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Noob help $1,000 3.1 Home Theater speakers & placement - not DIY

383 views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  Carrick 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi everyone I am putting together a list for Santa and still looking for speakers, AVR and Blu-Ray player.
I have read on AVS that the 3.1 speakers produce most of the sounds so I need to focus on this objective within a $1,000 budget, but cheaper and good quality is better. Eventually I will get the remainder of the matching timber speakers that I have read about in 6-12 months so please do not recommend speakers that are not discontinued.
Speakers will be used for movies only. Wife (easy listening) and I (rock/rap) don't agree on most music so you get the point for only movies and staying happily married.:cool:

I am concerned by certain speaker designs that have woofers on the side because my walls are not a square and look like a letter "J" shown below, the 12' wall is the screen wall.

My stick design is not being saved as designed. So front screen wall is 12 feet, right wall extends 57" from the front, left wall is 15 feet and the back wall comes 44" from the left wall.

The open areas include the dining room and foyer. Even worse the ceiling slants down from left (10') to right (8'). Wish I had a design program. I am attaching a photo of the foyer back side of the room with Picasso print and also front of the room with 57" wall to the right. Thanks in advance.
 

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#2 ·
I think you meant, “… are discontinued” … not “… are not discontinued”. No one has a crystal ball, and no one will know when a speaker will be discontinued in a 6 month to year time frame. And unless you want identical speakers for the rear channel (perhaps you have a lot of 5.1 concert videos), it doesn’t matter anyway. Surrounds contain perhaps 5 to 10 percent of the movie audio signal and are for effects only. One can get just about any inexpensive (but decent) speakers for that task.

Odd shaped rooms are usually better than symmetrical rooms for sound. What’s important is the distance you’ll be sitting from the speaker, how loudly you play movies and music, and the volume size of the room or rooms (in order to size the subwoofer). Also important is what you expect from a sub. Give that info and people can help you better.

Your budget is doable (barely). The following speakers are all very good for their price and are rated highly by users and reviewers. Which one you’d like better, no one will know except yourself. Take a look at the websites below, check out the specs, warranty, shipping info, any and all professional reviews that are linked, and call and talk to the manufacturers. Also go out and audition other speakers at local audio stores. Also note that some of these manufacturers will be having black Friday sales.

The following is listed by price, not by performance:

$195 / pair (check on shipping) Philharmonic Audio Affordable Accuracy bookshelf speakers: http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.htmlaa.html Talk to Dennis Murphy about using one as a center channel (he may have to rotate the tweeter 90 degrees if turned on its side).

$199 / pair (check on shipping) Wave Crest HVL-1 bookshelf speaker: http://www.wavecrestaudio.com/products/hvl-1-two-way-loudspeaker-pair

$225 / pair (includes shipping) RBH/EMP Tek R5Bi bookshelf speaker (formally E5Bi): http://emptek.com/r5bi.php (can be turned on its side w/o rotating tweeter)

$230 / pair (check on shipping) ELAC B5 bookshelf speaker: http://elac.us/speakers

$280 / pair (check on shipping) ELAC B6 bookshelf speaker: http://elac.us/speakers

$298 / pair (check on shipping) Chane A1rx-c bookshelf speaker: http://www.chanemusiccinema.com/chane-loudspeakers/A1rx-c

$300 / pair (check on shipping) NHT SuperOne 2.1 bookshelf speaker: http://www.nhthifi.com/Bookshelf-speaker-SuperOne-2-1?sc=12&category=3772

Check on the prices of the above manufacturer’s center channels. I prefer identical speakers for my front stage, so you could save money and go that route.

As far as a subwoofer, look at the following (usually for rooms under 2,000 cu.ft.):

$500 (free shipping both ways) SVS PB-1000 http://www.svsound.com/collections/ported-subwoofers/products/pb-1000

$569 (free shipping) Rythmik Audio LV12R http://www.rythmikaudio.com/LV12R.html

$639 (check on shipping) Outlaw Audio Ultra-X12 http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/ultra.html
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Your budget is doable (barely). The following speakers are all very good for their price and are rated highly by users and reviewers. Which one you’d like better, no one will know except yourself. Take a look at the websites below, check out the specs, warranty, shipping info, any and all professional reviews that are linked, and call and talk to the manufacturers. Also go out and audition other speakers at local audio stores. Also note that some of these manufacturers will be having black Friday sales.
Thanks for finding me in the haystack.. and thanks for taking the time to provide the detailed summary and prices. I want to the "feel" the subwoofer during explosions etc, but don't play the other speakers very loud ~70dB. Distance will be roughly 11 feet from front speakers.

I pre-ordered the JVC Rs 500 projector which limits my budget for everything else.:eek: For now I have an older Energy Take 5.1 set of speakers I was planning to use for now in addition to the new 3.1 speakers in a 5.2.2 Atmos array, I think they will be perfect for that until I can get a more mid bass friendly replacements (lows near 45Hz), so at least there's that. Auditioning is not easy locally as many dealers have closed shop in the past decade. There is a Best Buy Magnolia roughly 10-12 miles away, but when I asked over the phone they seem to specialize in very high end priced $1,000/speaker. I'm not a music aficionado, but would like a full and entertaining movie experience.

Mike Garret has recommended the RBH speakers recently when I ordered the PJ, so when I read your sig line then that must also be a good choice. Let's see if they run a BF sale. BTW, are you aware of any ceiling mounted speakers with brackets that are in the same league?
 
#4 ·
There are two different Magnolia centers. One where they sell more inexpensive equipment and a design center where they sell a bit more expensive equipment. Go there anyway so you can get a good idea of the sound you like and don’t like.

I don’t know anything about in-ceiling (or in-wall) speakers, but perhaps another member can help you with that.

I think the R5Bi’s are a great choice, but that doesn’t mean you’ll like them. Sound quality is highly subjective, and any on that list are impressive for the price. You could easily like any of the speakers listed better than the R5Bi’s. That’s what is so interesting about this hobby.

Measure your room, and the adjacent room that is open to it. That will give members a good idea if the subwoofers I’ve listed will meet your needs.
 
#5 ·
There are two different Magnolia centers. One where they sell more inexpensive equipment and a design center where they sell a bit more expensive equipment. Go there anyway so you can get a good idea of the sound you like and don’t like.
I went today and visited 2 Magnolia centers at both ends of the spectrum. The first was a joke and though a young man tried to be helpful he just had no clue what he was doing or what Magnolia represented - the epitome of home entertainment, at least that is what I thought I was getting. Then as I was leaving the Magnolia expert arrived 45 minutes late with coffee in hand and looking like she had not slept in days. The man by the front door said it would be a while longer before she would be ready so I just left in haste.

Later in the evening I went to the high end location situated in a classy neighborhood where the staff was definitely knowledgeable. But even though I said what I wanted, he kept wanting me to audition the cheap stuff so I only heard some Pioneer Andrew Jones speakers. I was not happy with the performance as it sounded muddy, but I will have to return when they are not getting ready for Black Friday. The Magnolia area was being stuffed with 55 and 65 inch Samsung LCDs to the point I could barely see any of the DT or ML towers. Maybe it was my T-shirt attire, but I just don't feel I should need to wear my Thomas Elliot shirts to hear some speakers. Do you think that might be why he kept pushing the Pioneers? Either way the shirts don't fit after putting on 20+lbs - LOL.

I wish there was a place where I could hear the brands you mentioned without having to pay return shipping, those seem to be getting tons of love in AVS.

-Carrick
 
#6 ·
When you go to an audio store, be up front with them and tell them what your goal is, and what your budget is. Listen to various speakers and see what you think, it might even be a good idea to just start with 2.1 for now. Spend half of your budget on a good sub, the Outlaw Audio Ultra-X12 is back on sale now for $550 shipped which is a fantastic deal. Spend the rest on a nice pair of bookshelves, you will have more options this way and can build out your system over time.

The brands I know of that do pay return shipping are SVS, NHT, Aperion, and HTD. All of these companies offer some very good speakers, and I would read up on them and see if anything stands out to you. Going with 2.1 initially would let you get a nicer quality bookshelf to start, and then maybe ask for the matching center for your birthday.
 
#7 ·
When you go to an audio store, be up front with them and tell them what your goal is, and what your budget is.
This was my mistake, I was upfront and so he showed me the low end. I have a Rs 500 coming next week and did not want to spend more than the PJ for everything else. Once he factored in a $2000 Stewart screen, the $1500 Denon 4200 and the $600 Oppo 103d - It leaves only $1500-$2000 for speakers. But those were his list prices not factoring in BF deals and a Carada screen which could stretch my speaker budget to well over $3000.

Anyway, thanks for the manufacturer list, I will audition these speakers and certainly get the Outlaw 12.
 
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