Home Theater Sound System $3200

[vinny515]

Hey guys/gals I'm looking for some advice on home theater system. Im in the process of finishing my basement and pre-wiring it for a 7.2.4 system. My current budget is $3200 for the speakers and receiver. The theater will size is 21'x14' with a 8.5' ceiling with a small 36sqft entry to the room.

At this point I'm looking for a 7.1.4 system and open to ideas and open to starting with a smaller system with the ability to expand.

This is what I have come up with so far (nothing set in stone)
Klipsch RP-450C (Center Channel)
Klipsch RP-280F (Front L&R)
Klipsch SPL-120 (sub)
Klipsch RP-400M (Rear Channel)
Klipsch RP-402s (Surround Speakers)
Polk Audio RC60i (in ceiling atmos)
denon avr-x3600h (receiver)

Thanks for the advise ahead a time!

 

[Leemix]

Make sure you listen to some Klipsch speakers a while if at all possible, Klipsch isnt for everyone.


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[Leemix]

And there are better subs for the money compared to Klipsch, they arent bad, just not top notch for the price.
Expanding to 2 subs after a while is a good idea.

 

[vinny515]

And there are better subs for the money compared to Klipsch, they arent bad, just not top notch for the price.
Expanding to 2 subs after a while is a good idea.

Do you have any recs for subs?

 

[Movie2099]

Do you have any recs for subs?

HSU or SVS has great subs. I'd stay away from Klipsch subs. Are you completely sold on going with Klipsch for your setup? If not, I would go listen to or research some other brands.

 

[vinny515]

I'm not sold on any particular brand. Unfortunately I'm in Colorado and like most of the country right now we have a stay at home order and audio stores are not considered essential. This is one of the biggest reason why I've come here to ask for help and because it is my first time really getting into the home audio realm. Thanks for the rec of HSU and SVS!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Rythmik and monolith subs are excellent too.

 

[Movie2099]

I'm not sold on any particular brand. Unfortunately I'm in Colorado and like most of the country right now we have a stay at home order and audio stores are not considered essential. This is one of the biggest reason why I've come here to ask for help and because it is my first time really getting into the home audio realm. Thanks for the rec of HSU and SVS!

While you're checking out SVS, you should check out their tower or bookshelf speakers. I don't have them personally, but I know others on these forums have them and speak highly of them. The nice thing with SVS and some other online only makers is that you get a nice trial period. SVS gives 45 days I believe. Not sure what others have, but I would think something similar. Good way to test the speakers out. Lots of people on here recommend JBL speakers. They have a solid lineup with all different price ranges. RBH is another very solid brand. Plenty of people on here that would recommend RBH.

 

[vinny515]

Great advices thank you! If i end up spending more per speaker where should i remove speakers from ie. maybe looks at a 5.1.4, 5.1.2, 7.1

 

[Movie2099]

Great advices thank you! If i end up spending more per speaker where should i remove speakers from ie. maybe looks at a 5.1.4, 5.1.2, 7.1

Starting with a solid 5.1 would be the way to go (in my opinion). Spend the most on the front 3 LCR, get some solid surround and start with one sub. You can always add another sub down the road if you need it. Along with Atmos speakers. If you wanted Atmos speakers right away, then grab those too.

Just curious, out of that $3200 budget, are you including the AVR, processor, amp?

 

[vinny515]

Just curious, out of that $3200 budget, are you including the AVR, processor, amp?

Just a AVR at this time the Denon avr-x3600h is what i was looking at. I'm open to opinions on this as well. The more you know!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I think with a length of 21’, x.x.4 is how I’d go, and maybe down the road add rear surrounds. For me it looks like this in order of best standard Atmos. 7.1.4, 5.1.4, 5.1.2 and lastly plain old 7.1 and 5.1.

Bass is an investment so look at two quality ported subs. Imo, but the best one you can afford now, and start saving right away for another.

 

[Movie2099]

Just a AVR at this time the Denon avr-x3600h is what i was looking at. I'm open to opinions on this as well. The more you know!

That AVR is a solid choice. Has tons of features and good price. Since that AVR does come with pre-outs you can add an amp in the future. If you choose to.

For cables lots of people like Blue Jeans Cables. They have everything for home theaters and audio. Great product and great prices. Monoprice sells great cables as well along with other great products.

 

[vinny515]

Thanks for all the info!

 

[tmurnin]

Given the state of the world right now, looking at internet direct speakers that have good try-at-home policies is smart. I'm a huge fan of the Verus line from Aperion - they sound great and are beautiful aesthetically as well. If you want to go to Atmos, you can pair them with their in-ceiling line down the road as well (I would also focus on a 5.1 or 5.2 setup first). Free shipping both ways w/a 30-day return policy so you can really give them a good try. Ascend Acoustics has an excellent reputation as well for an ID company. Agree with the HSU/Rhythmik/Monoprice recommendation for subwoofers as well.

 

[vinny515]

I looked at the brand series that you guys recommended but they seem to be slightly out of my budget with towers being around $1000. I was hoping to have the price of the components to be a little bit less to stay within my 3200 budget including the AVR. Do you have a particular brand series that would fit better in my budget?

 

[Movie2099]

I looked at the brand series that you guys recommended but they seem to be slightly out of my budget with towers being around $1000. I was hoping to have the price of the components to be a little bit less to stay within my 3200 budget including the AVR. Do you have a particular brand series that would fit better in my budget?

SVS Prime Tower speakers are $500/each and Center channel is $350. JBL speakers range from $300-$500/each. Monoprice has $300-$500/each speakers. I'm not familiar with Aperion or Ascend like Tmurnin recommended.

As was recommended before spend the most on your front three. Then fill in the rest.

 

[2channel lover]

Hey guys/gals I'm looking for some advice on home theater system. Im in the process of finishing my basement and pre-wiring it for a 7.2.4 system. My current budget is $3200 for the speakers and receiver. The theater will size is 21'x14' with a 8.5' ceiling with a small 36sqft entry to the room.

At this point I'm looking for a 7.1.4 system and open to ideas and open to starting with a smaller system with the ability to expand.

This is what I have come up with so far (nothing set in stone)
Klipsch RP-450C (Center Channel)
Klipsch RP-280F (Front L&R)
Klipsch SPL-120 (sub)
Klipsch RP-400M (Rear Channel)
Klipsch RP-402s (Surround Speakers)
Polk Audio RC60i (in ceiling atmos)
denon avr-x3600h (receiver)

Thanks for the advise ahead a time!

Prewire...yes...prewire for the maximum # of speakers in your proposed 7.2.4 system.

Speakers...these will be the most important part of the system.. If the system will be primarily for movies, you don't need to be as critical with speakers. The Klipsch are fine imo.

If listening to music in a critical way (focusing on little else while listening, meaning you hear the subtle details of the music) then maybe you want to look at some other options. Generally speaking Klipsch speakers are on the bright side...certain genres such as rock sound good to even great, whereas other genres such as jazz, female vocals, etc. might not sound as true to the recording.

7.1...if the room depth is 21' you should be okay with 4 surround speakers....just keep in mind that you need some spacing (5+' is ideal) from the side surrounds and the rear surrounds.

The biggest issue I see with 7.1 HT systems. Most people rarely playback 7.1 content...they play mostly 5.1 content. Figure out how you plan on getting your movie content...if you plan on streaming, there will not be very many 7.1 titles available.

So...if you go 7.1...plan on renting or purchasing your 7.1 movie content.

 

[tmurnin]

Are you locked in to towers? The bookshelves are cheaper and with a subwoofer, you really wouldn't need towers.

From a configuration perspective, you can also usually drop down a series from the same speaker company for surrounds from the front stage (meaning from my Aperion recommendation, get the Verus line for L/C/R and the Intimus for surrounds) which saves you some money without any significant performance loss.

I would prewire for your maximum speaker config. From an actual setup/spending your money perspective, I would go -> 5.1 then 5.2 then 5.2.4 then 7.2.4.

 

[KEW]

If you are going to use a subwoofer, I would get Ultra Bookshelfs for your mains!
You are giving up sound quality if you go with the Primes and the sub is going to cover the low end.
The Beauty of SVS is their no-risk return policy (which includes return shipping, so really, no risk)!
The Ultra uses excellent drivers and will do anything you could ask for to well below the 80Hz crossover point.
The Ultra is their top of the line speaker and their will be more detail than the Primes can offer.

Just to share an experience - I have been totally convinced that big speakers sound ... bigger! However, I had a friend come over to do the same comparison, but blind (he had no idea what the speakers were or looked like). He decisively preferred the smaller speaker! I asked him at the end of his evaluation if he had any sense of size or scale associated with the speakers and his reply was "absolutely not"!
I listened some more after this and found that even just closing my eyes when switching back and forth led me to realize that seeing the extra size influenced my perception. I always recognized better highs and more detail in the mids from the smaller speaker, but (with vision) the scale of the larger speaker (this "large bookshelf" had 4 each 6.5" mid-woofers and 3 each tweeters) seemed to better envelop me in sound which made it a hard choice. Realizing that the visual "size" factor was an illusion, made for an easy choice!