New build home theater equipment help

[Ryan Laposky]

Hi all,

I am helping my dad with his home theater. He is building a house and the theater room is 14 ft (w) X 22 ft (l). Looking at figuring out the best gear to buy for the money with a $7500 to $10,000 budget for everything. Would like to stick closer to $7500 if possible, but there is some wiggle room.

Speakers: SVS Ultra bundle (do I need towers or should I go book shelf speakers and put in two of their subs?). Which subs would you go with if I do two? 7.2 surround preferred...I hear these speakers have really good reviews...

Projector: Sony VPL-HW40ES from Projector People

Screen: Seymour 120" fixed frame...Other suggestions?

Receiver: Open to suggestions??? I currently have an Onkyo TX 636 and I like it. I am sure there is better receivers out there now though.

Speaker cables: Open to suggestions??

Trying to do research on pre-wiring too. I enjoy the video they have put together on this site. Good information.

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[TheWarrior]

Looks like you're off to a great start!

Speakers: If you can squeeze it, I'd still get the towers and a pair of subs. You just won't need quite so powerful of subs. But I'd rather spend the extra grand to get the towers, and just spend $500 less on each subwoofer. Which SVS can definitely accommodate (and they do multi sub discounts!)

Projector: Yes!

Screen: For fixed frame, I'd check out Elite Screens which are sold through Amazon. Your ambient lighting (and some personal preference) determine screen gain.

Receiver: Just personal preference but Denon, Marantz and Yamaha would always be my top picks. Again, on Amazon, if you're not interested in Atmos, you can find discontinued products at steep discount!

Speaker cables: buy a spool of 12 or 14 gauge, CL2/3 rated for in-wall. Period! This is a big argument amongst audiophiles, but the general consensus here is that there is no audible benefit to be attained from fancy cables. Stay FAR away from anyone selling cables that makes mention of 'better' dielectrics or involves using a 9v battery to 'power' the cable.

 

[Ryan Laposky]

Thanks for your response! I appreciate it. The room is in the basement so will be dark. Do you know how Seymour compares to Elite Screens?

Also, Are there any specific models of receivers that you would recommend?

Thanks!

Looks like you're off to a great start!

Speakers: If you can squeeze it, I'd still get the towers and a pair of subs. You just won't need quite so powerful of subs. But I'd rather spend the extra grand to get the towers, and just spend $500 less on each subwoofer. Which SVS can definitely accommodate (and they do multi sub discounts!)

Projector: Yes!

Screen: For fixed frame, I'd check out Elite Screens which are sold through Amazon. Your ambient lighting (and some personal preference) determine screen gain.

Receiver: Just personal preference but Denon, Marantz and Yamaha would always be my top picks. Again, on Amazon, if you're not interested in Atmos, you can find discontinued products at steep discount!

Speaker cables: buy a spool of 12 or 14 gauge, CL2/3 rated for in-wall. Period! This is a big argument amongst audiophiles, but the general consensus here is that there is no audible benefit to be attained from fancy cables. Stay FAR away from anyone selling cables that makes mention of 'better' dielectrics or involves using a 9v battery to 'power' the cable.

 

[-Jim-]

Although I'm not an overhead speaker kind of guy, if I was starting right from the Studs, I'd at least pull some plastic conduit to the numerous ceiling locations for Atmos & all. Then I'd leave a string -labeled on both ends - in each. I'd also make a map of it all, and keep it secure in case I needed it later.

I hope this is helpful...

 

[Ryan Laposky]

Ya, I have been thinking atmos and whether we should do it. So would you just run the speaker wire and close up the ceilings? Also, how many atmos speakers would you get? 4? and also what brand?

 

[TheWarrior]

Thanks for your response! I appreciate it. The room is in the basement so will be dark. Do you know how Seymour compares to Elite Screens?

Also, Are there any specific models of receivers that you would recommend?

Thanks!

A fixed frame screen is nothing more than (insert marketing term) vinyl that is tensioned over a frame. If you really want sparkling video, buy an Oppo 103D!

For a receiver, I've always been a Denon fan. But you will need to decide what your needs are. Search a brand and 'discontinued' on amazon and you'll find lots!

My only other suggestion to help future proof said receiver would be to look for one with RCA pre-outs for all channels so that amps can be added in the future. As well as dual subwoofer pre-outs. (you can buy rca splitters for quad subs)

Do not concern yourself with the wattage of any receiver, it takes massive wattage gains to achieve any significant increase in SPL. (sound pressure level) Just get all the features you need like Airplay etc.

 

[-Jim-]

Ya, I have been thinking atmos and whether we should do it. So would you just run the speaker wire and close up the ceilings? Also, how many atmos speakers would you get? 4? and also what brand?

I'm not really qualified to suggest what Brand of in ceiling Speakers to get, but if you are going to invest $7,500 => $10,000 on a home theater setup it would be prudent to allow for Immersive Speakers ( Atmos, DTS:X, or Auro-3D) of some kind. Of course you'd want to future proof the installation as the jockeying around in this realm is still going on so there is no clear winner on the media side. (Although I'm not hearing about Auro-3D much these days.) But for the sake of a little plastic pipe and some string you can make allowance for up to about 10 elevated speaker locations. (Some (4) of which are Front Height and Rear Height locations.)

Check out this Denon manual for some ideas.

http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX4200W/NA/EN/GFNFSYawzxoxsr.php

 

[Ryan Laposky]

Sounds great! Hey, do you guys have a recommendation on an SPL meter? Which one should I buy for calibration? Thanks!

 

[-Jim-]

Hi Ryan,

Most Home Theater Receivers will have a function to set up speaker levels and do a fair job of it. (I'm assuming you are headed down that path.) The need for a dedicated SPL meter is not typical for most users. (I have a Radio Shack digital unit but that's just because I always wanted one.) However, if you really want to get into it you could buy a MiniDSP UMIK-1 Microphone (about $75 US) and download REW (Room EQ Wizard) which is a free software package that can help you tweak your Home Theater (HT) System. (There are other Microphones that can work with REW but this was the one most supported and cost effective I found.)

Check it out here:

https://www.minidsp.com/applications/acoustic-measurements/umik-1-hdmi-on-windows

I'm still a Newbie with the software, but learning more as time permits. It not only has an SBL function, but does a lot of amazing measurements relative to HT setups including Sub Woofers. (See Gene DellaSala's YouTube video and The Perfect Solution for Home Theater Bass Optimization Here!=>

https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/the-perfect-solution-for-home-theater-bass-optimization-here.98037/

) Of course you'll need a Computer to run it on, but most folks have one (or more) these days.

You should be looking at multiple subs (either 2 or 4 I expect with your budget). There are some amazing Subs that should fit into your system. Some it will depend if you (or perhaps your family) is more into aesthetics than sound as finishes for these Boxes (and that includes a lot of main Speakers brands as well) can cost more than the components that actually make the sound.

But as long as you research everything well and don't rush anything you should come up with an amazing system.