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Any advice regarding surround sound in basement?

post #1 of 9
8/1/12 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all. My name is Matt and this is my first post, though I've read my fair share. My wife and I just bought a new house, and the basement is mine(!) to do with how I please. I was hoping you guys/girls could give me some speaker advice. My basement dimensions are 11x14ft with 9' ceilings. The layout is such where the hall is about 6 ft wide and the entire basement is open (no doors). My sofa is flush to one wall and faces the televsion on the opposite wall. The viewing distance is about 10 ft.

I have read/heard great things about the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system for smaller rooms, but am not sure if this is the best system from me. I am debating between a 5.1 system and a 2.1 system and am looking to spend no more than $500. I will mainly use the speakers for sports and movies.

With the size of the room and sofa being flush to the rear wall, should I even be considering 5.1? If no, what would you recommend for a 2.1 system?

I already have an onkyo txt-n609 receiver.

Thanks in advance!
Edited by mjm598119 - 8/1/12 at 1:27pm
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post #2 of 9
8/1/12 at 6:19pm
Hey Matt--welcome to AVS. One idea is a package deal from HSU. Your room is small enough where a good 2.1 or 3.1 might work nicely. You could also upgrade later on to a 5.1 setup as budget allows. Also take a look at deals on the Energy RC-10 and Energy 10.3 sub.

http://www.hsuresearch.com/packages.html
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post #3 of 9
8/2/12 at 5:31am
Hello Matt, welcome to AVS smile.gif. For your future "man cave" I would reccomend going with a 3.1 set up as you listed your preference is movies & sports. A 2.1 set will work but it would be much more suited towards music as a center channel will provide a much better experinace with movies, the main dialog is set towrds the center channel. There are many brands to choice from thats for sure, so you may want to go out ( if you can that is) and have a listen for yourself.... even if its Best Buy they carry Polk, Klipsch & such. A 5.1 is an excellent set up for movies but as holt7153 mentioned that can always be added down the road.

As far as the couch flush wi the wall a 5.1 system will work fine as the surrounds ( sides ) should be mounted to the side of the seating area, but that also depends on your layout to rather or not you can mount or use stands .... just depends on layout that is.

IMHO I believe tower speakers ( L&R) will give you a much better experiance than say bookshelf type.
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post #4 of 9
8/2/12 at 7:53am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the quick response! Now that you mention it holt, I did mean 3.1. Do Hsuresearch speakers ever go on sale? Also, skalley, what brand and model of tower speakers would you recommend for my situation? Would a 3-way tower remove the need for a sub?

So overall, you two wouldn't go with the energy take classic then?
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post #5 of 9
8/6/12 at 8:44am
Thread Starter 
Does anyone else have a different opinion or agree with the previous posters? I'd really appreciate any other comments/opinions/advice.

Also, can anyone recommend floor standing speakers for less than $500 a pair? Or at that price, should I just go to bookshelves?

Lastly if I go with l/r floor standing speakers should I still get a center speaker? Tia again
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post #6 of 9
8/6/12 at 9:05am
You should get a center and sub no matter if you get towers or bookshelf speakers. Don't forget like some ppl do bookshelf speakers don't really cost less money than floorstanding towers because you have to buy some sort of stand or mount for them so I say get towers they sound more dynamic and look more impressive and usually have a deeper bass response for more headroom.

If you want crystal clear speakers with tons of dynamics that are very affordable and look amazing too, check out these (I own their bigger brothers)

BIC Acoustech PL-76 L&R http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1538&sc=32

BIC Acoustech PL-26 Center http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1537&sc=33

SUB:

BIC Acoustech PL-200 http://www.acousticsounddesign.com/core/view_BigProduct.cfm?pid=1555&sc=28

OR

Energy S10.3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882269026
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post #7 of 9
9/25/12 at 7:08pm
Thread Starter 
Update: So I am piecing together my ht, slowly. Currently I am at 3.0 with energy rc-lcr as center channel and rc10's as fr and fl (on stands). Still breaking them all in but extremely happy thus far.

Now onto the .1 part. For a budget of $200, is the energy s10.3 my best bet? I would go higher but the WAF for the entire setup is pushing it.

Lastly, for rear satellites down the road, I was thinking rc micros or another set of rc10's. Kinda like going with the same brand though I've read it's only important with the fronts. Any suggestions for rear speakers that might stay around $300 for the pair?

Thanks again everyone.

When I figure out how to post pics, I will post one of the setup.
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post #8 of 9
9/26/12 at 4:39am
For $200 yes the Energy S-10.3 is the best..... However if you can stretch your budget to $280 to $300 the BIC/Acoustech PL-200 is pretty good as well and is a nicer looking sub so higher WAF value.
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post #9 of 9
9/26/12 at 4:58am
BIC F12 for the sub. One of the least expensive but nicest subs I have heard.
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