Intermediate Skill Level Home Theater Setup Advice

[Scotch29]

Audioholics,

I have setup some smaller standard 5.1 systems, but I am finally looking at completing a home theater room in my basement. Dimensions are 14'6" x 14'6" x 7'6" bottom of ceiling. I am looking at putting true theater seats in the back room to keep them tight to the back wall and back up the front row so they are about 108" from the front wall, as I was told by an acoustics expert to try to stay more than 60% of the room length back.

I am looking into multiple systems after I was given a quote by a local installer with TruAudio speakers, when I looked them up online, I got very few results, so I started to question the local installer's quality. I have since read many reviews, and am looking into at least a high quality system for my theater room. I have looked mostly at Definitive Technology BP-8060 and 8080 setup reviews as well as some Klipsch reviews.

I would like to do a Dolby Atmos ready system, but I am not sure if I should go with build in units like the new Klipsch system which seams extra expensive in the floor standing speakers, or just add ceiling speakers to the system.

I am looking into the Onkyo TX-NR3030 as it is an 11.2 channel setup, I am not sure if I really need to go the 2 subwoofer route that I am reading about for my room setup, at most I have thought most about going with the Onkyo and doing a 5.2.4 or 7.2.4 system, or possibly reducing to just 2 overhead speakers for 5.2.2 or 7.2.2. Second subwoofer up in the air as well.

Anything that will still look and sound great for movies and television (most likely sporting events and movies) would be great. Anything that would help reduce cost but still keep quality level up is also a plus.

I am sure this could create a lot of varying opinions, but I appreciate all.

Thanks for anyone's help.

Scott

 

[shadyJ]

I would skip Deftech and Klipsch in your price bracket. You can do a lot better for the money. I would skip the Onkyo receiver as well, unless you can add some kind of room correction of your own, like Dirac. Onkyos room correction equalization has taken a real dive. I would go with Marantz, Denon, Yamaha, or Pioneer instead. As for speakers and subs, I would be looking at a Reaction Audio system for a relaxed budget, or a Hsu system for a tight budget. That will blow away almost any setup from Klipsch or Deftech. You will really want two subs, not one. I would go with bookshelf speaker fronts. Do not get a conventional horizontal center speaker.

For a cost effective setup from Reaction, I would be looking at 3 CX-10s for the front stage, and 8 axis 5 speakers for side surrounds and ceiling speakers. I would be looking at two Reaction Gamma 15 subs in that room. That setup will get you to THX Reference level easy in that room. If you want to beef that up, replace the Gamma 15s with Gamma 18s or Gamma 21s if you have a very sturdy house.

If you are not needing monster output levels and want to save some money, I would get a Hsu package. From Hsu, I would be looking at 7 HB-1 speakers for the front stage and side surrounds, and 4 HIW speakers for the ceiling speakers. For Hsu subs, I would be looking at two ULS-15 mk2s. That will be a very good system, it will get loud and sound great, although it won't have the dynamic range of the Reaction system. If you want to beef up the Hsu system's dynamic range a bit, use three HC-1s vertically with rotated horns for proper horizontal dispersion. Also add one or two more ULS-15s and use them in a near-field placement. That will rock you pretty hard. Ask Hsu for a package discount if you decide on a system like that.

 

[Scotch29]

Thank you for the recommendations. Not having a lot of experience with ceiling mounting, what would be the best way to mount the axis 5's, they appear as if I would need to mount them below ceiling, but I have a limited height room. It is a drop ceiling, so I could just cut an opening and tie the speaker to the joists directly above, open to other ideas.

I looked at the receivers and I can only find 11.2 available on the Yamaha RX-A3050 which has come down in price from their website, so it is even in price with the Onkyo. I think I would be okay without an amplifier, although the CX-10s have a little higher wattage then the output, as far as I understand.

Thanks

 

[shadyJ]

There is no ceiling mounts for heavy-duty bookshelf speakers, but what will work fine for that is projector mounts. I would be looking at something like this or this to mount the speakers up high. Btw, a problem with drop ceilings and high-powered home theaters is bass will make the tiles rattle. You might think about ways to dampen vibration around the framing which holds the tiles.

 

[Scotch29]

Thank you, I will definitely look into it. I do like the speaker setup with the Reactions, I am wondering what to go with to power everything, after looking a little more, the RX-A3050 cannot power everything. I can go with the dual unit CX-A5100 and MX-A5000 to pre process and power, but my receiver costs are getting close to the speaker/sub costs. I didn't think I would be getting this high on equipment to make it a really nice theater room, but I'm willing to do it right. I am looking into an Elite Screens CineTension2 135", and an Epson 6030UB or 5030UB for projection. I've looked into 4k projectors, but they would drive the cost up much higher with what I am seeing so far.

 

[mtrycrafts]

An alternative to the ceiling projector mounts that are rather tall for speakers, an alternative is a nice hardwood 1" x 6" or so and length to cover the ceiling joists screwed on the back of the speaker then to the joists. Just a thought if not mounted into the ceiling cavity itself.

 

[shadyJ]

Thank you, I will definitely look into it. I do like the speaker setup with the Reactions, I am wondering what to go with to power everything, after looking a little more, the RX-A3050 cannot power everything. I can go with the dual unit CX-A5100 and MX-A5000 to pre process and power, but my receiver costs are getting close to the speaker/sub costs. I didn't think I would be getting this high on equipment to make it a really nice theater room, but I'm willing to do it right. I am looking into an Elite Screens CineTension2 135", and an Epson 6030UB or 5030UB for projection. I've looked into 4k projectors, but they would drive the cost up much higher with what I am seeing so far.

I think you can still use the A3050 to power most of the speakers, and just use a separate two channel amp to power a pair of the over-head speakers from the pre-outs. I would look that up in the A3050 manual to make sure that can be done, but I would bet on it.

 

[Latent]

The better option with the A3050 is to set it to 9ch+Front power amp mode and use an external power amp for your front speakers and the internal 9 channel amp for the rest. These can be the most demanding channels to drive and by offloading them from the AVR you will get the most power gain rather than wasting money on a high end amp to power the small bit of audio going to your over head speakers. This is also great for 2-channel music listening as you now have a dedicated amp just for this.

 

[shadyJ]

The better option with the A3050 is to set it to 9ch+Frount power amp mode and use an external power amp for your front speakers and the internal 9 channel amp for the rest. These can be the most demanding channels to drive and by offloading them from the AVR you will get the most power gain rather than wasting money on a high end amp to power the small bit of audio going to your over head speakers. This is also great for 2-channel music listening as you now have a dedicated amp just for this.

Agreed, this is a better idea.

 

[Scotch29]

Thank you I would like to go to the a3050 to reduce the cost. I am also thinking seriously about going with a hsu system as well.

There was more to this reply, but I found in the a3050 manual how to do it. Thanks for the help.