hi!

[dem beats]

Hi all!

Brand new to this wild world. you will be hearing from me soon, and then hearing my sound system from across the country!
well.. maybe not the G/F gets mad when I crank it up...

I am going to build a system and came here for help I'll be posting dimensions for my HT room. I use a front projector from epson and am ready to get a tru surroud sound experience!

Glad to be here!

 

[majorloser]

Welcome

Welcome to Audioholics!

There is a lot of good information availble on this forum and by reading the articles on the Audioholics home site.

 

[mpompey]

Your in a bit of luck as G.A.F. isn't as strong as W.A.F..

But you are in the right place for information. Go to it!

 

[dem beats]

thanks for the warm welcome! This is my story...
I have a big projector. I love it. I had a little bitty aiwa box with littla aiwa speakers. I needed more. I came across a free pair of big 4 foot tall sony home theater surround, and build in subtowers, but while moving from my last home to my current space the rears went MIA. The towers sounded impressive in my bedroom for cumputer speakers(I love loud and full sound) they left something out when I put them next to the 80 inch screan. This was ok untill..... I heard some mildly decent set up. I was caught up in the full rich sound but not impressed. I went to some local chain best buy ultimate electronics. I was confident shopping there but not impressed with the product even at the top price point. Then I found the one lonely shop. I little place just for people who wanted more. I was AMAZED at the sound stage when I closed my eyes, the new NHT classic 3's broke my ear cherry. I told him to show me what the towers could do, deeper fuller and nice. I needed an upsell however! I heard some maggies (powered by a very sexy mcntosh 2 chan) and almost died right there. Mind you I have still yet to hear anything in true surround sound only 2 chanell so far.

I now found myself in over my head and in a weird area of price not seaming so comfortable. As with everything else there is a price/quality ration that is unique to everyone. Cars TV's speakers... it's all widgets how much can you spend to have the nice widget??

While wading through the adds and posts and reviews I found this place. I sunk into some of the posts and was impressed, this is one of the more non biased to a certain brand forums. Here I am lost in a world I am uncertain about...

Oh..... I got lucky here all... the G/F encouraged this crazy endevour. The sports car she nixed. The car audio she balked at, but when I came home saying I wanted to go check out high end audi she said..."ok, I'll come with it will be fun"

I don't want to expand too much(well more than I have here already) but here is my current bare bones set up. Room is 80% underground with panal over concrete. Room size is 30'x11'x8.3' 4 foot high shelf comming 2.5 feet into the room from one end and the screen is 3 feet in from that facing the long stretch down the rest of the room. I have a recent addition as I am fully complete bass crazed individual a velodyne dps 10". I want my body to vibrate when a rocket takes off in armagedon, or something explodes(don't have it placed next to a poorly sealed cellar door boys ). I feel I still need more but the cupboards upstairs would probably revolt, and the lady draws the line at the doors rattling.

I would like to go minimum 5.1. I don't see a point in 7.1 for cost vs what I will use/get out of it. I would like it to be very loud and very "full". I HATE the bright sound most speakers send to my ear, and I am intrigued by a hollographic sound stage. The NHT classic 3's seamed to be a great speaked but not quite as full and dynamic, perhaps the set wasn't broken in and I didn't get the chance to realy explore the highest volume as the test room was small and hard to tolerate as the volume creeped up. The maggies were incredable but seamed intimidating for room size and I would have to make the room work for the speaker instead of the reverse. They seam to be from what my ears tell me more music and less theater and I can't afford both... yet. I would definately like some help in this department as to where some different speaker brands as my options for speakers to listen to are quite limited.

For receivers I have all but made up my mind and am pretty impressed with NAD. I like the design the simplicity and I could hear a difference when put next to a dennon of equal price. I'm open to hearing what people would suggest to look at however.

That's where my knowlegde ends though. I know what I liked from what i heard and what I didn't. I don't know value however and I don't know if I can say it's quality because I liked what I saw and heard. It's better than what I have so it's all quite impressive and overwhelming and I just don't know what to look for in raw data etc.

I have a price limit of 3500 for the set up pre wires. I have about 2500 ready to fly now and will see the rest soon, and plan to buy in segments so I can tweak the set up and find what works for me best.

There is tons of great info here and all comments and help is appreciated!

thanks for reading the rant!

 

[mpompey]

You can't go wrong looking over some of the buying guides listed on this site, for various budget amounts. I, as well as many others on this site, have gone over to the projector side, never to come back.

If you're patient, you can have a pretty decent 6.1 setup that will rival all but the best multi-megaplexes in the neighborhood.

From the dimensions in your room, you've got a lot of area to play with. As you are just getting into this hobby I wouldn't worry too much about budget just yet. If you are like the rest of us, you'll find that you never get to a point where you stop. You are always tweaking, upgrading, changing.

My first recommendation is start with a decent receiver/amp. Since this is going to be the heart and soul of your system for some time, make sure you get a workhouse. I'm partial to Yamaha RX-V2600 myself. But I have also heard good things about the Outlaw Audio series stuff. Either of those two should be able to last you deep into the conclusion of the High Definition format wars.

Is your space going to be just movies or will it be tasked with music as well. Make sure you take that into account when demo-ing speakers. Also, if possible, demo the speakers in your room. That's the only way to tell how they will really sound.

 

[jcPanny]

SVS bookshelf system

SVS has their 5.1 systems in silver and white on sale for $800 or $900 w/ the 12" sub upgrade. Check it out. The AV123.com X-LS speakers are another good option. Make sure you have another $3-400 for a receiver (Yamaha RX-V659) and $150-200 for a DVD player (Oppo Digital DV970HD).

Your concrete HT room would also benefit from room treatments. Try the clap test in the middle of the room and listen for echo.

 

[mpompey]

Do you have an Radio Shack SPL meter yet? If not, pick up the analog one. And get either the Avia Home Theater setup DVD or Digital Video Essentials DVD. Both should be available on Amazon. I have both myself, I think the Avia disk is a little more friendly to folks new to HT.

 

[dem beats]

No spl meter yet. i will stop buy and pick one up. It's not going to work with auditioning thr speaks in my home I don't think. I live in Minneapolis MN and nothing in the area in the way of huge top end selection. Just some verry exclusive stores if I want to go big and most they want to come into my home and tell me what i need instead of letting me make my own mind up.....

I tried the clap. Almost no echo. I think the paneling it faux wood foam or some such and deadens quite a bit of sound. I think I will also be hanging dark fabric down the walls of the room to reduce light reflection.

I listen to some music and would listen to more if I could be empressed with the sound as I was when I heard the NHT's and the Magnepan's. I mostly now use my sure E3's for music, which also completely block out the unwanted girlfriend distortion levels, and she doesn't even have to be bothered by the floor vibrating. I do watch a lot of movies and play plenty of xbox 360 . Music is secondary to the rest but still a big part.

My goal is to have very "full" sound and a sound with "depth". As I said i am a bass case, I know it, I can deal with it.. I don't like when it drowns out everything else, but I'm the first to saw"That sounded great, maybe if I just turned the power up on the sub a bit though...."

 

[mpompey]

Axiom will let you demo speakers in your home for 30 days before purchase is final. Ohm speakers has the same guarantee. Both of them are online / catalog companies so you may not find their products in any stores.

No, I do not work for either company, although I do have some of their products in my theater.

You should see if any Audioholics members are living in Minneapolis that may let you come over and hear their setups.

MP

 

[dem beats]

Axiom will let you demo speakers in your home for 30 days before purchase is final. Ohm speakers has the same guarantee. Both of them are online / catalog companies so you may not find their products in any stores.

No, I do not work for either company, although I do have some of their products in my theater.

You should see if any Audioholics members are living in Minneapolis that may let you come over and hear their setups.

MP

Axiom has some interesting offerings, the m22v2 looks impressive for rear surrounds... I don't know what that means in the end gome though. I really like how they will custom the enclosure with the finish I desire. At <500 bucks can it truely compete with the sexy Classic 3's from NHT? I have had Axiom in my mind as a brand also the KefQ series, and I have also heard great things about energy but can't find ANYWHERE that has them or what propper pricing on their gear is. I really want towers up front, and a top knotch center. Do you think these brands with much lower cost offerings are comprable to the NHT's I heard. I am very sure I don't want the magnepans, even in the show room they seamed too..."finicky" and being that I know I won't be living where I am now, I want something just a bit more flexable. They had the most clear sound I have ever heard though with incredabel imaging... when you are in the perfect sweet spot...

 

[mpompey]

I think the M22 might be a bit of overkill for a true rear surround speaker. Are you looking to do a 7.1 or a 6.1 setup?

As far as the price, as you'll find out on this site, a higher sticker doesn't necessarily mean much if you don't like the sound. I think the Axiom's will give any speaker up to twice their price a run for their money. But that is just my opinion. But with 30 days to evaluate in home, how can you lose.

I understand about the towers in front. That is one of the main reason I have my Ohm's up there. That and the fact that I love those speakers! They provide the flexibility to go totally music when I want to, and still have excellent sound.

 

[AVRat]

For an idea on Energy pricing, check here.

 

[dem beats]

I am planning a 5.1 system. I have yet to hear an impressive 7.1 home system, only from big box stores that always sound so bright. I was amased how a simple pair of bookshelf speakers could have such impressive imaging.

I have found a couple other HT specialty shops in the area by chance, I will stop by there and check out their offerings. They are verry hard to find here in MN I thought google would find some for me... nope.

I realy do want my system to be "better that I can use" for the moment. I will move out of my current location and hopfully has a space I can modify anyway I would like and expand. I didn't mean for this thread to start the whole build my system thing in the newb thread.

Thanks for the link! Those prices are a better price point than I had seen at my first specialty shop where the classic 4's were the least expencive tower fronts......

 

[mpompey]

You'll most always find better prices online than in specialty shops. I like the shops, but if you already know what you are doing, the specialty shops can let you "test drive" the equipment, then you can buy from a "legit" online seller.

Don't worry about starting the thread in the newb section. When you are ready to start building you can always start another thread.,

MP

 

[dem beats]

You'll most always find better prices online than in specialty shops. I like the shops, but if you already know what you are doing, the specialty shops can let you "test drive" the equipment, then you can buy from a "legit" online seller.

Don't worry about starting the thread in the newb section. When you are ready to start building you can always start another thread.,

MP

You have been great help in particular..... TY sir. I preferre shops. Untill I have been doing this longer i will buy my kit from there. I pay tax I know it's more... BUT... this is the big but for me....I CAN GO BACK AND REALLY LAY INTO THE WANKER WITH A DEVISTATING RIGHT HOOK.. if he does me severely dirty...

I have also been in sales, and support local small shops. That is me say what you will... untill I UPGRADE I will stick with the shops..

Did you catch that?? UPGRADE I pulled the trigger . After 7 shops, hearing many many speaks I fell in love with a set, and was impressed with a sales rep(who is actualy their installer working in a store out of my class). I spent time at work on the sites in the forums.. reading. I hope they never check my logs at work
.....talk about EXXXCITED!!! The 2 closest times was my first time with a woman, and when I wrote the check out for my 2002 CBR 954. I hope it's in time for my B-day

Here is my new set: energy RC50 L and R RC-LCR up front and center and rc-10's in the rear.

I fell in love with the sound they produced. The classic 3's were out of range and a bit to airy lackin in depth, but they had great imaging. I got realist and said it's movies/games 80% of the time get with it. The only others that had a chance in the price was moniter, and the front port for the bass was something I heard... I heard the front port and new air was comming at me... I liked some of the higher clarity it had but i found it bright and when we turned up the power to the center on the energy it blew the competition out of the water. The full rich and powerfull sound they produced was the best which is what I went for, and when i found the center could reach the hights I needed with clear responce I was double sold.

I spent way less on my receiver and ended with the DTR-4.6 from integra. I was not 100% on board with this decision, but I needed to fit these speakers into budget, and I got it all out the door from a reputible shop for $50 shy of $3K.

Coments welcome I have a post in the pre/pre receiver forum and will be asking the question, could it be done better for less in that area. this was the first shop I had someone who would work on the whole receiver issue with me and was realistic but honest and helpfull. All the other shops were more 2 channell oriented or snoby/liars... the most recent even told me the q& from kef was the top of the line kef speaker.. ah well.

I'm so excited I bet you can tell by the spewing post.
Thank u all!!!!

 

[mpompey]

There's just something about right hooks isn't there?

I completely understand. I generally try to support the local economy by purchasing from stores in my neighborhood. There used to be a Tweeter A/V store down the street from me that was really great the try out mid-fi equipment, unfortunately it closed down last year. The closest high end shop to me is about 45 minutes away. In addition, I'm not looking to upgrade any of my pieces until the whole High Definition DVD format war is over. (Well maybe my center speaker.)

Glad the Energy speakers answered your call. I was just looking at the Energy RCR Surround speakers, they should even you out when you're ready to make that move. Once you get your surrounds, your setup should last you a good bit.

Stick to the forums man, you are going to learn so much while you are here. Welcome to Audioholics!

 

[dem beats]

There's just something about right hooks isn't there?

I completely understand. I generally try to support the local economy by purchasing from stores in my neighborhood. There used to be a Tweeter A/V store down the street from me that was really great the try out mid-fi equipment, unfortunately it closed down last year. The closest high end shop to me is about 45 minutes away. In addition, I'm not looking to upgrade any of my pieces until the whole High Definition DVD format war is over. (Well maybe my center speaker.)

Glad the Energy speakers answered your call. I was just looking at the Energy RCR Surround speakers, they should even you out when you're ready to make that move. Once you get your surrounds, your setup should last you a good bit.

Stick to the forums man, you are going to learn so much while you are here. Welcome to Audioholics!

Thank you. I have a big plan in the end too shh don't tell the g/f I plan on getting the rc-70s(I'm all for over kill) for fronts and the 50's to the back next year as the girl wants music in the bedroom and I think rcr's will fit that job perfectly!

Next plan is to do the sub wooer crawl to find the right spot for the velodyne dps, probable the front left of the room I'm guessing from what i've done so far. Then a svs cylinder in the back for the deep deep under 10htz.. mmm

ah well. I hope the receiver can handle the speaks but i can alway amp it later. I'm just so excited to get it in the house and start playing. I need to get cables however....
I am thinking bluejeans. Anyone have a thought. it has to stay mildly inexpencive. The G/F to keep my from getting a new car has agreed to help and will be buying those.

On a side note maybe this threade should be moved into a different forum as i would hate to loose it. I plan on putting up some before and after pictures... I won't be leaving this site anytime soon. I'm lost to the place!

 

[mpompey]

As far as cables, if you have the time and the interest you can always make your own. For speaker cables I'd recommend regular Dayton cables from PArts Express. Check the speaker impedance, then get the correct gauge for the runs to each speaker. Don't get caught up in brand names for speaker cable, it doesn't make a difference. Here is an excellent write up regarding speaker cables here

Blue Jeans cables has a good reputation

As far as G/F approval just let her know that you love her, and you'll marry her, and have as many kids as she wants. She just needs to understand, that you'll never ever be finished. It's kinda like shopping for shoes, you never have enough, and your never done.

You got some work cut out for you though!