How fancy can I get for $10K ? (7.1 set-up)

Not Canadian?

Canada is in America.

JTR is the local rave so you will get a BUNCH of posts recommending those (until the vocals here fall in love with something else).

That being said, since you are pretty much all HT, I would look for efficient speakers and a couple of pretty robust subs. Something like 4 Epik Empires would fit nicely especially considering their price point. IMO the LFE is one of the most important aspects of HT. You could literally have "OK" speakers with a pair of capable subs and would be very happy.

What kind of room with this be going into?

How loud do you listen?

What will you be using to drive these speakers?

Do aesthetics matter?

Find me a Canadian that says he's American

Sonus Faber.

For HT use you want speakers with high sensitivity and high power handling so that they will be able to hit reference levels at your seat. For a killer system that is affordable I would wait on the Tweak City Audio Pro-10's and the 18.2 sub. The 18.2 uses two pro drivers much like the Seaton Sound Submersive (from the same Eminence family), except they are 18". The Pro-10's use a 10" pro driver along with a horn loaded compression driver. You are looking at about $5,000 for seven speakers and two subs. I doubt that you can get anything better for HT for under $10,000.

RonaldoCombs is correct ... There is no such place as "America". There is a "United States of America". What is commonly known as "Americans" are actually citizens of the USA.

Canadians (and Mexicans, and there are a few countries in South America) are as much "American" as are US citizens.

Just don't tell a Canadian he is also American if he is drinking and watching hockey.

Eh.

lmao but nope!!

Canada is in NORTH America

You are a perfect for Mark Seaton (he builds speakers in American, he is a custom installer and he is a member of AVSForum), you have a healthy budget and you want the best setup for Movies. Seaton offers some of the best speakers for that and with your budget, you will have his consulting expertise.

Although, maybe his Catalysts are out of your price range when you consider 3 in front and 4 Sparks in back. You would not be able to get his very popular sub design called the Captivator (impressive sub for movies and music)

Hmmm...$10K can be used up easily.

btw, stay away from those boutique choices. They do not offer the dynamics you will really want for movie playback. You have a very good room with depth so make sure you buy the right designs.

I do have to ask are you more concerned about top performance then you are about looks? If its all about performance then research Danley, JTR, Mark Seaton and even Triad solutions. Those products have higher sensitivity and higher dynamics that will allow for the best performance in a room of your size.

B&W, sonos Faber look beautiful but the performance is lacking for HT rooms of your size.

I thought JTR's were a theater speaker primarily. Am I wrong in thinking this? (Which I suppose is exactly what the OP is interested in.)

And please be ready to either devote part of your budget, or add to it, for sound treatment.

I would not even consider any of the speakers you mentioned for HT. Your options are:

Seaton Catalysts
Seaton Sparks
JTR Tripple 8s

Even though catalysts seem to be beyond your budget, it is important to remember that they are self-powered and will save you any money you budgeted for amplification.

I suggested the Pro-10's because he can afford 7 of them along with two subs and have money left over for things like room treatments and additional amps if wanted. I love the speakers mentioned above. I own the JTR T8's, but for $10,000 he is not going to be able to buy seven T8's and two really good subs. He will not be able to with the Sparks, let alone throwing in three Catalysts.

Added
The Sparks are $1,400 each when purchasing four or more. Leaves no money for subs or treatments.
The Catalysts are $3,500 each. He can't even get three of them for his price.
The JTR T8's are close at about $1,000 each plus shipping.

$10k could get 7x Triple 8's, 2x Captivators and an amplifier.
Or
3x Triple 12's, 4x Triple 8's and 2x Captivators.

Sold! Ship them today

I would suggest the slant 8s for surrounds.

No mention of Paradigm?

You could get a great Studio system for $10k.

JTR is definitely what you should look into for your listening style, 95% movie's. The JTR's are great, and you can afford it too! The JTR's even come in veneer finishes if you have to worry about WAF(wife acceptance factor).

Most of the big brands aren't worth looking into because they were not designed for the big dynamic sounds that, JTR, Danley or the Seaton designs offer. Just look around the forums for the JTR, Danley, Seaton threads, most if not all people go from big brands to one of these brands, and they have nothing but praise.

Fanboy behavior is common to all brands. Occasionally, the buzz is justified.


The Seaton Catalysts will produce the most refined sound while still being very dynamic. This refinement comes at a price (are you surprised?). The downside is you need a power source at each speaker and you have to run preout cables (XLR or RCA, not speaker wire) to each speaker location.


I agree, the S8’s make great surrounds and are a sonic/timbre match for the other JTR’s. Since I added the S8's as height speakers, I have been very impressed with them. As surround back they were nice but not that noticeable. Last night we watched Pacific (HBO) and the S8's really shone during the music over the closing credits. We sat through the entire segment and the sound and sound stage of that big orchestral piece was fantastic. It was like having a symphony playing in the room.

A discussion recommending dynamic HT speakers and Klipsch didn't even hit the radar? I'd love to hear the sound you guys all have with these JTR's. I feel the Klipsch Ultra2's with DTS-10 sub is scary dynamic. Is it even logical to put the Klipsch in the category of "dynamic HT speakers" given the current market?

Don't worry....I won't be insulted...only driven to improve.

don't think they are made in the usa as the op wanted.

Ahh, I didn't catch that. My bad. Pretty sure though that they left to China for a period but then came back. And I assume they were all engineered here in Arkansas. Could be wrong.

My recommendation would be to aim to save your funds in amplification by not going for any of those brands you listed. It is extremely unlikely for you to be able to hear the difference between an Emotiva and Arcam amp. With the money saved, you can increase your speaker/subwoofer budget.

Integra is a good choice.

I stand corrected. Also I forgot about the slant 8's. What about three T12's up front with four Slant 8's for the surrounds. Two Captivators for subs with a pro amp. That would make for one great system.

If your equipment is remote located, then I would look at pro amps. If not then I would look at Emo.

I strongly recommending against putting your speakers and subs in a "cabinet"...

There are plenty of excellent speaker packages for theater.

Since you said 95% theater I suggest looking into the following brands.

1)Triad
2)Klipsch Reference THX
3) Definitive Technology
4)Alantic Technology
5) B&W

All of these brands are what you are looking for. As far as American or European , I don't know why that matters but Most of the suggest speakers fall into that category.

If you include the gear was well as speakers (not for 10k) I strongly suggest looking into JBL Synthesis series. They make probably arguably one of the very best sounding speaker packages for a home theater in the world.

Basically it comes down to Dynamics and a really good subwoofer. If you read into THX spec's for a theater package, they got it right. Your speakers do not need to be THX for a excellent theater experience but following their guidelines will greatly help you select the right package.

I suggest finding dealers that have systems setup and go listen.