thoughts on speaker selection

nuros

i'll give you a quick rundown on my upcoming dedicated home theater:

room size: 10.5x18x8
reciever: denon 3806
sub: svs 10"
config: 6.1
speaker budget: $1500
my second row of seating will be about a foot away from a side and rear wall.
the room will be used for almost exclusively for movies.

here's what i'm considering:
fronts: RTi6
center: CSi5
3x surrounds: FXi3

how does that look in general? does anybody have a better way to allocate money?

also, one of my side speakers will be on the end of an outside corner. this means it won't have any wall to bounce off of on one side of it. should this be a major concern for me in choosing my surround speakers?

thanks a ton for any input you may have, i'm a serious newbie when it comes to HT.

Dennis Gardner

I think your setup is balanced nicely. The odd mounting for your side surround shouldn't cause much problem if you calibrate nicely to compensate for any loss of sound. Using the sides in dipole mode will help with the diffuse pattern of sound needed for this.

What is your screen size? 17 feet back will make any TV small looking sitting behind people in front of them. I assume you are looking into a projector and getting the picture up high enough on the wall..............second row seating cries out for front projection.

nuros

you are correct, 92" projector screen is in the plans.

thanks for the input, its always nice to know when you're on the right track

audiobliss

I'd agree that it looks well-balanced. However, for all the trouble of a dedicated HT room, HT seating, 92" projector, the audio equipment looks a little 'weak'. I would have expected more investing in the audio equipment given the scale of the overall effort.

cfrizz

Looks Great!!!! For a newbie, you've obviously done your homework.

Good Job!!!

ohskigod

audiobliss wrote:

I'd agree that it looks well-balanced. However, for all the trouble of a dedicated HT room, HT seating, 92" projector, the audio equipment looks a little 'weak'. I would have expected more investing in the audio equipment given the scale of the overall effort.

I see where your point is coming from, ut its allways easier to upgrade the audio then the other stuff. That will be a pretty sweet theater room, not too big, not too small. the sound equipment will easily get the job done.

ohskigod

If I was playing devil's advocate, maybe take the $ for the RTi6 plus whatever stands you were getting, add a little more and get the RTi8 floorstander (any more might be overkill for your total set up). This notwithstanding, the RTi6's will be fine too. Your going with the bigger center....smart move! NEVER go chinzcy on the center.

nuros

i agree it might be wise to spend more on the audio, but the scale of the project probably isn't as great as you might think. i get to design my house, so there is no extra cost in adding a theater itself. the projector will probably be a benq 7700 or a panny ae900, right around $2k.

the budget would break down like this:

projector: 2,000 31%
screen: 900 13%
reciever: 1,300 20%
dvd: 250 4%
sub: 480 7%
speakers: 1,500 23%

(obviously there are misc. costs, but those would be included in any case.)
after looking at it like this, i can see what you're saying

but lets say i up my speaker budget by even $1,000. i'd guess i'd be looking at something like RTi8's in front, keep the CSi5 in center, and FXi5's in surround, correct? how much extra performance do you think it would get me?

dinnu

I second the RTi8 suggestion, but I am not sure if you will gain much by going from FXi3 to FXi5 for the sorrounds.

sickicw

where r u from nuros? I have the following i would be willing to sell if you lived in the dfw area: fronts: RTi6 , center: CSi5 , left right surrounds: FXi3, rear surround: csi3

okiepolkie

Another place to save some dough is to go with a DIY screen.
I just completed a custom install utilizing Screen Goo from Goo Systems. This is a very economical solution to a high quality screen. For around $250, you can purchase the screen paint, buy a board, and put molding around it(might even have one of your home builders do it). The Screen Goo itself is around $200, depending on your location.

I've compared the results directly with a $1000 Draper Onyx screen and there is very little difference.

The install just completed is mated with an Infocus SP5000 LCD projector, giving a very good image in medium to low light settings.

BTW, I plan on doing a full write up on this to help others as well.

Zach

nuros

sickicw wrote:

where r u from nuros? I have the following i would be willing to sell if you lived in the dfw area: fronts: RTi6 , center: CSi5 , left right surrounds: FXi3, rear surround: csi3

I live up in Minnesota. I think I'm going to buy new anyways, if I'm satisfied with the setup I'll keep it for quite a while. Why are you selling the gear? Were you happy with it overall? One last question, how did the CSi3 work for a rear speaker? I was thinking about using that as well.

A do it yourself screen isn't a bad idea, I'll have to look into it.

Thanks again for all the input everybody.

sickicw

nuros wrote:

Why are you selling the gear? Were you happy with it overall? One last question, how did the CSi3 work for a rear speaker?/QUOTE]

I am selling because I upgraded to the lsi line.

The rti line is fine. I liked it a lot until I upgraded to the lsi line. After that I can’t go back to rti. I started some experimenting to upgrade my system that would last for quite a long while. I started with an external amp and liked it, but after researching and demoing the lsi line, I decided to do a “full upgrade”, speakers and all, just to make sure I wouldn’t upgrade again later. I am happy with the lsi line, and most likely never upgrade my speakers again unless I am buying them for another room.

I never used the csi3 for a rear, but I’m sure it will work fine as long as you have somewhere to place it. I only used my csi3 for my center until I upgraded to the csi5.