Hello everyone,
I kind of have a tough decision to make, so I would like thoughts on some speaker choices and setup ideas.
Im moving into a new house and ALL of my old electronics are going to be gone. That means I have to start over. I like the idea and will find it enjoyable, but also feel nervous because I want to make the best choices.
I'm moving into a large bungalow with a full-sized basement. This means a large main floor and a large basement, not including a good-sized office on the "2nd floor" over the garage. Although the office might be used later for a smaller setup, my current situation is that I have to furnish the main-floor living room and a downstairs open area. My preference would be to have both areas with full 5.1 home theaters, but it's evident that costs are going to start going up. With that said, I unfortunately do care about quality though.
If I had to choose 1 room to make sure it had the full home theater, it would be downstairs first. The reason is that it can be more dedicated to entertainment than would be suitable in the main-floor living room. To give details, the downstairs entertainment area would be more of an open area in a larger room, instead of a dedicated room. Also, I like the idea of not putting speakers in walls because I enjoy changing the layout sometimes, and I also prefer the look.
I feel confident that I want at least one of my areas to have Paradigm speakers. Obviously I think the Prestige look beautiful, and in my opinion are substantially nicer looking than the monitors. Therefore, I kind of think that the Prestige are more suitable for the living room, due to their aesthetic appeal. Second, my downstairs might be carpeted or have rugs, and monitors don't seem as sturdy for that. Therefore, I kind of like the idea of having Prestige in the downstairs also. The problem is that I don't think I should go with Prestige in both areas for budgetary reasons. Therefore, I'm considering the monitor series.
My problem is that I am now considering putting Prestige in the living room and having a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, and having less expensive (maybe monitors) downstairs. The thing is that in my head I know that I'll be watching movies on a lower-quality system than I have upstairs.
Do you think I'll regret going with the monitor series (or equivalent) downstairs while knowing that upstairs the quality is better?
I'm sure some will ask why I don't just do the 5.1 upstairs, and the reason is that I kind of like the idea of the 5.1 being downstairs because I think it will be more of "my area" than the upstairs. Of course my wife will watch movies downstairs, but I envision when I'm chilling out, or with buddies, the downstairs will feel more comfortable.
Is the large extra price of the Prestige really worth it over the monitor series?
Additional details:
- I plan one area to be a 75-inch TV, and maybe both. The size won't be larger for either area due to cost
- there is a small chance that I would set up Atmos rear heights downstairs, but at this time it's not on my list of things I really care about
- I really do want to buy some Paradigm speakers. They might not be the best, but I think I'll be happy with them.
- I just had to let go a 5.1 Klipsch RF52II system and a 2.1 KEF Q700 system, both running off Marantz receivers, and enjoyed both
- I owned a good 5.1 Paradigm Studio Reference V2 system back in the day, and enjoyed it
- I'm not sure of total budget, but keeping it under $15,000 Canadian (before taxes) is my current idea, which is just under $12,000 USD before taxes
- Im not using that money for wire costs, because I have my own resource for getting good quality at a low price
I know all this is subjective, but I just wanted some people's opinions. Maybe some of you had similar situations that you've faced before.
Also, I will post this in the Paradigm-owners thread as well.
Thanks in advance for anyone who has some opinions. If I missed some important information, please ask and I'll try to answer.
I kind of have a tough decision to make, so I would like thoughts on some speaker choices and setup ideas.
Im moving into a new house and ALL of my old electronics are going to be gone. That means I have to start over. I like the idea and will find it enjoyable, but also feel nervous because I want to make the best choices.
I'm moving into a large bungalow with a full-sized basement. This means a large main floor and a large basement, not including a good-sized office on the "2nd floor" over the garage. Although the office might be used later for a smaller setup, my current situation is that I have to furnish the main-floor living room and a downstairs open area. My preference would be to have both areas with full 5.1 home theaters, but it's evident that costs are going to start going up. With that said, I unfortunately do care about quality though.
If I had to choose 1 room to make sure it had the full home theater, it would be downstairs first. The reason is that it can be more dedicated to entertainment than would be suitable in the main-floor living room. To give details, the downstairs entertainment area would be more of an open area in a larger room, instead of a dedicated room. Also, I like the idea of not putting speakers in walls because I enjoy changing the layout sometimes, and I also prefer the look.
I feel confident that I want at least one of my areas to have Paradigm speakers. Obviously I think the Prestige look beautiful, and in my opinion are substantially nicer looking than the monitors. Therefore, I kind of think that the Prestige are more suitable for the living room, due to their aesthetic appeal. Second, my downstairs might be carpeted or have rugs, and monitors don't seem as sturdy for that. Therefore, I kind of like the idea of having Prestige in the downstairs also. The problem is that I don't think I should go with Prestige in both areas for budgetary reasons. Therefore, I'm considering the monitor series.
My problem is that I am now considering putting Prestige in the living room and having a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, and having less expensive (maybe monitors) downstairs. The thing is that in my head I know that I'll be watching movies on a lower-quality system than I have upstairs.
Do you think I'll regret going with the monitor series (or equivalent) downstairs while knowing that upstairs the quality is better?
I'm sure some will ask why I don't just do the 5.1 upstairs, and the reason is that I kind of like the idea of the 5.1 being downstairs because I think it will be more of "my area" than the upstairs. Of course my wife will watch movies downstairs, but I envision when I'm chilling out, or with buddies, the downstairs will feel more comfortable.
Is the large extra price of the Prestige really worth it over the monitor series?
Additional details:
- I plan one area to be a 75-inch TV, and maybe both. The size won't be larger for either area due to cost
- there is a small chance that I would set up Atmos rear heights downstairs, but at this time it's not on my list of things I really care about
- I really do want to buy some Paradigm speakers. They might not be the best, but I think I'll be happy with them.
- I just had to let go a 5.1 Klipsch RF52II system and a 2.1 KEF Q700 system, both running off Marantz receivers, and enjoyed both
- I owned a good 5.1 Paradigm Studio Reference V2 system back in the day, and enjoyed it
- I'm not sure of total budget, but keeping it under $15,000 Canadian (before taxes) is my current idea, which is just under $12,000 USD before taxes
- Im not using that money for wire costs, because I have my own resource for getting good quality at a low price
I know all this is subjective, but I just wanted some people's opinions. Maybe some of you had similar situations that you've faced before.
Also, I will post this in the Paradigm-owners thread as well.
Thanks in advance for anyone who has some opinions. If I missed some important information, please ask and I'll try to answer.