My new Acoustech system

[Hanse18]

I am planning on redoing my basement. Currently I own a Sunfire True Subwoofer (older model, no eq mike) and I am updating all of my other equipment to this:

Toshiba 62” DLP Rear-Projection TV -- $1974.79 @ DR Plasma

BIC Acoustech Speaker System -- $799.99 @ Sounddistributors.com

Yamaha HTR-5890 Receiver -- $469.00 @ FotoConnection

Oppo OPDV971 CD/DVD player -- $199.99 @ Amazon.com

Charter HD Cable Box -- Free?

Belkin 9 Outlet Surge Protector -- 39.99 @ Circuit City

Cables -- About $300 @ BlueJeansCables.com
(1) DVI -- DVD-to-TV
(1) Surround Audio Cables -- DVD-to-Receiver
(1) Audio Optical cable -- TV-to-Receiver
(??? Ft.) Belden 5000 12 gauge 5000UE Speaker wire
(1) Y cable audio splitter -- Receiver-to-2 subs
(2) Subwoofer Cables -- Y cable-to-Subs
Cable box wires provided

Total Cost -- $3783.76 (Plus Tax and S&H) (minus possible discounts on Speakers and Cables)

Any input on improvements or changes? I have no experience with BlueJeansCable so I have no idea how my prices compare to their actual pricing. I know length is an issue, but i was thinking 6-8 ft for each component, 15-20 ft for each sub, and about 150 ft for speaker wire. Help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Sheep]

pics man, we need pics!

nice set up, Must sound very nice


sheep

 

[jaxvon]

I only see one issue. You're paying too much for speaker cable! While Blue Jeans does offer top quality other stuff at good prices (broadcast level, I don't think you can get better), the speaker cable is TERRIBLY overpriced. If you plan on getting Belden stuff, check out Westlake Electronic. Here's a link to the 12ga stuff (it's out of stock at the moment) and the 10ga stuff. For 200ft of 10ga cable the shipping is still under $20 to 48189.

Other than that, I like your setup!

 

[Hanse18]

Ok, now that I have had a few days to contemplate things, I have a few more questions to ask.

1) The DLP tv seems to be a great buy, but I'm having some trouble with the possible hookup scenarios. The toshiba has hdmi in, but no dvi. My dvd player and receiver both have dvi out with no hdmi. I am fine (i guess) with using component hookups, but it just seems like such a waste not to utilize the best in HD! What should I do? (I am completely open to a different TV or DVD player)

2) What gauge wire should I be running. A chart I saw made it seem that even 12 gauge was overkill, and I could get by with as small as 16 gauge..... but I though 10 and 12 were sort of the norm when it came to speaker cable.

3) Any suggestions on speaker stands for my surrounds? They seem hard to fins on the internet (most are designed for specific brands) and the ones I can find are like $120. I could pay some high school kid $50 to make me a couple in his wood shop and there will be no discernable difference in sound quality!

4) Will running two different subs (sunfire and acoustech) together be a problem? Or will they sound ok after a little tweaking with volume and phase controls?

 

[jaxvon]

1. DVI and HDMI are interchangable with adapters, though DVI is video only and HDMI carries both sound AND video. So with an adapter, or a cable with a built in adapter, you can use your reciever to do the switching. I'm not a TV person, so I can't comment on your choice as being good or bad.

2. I would say 12ga. Yes it's overkill, but then you won't ever have the, "Should I've gone with bigger stuff?" thought coming back to you. Plus, you can buy a boatload one kind if wire and use it all over the house, even for really long runs to the other end of your place (if you so choose).

3. You can make your own, or you might check out the options at Parts Express. They have a few in the lower budget area. Most everywhere else I've seen starts around $100.

4. No, it shouldn't be. Just keep in mind that it's going to take quite a bit of experimentation (unless you're really good with lucky guesses) to get placement, levels, and phase dialed in. Done correctly, two subs can yield awesome performance.

 

[Hanse18]

Thanks Jaxvon, I really appreciate your help. I might just try to find a more compatible tv and dvd player and avoid this issue altogether. I will get 12 ga. wire (probably 150-200 ft.) and then probably give in and just buy speaker stands. As for the subs, I will definitely spend some time figuring those out, because my "home theater" only has 3 walls and is completely open to the rest of our basement, which is around 1200 sq. feet and probably more than 10,000 cubic feet of air space. I'll probably be making more specific posts in their respective forums from now on, but thanks for getting me on the right track.