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Need A Reciver/Amp And 5.1 Set-Up For A Cavernous Room! (1 Viewer)

Dave Simpson

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 18, 1999
Messages
445
Normally, making a recommendation for a receiver or an amp/pre-pro combo is an easy thing to do for most of us here, but in this case, I'm stumped, so I turn to the rest of you. My brother is claiming a sudden interest in surround sound for his home, but I fear his room may be a real bear in which to work. Here's the rub: his room is friggin' huge: about 50' by 25', and completely open; no obstructions, but he only wants surround sound in a portion of the room (the tv viewing area, natch; lets say about a third the size of the room). I fear that he's going to need some serious amplification in order to achieve the sort of performance that most of us enjoy in smaller living rooms or basements.
So here's what I need, then: can you suggest a muscular receiver or amp/pre-pro combo and a 5.1 speaker set-up? To make matters more difficult, his budget is no higher than $3000CDN (about $2000USD), and as we are in Canada, on-line sales (Outlaw, any web-order) are pretty well out of the question. We'll worry about a display device later. Thanks for your help, gang, and cheers!

DS.
 

Dave Simpson

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 18, 1999
Messages
445
Duh...can one of you swell mods kindly repair my moronic spelling of the word "receiver" in the header? Thanks!

DS.
 

Kenny WH

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 27, 2000
Messages
50
Dave,
Maybe a combo of efficient speakers and a decently powerful receiver would do the trick.
You could go with some Klipsch Reference series speakers, depending on how much he wants to spend, you can go with a small bookshelf speaker like the RB-3's that will do around 94db with one watt, or all the way to the large RF-7's that will do 102db with one watt.
http://www.klipsch.com/
I personally have the complete Reference 7 series theater system in a 22x23 theater and it gets LOUD and sound clean and clear doing it running off my Denon AVR-5800 which realistically puts out around 130watts per channel.
You could drive these with a smaller high quality high-current receiver, and still get loud. You might want to check the Klipsch forum for receiver suggestions.
I would say with a room that big, getting decent bass will be the biggest obstacle. Multiple subs would likely be a good route. In my 22x23 theater I'm running dual SVS Ultra's, and they provide plenty of bass for that size room. I would say two fairly large displacement subs would get him started in the right direction.
SVS makes a couple of larger subs that when used in pairs would be a good choice.
Good Luck,
Ken
 

Michael Roderiques

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 25, 1999
Messages
174
If he is a bit flexible and not looking for too much. try a NAD T-761 and some klipsch speakers for a start point.

You should be able to find the T-761's at a good price and with klipsch speakers, you should be able to fill the room with sound. and this should leave some cash for a sub too. I know that Velodynes are a bit expensive in Canada, but the CHT-15 would be a good sub to add to this set up
 

Jason Hammerly

Supporting Actor
Joined
Oct 28, 1999
Messages
739
Where is the room you are setting up the HT? Is it in the basement. The best thing to do is put up some walls to make the room more manageable. That would be my ides. Is that an option?
 

Patrick TX

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Messages
205
I have the same sort of room, a nightmare! It is 40' long, 30'w, 15' ceiling, painted wood paneling, & Mexican TILE FLOORS! 7 Freakin windows!
Talk about a pain in the @$$ room. I HAD a HK AVR75, pushing Definitive Technology ProTower 400's, ProCenter C2, & Definitive BP1X's. SUCKED like you could not imagine! NOW, I have a hoss Receiver. Sony DA777ES, 120W "push pull, high current amplification" to all channels. That was my best upgrade, period. I also have a set of Klipsch RP'5's, (towers, with 12" 550 watt powered subs in each one), a Klipsch RC3II center (MAJOR, compared to the old Definitive), and a pair of B&W LM1's for the rear (oh so sweet). NOW, my Gymnasium ROCKS & BUMPS! BUT, we are over your pricepoint. The speakers were $999, $214, & $250 respectively. The Receiver was a CHUNK at retail. I got it "open box" at Tweeter for $450. I'll say this, these Klipsches are LOUD! I could never drive the Definitives to even halfway volume. They are efficient as well, not needing too much power. I would suggest staying away from Dipole/bipole?whateverpole speakers with that room. Nowehere for the sound to bounce off of. Stick with direct radiating. I should have our virtual tour up on Link Removed soon. You can see the damn room, maybe get some ideas. Let me know, & I'll PM you a link when it's up.
 

Kenny WH

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jun 27, 2000
Messages
50
Dave,
Another choice for large rooms would be Axioms:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/store.html . They are more in line with your budget than the big Klipsches I recommended earlier.
They are in Canada and offer free shipping in N.America.
Check out the Epic 60 and 80 Theater Packages which are around $2000(US). They include a pair of towers in front, center channel, dipole surrounds and a sub.
I've not personally heard these but they have been getting a lot of good reviews. They are efficient so they should be well suited to large rooms.
Good luck,
Kenny
 

Pablo Abularach

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 27, 2002
Messages
526
Dave,

I think your best options is AXIOM,

I also agree that the EPIC 60 could be your best option due to your budget. And save a little more for a reciever, probably Harman Kardon AVR 520 or Marantz 6200.

Another option you could consider can be JBL, very good speakers for the money,

CENTER S center $141
FRONTS S312 $250 each = $500
SURROUNDS S38 $280
SVS 20-39 PCI = $550
RECIEVER Harman Kardon AVR520 = $620

So you will have a complete system for about $2100, plus shipping.

Hope this helps,
Pablo Abularach
 

Mike LS

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jun 29, 2000
Messages
838
This may not be what comes to most folks mind, but PSB makes some pretty good speakers, even for large rooms.

I'm fixing to outfit a 20' x 40' room with PSB Image speakers. I've demoed them in a room that's about 2/3 that size and the sound was amazing.
Since those are Canadian made, you should be able to find some great deals online.

Bass is going to be your biggest problem in that size room. I'm spending the entire budget you've mentioned just on subs. I'm going with 4 20-39CS's with 350w per sub. Theoretically that should give me up to 115db of clean output in that size room.

For the money that's allocated, I'd dare say that you're not going to get a killer system for a room that size. I'd almost suggest waiting until there's more money available for a system that's better suited for a room that size.
 

Rommel_L

Second Unit
Joined
Apr 25, 2000
Messages
355
Like some of the other guys have suggested, go for a decent receiver and efficient speakers. I would suggest spending 1100-1400 (CDN $) on the receiver and the rest on speakers. Look in the Klipsch, Paradigm (Monitor Series) and PSB line for speakers.

Good luck on your decisions...

-RL-
 

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