Building HT - Advice on speakers/receiver (1 Viewer)

[mikefromtheboat]

I am in the framing stage of a basement HT. I have been trying to place an order on speakers so I can plan accordingly. I want to do in-wall. (I Know - most of you don't like these). I want them for a nice sleek look in the room and the room is smaller, so I think it will be fine overall. I am not an audiophile (sp?), I just want to enjoy shows and movies with nice surround sound at affordable pricing. I don't need top of the line, but I want it to be moderately impressive to friends.

In-wall speakers are hard to shop for when on a budget. Some of you have recommended Dayton. Here is what I am thinking (none of this is bought yet, so all still up for debate). Your thoughts are encouraged.

- 55-60" Plasma (not yet determined brand/model)

- Onkyo TX-SR608 - on sale for 399 which seems like a great model for fair price

- Hooking up your standard stuff: HD Cable box, Blue Ray, Nintendo Wii, PS3


- Center Channel: on sale $131 -- US520MTM 5-1/4" MTM LCRS in-wall speaker

- L/R: US620W 6.5 2-way in-wall: pair: $168

- Rear: I could do more of the 6.5 and put them on the rear side walls facing in to the room. Or, I could do a pair of ceiling speakers, thinking maybe these: US850C 8" LCRS 15 degree angled ceiling speaker, which are 250 for a pair.


I have a spot I can put a subwoofer behind a wall and do a grate (cold air return looking thing) to hide the woofer. I was thinking of just putting one back there, and not "building" it into the wall, but I could do that if I had good directions/installation instructions from someone's post. I was hoping to stay low end price-wise for subwoofer ($250 max for powered sub). Would you do a Dayton? Or do you have recommendations? thinking probably 10"


So, I was thinking for receiver plus 5 speakers and sub maybe: $900-1,000. I know most of you would say I need to spend more, but please give me suggestions within 10-25% of my numbers!

- I really appreciate the help


The room is 15x13, in the basement, and currently all walls are studded and exposed, ready for me to run electrical and speaker wires.

 

[Robert_J]

The optimum setup is identical speakers all around. Why not the US520MTM for the LCR speakers? It's a little more expensive but better in the long run.


Surrounds, I'd go with the 6.5" speakers in the walls. In-ceiling only work well if you are sitting under it.


Are you talking about hiding a regular sub behind a return vent? What if the sub is rear ported? Which end faces the room, driver or port? What is on the other side of this wall? I'm assuming not much if you are willing to cut a hole large enough for a sub. Why not an IB sub? You can pick up a Dayton 240w plate amp for $99 and build a manifold to hold a pair of 12's like the RE REX 12 D4's ($108/pair on Ebay) or the RE SRI 12 D4 ($193/pair and a better choice).