I am moving in with my girlfriend in a few weeks. You can see the current system I have in my signature. She has a good size living room, but she's concerned about my large speakers detracting from the room's aesthetic. Another problem is that there's no easy way to run wires for the surround speakers. Wires would either have to go under the carpet or through the ceiling and I'm not equipped or qualified to do either. So, my questions are these:
1. How much would it cost to have a professional run speaker wires either under the carpet somehow or through the ceiling - ballpark figure?
2. If I go with smaller speakers, I am thinking of one of Definitive Technology's ProCinema systems or the Bose Acoustimass 10 system. Anyone have thoughts on either of these systems?
3. Are any wireless options available for the surround speakers that are decent?
Thanks guys.
lsiberian's suggestion of using a spare bedroom (or den or "family room" or whatever extra room), if available, for the system is a great idea. I much prefer having the home theater in a room other than the living room. And that way, it does not affect the aesthetic of the living room at all.
If that is not an option, then you should try to get her to appreciate the sound that you can get from good speakers. You might want to start by inviting your girlfriend over to your place to watch a movie, and to listen to some music, both that she likes. If you do this, make sure your place is clean and smells fresh and nice, as the overall impression of the experience matters.
If that is not an option for some reason, tell her that if she does not like the system after it is set up, you will get rid of it (assuming that you are willing to do that). Then when you demonstrate it for her, watch a movie that she loves, and listen to music that she loves.
There should be some compromise and give and take in a good relationship, so both of you should be flexible to some degree on this. It should not be all one-sided, or you ought not move in at all (of course, we all know you will not take that advice).
Downgrading is not a good idea, though if you have the money, you can get great smaller speakers that she might like, and it can actually be an upgrade. And if you do that, she can select the finish to best match the decor of the living room (I personally much prefer natural wood finishes to the black finishes that are so common, and I would not be surprised if your girlfriend felt the same as I do). If, for example, you want to stick with Polk, you could move up to their LSi series, though you will need to concern yourself with impedance issues, and the maximum volume of the bookshelf speakers will be a little less than your current speakers. But they are generally regarded as better sounding for what they do than your current speakers. Also, although bookshelf speakers cannot reproduce deep bass, that is not an issue with a surround system, if one has a decent subwoofer AND one sets it up properly.
There are other brands, too, and I rather like the Aurum Cantus Leisure 2SE speakers, though finding a dealer will probably prove difficult, and there are different versions of that speaker around, differing in sound quality and price. (The U.S. versions, which have no Chinese lettering on the back plate, are the best, and most expensive. However, all are good, just not equally good.)
To have good sound, your speakers only need to go down low enough to mate well with a subwoofer. This means that going down solidly to 80 Hz is good enough, so having a -3dB point of 60-70 Hz should be fine, if you have a decent subwoofer AND if you set it up properly. Generally, this means that you need speakers with woofers at least 5", though you ought to select based upon performance, not size, so it might be possible to go smaller, though don't count on it.
As for the specific series of small speakers you mention, if their -3dB point is above 80 Hz, I would strongly recommend avoiding them. If you set your subwoofer crossover too high, you will hear sounds coming from its location rather than from the channels were the sound is supposed to be coming, and that would be quite a downgrade for you. Frankly, I would forget about surround sound rather than go with tiny crappy speakers, though obviously there are plenty of people in the world who feel differently than I do.
