I have a house with new pre-wired speaker drops and had them placed for surround sound (as best as the wife would let me); in the ceiling one in each quadrant of the two big tv rooms. Here's my question for those of you that have surround sound systems: I am looking for 5.1 dolby, what speakers would you recommend? Are they easy to install? What other equipment do I need? Thanks!
Man Mulder....you're a clean slate when it comes to surround sound, huh? First of all, you should provide a realistic budget because this is an area that you can spend a little (and get very little, sonically), or you can spend a WHOLE LOT to get some stuff that only about one tenth of one percent of the population would swear that they can hear the benefits in (over some moderately priced equipment). Unfortunately, the WAF (wife approval factor) is a very real issue, so I understand you having to put in "in-ceiling" speakers which is what I assume you are talking about. Not everyone has a cool wife like mine who let me "take" the formal living room and turn it into a media room....complete with great speakers....but with speakers that don't exactly have a high WAF. It's best to negotiate these things before the home purchase because even though most wives will put up a stink about "ugly speakers," most of them will end up spending as much time in the TV room enjoying the system as you will. There are tradeoffs in anything, and in-ceiling and in-wall speakers are no exception. If I HAD to have in-ceiling speakers, I'd use Thiel Powerpoints, but seeing as you asked what other equipment you should purchase, you're probably not ready for that kind of sticker shock. I've always been a big fan of Klipsch speakers, and I've actually had a REALLY good experience at Tweeter, so you might go by there and listen to what they have to offer (they carry Klipsch). They aren't the cheapest speakers, but they're FAR from being the most expensive. As for good bang-for-the-buck in a receiver (a receiver gives you an amp section to drive the speakers, a pre-amp section to control output, a tuner section to bring in radio stations, and a DSP section to give you your Dolby Digital 5.1 and other soundfields), I'd suggest getting a 1050 from www.outlawaudio.com If you don't have a DVD player, I think Toshiba makes a good one for the money. You'll also need a center channel speaker, and whatever you get, I'd suggest that it is matched sonically with your surround and main speakers....the best way to ensure they match is to buy them from the same lineup within the same company. This can provide an additional challenge when you're buying your mains and surrounds as in-ceiling or wall speakers. Talk to whomever you buy your mains from as to what is the best match. Also, the "point one" of a 5.1 system is the subwoofer, and you'll need one of these too. It's not as imperative that this speaker come from the same company as the others, but make sure it's got enough juice to make itself felt. That should be enough (along with your TV) to start a system.
Thanks Pole for the info. Much appreciated. If anyone else has any things to look for or places to avoid, I 'd appreciate the input.
Careful where you buy this or any reciever at, if you do Mulder. My friend who lives on my floor is an adudiophile and he bought the same reciever, but he made the mistake of buying from a website called brandnames.com and didn't check if they were a Denon authorized dealer. So of course it came damaged, it caused static to come out of the right speaker. The website had a 7 day return policy, no way he could get it back to them. Lucky for him, Denon agreed to fix it for free. Anyways, make sure you go to the Denon or other recievers' website to find authorized dealers.
For $1000, you can get a Yamaha receiver at Best Buy for around $400, use $600 to buy a set of speakers from Yamaha or Bose, including center, right, left, two rears and a base unit. It will be good for family entertainment, but not good for musical/artist ears. For $2000, get a $600 Yamaha and get a low end set of speakers from Polk Audio, or B&K, or Infinity from Radio City or Fry's or Tweeters or online if you trust. For $3000, get a $1000 Yamaha or Pionner Elite and get a mid range of above speakers. For $10000, get separate components from Mark Levinson and get a set of Martin Logan static speakers. And you will not regret for the rest of your life
Good lord, Pole, why not recommend some nice Martin Logans or B&W Nautilus speakers while you're at it... Outlaw makes some stellar equipment (I have the Model 950 preamp), but the 1050 is a little outdated right now. No Dolby Pro-Logic II or component inputs on it. I'd probably get a Denon, Onkyo, or Yamaha if I needed a decent receiver right now. Agreed. I have the Toshiba 5700 DVD player, and it's the best DVD player I've owned yet. Personally, I use Paradigm speakers all the way around in my audio system (except for the subwoofer), and I couldn't be happier. Paradigm, NHT (Now Hear This!), and Klipsch represent the best bang for the buck, IMO. As for subwoofers, I'd recommend SVS. Best sub for the money, from what I'm told. (I've got an Energy XL:S8 sub.) And for the love of God, please, stay away from Bose!
If you have the time to go in-depth and sift through a butt-load of information, go to www.hometheaterforum.com.
More money does not mean better. I too bought a house that was pre-wired for surround sound and went with a Sony system that can decode DTS and has 4, 100 watt speakers and a sub woofer. I also have a JVC 100 watt surround system in my bedroom. I got each system, with speakers for about $200 each through EBAY. Check out www.streetprices.com . This website is awesome. When you find the system you are looking for, just type in the model # and this site will tell you who has the best price. I HIGHLY recommend using them.
i just went thru this process, and did a lot of research. for the speakers, expect to spend upwards of $700 (assuming you're including a sub). i wound up getting an excellent deal on the mirage avs-500 series (http://www.miragespeakers.com/products/currentproduct/avs/avs500/content.htm). before buying, i did a yahoo search and found several very favorable reviews -- general consensus: great bang for the buck. and true to form, they've performed well, thus far, tho, i'd recommend upgrading the sub. another good series i found was the energy take 5.2. in fact, they were my top choice, but, well, the mirage series came available at a much cheaper price (more onthis later). i also found a klipsch series (sorry, i don't remember which one) at ultimate electronics which sounded great. they and the energy's were both 'round $800 (again, with the sub). the energy sub was, imo, the best i heard (in this price range). since my budget was in the $800's, i really didn't research higher end brands. as for installing, it's fairly easy -- a few hours of work, you drill a few holes, trim some wire -- having it pre-wired makes it a piece of pie. another quick tip -- try to find white speakers; makes the wifey happy (less obvious). and look for floor model sales -- that's how i got mine. most stores fully and totally guarantee their performance. that mirage series retailed 'round $750 and i got 'em for half that. lastly, stay away from bose -- overpriced and overrated.
If you know what you want - you can get power cheap at sell2all on ebay. Drop some pyle 4x4 amps, get a 4 channel 8 input mixer board and rack, get corner 15"s and 300 watt ceiling speakers, under $ 1000. You can even rheostat different rooms or areas for variable sound beyond the master mixer, which you can outfit with 4 band eq/channel. Upshot - dj gear works for home theatre - cheaper, more control, bigger sound. Problem - it's better to rack it. All that cable and control doesn't work well in an entertainment armoire. Damn, nothing really does - those things suck. Who wants to hide the tv and stereo, anyway?
Check out Audioreview for, well, audio reviews. Also, if you want to go the used route (which'll save you plenty), I highly recommend checking out Audiogon.
