Soliciting opinions on surround package for $1500

[dwareham]

I may regret being a do-it-yourselfer, but I always learn that lesson after the fact...

Putting together a home theater, 20 ft deep x 18 ft wide. Room is black and no windows; screen will be either 103 or 110. Projector will be Epson 9100.

Willing to spend about $1500 on surround sound speakers and need some guidance. We will be watching movies and playing video games in here.

Not many stores around here carry speakers for me to demo, so I'm relying on reviews and trying to solicit opinions. (I HATE not being able to hear speakers!)

I did hear the Klipsch RF-52s and they sounded great, but they are $2k.

So what is the best movie-quality sound for the money at this price poing? And where are the deals?

I can do in-wall, mounted or towers -- doesn't make a difference to me but I want the best quality sound. People seem to be saying towers are better so I'm leaning toward those.

Anyone like the Aperion Intimus 4T Hybrids? CNET highly recommends them.

Thanks for your suggestions; I feel like I'm stabbing in the dark here.

 

[jostenmeat]

If you want the best audio performance, look into going with an AT (acoustically transparent) screen. The Seymour stuff is very popular for those looking to save some money, fixing it themselves, while having a weave for very good overall performance.

You will want either towers, or bookshelves. Depending on the bookshelves, and how nuts you get, you can couple each of the three front bookshelves to their own subwoofer.

Aperion is more of an "audiophile" company. Note that some models have low sensitivity, which is not an ideal as far as loud HT goes.

Some of the hot items right now for HT-use include JTR and Seaton. However, you surely can't afford a whole set all at once from them, but can piece it over time.

 

[AVRat]

You may want to elaborate about the room, seating, 5/7.1, sub?

For a 5.0 setup:
Ascend Acoustics - $948 shipped - ** Special: 340SE/340SEC/200SE system
SVS - https://svsound.com/products-spks-scs01.cfm

Sub:
SVS PB12-NSD - $569 + shipping - http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-pb12nsd.cfm

 

[JerryLove]

This is fundamentally identical to the $1000 question:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?p=673187
and today:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62217

Audioholics' recommendation (the speaker portion of their $2.5k system) is: http://store.audioholics.com/product/2724/66386/emp-impression-7-1-tower-system---black

Or my fav: 3 pairs of Behringer 2030p ($133x3 = $399) + 2 Dayton 10" subs ($150x2 = $300), plus a Behringer CX crossover ($70) = $770: leaving you $230 for a 5.1 AVR with pre-outs and an amplifier (unless your sound card, like mine, will output 5 RCA: in which case just get a 5-channel amp). That would, in my opinion, be the besst sound.