First Home Theater Setup

[tejcurrent 13]

Hey guys, I'm trying to make my first h/t setup. I really need two seperate setups, one to please the wife, and a second for me. I've been into car audio for years, but until recently I was only home for a few hours to sleep, so the car was more important than the house.

I'll give you a run down of my expectations and limitations, as well as what I already have/will have/have planned.

Expectations: I really want something that's going to sound good, get the full range very well, and not break the bank. I'll probably have to take my time to get everything I want right, but I need to know what to look for.

Limitations: My wife. She wants a decent sounding system that'll be 'pretty' for the living room and give surroud sound- pretty meaning not taking up much space. I think towers from floor to ceiling would be fine, but that's not her idea of a nice living room, so that must be saved for the game room/den.

I already have a PS3, 42" Panasonic Plasma (1080something) that I want for the living room.

I plan on building a coffee table box for a Fi Q 18" subwoofer and finishing it to match the other furniture. Q1- is there a reason not to do this sound wise? It seems similar to many prefabricated designs of a much smaller nature-like many 10s are downfiring in a corner with a port, firing sideways, any reason for mine not to be this way?

I would like to power the Q with somewhere between 500-1000 watts, but I don't know what kind of amp, or where to find an amp to power it. I'm soooo tempted to ghetto-fy it and buy a generator to power a car amp I have laying around for it.

So I guess what I'm looking for is:

What's a decent source unit type/brand I could look for? What type of amp should I look for? Will I need a seperate amp for the speakers-or can I run them from the source unit-and if I do what should I look for?

Sorry for asking so many questions, but I'm not really sure what's good in the H/T world, and what all I'll need. Budget on a setup the wife will be happy with (She wouldn't mind a sony wallhanging system from walmart) that will be a little better than what I'd find at walmart, is ~500.

Budget on the 'Nice' setup is not really there, since I'm planning on taking my time. I DONT need anything that will make the most decerning audiophile mess their britches with glee, just something that will sound fairly true for a fair price. I would say to try to keep it under 2-3000 but as I said I don't know what to expect, so that is up for change after becoming a bit more educated on the subject if need be.

Thanks for any help I can get, it is really appreciated.

[JimJ 11]

I would like to power the Q with somewhere between 500-1000 watts, but I don't know what kind of amp, or where to find an amp to power it.

Parts Express is a dealer for Crown or QSC rackmount amps...I'd look into those.

Going to tell you right now, you won't be able to do much for $500, for 5.1 surround. That's the price of the sub amp

$3K for a stereo rig is a lot more doable...could go with a nice seperate preamp/power amp, DIY floorstanders, and a decent sub. Might even get some room treatments thrown in.

[tejcurrent 13]

Honestly, the $500 setup is most likely going to end up being something from CCity or BestBuy, because the wife doesn't want to see large speakers crowding up her living room.

As far as my system that will be in the den/game room I just need some suggestions on a good source unit a speakers. You're the second person to tell me about the Crown amps, so I'll check into those for the sub. And I just realized, I need to get something to play vinyl in there. Thanks for the help.

[JimJ 11]

And I just realized, I need to get something to play vinyl in there.

I like the sound of that...

Honestly, I'd start hunting Audiogon. You can find some hellaciously good deals on lightly-used gear.

[topgun 262]

If you look around for used equipment you can find some pretty darn good deals, like Jim said, hit up Audiogon for what your looking for.

As for rack amps, I'd reccomend QSC personally, I haven't found anything that I dislike about them yet, if you buy them used don't worry about them to much, they are almost bulletproof.

What kind of space is there to work with for the speakers? Is size a restraint on speaker size or do you have enough room to run an Imperial Horn setup?

[JimJ 11]

I could rattle off equipment combos all night long, but here are some good brands to get you looking:

Preamplifiers: Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Adcom, Sonic Frontiers, AES/Cary Audio, Dynaco, Manley, Welborne Labs, Forte Audio, Parasound, NAD, PS Audio, Classe

Power amps: Many of the same make excellent matching power amps, of course

Speakers: This is really going to depend on personal preference. Vandersteens, B&W's, Magnepans, Lowther, Tannoy, Dynaudio, blah blah...best bet is to get out there and try to narrow down what you like.

Turntable: Rega, Technics, VPI, Sota, Michell, Thorens, Linn Sondek...all build quality 'tables.

[tejcurrent 13]

Never heard of audiogon-I'll check that out.

Space on the main system is not very limited as it will be 'my' entertainment room, and I love equipment like a pimp loves women-all sizes and shapes are welcome. The room is around 23'x17', but my biggest constriant is height which is ~ 8 feet because of the irregular cornered ceilings. The room isn't a square though, it has a slightly irregular shape because of the cutout for the closet which is about 5ftx10ft.

I'll love to build some towers and have a stack of stuff going to the ceiling around a nice tv, but I know I'll have the plasma downstairs-it'll be rough talking the wife into another upstairs. Either way, at least it'll sound good up there when I'm done .

I've never built an imperial horn enclosure, but I'd love to try

I was recommended this amp off of parts express, would it be good for the Q? Thanks.

I'm going to go check into the stuff you guys have mentioned so far.

Edited June 10, 2007 by tejcurrent

[ccdoggy 0]

might i suggest a EP2500 for the Q. its what i am running my 15" Q off and i really like it, allot. especially for the price, check ebay.

I really really like NHT speakers, maybe a bit out of you're price range but their classic zeros and the threes are amazing. just give them a good amount of power. And they are beautiful, the piano black is so sexy.

for $500 for 5.1 i would get a $250 reciever (marantz, denon) and then spend the rest on some JBL or something speakers you can get cheap. or wait for more cash and get what you really want.

One thing i must say is to listen to the speakers before you buy (except cheaper stuff, JBL all klipsch basically sounds the same just higher levels get louder and clearer). If you can listen to them in you're house before buying as the location of the speaker can make a huge impact on how it sounds.

[oldschool4life 0]

Just an offer:

I'm selling some great speakers to start with; they are Sapphire Audio.

5 piece:

Medium of bookshelfs

Center

Pair of dipole surrounds

7 piece:

5 piece +

Big pair of bookshelfs

I also have an A/V receiver available; it's a Pioneer Elite

[oldschool4life 0]

I could rattle off equipment combos all night long, but here are some good brands to get you looking:

Preamplifiers: Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Adcom, Sonic Frontiers, AES/Cary Audio, Dynaco, Manley, Welborne Labs, Forte Audio, Parasound, NAD, PS Audio, Classe

Power amps: Many of the same make excellent matching power amps, of course

Speakers: This is really going to depend on personal preference. Vandersteens, B&W's, Magnepans, Lowther, Tannoy, Dynaudio, blah blah...best bet is to get out there and try to narrow down what you like.

Turntable: Rega, Technics, VPI, Sota, Michell, Thorens, Linn Sondek...all build quality 'tables.

You left a ton out...

B&K, Outlaw, Rotel, Cambridge Audio, Paradigm, PSB, Totem, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, etc...

[///M5 2,833]

For the $500 you are nearly screwed. I'd build a set of cheap bookshelves from the HTGuide and get a pawnshop 2 chn receiver and call her good. That combo would still smoke a >$1k system from best buy but will only be two speakers. Either way no issues.

As for the other room with $3k as recommended above, I'd definitely agree that you are on a used or build your own budget as well. In both cases I'd recommend spending it all on 2 speakers and foregoing the surround as your budget doesn't really allow for it IMO.

[JimJ 11]

I could rattle off equipment combos all night long, but here are some good brands to get you looking:

Preamplifiers: Audio Research, Conrad Johnson, Adcom, Sonic Frontiers, AES/Cary Audio, Dynaco, Manley, Welborne Labs, Forte Audio, Parasound, NAD, PS Audio, Classe

Power amps: Many of the same make excellent matching power amps, of course

Speakers: This is really going to depend on personal preference. Vandersteens, B&W's, Magnepans, Lowther, Tannoy, Dynaudio, blah blah...best bet is to get out there and try to narrow down what you like.

Turntable: Rega, Technics, VPI, Sota, Michell, Thorens, Linn Sondek...all build quality 'tables.

You left a ton out...

B&K, Outlaw, Rotel, Cambridge Audio, Paradigm, PSB, Totem, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, etc...

Oh, I know I did...just that a lot of the t00bed manufacturers come to mind first to me

[tejcurrent 13]

How does a Harmon Kardon 245 sound? Very pretty if nothing else.

I think I've found a good used technics table for reasonable, just wanted to check it out a little first.