new basement setup - sub budget/setup ?

post #1 of 9

5/24/12 at 6:07pm

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We are working up our plans to finish our basement. We are planning an entertainment/home theater area that we will use to watch sports, movies, etc.

I want to have good sound, but I know that it will not be perfect since it is not a closed off dedicated HT room. The room is big, will contain a wet bar, and is open to the rest of the basement on the back half of one of the side walls. The room is roughly 28' x 30'. 15' of one of the 30' walls open to the rest of the basement, and the wet bar will take up 12' x12' or so - ceiling height will be 8.5' on one half and 9'5' on the back half.

As a general rule of thumb - How much do you guys/gals typically budget (as a %) for subwoofer(s) when designing/building a system? Right now I have ~$11% budgeted for a subwoofer to get me started (looking at $1400 out of a $12,500 HT equipment "wish list" that includes projector, screen, AVR, speakers, and cables/wires) Since I am dealing with a big room, should I be looking at multiple subs? I was planning on wiring multiple locations for subwoofer placement flexibility anyway.

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post #2 of 9

5/24/12 at 6:16pm

Jay1
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In a room that size I would say a pair of HSU vtf15's would be the minimum for powerful lfe. That's $2k. You can of course get more the higher you go

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post #3 of 9

5/25/12 at 9:22am

JimWilson
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It's hard to make an assessment about how much -- by percentage -- you should be spending on your sub versus other components, but for sure you'll want to be thinking about more then a single unit. That is quite a bit of space you have to fill.

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post #4 of 9

5/25/12 at 11:22am

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I just don't want to be the guy driving the $500 car with the $2000 wheels and tires.

I am looking at spending 12-15k total for the AVR, Projector, Screen, Speakers, and Subwoofer. (we will probably look for a new blu-ray at some point too, but for now we can use our old one)

I am looking at a Panasonic 7000 projector and a decent screen
Yamaha 1010, 2010 (or 1020 2020 when they come out) AVR
Speakercraft or Triad in walls for LCR
Due to the placement of the wet bar, windows and projector screen I will have to go with in ceiling for surround and rear speakers - not ideal, but it is what it is.

My initial thought was to start with a single PB12-Plus and then add a 2nd one if I need another.

The room will probably end up being used for 50-60% live sports, 30% movies, and the rest music.

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post #5 of 9

5/25/12 at 11:36am

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Quote:

Originally Posted by turbosledhead

I just don't want to be the guy driving the $500 car with the $2000 wheels and tires.

I am looking at spending 12-15k total for the AVR, Projector, Screen, Speakers, and Subwoofer. (we will probably look for a new blu-ray at some point too, but for now we can use our old one)

I am looking at a Panasonic 7000 projector and a decent screen
Yamaha 1010, 2010 (or 1020 2020 when they come out) AVR
Speakercraft or Triad in walls for LCR
Due to the placement of the wet bar, windows and projector screen I will have to go with in ceiling for surround and rear speakers - not ideal, but it is what it is.

My initial thought was to start with a single PB12-Plus and then add a 2nd one if I need another.

The room will probably end up being used for 50-60% live sports, 30% movies, and the rest music.

There is very little discussion of subwoofers as a percentage of your total budget. Not like the dismal audiophile days of setting aside 10% of your budget for interconnects and speaker wire

The HSU VTF-15 pair is an excellent choice. I also recommend the Rythmik FV-15 HP which is closer in price to the SVS PB-12 Plus, but has more output.

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post #6 of 9

5/25/12 at 11:40am

Jay1
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Quote:

Originally Posted by turbosledhead

I just don't want to be the guy driving the $500 car with the $2000 wheels and tires.

I am looking at spending 12-15k total for the AVR, Projector, Screen, Speakers, and Subwoofer. (we will probably look for a new blu-ray at some point too, but for now we can use our old one)

I am looking at a Panasonic 7000 projector and a decent screen
Yamaha 1010, 2010 (or 1020 2020 when they come out) AVR
Speakercraft or Triad in walls for LCR
Due to the placement of the wet bar, windows and projector screen I will have to go with in ceiling for surround and rear speakers - not ideal, but it is what it is.

My initial thought was to start with a single PB12-Plus and then add a 2nd one if I need another.

The room will probably end up being used for 50-60% live sports, 30% movies, and the rest music.

You're going to need an outboard amp to properly drive those Triads. I'm a fan of three floorstanding speakers up front for LCR vs inwalls, but if you have some kind of placement restrictions I can understand. Instead of a receiver you can always get an amp like this Outlaw 7125, and an Emotiva UMC-1 for a processor so you never have to worry about whether your speakers are being properly driven.

A single PB12+ will not handle that room.

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post #7 of 9

5/25/12 at 12:54pm

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I think a single HSU VTF-15 in max output mode would be a great place to start as long as you plan on adding a second later on. Dual Epik Empires are worth consideration if you wanted a dual setup now with no plans to add on later.

As much as I love my PB12plus and as great as it is, it is perhaps not the best value anymore in its price range.

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post #8 of 9

5/25/12 at 1:58pm

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