CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[Zebu Fellenz]

Hey Guys,

I'm pretty clueless when looking at speakers, and to some degree the same could be said when I look at audio equipment in general. I'm no audiophile but I can appreciate that my JBL L-77's in the theater sound much better than the KLH plastic boxed, outdoor rated, Walmart special speakers that I use for music... Ahem "background noise" in the machine shop.

Right now the audio in my theater is pretty well torn apart and disconnected as I recently reorganized the room and haven't taken the time to rerun and reroute cables and get everything connected again.

Right now as it sits I'm running two channels with a pair of JBL L-77's in front of the screen powered by a Rotel stereo receiver I recently picked up and fed via analog from my HTPC.

I was previously using a Pioneer 5.1 receiver that I've had since the late 90's but after using the Rotel I've realized that it really doesn't sound that good at all and I'll probably be relegating it to shop duty in the near future.

What I'd like to get setup in the theater is a decent (not high end, but nice) 5.1 setup. I'd be happy to continue using the JBL's but I'm not sure what I could get to use as a center channel that would match nicely. Finding a third L-77 would be ideal in my mind but they seem to be few and far between, at least finding one to fit my budget seems to be.

I have no idea what to look at for the surround channels, I know I need something smaller <10" in the largest dimension, wall mountable, that will nicely compliment whatever I end up with for the front channels. Suggestions are welcome!

Amplification is the next part I'm looking into replacing. The Rotel receiver will be staying as I use with my turntable (Beogram 1800) but I'm looking for a better five channel solution, my only source is the HTPC and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon. I have no use for most of the functionality of a receiver, room correction may be the exception, so I was wondering if separate power amps or a single five channel amp might make more sense?

I know that's quite a list of questions but in short, how would you set it up? Let's say with a pretty flexible budget of $1,000 though spending less is always welcome.

Erik

[akajester]

Regarding speakers, you'll hear a lot of talk about what brand is great, what type you should get and what is bad. In the end speakers are really personal and you should go out and listen to as many as you can. You may be surprised at what you like and dislike.

My experience was that after listening to all sorts of speakers (some cheap and some WAY outside my price range) I ended up with $99 Sony floor standing speakers. I never guessed that's what I'd end up with. I really liked how they sounded and they were in my price range. I bought the matching center as most suggested timbre matching the fronts and center. So, $300 for the fronts and center.

I was less picky about the surrounds and ended up with a great deal on some in-wall (gasp) monster speakers. $35 / pair.

I've always liked the Harman Kardon receivers, they're very well built and very under rated. $425 is what I paid for my 7.1 receiver. I recently bought a newer one and it's just as good as the old one. I've heard good things about Denon and Onkyo and a few other brands. I've had poor experience with Sony receivers and hissing surrounds, etc. That's all I can say about that.

For a sub I picked up a SVS subwoofer and a 1000 watt Samson amplifier for it. Both were used so were about half of the new cost.

Dale

[ecrabb]

Personally, I hate the idea of an amp sitting there wide open to the speakers with nothing controlling the output level but software... Bad idea in my opinion. It'd just be my luck that I'd have to listen to the Windows startup sound or dialog alerts at 110dB. I know some people do it, but there's no way in hell I would. I like a nice, traditional remote with a real hardware volume knob harnessing the amplifier input.

I know you're a budget shopper, so I'd say if you're just going to use the multichannel inputs and let the HTPC do all the decoding, then there are some smokin' deals on older non-HDMI receivers. Really good stuff that was pretty high-end 4 years ago is now .10 on the dollar. I sold a forum member my Marantz AVR for a couple hundred bucks, in fact. It was close to a grand retail new. They're a little like computers in that they become "obsolete" quickly, but are actually unlike computers in that if you don't really need all the new bells and whistles, they work perfectly for their intended purpose. If you go to a little older 6-channel receiver, you might be able to find something that was originally in the $1500 ballpark for under a couple hundred bucks. Lots of bang for the buck.

Speakers... What Dale said. Deep subject. Just look around and see what you like. All I know is after having small semi-audiophile satellites with dual 5.25" mid-bass drivers for years (which are excellent for music), I'd like to try to go to something slightly larger at some point - at least 8" mid-bass drivers - for home theater. Maybe even floor standers. I think larger cabinets and drivers seem to offer a slightly "larger", more "cinematic" sound.

SC

[drice1234]

Keep your eye on this website. This Polk speaker has shown up a few times in the last couple of weeks. I bought one of these and am very happy with it for the price. I put a couple of eye hooks into the ceiling above my screen and then a couple of smaller eye hooks into the top of the speaker (for the price I don't care about the holes) and then used an "S" hook to hang the speaker above my screen. I would definitely not recommend going with in the wall speakers. That is what I had (still have) before I installed this speaker. Even though I blocked off the speaker space and insulated around it the noise still tended to go throughout the house.

http://dealspl.us/product/polk-audio-cs1-series-ii-center-channel-speaker-cherry-each

update: To get the additional $50 off to get the the $59.99 with free shipping you have to order today.

Dan

[Curt Palme]

For me, the older the better. I got in some 6 year old Energy speakers. PLastic, pieces of crap. Nothing like the old Energys from the 1980s and 1990s.

I'd get matching LCR speakers, the rears for surround are a lot less critical. Buy 2 pairs, and you'll have one spare, or double up on your center channel speaker.

Check Craigslist, one thing I found is that speakers devalue quickly, so you can get some real deals out there.

[Curt Palme]

For me, the older the better. I got in some 6 year old Energy speakers. PLastic, pieces of crap. Nothing like the old Energys from the 1980s and 1990s.

I'd get matching LCR speakers, the rears for surround are a lot less critical. Buy 2 pairs, and you'll have one spare, or double up on your center channel speaker.

Check Craigslist, one thing I found is that speakers devalue quickly, so you can get some real deals out there.

[Zebu Fellenz]

[Zebu Fellenz]

[ecrabb]

[Curt Palme]

Zebu, if you can find a deal on JBL 4311, those are really nice. Designed originally as studio monitors. They go for $400-500 a pair in good shape. One day I'll finish the EV Interface 4s I have here.

[Curt Palme]

Zebu, if you can find a deal on JBL 4311, those are really nice. Designed originally as studio monitors. They go for $400-500 a pair in good shape. One day I'll finish the EV Interface 4s I have here.

[WanMan]

Aren't studio monitors designed for close-proximity listening?

[Curt Palme]

Not really. I mean, studio monitors aren't designed to throw 100s of feet like some horn drivers are, but whether you're 3' or 15' away, a dome tweeter has pretty wide dispersion for a nice sound field.

[Curt Palme]

Not really. I mean, studio monitors aren't designed to throw 100s of feet like some horn drivers are, but whether you're 3' or 15' away, a dome tweeter has pretty wide dispersion for a nice sound field.

[ecrabb]

I think what Wan is referring to, is that if they're for the studio, then they must be "near-field" monitors, which is a commonly mis-interpreted term.

Wan, "near-field" doesn't really mean "close proximity" as much as it much as just means "small enough to be conveniently placed next to the listener and accurately reproduce the input signal without coloration".

In HT, where we try to really minimize room effects with treatments, we're actually creating something very similar to the environment where studio monitors are used.

Like Curt said, unless you have a huge room where you need lots of dispersion, there's no reason you can't use a "studio monitor" as an HT speaker. In fact, a few guys do use expensive active studio monitors in their HT's.

SC

[416ray4538]

Listen to every kind and make of speaker you can, and when I say listen I also mean ignore the salesman. He will turn up the volume, count to ten in his head, then turn it down and expect you to buy the speakers. Just keep listening and forget about perfect, there's no such thing and the closer to perfect the sound is , the more obvious it becomes what's wrong with the sound. That's why people are willing to spend thousands of dollars on subtle improvements.
YOU decide what you like. Keep your mind on the music or whatever you're listening to; don't get impressed by the equipment. It's purpose is to let you hear the music, so judge on how you hear the music or whatever you're listening to. There's a lot of crap out there that's meant to make you take it home just because someone did a great sales job.
Trust your own ears.

[ChrisWiggles]