are going to place a subwoofer now...multiple subwoofers in the future (i.e. run the wire now). Make sure you have enough power to the and Ethernet to the component closet.

Granted I went a little overboard, but I spent about 9 months researching/designing the room and then 6 months (nights and weekends) actually building it.

 

[bubbrik]

Thanks for all your suggestions.

@Bryce_H I'll look around the site for your setup.

 

[bubbrik]

I have a follow up question as I continue my research...

How much space is required below the screen for the center channel speaker? Would 28 inches be too constrained even if I have it positioned at an angle towards the ears?


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[lovinthehd]

I have a follow up question as I continue my research...

How much space is required below the screen for the center channel speaker? Would 28 inches be too constrained even if I have it positioned at an angle towards the ears?


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What about an acoustically transparent screen with a speaker same as the left/right?

 

[bubbrik]

I'd think about an AT screen but trying to avoid if possible for two reasons:
1. It will shorten the length of the room
2. It seems to be a more complicated install when compared to installing a non-AT fixed screen on to the wall

Are there some links that show the install of AT screens?


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[lovinthehd]

I'd think about an AT screen but trying to avoid if possible for two reasons:
1. It will shorten the length of the room
2. It seems to be a more complicated install when compared to installing a non-AT fixed screen on to the wall

Are there some links that show the install of AT screens?


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I'm sure if you put your google-fu skills to work you'll find many examples. Why would a shortening of the room be worse than a less than desirable horizontal center speaker under the screen?

 

[bubbrik]

I was struggling to visualize and was thinking that I would have to move all the three speakers behind the AT screen thereby requiring me to move the screen forward into the room. In that case, would you recommend in-wall LCR speakers? If so, could you share any recommendations?


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[bubbrik]

After more reading on the forums, it looks like budget limitations would not get me a good HT sound. If I bump my budget up (not sure at this point by how much but know it's a lot), I would like to hear your opinions on the following setup:

AT screen installed on a false wall
3 identical SVS prime towers behind the screen
2 SVS SB-1000 subs - one behind the screen on the right and another behind the seating to the left

Are these a good combination?

If so, what should my matching choices be for:
In wall surrounds -side
In wall surrounds -rear
In ceiling heights -front and rear


If I go with the woven AT Screen, would a BenQ 2050 projector work well? I'm inclined to a cheaper 1080p projector so that I can replace it with a 4K one when prices drop and content grows.


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[shadyJ]

After more reading on the forums, it looks like budget limitations would not get me a good HT sound. If I bump my budget up (not sure at this point by how much but know it's a lot), I would like to hear your opinions on the following setup:

AT screen installed on a false wall
3 identical SVS prime towers behind the screen
2 SVS SB-1000 subs - one behind the screen on the right and another behind the seating to the left

Are these a good combination?

If so, what should my matching choices be for:
In wall surrounds -side
In wall surrounds -rear
In ceiling heights -front and rear


If I go with the woven AT Screen, would a BenQ 2050 projector work well? I'm inclined to a cheaper 1080p projector so that I can replace it with a 4K one when prices drop and content grows.


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The SVS Prime speakers would likely be fine, but the SB-1000 subs are not the kind of subwoofer you want in that situation. They are for when you need a small sub for high WAF, but they would be pretty sad in a dedicated home theater room. If you want to purchase from SVS, look at the ported 2000 series at the very least, the PB-2000 or PC-2000.

Something else to consider, since the speaker don't need to have high WAF, is these things. I have a friend who used the Behringer XLs behind an AT screen with very good results. In fact we did a comparison of some of those against a bunch of other highly regarded home theater speakers at a GTG, and they came out pretty well, even being much more preferred over the most expensive speakers at the GTG. Those are powerful speakers though,and you will want some powerful subs and good surrounds to keep up. I would be looking at a pair of Outlaw Audio Ultra-X12s or Hsu VTF-2 mk5s or SVS PC-2000s. Maybe some Hsu ULS-15 mk2s if you can swing it. For in-walls, just get a 4 pack of these Hsu HIWs, and for the ceiling speakers, a couple of these guys would suffice. Refer to this guide for correct speaker placement!

Optoma is coming out with some affordable 4k projectors, you might just look into those. You will probably have to raise your budget just a bit to accommodate them.

 

[rojo]

After more reading on the forums, it looks like budget limitations would not get me a good HT sound. If I bump my budget up (not sure at this point by how much but know it's a lot), I would like to hear your opinions on the following setup:

AT screen installed on a false wall
3 identical SVS prime towers behind the screen
2 SVS SB-1000 subs - one behind the screen on the right and another behind the seating to the left

Are these a good combination?

If so, what should my matching choices be for:
In wall surrounds -side
In wall surrounds -rear
In ceiling heights -front and rear


If I go with the woven AT Screen, would a BenQ 2050 projector work well? I'm inclined to a cheaper 1080p projector so that I can replace it with a 4K one when prices drop and content grows.


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Is there any reason you're not considering the JBL Studio 580 towers I linked earlier? I would rank those on a level more competitive to the SVS Ultras, out-classing the Primes. I haven't been able to find measurements of the 580 specifically, but measurements of the 590 (whose only difference is a slightly larger enclousre with larger woofers I believe) can be seen at this review.

 

[zieglj01]

Is there any reason you're not considering the JBL Studio 580 towers I linked earlier? I would rank those on a level more competitive to the SVS Ultras, out-classing the Primes. I haven't been able to find measurements of the 580 specifically, but measurements of the 590 (whose only difference is a slightly larger enclousre with larger woofers I believe) can be seen at this review.

Agree, one should of went after them while they were on sale -- JBL did some good work with that series.

 

[bubbrik]

@rojo sorry, I'm not fixed on any of the speakers yet...the more I read the discussions, the more confused I'm getting. I didn't want to rush into a buy. As @Bryce_H suggested, I'm now planning the wiring. That, and your suggestion for AT screen led me to also review the framing in the HT room. I'm totally new to all this and I'm learning everyday that I know even less than I thought I knew.


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[bubbrik]

Is there any reason you're not considering the JBL Studio 580 towers I linked earlier? I would rank those on a level more competitive to the SVS Ultras, out-classing the Primes. I haven't been able to find measurements of the 580 specifically, but measurements of the 590 (whose only difference is a slightly larger enclousre with larger woofers I believe) can be seen at this review.

Thank you @rojo for the review link.


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[Dynodog]

I think you should try just one Sub first and see about using room speakers(not in walls) so you can use them for something else if you do not like what is going on and you have some adjustment room with the speakers you can move around,,,, AND

Spend more on your receiver first and less on 2 subs . This way you will still have some money in case one Sub sounds awesome. I use a single Paradigm sub in a similar sized room and get wicked deep bass!!.. who knows until you try it!. If you have 2 good front L-R speakers you don't have to set the Sub crossover so low so they can push some of the bass for you also. Spending cheap on your receiver to me aint the best idea and actually 5-7-9 matched speakers from one company will sound the best IMO .

Ian..

 

[rojo]

Agree, one should of went after them while they were on sale -- JBL did some good work with that series.

It's actually not too late. The JBL store resumed their $800 per tower price, but Amazon still has them shipped Prime for $389 + local tax -- though I doubt for much longer.

I think you should try just one Sub first and see about using room speakers(not in walls) so you can use them for something else if you do not like what is going on and you have some adjustment room with the speakers you can move around,,,, AND

Spend more on your receiver first and less on 2 subs . This way you will still have some money in case one Sub sounds awesome. I use a single Paradigm sub in a similar sized room and get wicked deep bass!!.. who knows until you try it!. If you have 2 good front L-R speakers you don't have to set the Sub crossover so low so they can push some of the bass for you also. Spending cheap on your receiver to me aint the best idea and actually 5-7-9 matched speakers from one company will sound the best IMO .

Ian..

Good sound comes from good speakers. It's the speakers that couple with the air to make the vibrations. Expensive electronics attached to mediocre speakers will make mediocre sound, whereas mediocre electronics attached to expensive speakers will make expensive sound. For this reason, it's better to go with the least common denominator for electronics for the features one needs vs. price. More money should be put into speakers than electronics. As some are probably bored of reading me say, most typical playback at normal speaking volume occurs with only one watt of power or less, depending on the sensitivity of the speakers. So a 130wpc receiver and an 80wpc receiver will sound the same under most circumstances -- advanced room correction such as Audyssey XT32 or Dirac notwithstanding. But when budget is a limiting factor, the overall sound will be better served by better quality speakers than with more expensive electronics.

By the way, @bubbrik and @Dynodog, welcome to the AH forums! I hope both of you'll stick around. Ian, I've got a Paradigm sub as well, the PW-2200. Although there are better subs for price :: performance (assuming you're in the U.S.), it's still a pretty decent sub. And I agree with your advice that having all LCR+surround speakers timbre matched is optimum.

 

[zieglj01]

It's actually not too late. The JBL store resumed their $800 per tower price, but Amazon still has them shipped Prime for $389 + local tax -- though I doubt for much longer.

It is pretty much a no brainer
https://www.amazon.com/JBL-Studio-580-Floorstanding-Loudspeaker/dp/B0060IG460/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501621977&sr=8-1&keywords=jbl+studio+580