designing my new home theatre system (1 Viewer)

[vasuvius]

Hi,


I'm new to home theater and am designing my first system. This will be placed in my basement which is roughly 13' x 16' and panelled in hard wood with a sheet rock ceiling.


I've already purchased a new TV for the room and have a Blu-Ray player as well. I'm currently working on deciding which receiver and speakers to buy.


Equipment I have so far:

TV - Panasonic TC-P50GT25 (50" Plasma 3D ready TV)

Blu-Ray Player -- Panasonic (can't recall model no. - around 3 years old now)



What I'm considering:


Receiver - Onkyo TX-NR808

Speakers - Mirage MX 5.1



Amazon currently has a good price on the Onkyo 808. There doesnt seem to be a lot of stock out there on the Mirage speakers.

The selection so far has been based on on-line reviews, forums, and the look and size of the speakers.


In addition to the HT room, I'd like to put 2 wireless stereo speakers in my living room and run off the same receiver.


Questions I have:

1. Are these speakers a good choice? What other brand/model should I consider? I'm looking to spend around $1000 (+/- 20%) on the speaker set including sub-woofer.

2. The Onkyo 808 has multi-room support. Will it support wireless speakers?

3. Given the size of the room I'm planning on using 16 gauge wire. Should I consider 14 or 12?

4. Do I need any special wiring for the Sub-woofer ?I'm getting an electrician to do the wiring in the ceiling and behind the walls and need to buy the wiring within a week.


All thoughts, advise, suggestions welcome.



Thanks

Vasu

 

[Robert_J]

1. Do the speakers sound good to you? How does the sub perform? We sometimes (a lot) recommend a 5.0 system and a sub from a separate company. There are very few speaker companies that make great subs. There are some great sub makers that now make great speakers.

2. No. Wireless speakers are not really wireless. The ones that are end up being battery powered.

3. 16 is fine.

4. I use RG-6 coax cable in the wall with F to RCA adapters on the wall plates.

 

[vasuvius]

@ Robert_J : No. I have not really heard these speakers or the sub. As I mentioned, right now, the only information I am going by is on-line reviews and feedback on the various forums.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Any reason in particular you're opting for the 808? The 708 is virtually identical to the 808 and is about $200 cheaper. 25 watts of power is not worth $200. 25 watts is miniscule and won't make an audible difference at all.

Best to save what you can on the receiver and put the extra money towards speakers. We generally recommend spending much more on speakers than on the receiver - your current budget breakdown is only slightly in favor of the speakers.

 

[vasuvius]

@Jason. Good idea on the lower model for the receiver. What would you recommend for the speakers? I need small speakers and pretty much from what I've seen online, the Mirage MX 5.1 or the Nanosat 5.1 look the neatest and seem to have good reviews Thanks, Vasu

 

[winniw]

I recommend the Mirage Nanosats over the MX series, if the little bit of added size is tolerable in your setup. Not only do the Nanos sound better than the MX's, they are less expensive too. If you read the CNET review on the Nanos, they will tell you the same thing.


I currently have a 2.1 Nano setup in a 12x14 room and I find no lack in the subwoofer, at all. Later, they will be moved to a larger room, with a vaulted ceiling and I may feel differently but there is no way to know for certain, until I do it. Right now, I am very satisfied.


Nick

 

[CB750]

Welcome Vasu


For what it is worth. When I first started to listen to 5.1 systems I went armed with lots of good reviews for the systems I was interested in. However, once the rubber hit the road It was very clear that all of the highly rated systems sounded good, that some of them sounded better to my ears than others. For example while Nick likes his Nanosats my ears tended to prefer Def Techs in that price range, so who knows which system you might like. The bottom line for me was the satellite size 5.1 systems I listed to in the $400 to $800 range did not meet my expectations based on what the reviews told me. What I found was that the smaller satellites tended to be a little weak in the mid range and that put too much of the mid range job on the subs that came with those systems that because of their smaller size they where not up to the task of filling in the mid range as well as providing a strong bass. I had to increase my budget to find what my ears were happy with.

Now don't get me wrong we all have budgets that we must live with but as Jason says you might want to redirect some of your budget and spend more on speakers than you are on a receiver as your ears will find much more difference in different models of speakers than they will detect in different receivers. I also feel that all of the reviews that I read were not much more than fluff. I think this is based on the fact that how as speaker performs is mostly a subjective evaluation, and the reviewer can't really back much with any facts. If a reviewer tries to get into saying negative things about a speaker they could find themselves sued as Consumer Reports did after doing a negative review on Bose Speakers.

The bottom line is don't trust reviews there are vast differences in how speakers sound to different people that is the reason there are so many company's making speakers all these years. If you cannot evaluate in person then make sure whom ever you purchase from has a liberal return policy that will allow you to return the speakers if you don't like they way they perform in your home.

 

[David Willow]

I suggest in addition to auditioning speakers locally, you look at online only retailers. With your budget you should have no problem getting a good package from companies like SVS or Axiom Audio. These companies make it easy to demo in your home for 30 days. If you end up not liking them, you can return them for a full refund (minus return shipping).