[singhcn]

I am setting up a 7.2 home theater. Most likely going with a Pioneer elite receiver (SC81) and Boston Acoustics subs (ASW650, 2). I am trying to decide between a Klipsch or Revel in wall speaker set up:

Front (2): Revel W563 or W763
Center: Revel W553L
Rear (4): Revel C563 or C763

vs

Front (2): Klipsch R-5650W
Center: Klipsch R-5502Wii
Rear (4): Klipsch CDT-5650

I live in the middle of nowhere and would have to travel several hours to a dealer to listen to them. Any thoughts?

 

[dsrussell]

I cannot help you on your speaker choice, simply because I believe that in-wall and in-ceiling speakers are the worst way to go and is usually influenced by WAF. I'll let someone who has experience in this type of setup to help you.

However, in order for people here to help you better, more information is needed. How big is your room (volume)? Is it closed off or open to other rooms? If it is open to other rooms, how large is the opening or openings and how big is the adjoining room or rooms? What made you select the speaker manufacturers? Have you listened to Klipsch or Revel speakers? What is your total budget? Where do you live?

HT budgeting usually follows a general guideline. Depending upon total budget, most try to keep the AVR dollars under 25 percent (the larger the budget, the less the percentage of money spent for the AVR). Yes, the Pioneer Elite looks to be an excellent AVR, but I'd assume you are looking at a $5,000 budget with $4,000 to be spent on speakers and a sub (or two). Speakers and subwoofers are where the money needs to be spent. As far as the subwoofer is concerned, it can make or break a home theater. And to size a subwoofer properly, room volumes are needed, along with listening habits (movies vs music vs how loud).

 

[singhcn]

I cannot help you on your speaker choice, simply because I believe that in-wall and in-ceiling speakers are the worst way to go and is usually influenced by WAF. I'll let someone who has experience in this type of setup to help you.

However, in order for people here to help you better, more information is needed. How big is your room (volume)? Is it closed off or open to other rooms? If it is open to other rooms, how large is the opening or openings and how big is the adjoining room or rooms? What made you select the speaker manufacturers? Have you listened to Klipsch or Revel speakers? What is your total budget? Where do you live?

HT budgeting usually follows a general guideline. Depending upon total budget, most try to keep the AVR dollars under 25 percent (the larger the budget, the less the percentage of money spent for the AVR). Yes, the Pioneer Elite looks to be an excellent AVR, but I'd assume you are looking at a $5,000 budget with $4,000 to be spent on speakers and a sub (or two). Speakers and subwoofers are where the money needs to be spent. As far as the subwoofer is concerned, it can make or break a home theater. And to size a subwoofer properly, room volumes are needed, along with listening habits (movies vs music vs how loud).

Some more information: We picked in-wall over floor standing as a way of toddler proofing the room. This is going in our basement which is not an ideal space for a theater as it is an open floorplan. The theater area is a 30' long X 18' wide room (540 sq ft), with a 15' opening on the left side. The TV and front speakers will go on the 18' wide wall. The viewer sits about 10-12' back. To the right is a wall, to the left is the 15' opening that is essentially the rest of the basement. The basement is carpeted and has drop ceiling. The 30X18 room takes up about half the footprint of the basement with the other half being to the viewer's left.

The speaker manufacturers were selected by 2 different quotes we got on the project. I have not listened to either brand. There are no revel dealers within 2 hours of me (I am in BFE, michigan). There are some klipsch dealers within an hour or so.

We were in the $5000 ballpark on budget. This will be 99% movies and video games. Thanks!

 

[dsrussell]

Thank you for the clarifications. With 8-foot high ceilings your cubic footage of your HT room is 4,320 (considered a large room). With such a wide opening you are looking at over 8,000 cu. ft. (anything over 5,000 cu. ft. is considered an "extreme" room and effects the subwoofer choices). This means, forget completely about the Boston Acoustics sub. It simply cannot fill your space, especially if it is for movie LFE.

As far as speakers, I understand your concern. However, tower speakers often come with outriggers to stabilize the cabinet and you'll have a far greater selection with superior sound qualities.

It seems like you are in the middle of getting your HT room completed. I don't know if you will be having a projector and screen, or are looking for LCD-type video. Nor do I know if this is a separate purchase or is part of your $5,000 budget. If it is for projection, one can get an acoustical transparent screen and have your 3 front speakers located behind the screen (safe for children) and opens up a whole new area for speaker possibilities. If it's a regular flat-panel LCD or Plasma or 4k, I'd still look for towers, but obviously that is your call and I won't go into what to look for.

Subwoofers, I can help you with. If you are at all handy, I highly recommend DIY (do it yourself). One can get amazing subwoofer performance for half the cost of some high-end subs. However, if you don't want to go through that, then look at subwoofers from internet-direct (I.D.) companies. You will need two, and possibly more. The following is your homework assignment . Take a look at each sub, read the specs, check out the warranties as well as the size and weight. Any of the following subs are considered excellent for their price, while others are outstanding:

Power Sound Audio (PSA):

XS15se (15-inch sealed design) @ $799 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/xs15se
XV15se (15-inch ported down-firing design) @ $899 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/xv15se
S1500 (15-inch sealed design just released) @ $949 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/s1500
V1500 (15-inch ported design just released) @ $1,049 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/v1500
XS30se (dual opposed 15-inch drivers, sealed design) @ $1249 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/xs30se
S3000 (new, dual opposed 15-inch drivers, sealed design) @ $1399 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/s3000
S3000i (new, dual opposed 15-inch drivers, sealed design) @ $1599 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/s3000i

Talk to Tom.

====

Reaction Audio (these are all new designs!):

Gamma 15 (15-inch sealed design) @ $850 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/gamma-15
Echo 15 (15-inch ported design) @ $950 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/alpha-16
Gamma 18 (18-inch sealed design) @ $1200 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/gamma-18
Echo 18 (18-inch ported design) @ $1400 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/echo-18
Gamma 218 (dual opposed 18-inch sealed design) @ $1,700 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/echo-18

Talk to Jeremy.

===

Hsu Research:


VTF-3 Mk5 HP (15-inch ported design) @ $799 ($89 shipping): http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-3mk5HP.html
VTF-15H Mk2 (15-inch ported design) @ $899 ($109 shipping): http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-15hmk2.html

Talk to Dr. Hsu

===

Rythmik Audio:

E15HP (15-inch sealed design) @ $1024 or $1174 or $1349 ($1024 is sale price, check on shipping): http://www.rythmikaudio.com/E15.html
F15HP (15-inch sealed design) @ $1224 to $1399 (check on shipping): http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F15HP.html
FV15HP (15-inch ported design) @ $1274 (on sale! check shipping charges … other finishes $1339 and $1559): http://www.rythmikaudio.com/FV15HP.html

Talk to Brian.

 

[singhcn]

Thanks so much for the help. We have a LED (not part of ~$5000 budget) that is going to be wall mounted.

Those subs are getting up there in price a bit- that would be my only concern. I will check them out.

 

[commsysman]

I am setting up a 7.2 home theater. Most likely going with a Pioneer elite receiver (SC81) and Boston Acoustics subs (ASW650, 2). I am trying to decide between a Klipsch or Revel in wall speaker set up:

Front (2): Revel W563 or W763
Center: Revel W553L
Rear (4): Revel C563 or C763

vs

Front (2): Klipsch R-5650W
Center: Klipsch R-5502Wii
Rear (4): Klipsch CDT-5650

I live in the middle of nowhere and would have to travel several hours to a dealer to listen to them. Any thoughts?

I would definitely choose the Revel speakers over the Klipsch speakers.

For the same price I would get PSB speakers, however. The PSB CW28 are excellent for in-wall speakers.

A NAD receiver would be my choice rather than Pioneer. The NAD T758 has excellent sound quality and is only $999.

Marantz is another good one.