great new house; bad audio layout

[yupanic]

I need advice. We just bought a 10 year old house that has poor audio capabilities. The great room has built in bookcases on each side of the fireplace w/ 50 in plasma above mantel. It is an open room with dining room so limited wall space plus hardwood floors. So, my options for surround sound, not to mention patio and kitchen speakers are limited.

How do I accomplish good sound, home theater and music, in this setting that has adequate WAF!!??!!

My only thought was wireless if I truly wanted surround. I do not think in-wall wires is feasible here, at least not financially. What would you recommend if I had to do wireless. Is it worth the effort/ money? Which is best?

Secondly, I have looked at the recommended systems and can not tell if the Denon AVR-2807 or the Emotiva Ultra Theater Series Separates - LMC-1 and LPA-1 is best for combination audio/video.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Gimpy Ric]

If you can get into the attic over the Great Room, running wire isn't hard. First, hold off on the LMC-1 until the LMC-2 comes out in January. It will handle HDMI 1.3, audio & video (four sources!), and has built in room calibration, plus so much more.

What kind of speakers do you have/are going to buy?

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Looks like in-wall or in-ceilings are going to be your best shot unless you can put bookshelves on the...mmmm...bookshelves...

Speakercraft makes some great speakers for this and you can run the wires yourself; it's just not that hard.

 

[yupanic]

Thanks for the info. I can almost assure you I can not run wires through the ceilings and walls with ease but I ascertain from your lack of comments on wireless that ponying up a few bucks to have wires run is well worth it.

As far as speakers go I will have to rely on reviews, etc b/c no one around me has these type speakers available to listen to. So depending on if I can pull off towers (WAF) or have to do bookshelves. If towers probably the Axiom Audio Epic 60 System. Otherwise both the RBH Sound MC series NHT Classic Three seem highly touted. My thing is I want to find the best speakers for both home theater AND music! If asked though, I would lean heavier on music. All this in the $1500-2500 range. All advice will be appreciated.