Finishing basement. Need advice for receiver/speaker setup

[john2393]

I am finishing my basement and have been looking for a solution that'll allow me
to do the following:

1. Play sound from my TV to a number of ceiling speakers placed throughout the basement
2. Play music from a USB stick to the ceiling speakers
3. Play music from a device (like an iPod/iPhone/Android device) to the ceiling speakers

Those are the basic requirements.

I am not an audiophile. I just need a decent receiver and some decent ceiling speakers. I am not
looking to spend 1000s of dollars on this either. I do want the sound to be "rich" and not tinny.

Here's the receiver I am considering to buy:

https://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-X2200W-Channel-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B00ZPTBNXY

And here is the type of ceiling speaker I am considering:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_108CS60R/Infinity-CS60R.html?tp=193

I plan to buy 6 in total.

Here's a drawing of the layout of the basement.

http://wikisend.com/download/237842/lights.png

Nice-to-have:

Ideally, it would be awesome if the receiver would allow me to create 2 "sound zones" so that
I can send the same sound to both zones or send one sound to one zone and another sound source
to another zone and set the volume level of each zone individually. For example, Zone 1 could be
the ceiling speakers (4) which are not directly above the sitting area where I watch TV. And Zone 2
could be the ceiling speakers which are above the sitting/TV area (2). In that case, I would love to
be able to send the TV sound at one volume level to Zone 2, and music from a USB stick would be
played to Zone 1 at another volume level. Is this possible?

Questions:

1. What do I need to buy besides the receiver and the speakers? Obviously I need to buy cables
so that the general contractor can run the cables from the receiver to wherever they need to
go. But which cables should I buy? And is there anything else I need to buy besides cables?

2. How should the speakers be placed to get the best "sound experience". I have indicated in
the drawing how I intend to have the ceiling speakers placed, but I'm not sure if the placement
is "correct" or optimal.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Mark of Cenla]

If you are going to have two sets of ceiling speakers, and you want to play something different in each zone, you may as well get two receivers because that will do want you want for sure. For rich sound you may want to add a subwoofer to the mix. Peace and goodwill.

 

[TheWarrior]

You are mixing the need for stereo (2ch) sound in the TV area (highly recommend NOT using ceiling speakers for this), with the need for Mono output for all the other channels.

What you need is a higher end receiver with enough zone pre-outs (that can be configured for Mono) to power each ceiling speaker. For the TV area, I think you will be horribly disappointed listening to Sports or whatever with ceiling speakers... we can recommend a pair of bookshelf speakers or larger for just about any budget. Easy choice would be Philharmonic Audio's Affordable Accuracy monitor.

 

[Diesel57]

I understand what you want to do and have done but you'll find out that ceiling speakers aren't very favorable here to obtain rich sound for listening pleasure but what's important is what sounds good to your ears, Imao a surround setup would give you a much richer and quality sound for music and if you're want it for theatre as well, if you want to listen to music in stereo in your main room or 2nd area as well, a 3.2 or 2.2 setup would give you that rich sound your seeking to get but keep in mind, factor in the size and if it's a open or closed room it makes a difference but once again, its what sounds good to your ears, if you can be still for a moment I'm sure that you will be provided more ideals with more options and I say this with the utmost confidence that the supporting cast here will provide you with a solution that you're seeking but I believe if you go with ceiling speakers you'll be cheating yourself...hoping for the best for you...CHEERS

PS. Check out this company where alot of us shop...accessories4less

 

[mtrycrafts]

I am finishing my basement and have been looking for a solution that'll allow me
to do the following:

1. Play sound from my TV to a number of ceiling speakers placed throughout the basement
2. Play music from a USB stick to the ceiling speakers
3. Play music from a device (like an iPod/iPhone/Android device) to the ceiling speakers

...


Thank you in advance.

Welcome.

You need to have a very good idea what you are after. As your drawing shows, it seems to indicate background, casual listening only, not great stereo or movie sound.
For the former, ceiling speakers will do. For the latter, you want speaker boxes in the room and for movies surround speakers on the wall.
Once you commit to ceiling speakers and are installed, holes in the sheetrock, changing mind will be expensive.