New Home=New Surround Solution - Please Help!

[larcklorn]

I have been reading over this forum and several others for the last week as I am looking to upgrade our surround system for a new home purchase. I currently have a 2001 Onkyo Surroundsound DR-S2.0 all in one system. It was nice at the time, but my wife wants to go more minimalist. The room that the new solution will go into is 21x16 feet, has an open area going to the dining room, fireplace, and hardwood floors. 1938 house - so the wall are plaster as well.

I have included a link to the living room outline here.

My wife would prefer that I hide every single piece of audio equipment and hide the TV behind a picture, but we have a little compromise. The TV could possibly end up above the fireplace, but if you have other ideas please feel free to let me know. Now for the heart of the matter - speakers and recievers.

I am thinking about the following:

L/C/R Soundbar below the TV mounted to the wall:

• Klipsch G-42

Surround Speakers mounted to the ceiling in white (to blend):

• Definitive Technologies ProMonitor 800 x2

Note: I did look at the Bose 161 speakers, but from reviews the ProMonitors may be better.

Subwoofer - I need suggestions on what to do for 300 or below (Klipsch 308, Cadence CSX-12, etc.) that would provide very crisp base - doesnt have to be crazy loud, but get low enough for good action movie watching.

Reciever - Same here - I would prefer something that has network and HDMI passthrough like the Onkyo TX-NR414, but I feel out of my league here and need some help. Prefer to stay below 400, but might be willing to do more or find a deal on ebay if need be.

Ask your questions away and thank you so much for your help.

 

[Pyrrho]

I recommend that you consider putting the home theater in a different room than your living room. That way, your wife can be happy with how the living room looks, and you can be happy with a good surround system (if you can afford it).

In my home, the home theater is in what would probably normally be called a "family room" in the finished basement, and there is only a two channel stereo in the living room for music, with no TV there at all. We like it that way, because it makes the living room less cluttered than it would be with a full surround system, and we still get to enjoy a full surround system, that is not compromised by trying to make it tiny or invisible.

If you have an extra bedroom, you can use that instead of a family room for your home theater.

Also, over the fireplace for the TV will likely have the TV too high up; it should be comfortable to view the screen when seated, which probably means that looking straight ahead should get you some part of the screen. You avoid this problem by using another room for your home theater.

I think you should talk about total budget and all of the things that you expect to buy with that, rather than make a pre-determined allocation of some portion of it for each piece of gear. Some things matter more than others for sound quality, and it might help get the best overall that you can that way.

 

[larcklorn]

I recommend that you consider putting the home theater in a different room than your living room. That way, your wife can be happy with how the living room looks, and you can be happy with a good surround system (if you can afford it).

In my home, the home theater is in what would probably normally be called a "family room" in the finished basement, and there is only a two channel stereo in the living room for music, with no TV there at all. We like it that way, because it makes the living room less cluttered than it would be with a full surround system, and we still get to enjoy a full surround system, that is not compromised by trying to make it tiny or invisible.

If you have an extra bedroom, you can use that instead of a family room for your home theater.

Also, over the fireplace for the TV will likely have the TV too high up; it should be comfortable to view the screen when seated, which probably means that looking straight ahead should get you some part of the screen. You avoid this problem by using another room for your home theater.

I think you should talk about total budget and all of the things that you expect to buy with that, rather than make a pre-determined allocation of some portion of it for each piece of gear. Some things matter more than others for sound quality, and it might help get the best overall that you can that way.

Pyrrho - thank you for the thoughtful reply. I agree it would be ideal to move to another room, but all that is available is a basement, but we want to be able to watch movies with my Mother-In-Law and friends and some of them cannot go down the steep stairs. In regards to total system price - I am trying to stay around 1000.

 

[Pyrrho]

At that price, I would probably go with a low end Yamaha receiver, and I would think carefully about whether I would prefer to have just the front speakers instead of the complete surround set. That way, one would have more money for better speakers. I would especially recommend this if you expect to have money to add to the system in the future, as it is generally significantly cheaper in the long run to pay more up front for something good than to buy something only to replace it later.

I am also not a big fan of Klipsch speakers, but you should listen for yourself to decide what you think of them, assuming that you can do so at a local store.

Given the doorways, if you are going to put the TV over the mantel (which I still do not recommend), you probably will have to go with in ceiling speakers for the surround, like you have planned. I have no experience with such speakers, so will leave that for someone else to discuss.

Talk with your wife about repurposing a bedroom or some other room for the home theater, as she might decide that some bedroom or other would be better used that way so she can have the living room as she wants. You might then be able to use some of your old speakers for the surround and spend all of your $1000 for the receiver and speakers up front.

 

[hizzaah]

I had a family friend who had to put his TV over his fireplace due to WAF. It wasn't terrible, but it was faaar from ideal. They ended up buying furniture that reclined so everyone could mostly see the tv. That made their furniture arrangement options very limited. If you've not got any other options, then you don't have any other options. Just get a mount that will allow you to angle the tv as properly as possible.

Also, maybe take a look at the Energy speaker packages. They might be closer to the size requirements you need to meet.

 

[larcklorn]

I talked to her about the basement and she didn't seem to enthusiatic about it. I think I am stuck here. Thee good thing going for this is that the fireplace is only three feet off the geound and we are puting in a custom mantle. That should mean I can keep it at a better viewing angle. What front speakers would you recommend?

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[larcklorn]

I had a family friend who had to put his TV over his fireplace due to WAF. It wasn't terrible, but it was faaar from ideal. They ended up buying furniture that reclined so everyone could mostly see the tv. That made their furniture arrangement options very limited. If you've not got any other options, then you don't have any other options. Just get a mount that will allow you to angle the tv as properly as possible.

Also, maybe take a look at the Energy speaker packages. They might be closer to the size requirements you need to meet.

I like the look of those and will try and find a store I can listen to them at. Thanks.

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