Home theater from scratch (1 Viewer)

[Canes7922]

I hate to bother everyone with newbie questions but I am having difficulty researching exactly what I need. Most forum questions I have seen have a part of my questions answered, but that only adds to the confusion. Since everyones room size, budget and experience is different, I figured id give this a try. Here goes. I have a finished basement roughly 27 feet long by 20 feet deep. I am planning on splitting the room for a projector and a pool table since I have two columns that make this room difficult to lay out. I have decided to purchase an Epson 8350 because of reviews and my neighbors picture is very nice. I would like a fixed screen but am confused by the many types. As far as speakers go, I am completely clueless. My budget for a receiver and speakers is around 1,000. Reviews I have seen show that the Denon AVR 1912 is a good midlevel choice. At 500 that leaves roughly 500 for speakers. I would like all in wall components if possible. I plan on having a component shelf in the rooms corner. Im trying to build slowly, but would like a projector/ beginner surround setup that sounds decent, As money comes I would replace speakers as necessary. After reading a few posts I know 500 isnt enough for a great system. I am looking for something to build onto but would like a complete set now. Since you have a little backround here are a few questions: - What screen would you recommend in the 500 price range for 120"? - Of 1000 dollar audio budget, what components should I spend more for knowing that when I get the chance, I would replace the speakers/receiver for better quality? - which would be a better setup 5.1 or 7.1? - Since the room will be split, the right side wall will be 12 feet away from the right most seat. Can i put the side speakers in the ceiling? If so, where do the rears go because I cant put them on the back wall? -Someone recommended Monoprice. Would anyone recommend getting there speakers to start? Is there any one speaker/subwoofer to pay more for? I am not an avid audio addict obviously. I thought my crappy panasonic theater in a box sounded good. Please keep that in mind! Thank you for thet help in advance.. Mike

 

[Al.Anderson]

You have a lot going on in that post. I can only hit a few. Putting speakers in the ceiling is a bad choice, it makes good speakers sound average. Don't do it if you can help it. I'm not following your theater area room layout. But if by splitting you mean you'll wind up with a 13.5x20 theater area, then you do not need 7.1 for that space. Not that it wouldn't be nice, but you can and should add them later, given your budget. You are buying too much receiver for your budget. The receiver should be about 1/3 of the budget, so say ~$300. It's also the piece that's most easily replaced, and has the least impact on the sound. Ther are decent receivers for $300, especially this time of year, so that shouldn't be a problem. If it were me, I'd just go with a satellite set that includes a decent sub. Then you can avoid installing wall speakers that you'll want to replace later anyway. Say something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-HKTS-15-High-Performance-6-Piece/dp/B000K818SA/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322830242&sr=1-11 This is assuming you'll just be watching movies, and not playing music as a primary use. And if you are playing music, then the layout will be all wrong anyway. Better to go with different speakers on a channel-B. But if you don't like satellites for some reason, then given the $700 you'd then have for speakers, I would emphasize the subwoofer. Allocate around $300-350 for the sub, and fill in with workman speakers, say something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Polk-Audio-RC65i-2-Way-Speakers/dp/B00005T3C8/ref=sr_1_85?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322830862&sr=1-85 For the sub, look at SVS or Bic.