PIONEER VSX-1019AH-K RECEIVER - Need Wall Mount Speaker System for 13x21 Room

Hello,

My new house has a 13x21 TV room that is prewired through the walls for a wall mounted 5.1 or 7.1 system.  The distance from the TV to the couch is the 21ft distance.  I have placed a deposit on a Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K Reciever and now need a set of speakers to complete the package.

I am looking for a set of speakers with high sound quality (vocals, etc) and great bass on a budget up to $800 although I would love to get something cheaper than that.  I am no crazy "audiophile" or anything so if I can get away with a set that will seem awesome to the lamen, I am interested.

Please provide some suggestions!

Thanks,

Rob

Where are the mount points in the room?  Ideally you want the couch near the center of the room, the surround speakers to the side of couch, rear surrounds to the rear.

wall-mountable speaker possibilities:  (I'd only mount surrounds, use stands for front)
- Energy c-50s for surrounds, possibly larger C-series for front 3. (audioadvisor or wwstereo). 
Add edesignaudio.com eD A2-300 for sub, $350.  Total cost in $600-700 range depending exactly what you pick and 5.1 vs. 7.1

-thespeakercompany.com has some 7.1 systems, e.g. TS6112 for that price.

The room is set up oddly and which makes putting the couch in the middle very awkward looking.  Plus, the current owner wired all of the speakers in the corners.  Here is a diagram of the way the room is currently set up.


I checked out the Paradigm Cinema 70 CT package at 6th Ave Electronics last night and it sounded great with only being connected to a $200 receiver.  What are your thoughts on this speaker brand?

Paradigm --- good reputation in general, but the ones I recommended have bigger subwoofers that'll reach lower & get you bigger impact.  Cinema 70 is for maybe a smaller room.

Unfortunately the owner didn't really know what he was doing from a home theater perspective.  Normally you'd want seating in the middle, surrounds mounted above fire place and the french doors.  The rear surrounds for 7.1 on the wall opposite the TV.  Wouldn't wall mount the fronts.  I'd personally add wiring/mounts for  the side surrounds, but if you are not fanatic about it, can just live with the rear corner for the surrounds and accept the suboptimal placement.

I do think that 21 feet is way too far away for viewing a normal flat panel; I'd want at least a 120" front projector setup at that distance.  Putting seating in the middle, at 10 feet, is already like watching from the very back row of a movie theater.  Watching from 21 feet is like trying to see the movie from the ticket booth.  Maybe your existing couch doesn't look good in the middle, but perhaps you could go with some chairs in the middle, which can face the TV for viewing, or swing around to face the couch when you are entertaining guests.

Maybe I should wait until we move in to take the plunge into the home theater purchase.  I can see if there are some adjustments that can be made since we will be painting and I can possibly change then place of the speakers at that time.

Besides that, do you own any speakers from the speakercompany.com?  It kind of reminds me of Bob's Discount Furniture or Ikea - seems great looks great until you have owned it for a few months.

Also, do you have reccomendations on which online stores have the best rates?

I don't own TSC speakers personally.  I recommended based on the positive reviews I've read on other forums/sites, and lack of negative comments at those sites (other than shipping mishaps more the fault of UPS).  Plus they have 30 day return, including return shipping, as long as you keep all the packing material, so it's basically zero risk if you end up not being too impressed.  Speakers tend to be subject to personal taste so YMMV.

Sounds like a good enough deal - I will check it out.  Just wondering, but what equipment would you reccomend for the 120" projection setup?  I have absolutely NO knowledge on that subject at all.

I'm not the member to ask about front projection.  Go to the displays section of this forum and ask there.  There are also projector-centric sites like projectorcentral.com

Thanks - 6th Ave is having big sales on Paradigm right now - you can get the cinema 70 for $486 and the 90 for $636!

Ok guys - I have started to narrow things down as much as am able with my limited knowledge base.

Receiver Choices:

Pioneer VSX-819HK $280
(vanns)
or
Pioneer VSX-919AH-k $350 (newegg)
*I am leaning towards this bc of the video up conversion reviews were great and since I will be using 5.1 in the theater I think that means I will be able to use the other two channels for another zone?)

Speakers:

Fronts - Energy C200 $150/pr
Center - Energy CC100 $150
Surrounds - Energy C100 $99/pr
(audioadvisor)

Subwoofer - Elemental Designs ED A2 300 $350

Total $1029-$1099

What do you guys think?? It sounds good to me on paper but I don't know much about the technical side of it all.

Please advise!

Thanks,

Rob

Definitely good choices on paper IMO.  Sound quality is rather subjective, the only thing that counts in the end is how it sounds to you.  Let us know how it works out.

As I've said in other threads, the Energy C series speakers are very laid-back IMO. I prefer a soft, warmer sound and even I had to decrease the bass a bit and increase the treble a bit more in order to get more mid-range out of them. But these are very well made speakers and are an excellent value at those prices.

Will these speakers definitely be powerful enough to fill the room?  Also, which reciever out of those two would you choose?

Unless you listen at insane levels they should be O.K. I had my C-50's hooked up in stereo mode in a 20 X 14.5 room and thought they were fine. The Pioneer 918 was tested by some magazine last year and they said it really only put out 35-40 wpc but that should still be adequate.

I would go with the 918. Much better MCACC and quite a few other up-grades. Here's a comparison chart, if the link works. Looks like it didn't.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone - I've decided that I just don't feel comfortable buying without auditioning any of these speakers.  I am going to find some AV stores nearby that carry quality brands so I can test everything out.

On another forum it was reccomended since this is a huge room that I go with the highest quality L/R Floorstanding speakers I can afford with a reciever and after that is purchased then add a high quality center then surrounds then sub (or 2) piece by piece as I save more $$. 

This route seems to fit my buying characteristics a bit better as I have learned my lesson in the past in buying something of lesser quality and then having to replace much quicker.  I would rather spend my money effectively the first time around than buy something I will outgrow very quickly. 

I also learned that I should clarify my use of this system a bit better.  I listen to 50% HT and 50% music with the majority being both action movies/sports and alternative/rock/hard rock.  I want a system that reproduces a sound that is tight a crisp with a full sound the envelopes the listener.  I also enjoy being able to "feel" the sound much like you would in a high end car audio system. 

Now, I realize this would requiere an inordinate amount of funds to acheive so I am of course willing to settle for a lesser product in terms of the "feel" rating but I would like to get as close as I can without it requiring a personal loan!

Thanks! 

That can be really difficult these days in some areas.  Like in my area, San Jose, CA, 6 years ago when I was shopping for my HDTV there were a bunch of stores I'd go to in order to check out TVs/audio equipment/speakers.  At least 5 of them have since gone out of business.  All I'm left with is Best Buy & Fry's.  There are some custom shops left but they don't have showrooms full of equipment, it's all by appointment, special order, limited selection on hand.  The stores just couldn't compete vs. both Best Buy/internet.  So we as a group of consumers have gotten what our dollars voted for, cheap prices but no stores to audition.  So to get good value and selection, you may have to test in your own home, ship the speakers back if you don't like them.  Just have to research the vendor's return policies, what you lose on shipping if anything, restocking fees, etc. and decide whether you are comfortable taking on that risk to perhaps get a bargain vs. the local AV store.


Floorstanding speakers are somewhat busting your stated budget.  Also the argument against them, if you are going to get sub(s) eventually, is that the sub handles the low bass better, and can be optimized in terms of room placement, while the floorstanders are kind of stuck where they are.  If you are going to end up crossing over at 80hz for the sub anyway, you aren't making use of the extra bass response of the floorstanding vs. smaller bookshelves.  Some people like the look of floorstanders though, and they do eliminate the need to buy stands.

If you do go the floorstanding route, I still recommend getting a center at the same time, because you really want the front 3 to be a matching set.  If you wait the company might change designs on you etc. & the matching center won't be available.