Newbie, HomeTheater Speaker Help

[Mattlock]

I am setting up my first Home Theater and need some help with the audio portion. I am putting in a Panasonic Front Projector with a pull down screen.

My room is 20x25 (bonus room) with 8ft celings. I have about $1,000 budgeted for the speakers/receiver/DVD player.

I have no clue what's a good brand or the best bang for the buck. I was looking into the a $1,000 Theater in a Box set by Harmon Kardon but from what I hear, its best to buy components.

Any thoughts?

thanks

Mattlock

 

[RLA]

Hi
20x25x8 is a very large room
small inefficient speakers in a room this size will yields very poor results.
I suggest you look at high efficiency high output designs and buy based on quality not quantity buy 1 or 2 pieces at a time until you have a nice set up
HTIB are generally low quality components made for small listening areas
If you do the install right the first time you will be much happier with the results

 

[Mattlock]

where to start

RLA, What should be the first 2 speakers I buy?

thanks

 

[jimmit]

I agree with RLA; your room is too big for a HITB. Acquiring good gear a few pieces at a time makes sense if your initial outlay is limited to $1,000. Begin with a receiver and two main speakers. Then, when you can afford it, add a subwoofer. Then, a center channel speaker to match your mains. And then surrounds.

But before you begin buying this stuff, you should have some kind of a vision of what you want to end up with, e.g., do you want a 5.1, 6.1 or a 7.1 set-up; do you want your main speakers to be floorstanders or bookshelves, etc. Then, spend some time doing a little research -- audio forums, audio magazines, audio websites. Visit audio stores in your area and begin listening to receivers and speakers. Get an idea of what kind of sound you're looking for. Once you've done that, you should begin to formulate in your mind what you want your end result to be. All the while, save some more money for your initial purchase.

You'll find that audio and HT gear is generally divided up between a small segment of ultra high end gear, a somewhat larger segment of high end gear, a large segment of "mid-fi" gear, and a large segment of low-end (and often low quality) gear. If you're like most of us, you'll end up in the "mid-fi" segment.

With respect to receivers, I'd try to look at Denon, Harmon-Kardon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer and Yamaha. Each of these companies make decent home theater receivers ranging from about $500 and up.

With respect to speakers, I'd try to look at B&W, Dynaudio, JMLabs, KEF, Klipsch, Monitor Audio, Paradigm, Polk and PSB. There are dozens of other brands, but these are brands that, unless you live way out in the country, you should be able to find at your local audio stores. I'm partial to Paradigm for a couple of reasons: They are a company that is noted particularly for giving you alot of value for your money and they have a wide range of speakers in almost every catagory and price except what I would classify as ultra-high end.

Don't forget that your budget will probably include include a good surge protector, cables, wiring and possibly speaker stands.

Good luck!

 

[Mattlock]

Jimmit

Thanks Jimmit,

I thinking a 5.1 setup will be sufficient for me.

Here's where I'm at currently with my setup.

After searching and searching I've come up with the following setup:

Receiver: Yamaha RX-V750 for approx. 450
here

Speakers: Harman Kardon HKTS 14 for 600
here

I picked the speakers for the big bass sound.

Any thoughts?

Mattlock

 

[jimmit]

I think you made a very nice choice for a receiver. Yamaha is a good company and makes well built receivers.

I am not familiar with the Harmon Kardon speaker package you chose. While HK has a good reputation for their electronics, they are not noted for their speakers. I read the review by Guttenberg and though he said some complementary things about the speakers, he made a couple of telling comments: "When we played the Buena Vista Social Club CD, the HKTS 14 ensemble sounded, well, noticeably smaller than it did when we played DVDs, but that's not unusual for speaker ensembles equipped with minisatellites. Still, we'd rate the HKTS 14's musicality as above average--at moderate volume levels. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" sounded strained when we pumped up the volume." I think these are clues that this package may have speakers which are too small for the size of your room.

I certainly understand your eagerness to have your HT system all at one time and soon, but you may be disappointed. I go back to my original suggestion of getting your speakers one or two at a time. It will take longer, but I believe you'd be happier in the long run.

Good luck!

 

[RLA]

Hello
Jimmit is giving you very good advice
Here are some suggestions forget the RXV-750 and look at the Yamaha HTR 5790. For that size room and your explanation of wanting big bass
I would seriously audition Klipsch Reference series speakers for a live in your face type presentation, with large dynamic capablility,high sensitivity
and the ability to fill the room size that you have. If they are not to your liking take a look at Axiom. This is another high bang for the buck speaker line
both of these will be easily driven with the 5790
Hope this helps

 

[Mattlock]

change of plans

Hey..JIMMIT

My plans changed. I am putting my home theater downstairs in our basement. Got the perfect room for it.

Size 13x20, rectangle, no windows...I will paint the walls a dark color.

This changes my needs pretty significantly.

I'm really back to square one with my audio. I shouldnt need nearly as much power to get a full sound.

How does my orignal speaker setup look now? (Harmon Kardon) or do you have any other suggestions. What about lower end Bose?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Mattlock

 

[BMXTRIX]

Bose is a waste of money for the sound quality you get.

You may want to look into the Onkyo HTIB system around 400-500 bucks and then invest left over cash on a really good sub.

 

[jimmit]

Your new room is still around 2000 cubic feet -- not really a small room. Too big, IMHO for the small speakers you are considering. And again, Harmon Kardon makes excellent receivers but they are not noted for their speakers. For speakers, I'd stick with the companies whose primary product is speakers. I think RLA made a very good suggestion regarding the Klipsch. Klipsch is a well-respected speaker company that has been around longer than most speaker companies. They are noted for using "horn" tweeters and for having highly efficient speakers -- that is, it takes less power for them to produce the same SPL as most other speakers. They are, however, noted for being a little on the forward side (or as Klipsch likes to say, "dynamic").

You might also consider looking at a couple of the companies that sell direct to consumers via the Internet -- like Axiom or AV123. These companies are generally regarded as giving buyers alot of speaker for their money because they don't have to pay middlemen or for alot of brick & mortar stores to peddle them from. I'd look, in particular, at the Axiom M3ti's at $300 a pair. Four of those, the $240 VP100 center and a subwoofer and you've got yourself a speaker set up that, IMO, would be far superior to the HK.

Now, having said earlier that I'd stick with companies whose primary product is speakers, I hasten to add that doesn't include every speaker company. You mentioned Bose speakers as a possibility. I would not recommend them. Do yourself a favor and run a search in every audio forum on Bose speakers. You will find that, among audiophiles, they are not the most respected name in speakerdom.

Bottom line: the new room notwithstanding, I'm not persuaded to change my original recommendation -- build a good system more slowly. I believe you'll be happier in the long run.

 

[Mattlock]

thanks

Thanks JIMMITT

I think I will bite the bullet and get the Axioms with a JBL subwoofer. Which Axioms should I use for the rear? (same as front?)

Do you have a recommendation for the DVD player? Do I really need one with DVI?

thanks a million
Mattlock

 

[Ajax]

Mattlock,

You're receiving some very good advice here, but as an Axiom owner I'd like to make a couple of points. With a room that size, the smallest Axiom I'd go with would be the M22tis.

Axiom speakers can be roughly lumped into 2 groups. The M3s, M40s, M50s are one group, and the M2s, M22s, M60s, and M80s are the other. The M3s, M40s, and M50s have a slight boost in the upper bass/lower area, which gives them a slightly more laid back sound than the other group. The M3s are usually recommended as stand alone speakers (no subwoofer) for a bedroom, or other small room application. All the bookshelf Axioms (M2s, M3s, M22s) really require a subwoofer for optimum results.

The other series, is generally considered a more accurate, flatter responsed, detailed line of speakers (I started with the M22s, but now have the M60s). The M22s with your JBL sub, would get you off on the right foot.

Should you decide to go with Axioms, when it comes time to add the surrounds, I suggest you seriously take a look at the Axiom QS series surrounds. These are wonderful surround speakers which provide an amazingly immersing surround experience without calling attention to themselves. Of all my Axiom speakers, I feel my QS8s do the job they were designed to do the best.

Either of the Axiom centers will suffice.

Once you have all the speakers, I would suggest investigating a new sub (SVS, HSU, Outlaw, Rocket). I had a JBL PB10 before my current HSU STF-2. The HSU is much mo' betta' !

Lastly, if you are seriously interested in Axioms, I recommend you come over to the Axiom forum, peruse some of the threads, and ask any questions you may have. We'll be glad to help in any way that we can. Of course, most, but not all, of us are Axiom owners, and that fact should be kept in mind. But our primary goal is help folks end up with something with which they are happy.

Best of luck. Take your time, do your homework, hang in there, and enjoy the journey

 

[jimmit]

Mattlock - I defer to Ajax -- as an Axiom owner, he, no doubt, is much more knowledgeable than I am about which models would be better suited for your room. The M22ti has an excellent reputation as a bookshelf-size speaker. In fact, those are ones I was originally going to suggest, but I was trying to save you a few bucks. The M22ti's are $140 a pair more than the M3ti's.

As far as a DVD player goes, I don't have any experience with DVI-capable ones. I understand that they can deliver noticably improved picture quality.


Ajax - What do you think of this as one possible alternative: In order to economize on his initial outlay, Mattlock buys two M3ti's and a center. Later, when he saves some more money, he buys the M22ti's and moves the M3ti's to the surround position. Does that make sense?