Beginner's first set up suggestions

[lo-hitechguy]

I just went from lo tech to hi tech hence my screen name. I upgraded from a shitty 32" to a 50" panasonic plasma 3d wifi smart whatnot. I am a car audio nut and I love bass.

What I want is a system that will play loud for parties so I guess 2 decent towers, but I also want a center channel for the movies. I don't want to wire up rear surround speakers as I am renting.

Now for the subwoofer I am going to build a huge coffe table sub box ported tuned pretty low - to manufacturers suggestion. I am wanting to do a 15" sub.

I read the tower to subwoofer marriage thread and I know my subwoofer set up is overkill for my room size and towers but that's just the way I want it

I have no clue what I need as far as powering the 2 towers and center channel and I'd imagine I would need another seperate amp to power the subwoofer to give it adequate power.

This is where I am lost. I don't know what all amps/receivers I need. the fewer the better I dont' want a clutter of amps.

What type of receiver/amp do I need for this set up? a 5.1?

Are plate amps good or no?

Recomendations for budget towers and center and subs and amps/receivers?

I know the subwoofer and sub amp are going to take up a considerable amount of my budget and I may be able to squeeze some more cash for those.

My living room is roughly 15' x 10' but is open to the kitchen.

I would like to keep my budget under $800 which I know is really low but I know it can be done. I will probably buy the towers amps and center speaker first and save for the sub while I build the coffe table.

 

[lo-hitechguy]

I know that a 15" subwoofer in a huge ported coffee table box is going to be an overwhelming amount of bass so to help with the budget I think it would be wise to get a sub that is around or less than 500 rms or so that will save me on the amp too.

I am skilled in building car audio boxes and I know home theater is a completely different ball game. I'd imagine the subwoofer company would have a recommended volume/tuning frequency for their specific sub which is no problem for me. and as far as port area depending on the tuning frequency I can calculate that.

 

[lo-hitechguy]

So I searched around and found some good info and stole this setup from another thread

For your size room, 2 pair of the Pioneer BS22 bookshelf speakers
and the C22 center would be a nice set-up.
The BS22 will show up $99 a pair in the cart

The refurbish Denon 1712 receiver, would be a good one

I was thinking tho instead of those bookshelf speakers stepping it up to the Pioneer SP-FS51-LR Floorstanding Speakers Pair from newegg

Will that Denon receiver be able to power the pioneer towers adequately? Can you bridge the channels or does the receiver sense that there are only 3 speakers hooked up and divide the power accordingly? I'm such a noob sorry.

I guess depending on the sub I get would determine my sub amp but what are some good dedicated sub amps?

Thanks in advance for any help guys

 

[Grador]

Car audio and home theater audio really aren't that much different: a receiver is a head unit, external amplifiers are external amplifiers, etc.

That receiver should be just fine to power those speakers, but if you're really concerned about that you'll want to spring for a higher end receiver. A higher end receiver will give you marginally more power [though probably not enough to make a different] but will give you pre-amp outs. Pre-amp outputs are what you would use to connect an external amplifier. Amplifier channels cannot be bridged.

Any 5.1+ channel receiver will give you an output for the subwoofer though. Plate amps are fine as long as you buy a decent one. Read reviews etc.

 

[afterlife2]

2 pair of the Pioneer BS22 bookshelf speakers
and the C22 center would be a nice set-up.
The BS22 will show up $99 a pair in the cart

The refurbish Denon 1712 receiver, would be a good one

Great choiceS!
Denon 1712 refurb(would be perfect with the Pioneers):
DENON AVR-1712 7.1 A/V Surround Receiver | Accessories4less
Pioneer Andrew Jones sale(These are newer and sound better):
Amazon.com: Pioneer Andrew Jones: Electronics
or
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item_upsell.asp?EdpNo=3381565&msg=

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3381567&csid=_61
Sub(Great deal):
http://www.amazon.com/Jamo-SUB650-Closed-Subwoofer-Black/dp/B0042AKTOG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1349044116&sr=1-1&keywords=jamo+sub+650

Review of sub:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1425552/jamo-sub-650-omnimic-frequency-response-graphs

A little over $850.00 total from what you asked.

 

[zieglj01]

For your size room, 2 pair of the Pioneer BS22 bookshelf speakers
and the C22 center would be a nice set-up.
The BS22 will show up $99 a pair in the cart

The refurbish Denon 1712 receiver, would be a good one

I was thinking tho instead of those bookshelf speakers stepping it up to the Pioneer SP-FS51-LR Floorstanding Speakers Pair from newegg

Will that Denon receiver be able to power the pioneer towers adequately? Can you bridge the channels or does the receiver sense that there are only 3 speakers hooked up and divide the power accordingly? I'm such a noob sorry.

The FS52 towers are a better option - $200 a pair at TigerDirect
Pioneer Andrew Jones Designed SP-FS52 Floorstanding Loudspeaker - 40Hz-20kHz, 6 ohm, 130 Watt, Floor Standing at TigerDirect.com

You do not bridge the Denon receiver - the Denon will work, if you
do not play the volume at extreme levels.

If you want to stretch the budget - the Denon 891 is a nice one.
http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/DENAVR891/DENON-AVR-891-7.1-Channel-105W-A/V-1.4-3D-Ready-Receiver/1.html#!more

 

[lo-hitechguy]

Thank yall so much so denon 1712 with 2 fs52 cs22

The 1712 says it has no preouts? It has to have one is it a regular RCA cable out to plug into like a plate amp for the sub

 

[zieglj01]

Thank yall so much so denon 1712 with 2 fs52 cs22

The 1712 says it has no preouts? It has to have one is it a regular RCA cable out to plug into like a plate amp for the sub

The 1712 does have a pre-out for the sub >
Subwoofer Preamplifier (1) Rear Output

You will need a cable like the ones here >
http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=subwoofer+cable

 

[lo-hitechguy]

Thank you ziegl for answering my probably dumb question.

As for the subwoofer I am probably going to get a 15" Dayton audio titanic mkIII and a 500 watt plate amp. Build a 6.5 cubic foot box tuned to 21hz and that should kill the lows. I appreciate all the help and for pointing me in the right direction