Brand New Basement Home Theater (1 Viewer)

[Dave!]

Hello, I am renovating a large basement, and it's a few weeks from the walls going up. I would love to get your advice on how to setup the home theater:

Some boundaries:
1. Sorry, I really want in-wall speakers, unless someone can provide a viable alternative in which speakers won't affect large non-home-theater gatherings at all.
2. Video source is LCD projector. Again, sorry, but the video needs to be visible to 50-60 people, and so visibility is more important than accuracy.
3. Sorry #3 - I have a very limited budget. I really just want cheap stuff that is barely acceptable. I know how great an all-out hi-end system can sound, but it's not a viable option. I am thinking mass-fi level...sound quality along the lines of Radio Shack Linaeums or Energy Take 5.
4. The room is large: 20' x 30' or so.

Some perplexing questions:
1. Are there any good in-wall speakers? I've never looked into in-wall before.
2. Also, are there any subwoofer solutions that are invisible? I would love to get that in-wall Sunfire sub, but it's way expensive. My other crazy scheme is to get the Hsu 1220 and lay it down sideways under the screen. But I think this will surely get rejected by other parties in this renovation!
3. Should I do 5.1, 6.1, 6.2 or what's a good standard right now?
4. Any good all-in-one receivers? I have a Sherwood Newcastle in another setup, and it sounds just great. But perhaps this large setup will require a bigger one?

Do you have any tips for someone who is not a novice to audio (I have had many decent 2-channel setups, up to entry-level exotics including Spectral, Krell, etc, and I've had some home theater setups, including an NHT system and my current Gallo Micro system). However, I have no idea what I'm doing with this new basement, especially about wiring, choice of gear (big, powerful, cheap...but I'm used to small-scale and a bit nicer stuff), video, etc.

I would appreciate any help...thank you in advance!

 

[Philip Hamm]

Dave,

There are lots of fine in-wall speakers available, they run the gamut from cheap to expensive as with all audio equipment. I am having a new tract house built and facing some of the same things that you're facing. In my case, my home builder contracts with a local installtion company for all low-voltage wiring including in-wall speaker wiring and speakers.

If you're having contractors do your framing and drywall you'll want to put the wires in the wall yourself. NOTE: make sure you adhere to local electrocial code!!! this may make it better to have someone else do it! I'm not putting in-wall main speakers in so I can't really address that concern very well.

However, I am installing subwoofers in my walls. I am using a product called "The Stud Woofer" from a company called "OEM Systems". Here is a PDF of the installation manual for "The Stud Woofer". Here is a link to the best price I found, $179. This is an on-wall sub that is designed to use the wall space between two standard 16" apart studs as an enclosure. It can be set up either as an infinite baffle or as a ported unit. I plan on putting two of these in my wall, one on top of the other, and setting them up ported. I do not know how well they will work, but I'm gonna try. The sub is not powered, and there is a dual voice coil version which may be better for your installation.

OEM Systems has a lot of good in-wall speakers and they sell the rough-in framing pieces also, do some searches for "The Stud Woofer" and look around; you'll find lots of good stuff.

Parts Express has lots of stuff, too.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

but the video needs to be visible to 50-60 people,

Cripes! That is a theater!

Check out some of the in-wall stuff at www.partsexpress.com.

 

[Glenise]

50-60 people.
How many chairs are you going to have?

Also, Mirage (Energy's sister company) has in wall speakers.
http://www.miragespeakers.com/inwllspk.shtml
I've only used their standing speakers but I'm sure the in wall ones are nice.

Here is Energy's in wall speakers.
http://www.energy-speakers.com/verit...speakers1.html