Home theater?s

[zr600]

I want to do a surround sound in my basement that is already finished. What can i do for wires? Now what do i all need for a good sounding system, and can i do it in the 1000 dollar range? I listened to some paradigm speakers that sounded great i thought. Are the bose stuff over rated i have been told yes and no. What do i all need a receiver, speakers two rear two front and a center?, and a sub? Im new to this so i need a little direction. Might be bought as i can afford it to. Would like to be able to use an i pod for music with it too.

 

[ruffryder]

How much do you care about sound? What type of stereo is in your car?

Car question is relevant..

 

[zr600]

I want a good sounding system, not really looking to rattle the whole house. The cars have the factory systems in them.

 

[trigger fish]

If you are about sound quality then the best bank for the buck is Onkyo. They have different surround systems from a few hundred to a few thousand. But the sound quality is awesome.

I have Onkyo HT-S9400THX - home theater system - 7.1 channel

What is so nice about this system is how well it is balanced. I can turn it up to the point were the windows are shacking but the sound is still crystal clear.

With most systems the base will wash out the highs or the high are to bright they hurt ur ears. With Onkyo they care about sound.

Go check them out. (and no i do not work for them or sale them)

 

[av8er]

ONKYO is ok but they are on the lower end

Invest in a good receiver first. I used to sell high end home theaters up to 40-50K. but Bang for the buck around $1000. I would go with a Yamaha receiver. if you want to go better pioneer elite. a 10" sub is minimum. I like Velodyne but they are more expensive than what you want to spend. mine was $700. go to a high end store listen to some of the subs and then buy one maybe on ebay. same with the receiver. I've seen older elite receivers for around 2-$300. things to looks for are thx or dolby digital II, you will want 2 towers in front, 2 bookshelf size for rears and a center channel for a basic 5.1 system. you can buy the home theatres in a box but they are crap. Klipsch speakers are good. definitive technologies are awesome especially the powered speakers. Energy speakers are a pretty good price point. Klipsch subs aren't bad, deft tech supercube is pretty good for a smaller unit 8" sub. stay away from bose. have you ever heard the saying all highs no lows must be Bose

 

[ruffryder]

I want a good sounding system, not really looking to rattle the whole house. The cars have the factory systems in them.

How big is the room? How do you listen to music? You like it loud? Or just loud enough to hear it clearly?

Sorry if you think the questions are silly. Just trying to determine what you want / need.

 

[zr600]

Sometimes the music or movies loud sometimes but would also like to be able to use it just to hear it also, i have young kids, and a wife that works early so they are in bed way before i am. But when they are up or not around i would like to have good sound when i decide to crank it, or watching a movie with the family would like theater style sound.

 

[av8er]

all Dialogue in movies comes from the center speaker

So be sure not to cheap out on the center channel. I personally have a pioneer elite receiver ($1200), a velodyne 12" sub ($700), and 5 older Acoustic Research Speakers. from when they were awesome not the newer stuff that went downhill trying to cut corners. 2 large towers, ($400 EA.) in the front about 3 feet tall, 2 bookshelfs ($250)/PR. and a good matching center channel. ($220). I use dolby digital or DTS for movies, the Pioneer elite comes with a microphone and will acoustically balance the system to wherever you place them in the room. the Yamaha receivers have this feature also.

 

[zr600]

What would you say about these speakers and the sub?http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Je31Xrnxg2u/p_732TAKECL/Energy-Take-Classic-5-1.html

 

[ruffryder]

How big of room?

 

[zr600]

22'x23. But its not complitly rectangular. Wish i could draw a picture and show it to you. Is there a way i could do this and post it on here? But it is a big open room. It is proably at least half of the basement.

 

[zr600]

Here is how i have the tv and couch setup. I was thinking of having the two rear speakers on the short rear wall right behind the couch then the center one right under the tv which is wall mounted on the ledge of the foundation its just a 4' basement not a full. THen the other two front speakers of to the side of the tv on the ledge. Were would be a good place for the sub, maybe behind the couch in the corner so it is hidden?

 

[ruffryder]

Sounds pretty good. Generally, subs go into the corners of the room so they reflect the sound.

I think the crutchfield speakers look decent and should provide a good starting point. Add a decent receiver and a dvd / blueray player and you are all set.

Some of the guys on here are recommending a lot of fancy stuff that seems beyond your budget / needs. Like with snowmobiling, it is easy to get caught up in all the techno / performance babble and spend more and more for less and less.

As to configuration, you need a x.1 at least. The .1 is your subwoofer and provides the lows for your stereo. It is non-directional, hence the .1. At the minimum the other channels should be left front / center / right front (3.1), with the center being the most important. Other channels can be left rear and right rear (5.1) and some also even allow use of a left side and right side (7.1) in addition to the other channels.

The Classic 5.1 looks to be pretty good for a speaker system and with the price.

This one includes everything, even the bluray player.
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_305HTE6500/Samsung-HT-E6500W.html?tp=6419
Note that with Samsung system, the subwoofer is power by the amp (passive design). Therefore if you upgrade your receiver / amplifier if it does not include amplification power for a subwoofer (most don't) the sub will not be of much use.

My parents have a kit similar to the samsung. It isn't the best, but it is good enough for them, and having all in one components means it is really easy to setup / configure.

Good luck!

 

[av8er]

energy

that energy set has good sound, i've heard them , not bad for the $$$$