Newbie Qs (1 Viewer)

[Jason GT]

Long time lurker, first time poster. A quick stint at a cousin's place has convinced me -- I'd like a HT
I'd like to start a HT system, and I'm starting pretty much from zero:
Toshiba SD-2800 DVD player
Toshiba 4-head VCR
pair of crappy *old* bookshelf speakers (possible surrounds at best)
I am buying a new TV, have my heart set on Sony KV27-fs100. Beyond that I have 1500-2000 CAN to spend on speakers, wires, AVR and stands ($1000-1350 USD).
Looking to go for a separate reciever and maybe a set of packaged speakers.
My room config worries me the most, as it's about 15'X45' (length of house); basically the HT area will be a 15X15' square, with an open back end:

+---------------------------+
|.................*.........|
|.misc stuff area.*.HT Area.|
|.................*.......TV|
|.................*.........|
|.................*.........|
+---------------------------+


The system will be used mainly to watch sports and movies, with a slight (maybe even zero) music usage.
So:
1) will a 5+1 HT system (such as Energy TAKE, JBL, Sony HTinabox etc) provide enough 'oomph' given my room config?
2) if I go 6.1 or 7.1 (DTS-es/DD-EX) does my DVD player have to 'support' it? The unit I own has digital outs, beyond that ....
3) will the semi-satellite speakers be sufficient for 2-channel, CD source stereo? Does the sub come into play at all for 2-channel stereo (I'm guessing it doesn't)?
Many thanks in advance!
Jason

 

[Neil Joseph]

Wecome to thje forum Jason.

will the semi-satellite speakers be sufficient for 2-channel, CD source stereo? Does the sub come into play at all for 2-channel stereo (I'm guessing it doesn't)?

Yes, your receiver will have a mode that plays music (stereo) with the subwoofer and mains. I assume you have looked at a package like the Energy Take 5.1?

 

[Jason GT]

Yes, I'm starting the search for speakers. I was really surprised at how small the Take speakers really were. Given my room config, will it provide sufficient sound pressure?

Foam vs. Rubber surrounds -- is this a big deal? I've got an old minisystem (almost ten years old now) that has foam surrounds, and it seems to be okay... is the breakdown problem that severe?

Paper woofer cones -- is this a problem as well, as I've seen a mid- to -upper level priced (NOT audiophile) sub with a paper 10" cone. Seems like plastic would be somewhat more reassuring.

At this point, I may try to find a good AVR during boxing day/week and take my time for speakers.

Thanks again.

 

[Mike*Gillgannon]

Since you're in Canada you might want to take a look at the PSB line of speakers. Actually they have three lines -- budget to expensive. The Cdn price is usually about the same as the US MSRP. In other words, $300 US = about $300 Cdn. They also have a good website, which we're not supposed to give here, but you'll find it.

Mike