Help with 7.1 channel speaker selection!!!

[olsoneer]

I am looking for what will be the mid surrounds for expanding my 5.1 to 7.1 for a new home.

This will be in a basement theater room with an 8 foot drop ceiling. The room is small at 11 feet wide and 23 feet long. I am using a Denon AVR3802 amp, Polk RTi800 front towers, a Polk CS800 center channel, a JBL Northridge E250p sub, and a pair of Infinity QPS1 quadrapoles for the rear channels.

I am on a budget and given the proximity to the listeners given the room width, what features should I look for and focus on ? I am not familiar with the Wharfdale and Fluance brands, they both offer bipole surrounds. And there are the Polk FXi3s, and Infinity Alpha or Beta 25ES surrounds. Any help would be appreciated .

Also, how much benefit would be gained from an Onkyo M282 2 channel amp for the front towers for improved range at low volumes ?

Is this room too small for a second subwoofer such as a Velodyne VX10 for the rear ?

 

[WorkerBee]

My "home theater" is limited to two channel w/sub but as a suggestion/guess wouldn't it be best to stay with whatever brands you have? The choices do seem endless and it might really come down to what YOU like the best by listening to them Unless you went with an Internet sales only company like Axiom or Rocket. Also you didn't mention what your budget is which would help.

 

[sjdgpt]

I am looking for what will be the mid surrounds for expanding my 5.1 to 7.1 for a new home.

This will be in a basement theater room with an 8 foot drop ceiling. The room is small at 11 feet wide and 23 feet long.

Also, how much benefit would be gained from an Onkyo M282 2 channel amp for the front towers for improved range at low volumes ?

Is this room too small for a second subwoofer such as a Velodyne VX10 for the rear ?

The room is moderate sized, and may not benefit from a 7.1 system. Remember, it is more important to do a 5.1 system well, than it is to do a 7.1 system at all. I would give the room a while to "break in" and then determine whether you really need the 7.1 system. Go ahead and wire for the system, just wait on adding the speakers.

Regarding the sub.... the sound produced by the sub is suppose to be a low frequency that is not directional in hearing placement. Only you can answer the need for a second sub.... but remember, a second sub can be very difficult to place and operate in a HT setup, especially in a small or moderate sized room.

Reference the stereo amp for low volume operation.... I doubt you would notice any improvement at low volume. At higher volumes the Denon receiver should be more than plenty of power for your system at any volume level that your ears can handle.

 

[olsoneer]

RE: advice

My budget is in the price range of the Polk FXi3s, which I like because of bi/dipole design, but am open to suggestions based on room size. I am looking forward to upgrading to 7.1 because of the increased realism in the "transition" and "handoff of movie effects from FRONT L/R to MID L/R to REAR L/R. I also am under the impression that I will gain some sound at a lower volume due to sheer speaker quantity. Let me know what you think. Thanks guys ...............