Help! Need advice for installing a new Home theatre set-up! (1 Viewer)

[gberg]

Hello, and thanks for taking the time to help me out!


I've only really been involved in small 2-channel set-ups for myself as I'm a student, however, my parents are moving into a new condo and my dad wants to get a nice home theatre set-up.

This HT will be done from scratch, and I'm guessing all-new and not used (his decision). I was thinking a 5.1 setup along with a nice receiver, blu-ray player and cd-player.


The tricky thing is, he's set on getting in-ceiling speakers. The room with the HT is having part of the ceiling dropped down (really a box), that will have lights, and as he's expecting, a couple in-ceiling speakers. The room is long, but there's not much space for surrounds behind whatever couch's he's putting in. Any suggestions for what kind of speakers and receiver to get would be MUCH appreciated! Should I also be convincing him to go for wall-mounted speakers rather than in-wall/in-ceiling?


Also, Is it possible to have a receiver that allows for a 2.1 set-up for music to switch (using a remote) to the HT 5.1 setup?


Thanks again.

 

[David Willow]

Hi Daniel,


Try your hardest to talk him out of in-ceiling speakers. They are the worst solution for HT. Think about it. Where do you find ceiling speakers? Not in theaters. You find them in the grocery store where they want 'background' music.


You can switch between 2.1 and 5.1 on most any modern receiver. Choose 'stereo' and you most always get 2.1.


EDIT: Here's a good guide for proper speaker placement. Good info to have 'before' you start building.


http://www.dolby.com/consumer/setup/speaker-setup-guide/index.html

 

[gberg]

Thanks Dave, I'll try my best.


What sort of solution should I be looking for? wall-mounted speakers?


Also, what speakers/receiver would you recommend.. let's say a budget of 5000-8000$.

 

[David Willow]

The best are free standing towers or bookshelf speakers. Second would be wall mounted or in-wall. Last option would be ceiling speakers. Also, try to avoid those 'cute' little satellite speakers (especially BOSE).

What kind of TV is he looking at? If he goes with a projector, he can hide the speakers behind a 'false wall' and the screen. He can get the best of both worlds - hidden speakers and great sound.


Also, see my edit to my first post (the Dolby link).

 

[gberg]

Ya that's a great link, I've used it a couple days ago. And no he'll be buying a LED tv.


In my opinion, I think he should go with a standard 5.1 setup, except the 2 surrounds should be wall-mounted speakers.

Unless.. would it be better to use 2 bookshelf speakers? Perhaps I could get him to install something on the wall to hold them.

 

[David Willow]

Is the $5-8k budget for everything or just for speakers? Also, are you in the U.S.?

 

[gberg]

I'm in Canada, and the budget should be for everything, receiver, blu-ray player, cd player as well

 

[David Willow]

Internet direct speakers will give you more for less. I would start by going to local specialty shops and listen to every speaker you can. Then I would suggest checking out ID speakers like Axiom (a great Canadian company) and SVS (Sonicboom in Canada).

With your budget, you will want to spend more on the sub ($1000+ - SVS highly recommended here), then speakers ($1500+), receiver (500+ - no need to spend big bucks here unless you really need a feature on a more expensive model), then the blu-ray. In other words, you should spend more on the sub and speakers than the rest of the gear.


Also, there no reason to spend the upper end of the budget just because you can. If you find something you like, get it.

Good luck.

 

[gberg]

Thanks Dave, I was just wondering what information I would need to know when matching a sub and speakers? Are there some that don't go well together?


Same thing for receivers and the speakers, what sort of specs should I be matching them up with.

 

[David Willow]

You can get just about any sub, no need to timbre match with the rest of the speakers. You can also get a sub mostly based on specs and reputation - unlike speakers which you should listen to.

It is similar for your receiver. Some folks say they hear a difference with different receivers. IMO, it is so slight (if you can hear it at all) that it make no difference. Choose the receiver based on the features you 'need' (HDMI inputs, phono, etc.). Don't worry about the power - even 50 watts difference is not that much. The big thing you have to keep in mind is the impedance (Ohms) of your speakers. If you go with 4 ohm speakers, make sure the receiver is rated for them. If you get 6 or 8 ohm (the most common), than it does not matter.


Good luck.