PROBLEM: My main goal in getting surround sound is to help my husband hear the dialogue! He can't hear clearly when there's any background noise in a movie, it makes the voices harder to distinguish. I'm constantly 'translating' for him & he's only 46! I know some people want the big booming sound in home theater. That's great, but my real focus here is CLARITY, of dialogue especially. Someone told me that it's all about the center channel & that's where the dialogue comes from. Will dialogue come from one of the smaller speakers set directly next to my husband's head?
CURRENT GEAR: I have a 62" HD Mitsubishi DLP. We watch regular TV programs or order movies via pay-per-view from our cable provider. Our current DVD player is a $65 Phillips I got just to watch exercise CD's with, it's crap & so we don't use it for movie DVD's at all, even though we have this great widescreen DLP, sad I know. I'd like a new one.
No, I don't know what I'm doing.
BUDGET: $1500-$2500 for speaker system, receiver & DVD player. Do I need special wires/cables, powerstrips, etc? $2500 is my max.
THE ROOM: I'm read that room size should influence my choices. Living room is 20' x 28' with ceiling height starting at 10' & peaking in the middle at 11'. Dining room is at one end & takes up 11' with a tile floor. The main TV viewing area is 20' x 17' and all carpet. The wall behind the TV is all huge windows with living room to the left of the TV & dining room to the right of it. TV angles toward the living room. I can't move the TV because the room is very bright & this was the only spot to see it clearly with little glare. It's a house so I'm not worried about the neighbors like I would be in an apartment.
I have space on either side of the TV for floor standing speakers, but cannot mount them on the wall behind because the wall is all glass windows. Cannot put the center channel below the TV because there is a loveseat there, but it could be mounted above the TV. Where the sub goes is to the left of the loveseat I think? Can't put it to the right, fireplace is there.
Plenty of space (2-4 feet deep) behind the main 11' long sofa for floor standing speakers, and to either side of it.
POSIBILITIES: I read good reviews for Harmon Kardon HKTS 14 speakers, it has a 12" 200 watt sub, but is the center channel enough? I wanted sleek, demure speakers but will they do the job? My friend is now getting the Klipsch 52 system, his brother-in-law is an audiophile so maybe this is a better choice though more money? Should I go with 5.1 or 7.1 (just 2 extra speakers right?)
Since my room is kinda big, how far can I string speaker wire without degrading the sound? This may be a stupid question but I heard that your cables & wires can make a big difference. I don't even have an HDMI cable yet for my TV, and yes I'm ashamed. ;-)
Thank you in advance for your advice, it won't fall on deaf ears. ;-)
