Complete novice here trying to put together a home theater on a shoestring budget. I'd be willing to spend more, except (as my S.O. correctly points out) the system probably won't get used more than a couple of times a month, as we're not huge TV/movie watchers and I prefer listening to music over good headphones. Curious about whether my ideas for buying new speakers/reusing existing ones even makes sense.
Anyways, my living room is perhaps a bit larger than ideal, 16' x 20' with a sloped ceiling rising from ~10' at the low side (where I plan to hang my TV) to 18' at the high side. Carpet flooring. On the high side, a second floor game room is open to the living room (overlooks over a railing). My idea was to mount the rear surround speakers on the wall, below the railing, and aim them downward.
I already have the following equipment (hand-me-downs from friends and family):
-Onkyo HT-S790 HTIB 7.1 system. Unfortunately, two of the surrounds were lost in a move and the other two are so beat up as to be not worth reusing IMO (previously had them on a couple of speaker stands that kept getting knocked over - at least I learned my lesson on some cheap speakers!) Front speakers and sub are in good shape, sound okay but not great to my untrained ears.
-Definitive Technology Powerfield 1500 sub.
-Definitive Technology C1 center.
I'm not too keen on reusing the front Onkyo speakers in the new setup, but figured that the receiver is serviceable until I upgrade in a year or so (around the same time that I upgrade my ancient HP LCD TV). The Def Tech sub packs a serious punch (again, to my untrained ears) and may be worth reusing. Not sure about the C1 center.
I've found good reviews of the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system so started looking there. I've found an Energy Take Classic 5.1 system and an Energy RC-Micro 5.1 system for sale nearby, both very cheap, but both missing subs. Was wondering:
1) Would these systems likely be strong enough for my large-ish room? If I'm completely barking up the wrong tree, any suggested alternatives that I could get for under $400 or so (assuming that I reuse my existing sub)?
2) Would it make sense to pair these with the old Def Tech sub, or would it be difficult/impossible to get the big sub to coordinate well with the other speakers? Or would I be better off using the big Def Tech sub anyways, since my room is so large?
3) (less important) any value in keeping the Def Tech C1 around, or should I toss this antique into the garage sale pile?
Sorry for the long post...look forward to your feedback!
Anyways, my living room is perhaps a bit larger than ideal, 16' x 20' with a sloped ceiling rising from ~10' at the low side (where I plan to hang my TV) to 18' at the high side. Carpet flooring. On the high side, a second floor game room is open to the living room (overlooks over a railing). My idea was to mount the rear surround speakers on the wall, below the railing, and aim them downward.
I already have the following equipment (hand-me-downs from friends and family):
-Onkyo HT-S790 HTIB 7.1 system. Unfortunately, two of the surrounds were lost in a move and the other two are so beat up as to be not worth reusing IMO (previously had them on a couple of speaker stands that kept getting knocked over - at least I learned my lesson on some cheap speakers!) Front speakers and sub are in good shape, sound okay but not great to my untrained ears.
-Definitive Technology Powerfield 1500 sub.
-Definitive Technology C1 center.
I'm not too keen on reusing the front Onkyo speakers in the new setup, but figured that the receiver is serviceable until I upgrade in a year or so (around the same time that I upgrade my ancient HP LCD TV). The Def Tech sub packs a serious punch (again, to my untrained ears) and may be worth reusing. Not sure about the C1 center.
I've found good reviews of the Energy Take Classic 5.1 system so started looking there. I've found an Energy Take Classic 5.1 system and an Energy RC-Micro 5.1 system for sale nearby, both very cheap, but both missing subs. Was wondering:
1) Would these systems likely be strong enough for my large-ish room? If I'm completely barking up the wrong tree, any suggested alternatives that I could get for under $400 or so (assuming that I reuse my existing sub)?
2) Would it make sense to pair these with the old Def Tech sub, or would it be difficult/impossible to get the big sub to coordinate well with the other speakers? Or would I be better off using the big Def Tech sub anyways, since my room is so large?
3) (less important) any value in keeping the Def Tech C1 around, or should I toss this antique into the garage sale pile?
Sorry for the long post...look forward to your feedback!