Struggling to make final decision and keep in budget

[Savage40]

Well, if money was no object, I would probably have a live orchestra in my 10,000 square feet home theater with Rush and Led Zeppelin opening up with a live show before each movie I watch on my 120' screen.

However, the reality is I can not spend .01 over $9000 on my entire HT setup. The Epson 6010 and Visual Apex 120" tab tension motorized screen are costing me $3500, so that leaves $5500 total for the Audio portion.

Keep in mind I already have all of my in-wall speaker wiring, HDMI cables installed, plus all of my banana plug ports etc. The $5500 is for purely the audio gear.

I keep bouncing around back and forth on what to do and have come up with 3 options. I understand opinions will vary greatly, but if I could get a general consensus, it may help me to determine my best path.

Option 1: Boston Acoustic Reference Series Mains
Receiver: Denon 3212
Front Mains: RS 326 x2 @ 574.47/ea.
Center: RS 244C
Surrounds: Emo ERD-1 x4 @ 250/pr
Sub: FV15
Amp: XPA-3
Blu-Ray: Sony BDP-S770
Power Conditioner : Panamax
Remote: Universal
$5,053.41

FYI, The Boston line I can buy at wholesale, so I am getting more expensive speakers for my money here, although more money does not always equal better speakers, right?


Option 2: Emotiva Reference Series
Receiver: Denon 3212
Front Mains: ERT-8.3
Center: ERM-6.3
Surrounds: Emo ERD-1 x4 @ 250/pr
Sub: Rythmik FV15
Amp: Emotiva XPA-3
Blu-Ray: Sony BDP-S770
Power Conditioner: Panamax
Remote: Universal
5,215.00

Option 3: Verus Grand
Receiver: Denon 3212
Front Mains: Verus Grand Towers
Center: Verus Grand Center
Surrounds: Emo ERD-1 x4 @ 250/pr
Sub: FV15
Blu-Ray: Sony BDP-S770
Power Conditioner: Panamax
Remote: Universal
$5,415.00

Option 3 I think gives me the best front mains and center, however, I can not afford the XPA-3 Amp right now and will have to rely on the Denon 3212 to push all 7.1.

I guess it comes down to am I better off with the Verus speakers and no Amp or one of the other options with the Amp. If the second choice is better, it would then come down to which speakers are better, Emotiva or Bostons?

 

[zieglj01]

I am a fan of Boston speakers - however, I have not listened to
the RS series. The smaller brother RS 334, has favorable reviews
however - Boston seems to have droped the ball on the 326. It
did not receive a favorable reveiw, and measured somewhat poor
in the midrange - I think that I would skip the RS 326.

Hometheaterhifi - move down to where the chart is.
Boston Acoustics RS 326 Floor-Standing Speakers

 

[Savage40]

I am a fan of Boston speakers - however, I have not listened to
the RS series. The bigger brother RS 334, has favorable reviews
however - Boston seems to have droped the ball on the 326. It
did not receive a favorable reveiw, and measured somewhat poor
in the midrange - I think that I would skip the RS 326.

Hometheaterhifi - move down to where the chart is.
Boston Acoustics RS 326 Floor-Standing Speakers

Umm isn't the RS 326 actually a step up over the RS 334? The 326's retail for $999 each and the 334's retail for $699.00 each.

Floor Standing Speakers | Floor Speaker | Floorstanding Speaker Reviews

 

[zieglj01]

Umm isn't the RS 326 actually a step up over the RS 334? The 326's retail for $999 each and the 334's retail for $699.00 each.

Floor Standing Speakers | Floor Speaker | Floorstanding Speaker Reviews

I edited my post.
Right, I got the sizes confused - they droped the ball on the bigger one, the 326.

 

[lsiberian]

I'd not build any of the above setups on that budget, but if that is your preference then go that way. Home theater is always a luxury that can wait.

There are many ways to go.

 

[Savage40]

I'd not build any of the above setups on that budget, but if that is your preference then go that way. Home theater is always a luxury that can wait.

There are many ways to go.

Not sure I understand what you mean? What would you build with that budget? I wasn't asking for financial advice on whether I should buy a HT setup, I already have it budgeted.....maybe I misunderstood you but sounds like you are saying I can not put something together that will be worthwhile and sound good.

 

[agarwalro]

BDP: Oppo Digital BDP-93, reviewed here.

 

[sholling]

At the level of speakers that you're looking at it really comes down to personal taste. Especially since it's unlikely that you'll run into anyone that that's heard more than one of your contenders. I know that a member bought some Versus Grands not long ago and I'm surprised we haven't heard a report from him.

The only thing that I can really add is that while matching the surrounds to the mains isn't super critical for movies it is if you listen to 5.1 multichannel music. I do have some old 4 and 5 channel music so I went with a near exact match.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Why do want the Emotiva surrounds?

What speakers have you auditioned?

Why the Epson PJ & motorized screen?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

NHT also has the 30 day in home trial like Aperion.

High End Speakers & Stereo Equipment | Subwoofers, Home Theater Systems

Panasonic has a BD player for a lot less, and probably does more.

Amazon.com: Panasonic DMP-BDT210 Integrated-Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray DVD Player: Electronics

Denon 3311 is about $200 cheaper than 3312.

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-3311CI-7-2-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B003LVZYNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326912755&sr=8-1

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Can your screen be 42" above the floor?

I would get 3 Philharmonic 1 towers @ $800 each = $2,400 for front 3.

philharmonicaudio.com

 

[gotchaforce]

1) How far away is your listening position
2) How did you determine that you would spend only 20% of the budget on a subwoofer, arguably the most important part (should be PARTS... one sub is a disaster) of any home theater?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I don't think the subwoofer is the most important.

The main front L/R & center speakers are the most important.

The projector & screen are the second most important.

The AVR/amps are 3rd.

The subwoofers are 4th.

Media/BD player is 5th.

Surrounds are last.

And I think the Rythmik FV15 is great. But personally I would rather get two FV12 subwoofers for $1,000 than a single Rythmik FV15 for $900.

Arguably.

 

[timoteo]

I am all for getting dual subs however dual subs dont always equate to better bass. Same goes for "2 smaller better than 1 larger" argument!! It all boils down to the room itself & where the actual options are for sub placement.

For instance in my room i previously had dual 10" subs then dual 12". I had read up on this topic & got tons of info on it. Well after trying every placement option & configuration that was possible in my room, i found that having the dual subs co-located, stacked, in the front right corner, i got the best bass response. No it didnt give me good bass across as large of a seating area, but for my 2 main seats i got great response. Thats what i was looking for, the best response i could get at the most important spot of the room. So i decided to sell the dual 12" subs in exchange for a single 15". I am very happy with the results & after measuring i know im getting better response.

So i dont agree that a single sub equates to disaster. In some cases yes but not all. Inwould typically recommend someone by the best single sub they can afford with all intentions of saving for a second down the road.

Side note:
a well placed large sub will outperform dual medium subs that are placed wrong. In some cases a well placed large sub will outperform dual medium subs that are also placed well.

There is no "one size fits all" sub recommendation.
The FV-15 is a great sub though & i could easily say that its a great option!!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Not all driver sizes are created equal.

According to Brian (Owner of Rythmik), the FV12 produces almost the same amount of bass ouput as the FV15 from 20Hz and above. That has been measured. It is a fact.

The FV15 will produce more bass from 14Hz - 20Hz.

So it all depends on how you feel regarding this frequency response.

For me, I set my dual Rythmik D15SE @ 20Hz because I don't care about anything below 20Hz.

So in my eyes, the FV12 is a much better deal because it produces almost the same amount of bass output as the FV15 from 20Hz and up.

So one FV15 for $900 or two FV12 for $1,000?

It all depends.

 

[sholling]

Not all driver sizes are created equal.

According to Brian (Owner of Rythmik), the FV12 produces almost the same amount of bass ouput as the FV15 from 20Hz and above. That has been measured. It is a fact.

You're saying that a 300w 12" sub will put out the same output levels and the same impact as a 600w 15" sub? That seems unlikely. To get the same output you'd need two side by side which defeats the purpose of having two subs. On the other hand if he were starting with two subs with a fallback position of adding a third down the road should two not be enough that might a good plan. The impact that having great gobs of bass on tap brings to action movies is tremendous.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Front Speakers: 2 Verus Grand Forte Tower Speaker
Center Channel: 1 Verus Grand Forte Center Channel Speaker
Surrounds: 2 Verus Forte Satellite Speaker
Subs: +1 to ATDG suggestion= 2x FV12
AVR: Yamaha RX-A2000 - on sale for 1g
Panasonic DMP-BDT210
Remote: Harmony one
Power: Panamax Max 5300-PM

Total budget: a bit under $5500

If sub shipping pushes the budget too far delay the power surge for later

 

[FirstReflection]

Uhh...I might have missed it, but do we know the room size, whether the room is enclosed or open to any other spaces in the house, and what the distance is from eyes to screen/ears to front speakers?

This is a fairly good chunk of cash and it makes no sense to me to recommend anything until we know all about the room in which this stuff is going to have to perform.

All I saw was a mention of a 10,000 square foot house , but I didn't notice any info on the theater room itself.

So yeah, before any recommendations on actual gear, I need to know all about the room. Dimensions, openings, distance to screen/speakers, general layout of planned furniture, doorways, windows, etc.

A diagram and/or some photos would be extremely helpful!

Like I said, I only skimmed this thread, so maybe I just missed the room details, but I didn't spot them. Help me out with that and it'll be MUCH easier to make some speaker, sub and amp recommendations

 

[FirstReflection]

Also, there wasn't a peep about room treatments or anything about the room's acoustics. Carpet? Hardwood? Glass?

Might be tough to add passive room treatments on this budget, but I'd sooner take less expensive speakers that are still good in a well treated acoustic environment over more expensive speakers in a really bad acoustic environment, so I wouldn't rush to get "better" speakers without at least taking some passive room treatments into consideration.

 

[Savage40]

Well, it seems I left quite a bit out of the equation and did not even consider a lot of what has been asked since I last posted. I will try to clarify a bit more.

The room is 16x24, not that large, but a decent size room. The room is carpeted with a 6" tall 6x12 platform at the rear of the room. It is pretty much a perfect rectangular room with no acoustic treatments of any kind.
I have 2 rows of 3 power recliner seats and have not purchased anything else for the room.

After the fire, I realized what an opportunity I had to start things off right and I ran flex pvc tubing all over. I had to do it then as once the spray-in expanding foam insulation was sprayed in, it became almost impossible to run new wires in any exterior wall. The room is wired for 7.2, although I do not necessarily need to have 7.2 right now.

Projector: Someone asked why I was going with the Epson. Well, the reviews are pretty darn good and another good reason would be that I can get the Epson 6010, which comes with an extra bulb, quality mount, 2 pair 3D glasses, extra year of warranty and next day exchange warranty for less than $2,500.

The screen I am considering is the Visual Apex 120" which reviews well and seems to be a great screen for $899.00(Tab-tension, motorized with wireless trigger etc) I am open to suggestions on screens which would not go past $1000.