If you started over what would you get?

[rfisher983]

I've never owned a home theater system before and want a couple of suggestions on what equipment to get. I will be purchasing my first home in July this year. The home is currently being build and I will have either 5.1 or 7.1. With the surround sound speakers; a pair will be placed on wall mounts 9' in the air parallel to where I set and right behind me (or in wall speakers, which ever would be better). The speaker wire will be run before the dry wall is put in. The front speakers would either be book shelf speakers or satellites and the side speakers and rear will need to be satellites since they are being wall mounted. I don't think I will have enough room for tower speakers for the fronts.

I want all of my speakers to be in "sync" or what they call "voice-matching" with each other. I don't my front speakers to louder or quieter then to the center or the rear speakers so I'm more convinced with sticking with one brand instead of going multiple brand setups unless suggested other wise.

The room size will be 16'x 13' (2 story room) with a Kitchen / nook in the back of the room that is 10 x 12 and 11.5 x 13. I will be getting a 46' - 52' LCD, Plasma or OLED (if it comes out by then) TV (Sony, Samsung, Pioneer). Right now my budget will be around $5,000+/- for sound and TV and may spend a little more. As you can see I really can't afford the best of the best but I want a really good setup for the money.

I've been doing some research the past couple of day and have a couple of questions:

Even if my new TV will support 1080P (and probably 3/4 HDMI inputs) how important is it to get 1.3a HDMI for the receiver? My source would be DirecTV w/ HD. Would the picture look better coming from the DirecTV box straight to the TV then from the DirecTV box to the receiver and then to the TV?

Does the receiver convert the 1080i / 780p signal to 1080p better then the TV? What's the difference between HDMI 1.3 and HDMI 1.3a specs on the receiver?

I personally like the Bose HTIB setups that have demos in the stores but some people online claim these setups aren't very good and are over priced. What are your thoughts on this?

Is THX certified mandatory for receivers or is it like nvidia SLI w/ computers (a marketing gimmick)?

rob.team-affliction.com/Braxton_FP_1.gif

attached is the image of the room. The HT will be in the Great room which will be two story's. The space where the TV would go is 5' in width, 2.5' in depth, and 7' high. The only place I can think to put the sub would either be behind the TV stand or on the wall to the left of the TV by the downstairs closet.

 

[3db]

I've never owned a home theater system before and want a couple of suggestions on what equipment to get. I will be purchasing my first home in July this year. The home is currently being build and I will have either 5.1 or 7.1. With the surround sound speakers; a pair will be placed on wall mounts 9' in the air parallel to where I set and right behind me (or in wall speakers, which ever would be better). The speaker wire will be run before the dry wall is put in. The front speakers would either be book shelf speakers or satellites and the side speakers and rear will need to be satellites since they are being wall mounted. I don't think I will have enough room for tower speakers for the fronts.

I want all of my speakers to be in "sync" or what they call "voice-matching" with each other. I don't my front speakers to louder or quieter then to the center or the rear speakers so I'm more convinced with sticking with one brand instead of going multiple brand setups unless suggested other wise.

The room size will be 16'x 13' (2 story room) with a Kitchen / nook in the back of the room that is 10 x 12 and 11.5 x 13. I will be getting a 46' - 52' LCD, Plasma or OLED (if it comes out by then) TV (Sony, Samsung, Pioneer). Right now my budget will be around $5,000+/- for sound and TV and may spend a little more. As you can see I really can't afford the best of the best but I want a really good setup for the money.

I've been doing some research the past couple of day and have a couple of questions:

Even if my new TV will support 1080P (and probably 3/4 HDMI inputs) how important is it to get 1.3a HDMI for the receiver? My source would be DirecTV w/ HD. Would the picture look better coming from the DirecTV box straight to the TV then from the DirecTV box to the receiver and then to the TV?

Does the receiver convert the 1080i / 780p signal to 1080p better then the TV? What's the difference between HDMI 1.3 and HDMI 1.3a specs on the receiver?

I personally like the Bose HTIB setups that have demos in the stores but some people online claim these setups aren't very good and are over priced. What are your thoughts on this?

Is THX certified mandatory for receivers or is it like nvidia SLI w/ computers (a marketing gimmick)?

rob.team-affliction.com/Braxton_FP_1.gif

attached is the image of the room. The HT will be in the Great room which will be two story's. The space where the TV would go is 5' in width, 2.5' in depth, and 7' high. The only place I can think to put the sub would either be behind the TV stand or on the wall to the left of the TV by the downstairs closet.

BOSE = Badly Overpriced Sonic Expenditure. For what BOSE is asking, you can buy other systems that would sink BOSE into the Mariana's trench!!

 

[Davemcc]

A few comments: The ideal height for surrounds is just above seated ear height, maybe 6ft. You should also check out whether bookshelf or dipole/bipole surrounds are the better choice because of the height of the room.

Also due to the height of the room, you will want a good subwoofer to fill the volume of the room. Don't skimp here. Subwoofers are a good investment (in terms of audio budget). The don't get outdated or out-featured. They work with any brand of speaker now and in any future upgrades. Get a good sub now and you can have it a long time.

You might consider having the contractor wiring in 7.1, but only run 5.1 for now. Splitting the budget 5 ways versus 7 ways will allow you get a higher quality system up front, then add additional surrounds later when the budget allows.

If I knew more about the American prices on TV's, I could be of more help in dividing up the budget. But I will say get a really good TV first. I mean, that's what you're going to be looking at the whole time. Then spend at least half or more of what's left over just on speakers. Then consider the best sub you can get, yet still afford a reasonable receiver. The receiver should be chosen only to meet your need for features, i.e HDMI, connectivity, etc. and to be capable of driving the speakers you choose. You should choose your speakers first, as that may have some effect on which receiver you choose.

THX=marketing.

 

[dnice555]

I would suggest a nice 5.1 setup. IMO I would say forget the oled as the largest they have now is 27 inches and probably with a hefty price tag. I would stick with a nice samsung or sony lcd in the 2000 price range to leave 3000 for the audio setup. A nice future proof reciever onkyo 805 which can be picked up online for about 700. That will leave about 2300 for speakers. You could always start with two fronts and a center and then add the two rears at a later date. Speakers are subjective. No matter what anyone tells you about a certain brand you need to audition them and buy whichever speakers sounds the best to you. Paradigm, Definitive Technology, Martin Logan are just some suggestions that may fit your price range. These are all good speakers but there are thousands of speaker brands out there and you should audition as many as possible. Good luck and enjoy - its fun building!

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I've never owned a home theater system before and want a couple of suggestions on what equipment to get. I will be purchasing my first home in July this year. The home is currently being build and I will have either 5.1 or 7.1. With the surround sound speakers; a pair will be placed on wall mounts 9' in the air parallel to where I set and right behind me (or in wall speakers, which ever would be better). The speaker wire will be run before the dry wall is put in. The front speakers would either be book shelf speakers or satellites and the side speakers and rear will need to be satellites since they are being wall mounted. I don't think I will have enough room for tower speakers for the fronts.

1. First, run all the wires and cables that you need or may need in the future through conduit so changes can easily made in the future.

I want all of my speakers to be in "sync" or what they call "voice-matching" with each other. I don't my front speakers to louder or quieter then to the center or the rear speakers so I'm more convinced with sticking with one brand instead of going multiple brand setups unless suggested other wise.

2.Timbre matching is very important for the front 3 speakers and not so important for the surrounds unless you listen to a lot of multi-channel music (SACD) As far as “quieter or louder” this is all accomplished in the calibration of the AVR and will not be a problem. So in theory, you want to use the same brand and model for the front 3 speakers, surrounds may or may not need to be the same brand and the sub does not need to be the same brand.

The room size will be 16'x 13' (2 story room) with a Kitchen / nook in the back of the room that is 10 x 12 and 11.5 x 13. I will be getting a 46' - 52' LCD, Plasma or OLED (if it comes out by then) TV (Sony, Samsung, Pioneer). Right now my budget will be around $5,000+/- for sound and TV and may spend a little more. As you can see I really can't afford the best of the best but I want a really good setup for the money.

3.The two most important things for room size is the sub and display. You can not skimp on the sub; it must be able to pressurize the entire volume of the room and all rooms that are opened into the HT room. The size of the display is dependant on your sitting distance. With the room you have for your display a DLP may just fit the bill so make sure you check into them too.

I've been doing some research the past couple of day and have a couple of questions:

Even if my new TV will support 1080P (and probably 3/4 HDMI inputs) how important is it to get 1.3a HDMI for the receiver? My source would be DirecTV w/ HD. Would the picture look better coming from the DirecTV box straight to the TV then from the DirecTV box to the receiver and then to the TV?

4.This all depends on what you want to do. If you want to take advantage of all the new sound codecs you need a HDMI AVR. I run all my video directly to the display but I will upgrade to a HDMI AVR at some point.

Does the receiver convert the 1080i / 780p signal to 1080p better then the TV? What's the difference between HDMI 1.3 and HDMI 1.3a specs on the receiver?

5.The TV probably has a better scaler but this all depends on what equipment you end up with.

I personally like the Bose HTIB setups that have demos in the stores but some people online claim these setups aren't very good and are over priced. What are your thoughts on this?

6.I wouldn’t touch BOSE with a 10ft pole.

Is THX certified mandatory for receivers or is it like nvidia SLI w/ computers (a marketing gimmick)?

7.Nope, it is just a silly standard that you pay more money for.

 

[KevInCinci]

You might consider having the contractor wiring in 7.1, but only run 5.1 for now.

I second that. Do whatever wiring you might remotely need now, because it's an awful lot harder after that drywall goes up! The cost/effort to do it now is negligible. Run wires to the approximate locations of your rear speakers and terminate them in low voltage boxes. Cap them off with either a blank faceplate or else go ahead and use ones that you can stick banana plugs into for later expansion.


Cheers,

Kevin

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Home Theater:

Mitsubishi LT-52133 52-inch LCD 1080p Flat Panel HDTV: $2,150

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=87802

Emotiva LMC-2 + XPA-5: $1,500

http://www.emotiva.com/index.html

AV123 x-series System Price :$1496.00

http://av123.com/index.php?attri11=+&prod11=-1&attri12=+&prod12=-1&attri13=+&prod13=-1&attri14=+&prod14=-1&attri15=+&prod15=-1&attri16=+&attr16=_+Silver[+0.00]&prod16=-1&attri17=+&attr17=_+Small[+0.00]&prod17=-1&totalori=1496&option=com_vm_dstore&onpage=5&Itemid=132&sid=3&t_amount1=1496&next.x=69&next.y=15

Total Price: $5,146

 

[krzywica]

I second that. Do whatever wiring you might remotely need now, because it's an awful lot harder after that drywall goes up! The cost/effort to do it now is negligible. Run wires to the approximate locations of your rear speakers and terminate them in low voltage boxes. Cap them off with either a blank faceplate or else go ahead and use ones that you can stick banana plugs into for later expansion.


Cheers,

Kevin

Yes I would second that as well. And add a suggestion to run smurf tubing. This will go a long way if you ever want to add or remove anything without tearing through your walls, or fishing around with pull cable. Make sure you leave some pull string in the tubing for further expansion down the road.

 

[krzywica]

Home Theater:

Mitsubishi LT-52133 52-inch LCD 1080p Flat Panel HDTV: $2,150

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=87802

Emotiva LMC-2 + XPA-5: $1,500

http://www.emotiva.com/index.html

AV123 x-series System Price :$1496.00

http://av123.com/index.php?attri11=+&prod11=-1&attri12=+&prod12=-1&attri13=+&prod13=-1&attri14=+&prod14=-1&attri15=+&prod15=-1&attri16=+&attr16=_+Silver[+0.00]&prod16=-1&attri17=+&attr17=_+Small[+0.00]&prod17=-1&totalori=1496&option=com_vm_dstore&onpage=5&Itemid=132&sid=3&t_amount1=1496&next.x=69&next.y=15

Total Price: $5,146

Thats a great list, but that sub might be a little lacking if he has a cathedral ceiling, I'm not sure what exactly he has though, all it says is "two story room".

 

[rfisher983]

Thanks everyone for the advice! The company that is going to be running the speaker wire, cat5, rg6 cables also has "HT packages that they offer". It appears they include some sort of 5.1 surround package for $1599 which include 4 in-wall Klipsch speakers (I don't know the specs yet) for the family room. I will probably only get them to install the surround speakers and just buy better front pair from the internet/store. They also offer multiple room audio that I might be interested in. Obviously these prices may be over prices for the value that I get. The good thing about this is that all the money would be put in with the house / mortgage so I will pay it off long term which leaves more money in buying the center speaker, sub, receiver, front speakers and TV.

It appears everyone here agrees that I should get an excellent "sub" first and start from there. What brands / models do you recommend? What brands and models do you recommend I stay away from? I notice circuit city have: klipsch and Velodyne and bestbuy / magnolia have: definitive Tehcnology, klipsch, martin logan, and mirage.

I want good equipment, not the high end stuff that will break the bank. It seems the above brands are affordable for me. Currently I'm not an Audioholic. When I go into stores I can't really tell a difference in sound between one pair of speakers to another. I'm sure once I buy the equipment and start listening to it daily; I will know the difference in the future and appreciate the money that I spent on the HT system (thanks to all you your advice of course). To me, right now Bose sounds fantastic but I know there is much better stuff for the price and expandability for the future and I will stay away from them.

The more I've been reading the forums the more people have been saying to spend most of the money on the speakers first and not so much on the receiver. From the looks I really like Paradigm speakers but there seems to be only one store selling them in Atlanta and they don't sell them online unless I go to ebay which would be used. The advice on matching the front and middle channel speakers is appreciated and that is something I will do. I will defiantly go to 5.1 for now and run the wire for 7.1 for expandability later.

The big question:

What brands do you recommend? What brands do you recommend I stay away from?
-sub
-receiver
-front speakers + middle channel
Budget for the 3 items would be $2,500 maybe a little more, maybe a little less.

As for my TV' I'm leaning more and more towards the 1080P Pioneer kuro. Remember I will not be buying this equipment unit July so prices may drop a little more.

Btw if any of you need advice with computer hardware let me know. That is my expertise

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Thats a great list, but that sub might be a little lacking if he has a cathedral ceiling, I'm not sure what exactly he has though, all it says is "two story room".

That link just did not work right. I had the MFW-15 Subwoofer in my configuration, but I guess they won't allow it for now. I think the $600 MFW-15 might be enough, but not the little $300 x-sub.

 

[krzywica]

That link just did not work right. I had the MFW-15 Subwoofer in my configuration, but I guess they won't allow it for now. I think the $600 MFW-15 might be enough, but not the little $300 x-sub.

Lol. I was gonna say.....that sub might be good for your master bath.....other than that.....

 

[highfihoney]

A transistor radio & my head examined.

 

[Highbar]

First I have to say I don't think there is anyway that a 50" KURO is going to fit in that budget in the next few months. They are $5000 now and not going to drop that much anytime soon. I would second the idea of DLP (personally I'm waiting on the Sony's to drop a little more then I'm in).

As for subs, most will say look into SVS, HSU, Epik, and eD. The new AV123 MFW-15 might be a really good option too as AcuDefTechGuy said.

As for speakers I'm all about Paradigm, and you can't buy them online unless you buy used, but with all that I hear I think I'm going to have to listen to AV123 X-series when I get new speakers.

For receivers I would look into Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo.

Figure most of your budget for speakers and sub, then the electronics.

T

 

[rfisher983]

First I have to say I don't think there is anyway that a 50" KURO is going to fit in that budget in the next few months. They are $5000 now and not going to drop that much anytime soon. I would second the idea of DLP (personally I'm waiting on the Sony's to drop a little more then I'm in).

As for subs, most will say look into SVS, HSU, Epik, and eD. The new AV123 MFW-15 might be a really good option too as AcuDefTechGuy said.

As for speakers I'm all about Paradigm, and you can't buy them online unless you buy used, but with all that I hear I think I'm going to have to listen to AV123 X-series when I get new speakers.

For receivers I would look into Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo.

Figure most of your budget for speakers and sub, then the electronics.

T

the Kuro is $3999 right now at best buy and $5999 for the elite version. Plus it can be found cheaper online. I was originally looking at the 120hz xbr4 from sony when I saw the specs last year before they came out in Nov/Dec. For some reason I see them in the stores the contrast is really bright and gives me a head ache even after looking at it for a couple of minutes. I feel the plasma looks better then LCD so I think im going to stick with that.

I'm willing to put forth $2500+- on the front speakers, center, receiver and sub.

How much sub do I really need for a two story family room? I don't believe I would have the space for a 15" sub and was thinking more of an 8" or 10". Obviously Quality is more important to me the Quantity. A 15" sub would look pretty stupid in the living room and I would probably use it for a coffee table. This will defiantly not be wife (or soon to be wife) approved

 

[no. 5]

How much sub do I really need for a two story family room?

That depends, how much low frequency extension do you want? How much output do you want?

I have a 10" sub in a > 8,000 cubic foot room; a 10" subwoofer can be acceptable, but don't expect too much, it is a small driver and therefor it will be limited in output and extension.
I must add that although I have a 10" sub, its days in my system are numbered, simply because the room it's in is just too big.

If you are interested more in quality, multiple 10" or 12" subs will deliver much better overall performance than a single subwoofer - however, it will be harder to integrate.

 

[rfisher983]

That depends, how much low frequency extension do you want? How much output do you want?

I have a 10" sub in a > 8,000 cubic foot room; a 10" subwoofer can be acceptable, but don't expect too much, it is a small driver and therefor it will be limited in output and extension.
I must add that although I have a 10" sub, its days in my system are numbered, simply because the room it's in is just too big.

If you are interested more in quality, multiple 10" or 12" subs will deliver much better overall performance than a single subwoofer - however, it will be harder to integrate.

Not sure what I want. If I had to spend $500-$600 on a sub what would be the best? what about $600-$800 or $800 - $1000? The sub will need to be clean looking (cosmetic) since it would be seen from around the room. The previous poster says I should be looking at brands like: SVS, HSU, Epik, AV123 and eD. I've never seen or heard of these brands. How do they compare to other main stream brands like Klipsch and Velodyne?

 

[Bloodstriker]

I was thinking - couldn't you get them to install all 4 Klipsch speakers as the rears and surrounds? That way you'll be getting 7.1 as soon as you purchase the sub, fronts and center?

 

[Highbar]

I wish I could say I've heard all of the brands I recommended, but I haven't, funds just don't allow it. I have heard Velo, Klipsch, JBL, Paradigm, and an off brand or two, for home use and I don't know how many car subs(that's where I started my audio addiction).

From a looks stand point, the wood veneers that the ID's use are second to none, there are a ton of pictures on this site just look around in the Subwoofer forum, some of them are down right gorgeous, and some are being used as end tables. You can get an 8" or 10" sub if you want but it's not going to pressurize your room like a larger sub will.

Everything that everyone says when they get one of these subs, is that they offer a much better "boom" for the buck. I can tell you I wont be getting a Klipsch sub, they don't offer enough for me, and the Velo's I like are $$$.

Search the brands I listed and see what you like. SVS has some good deals in the B-Stock section if you catch them at the right time.

T

 

[no. 5]

The previous poster says I should be looking at brands like: SVS, HSU, Epik, AV123 and eD. I've never seen or heard of these brands. How do they compare to other main stream brands like Klipsch and Velodyne?

For the money, SVS and Hsu will provide better output/extension for comparably priced Klipsch or Velodyne subwoofers, Epik, AV123 and eD likely will too, but I have yet to see enough third party measurements of them to say definitively.

However, it's not just about having the loudest or deepest thing on the block. As size and cosmetics are important too, consider that SVS only makes one small sub, same goes for and AV123; Hsu, Epik and eD are on the large side. For cosmetics, personally, I think Velodyne makes good looking subs AV123, Hsu and SVS look fairly good too, but eD and Epik aren't the prettiest.