I've been told that folks here can help me spend some $$ (1 Viewer)

Baht man · Jun 5, 2015

Back in the good ole days in Houston my setup included a "new" Yamaha RXV-1, 2 pair of Pioneer 6 way's from VN, a pair of mismatched subs and centers and surrounds located as highs.

How was I to know, fresh from the paddies?

Mismatched as the were, and no auto room eq. or SPL everything was done by ear and, to me and friends, sounded bad ass.

Now I find myself chillin' back overseas just finishing up the new house.

I picked up a 65" Sony 4K 3D display and now's the time to take off the safety and get ready to pull the trigger on some audio gear to bring this place to life.

Currently I'm searching dealers in BKK to identify what AVR's and speakers are available at a fair price as there are no dealers where I live. Import duties here are high, so I'm comparing prices here to Amazon and Crutchfield for similarities.

Plans are to fly to BKK in a week or so to do some auditioning.

Hopefully in the next few days I'll have a decent list of components put together and ask for your assistance and input on what's best for my particular situation.

Budget is somewhere near 10-15K depending on what's needed.

I'll attach a room plan and elevation drw'g. cuz I know you'll need it.

This post may be a bit premature but I'm actively engaged in this process and want to get a jump start.

Acoustics will be an issue here as houses are made from concrete block with concrete rendered walls and tile over the slab.

I'll deal with that as it arises in another topic.

Orig. plans called for a 9.2 but placing rears in this layout would dictate an elevation of about 10' and about 11' behind the MLP.

I've since dropped down to a 7.2 using front high's.

50/50 music movies.

I'm pre-wired to the locations noted on the drw'g's either under the tile or overhead with good 12ga. wire

For starters...

Given the room size, how much juice will I be needing to get this right the first time?

Thanks in advance for any and all input..

schan1269 · Jun 5, 2015

This is always my answer...

Tower speakers in all positions.

Just throw some rugs down. Gorgeous room though...

See if you can find Waterfall Audio(Victoria, Iguascu and Elora)...then you'll really "get" the idea of towers everywhere...

Baht man · Jun 5, 2015

No such luck finding such exotic style speakers here.

Hell, I've never heard of them till you posted.

Interesting look though.

Just what the Ms. needs, more glass to clean.

Thanks for the response though.

Baht man · Jun 5, 2015

schan1269 said:
Tower speakers in all positions.

Your suggesting towers front and surrounds?

schan1269 · Jun 5, 2015

Yep. The only install...is putting them on the floor.

Baht man · Jun 5, 2015

Mains sure, rears sure, but I'm not using any.

Highs, Yea, right. I don't think so, even if I could get them here.

Quite honestly I was expecting more informative responses from this forum other then "Tower speakers in all positions.".

Maybe I should have headed this "New system setup help needed" for some serious opinions.

schan1269 · Jun 6, 2015

Part of the problem...we have no idea what is available to you.

Most AVR Will not do center speaker without rears. Onkyo went that route 4 years ago. You can't select center, at all, without rears.

I've not tried on any of my current if any of them will allow height...without rears.

What brands of stuff do you have access to?

DJVan · Jun 7, 2015

I'm not an expert ... more a noob, as I've always used BOSE lifestyle, which is easy to place.

Still use BOSE for the living and the master bedroom.

Now I'm going to do a HT in my semi basement, and am having some of your problems Mike.

e.g. the sidewalls are too close for my 120" or 135" screen (MLP is at 3/4m and the room width is only 5m), and I do not have a back wall (it is at 16m).

I was considering a 7.2 layout with High Fronts, and my Harman Kardon AVR 370 could do it without rears (in Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding), instead of that the side speakers will be at 15° on the sides behind the MLP.

You've got a nice living room, but I might agree that at least the side speakers should be standing, as you do not have neither side walls, nor ceiling there.

And sorry, but I doubt that it is wise spending 10/15k for equipment that would need a different environment.

Baht man · Jun 8, 2015

Thanks, but I'm not sure what you mean by

"spending money on eq. that would need a different environment."

My house is here and I be put in the ground here as well.

Please explain.

Thanks for input on towers for surrounds. $$$$

Now according to Sam in a prior post you won't be able to use your center speaker if you don't have rears.

.

Personally, I'd like to ask him how not using rears would cut off the center channel, but why waste my time. Brain freeze maybe?

DJVan · Jun 8, 2015

Baht man said:
Thanks, but I'm not sure what you mean by

"spending money on eq. that would need a different environment."

My house is here and I be put in the ground here as well.

Please explain.

To keep it simple, I meant you have a living room with irregular walls/layout ... and it will never be a walled square/rectangular HT ... this does affect your sound. Perfect sound requires a perfect environment.

For that reason I thought your investment just for the equipment was rather high.

I think you can do a great job with less. Especially as you do not know how the acoustics will be until you've installed everything in your own living. With some GREAT budget equipment you could test until some extend, and "hear" where improvement might be needed.

But this is my personal way of doing things.

Baht man said:
Thanks for input on towers for surrounds. $$$$

You might be able to have a couple of these shipped to you if you cannot buy local (just an example of great value speakers).
For 7.1 you can add two regular TSi100 surround speakers (maybe used ?).
On the other hand I'm happy with my Harman Kardon receiver and speakers for which I paid less then € 1500 all in.

You might want to split your budget to let us know what you would like to spend on each part.

Baht man said:
Now according to Sam in a prior post you won't be able to use your center speaker if you don't have rears. .

Personally, I'd like to ask him how not using rears would cut off the center channel, but why waste my time. Brain freeze maybe?

My receiver (and many recent 7.1 receivers) can use Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding which replaces the rear surround with the High Front,

I don't know why Sam made his statement.

I myself am considering using high front due to my HT layout.

vidiot33 · Jun 8, 2015

I'd consider some bass traps and other room treatments. Regardless of what gear you buy, you're room will need some help to sound its best. GIK offers free room analysis, well worth checking out.

DJVan · Jun 8, 2015

A "GIK" in Thailand will do much more than "analyze your room"

Bet the GIK you mean does not visit at all in Thailand.

vidiot33 · Jun 8, 2015

The consultation is online/over the phone using room layout and pix. I would assume that they would ship there.

Baht man · Jun 8, 2015

vidiot33 said:
I'd consider some bass traps and other room treatments. Regardless of what gear you buy, you're room will need some help to sound its best. GIK offers free room analysis, well worth checking out.

Shipping here would probably double the price and I'd get a wack from customs (if the even passed thru and didn't end up as "personal property".) Things have been known to mysteriously disappear here.

I'll check with them none the less and possible get some ideas, but I'll probably end up making them myself.

Baht man · Jun 8, 2015

DJVan said:
To keep it simple, I meant you have a living room with irregular walls/layout ... and it will never be a walled square/rectangular HT ... this does affect your sound. Perfect sound requires a perfect environment.

For that reason I thought your investment just for the equipment was rather high.

I think you can do a great job with less. Especially as you do not know how the acoustics will be until you've installed everything in your own living. With some GREAT budget equipment you could test until some extend, and "hear" where improvement might be needed.

But this is my personal way of doing things.

10-15K was max. if needed but I like your way of doing things as well. Someone here said "towers at all positions" which would dictate a larger budget. My MLP is 1/2 the room depth. and I don't know if I have to fill the whole room or just concentrate on the MLP.

You might be able to have a couple of these shipped to you if you cannot buy local (just an example of great value speakers).
For 7.1 you can add two regular TSi100 surround speakers (maybe used ?).
On the other hand I'm happy with my Harman Kardon receiver and speakers for which I paid less then € 1500 all in.

Shipping, as noted is very expensive and hit and miss on deliveries and I've not been able to find any used gear here. .

You might want to split your budget to let us know what you would like to spend on each part.

My receiver (and many recent 7.1 receivers) can use Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding which replaces the rear surround with the High Front,

I don't know why Sam made his statement.

I myself am considering using high front due to my HT layout.

Baht man · Jun 8, 2015

I'm pre wired for 9.2 to future proof if I needed rears, and may have to go with wireless active subs based on the acoustics.

Someone here said "towers in all positions"

The surrounds are quite far from the MLP and would have to be large enough to be effective.

Rears, if used, have the same issues.

9.2 AVR's that are price competitive here are the:

Yamaha RX A series, (RX V in 7.2)

Pioneer SC LX series

Onkyo TX NR 929 and 1030

Marantz SR 7009

Denon X5200w

Speakers consist of some:

Polk Audio Rti A5 and 7s' and possibly TSi series.

Kef Q series

JBL Studio's

MA's BX6 and RX8

Paradigm Monitor 9 v.7

I may also be able to get some Velodyne subs.

I've been told more than once that I tend to over complicate things, so please bear with me here. I'm turning (more) grey over this and don't want to do it over. There are no "take it back if you don't like it" here. All warranties are limited to 1 year, regardless of mfg. Ship it to BKK on my nickel and wait an eternity. Auditioning in an acoustically improved room, while mines not?

There are certainly numerous advantages for living where you are.

Any and all responses and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

DJVan · Jun 9, 2015

Baht man said:
I'm pre wired for 9.2 to future proof if I needed rears, and may have to go with wireless active subs based on the acoustics.

Someone here said "towers in all positions"

The surrounds are quite far from the MLP and would have to be large enough to be effective.

Rears, if used, have the same issues.

The side surround speakers will be 15° behind your MLP (3.5m from center) and should be towers. The distance; I don't think that they are far away, especially with the equipment you plan to install ... I have the reverse issue, my sides are too close. Your layout will at least respect the distances in all directions (a circle 3.5 m from MLP). Front Highs and Rear (9.1) will be against the respective walls Center and Fronts could be on the shelves (Fronts could also be towers, but I find them disturbing).

Note that with 9.1 rear speakers are mandatory.

Baht man said:
9.2 AVR's that are price competitive here are the:
Yamaha RX A series, (RX V in 7.2)
Pioneer SC LX series
Onkyo TX NR 929 and 1030
Marantz SR 7009
Denon X5200w

Speakers consist of some:
Polk Audio Rti A5 and 7s' and possibly TSi series.
Kef Q series
JBL Studio's
MA's BX6 and RX8
Paradigm Monitor 9 v.7

I would pick the Yamaha RX-A2040 ... has Dolby Atmos (5.1.4 ch), Wifi, 4K pass, 3D, etc. This one can do 9.2 with rears or 7.2 without rears. ... and a Zone-2 if needed, and has the power. If you want to invest in speakers I'd go Polk TSi all the way.

The speakers will last 4/5 times longer than the receiver, due to tecnology.

Baht man said:
I may also be able to get some Velodyne subs.

The Velodyne Wi-Q 12 are awesome, but at about a third of the price you could get the Harman Kardon HKTS 220 sub/230

with practically the same result.

Velodine:
Conice Electronic Co., Ltd.
No.4, Soi Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Junction 2
Din Daeng
Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Phone: +66 2 277 6912
Fax : +66 2 275 7023
Email : [email protected]

Harmon Kardon:

Home Audio Products
M.I. Engineering Co., Ltd.
46 Mahajak Building 4th Floor,
Sukhumvit Soi 3 (Nana-Nua),
Klongtoey Nua., Wattana,
Bangkok 10110, Thailand.
Phone: +66 2 2543316-9
Fax: +66 2 253 1696

Baht man said:
I've been told more than once that I tend to over complicate things, so please bear with me here. I'm turning (more) grey over this and don't want to do it over. There are no "take it back if you don't like it" here. All warranties are limited to 1 year, regardless of mfg. Ship it to BKK on my nickel and wait an eternity. Auditioning in an acoustically improved room, while mines not?

Just trying to advise ... the decision is yours

All above mentioned can be bought in Bankok. Don't know what you mean by the above highlighted phrase.

Baht man said:
There are certainly numerous advantages for living where you are.

Agreed, the availability is infinite, both in Italy as well as in Spain.

I'm sure you HT will be kick ass ... and it will still look like a living room (if you don't put towers all over the place

)

In your case I would get white components, but they are harder to get and sometimes more expensive.

Jason Charlton · Jun 9, 2015

Baht man said:
Quite honestly I was expecting more informative responses from this forum other then "Tower speakers in all positions.".

Baht man said:
10-15K was max. if needed but I like your way of doing things as well. Someone here said "towers at all positions"

Baht man said:
Someone here said "towers in all positions"

Don't knock what may be unfamiliar to you.

The concept of having identical speakers in all positions is a sound one (pun intended). I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of "timbre-matching" - though most often, the discussion of timbre-matching is limited to the front three speakers. Why shouldn't it apply across the board?

Center speakers are a different design because in most cases the speaker needs to be placed below (or above) the display, so a horizontal orientation is required. That affects the dispersion of sound and thus careful consideration needs to be made to ensure consistent timbre. Going with a front projection setup with an acoustically transparent screen is the best way to remove this common compromise - just place three identical tower speakers behind the screen and no timbre-problems exist.

Again, if this is the goal across the front, why shouldn't it be the goal throughout your home theater?

Budget limitations are the most frequent reason this approach doesn't suit everybody - however, your budget of 10-15k (without display), IMO, would certainly place you into the realm where decent towers could be used at more than just the mains.

If it's not an approach you're interested in pursuing, that's fine - but don't assume that because it's unconventional, there's no merit behind this approach.

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