Help a friend set up his new condo

cstpeter
cstpeter Posts: 387
edited May 2006 in Speakers
My buddy is building a condo and is asking me for help in choosing a system. He's looking for the following:

--A 5.1 system in the living room. He might go in-wall center, in-ceiling surrounds, and towers/bookshelves for mains.
--Secondary in-wall/in-ceiling speakers in his bedroom and porch.

--A music server system with remote access throughout.

Money is not too much of a concern, but my buddy's not an audiophile, so it would be tough to encourage him to buy LSi25's with separates. He also has a preference for rock/indie music.

I will start by recommending the RTi12/RTi10 with RC80i and RC85i as appropriate. I'm thinking a Denon 3806 or 4306 with additional stereo amps as needed (but not for the RTi's--as I noted, he probably won't be down with a separate amp for his mains). I know nothing about music servers, so I will leave this to the salesman, but your comments are also welcome.

Any comments? Suggests? Any other speakers I should suggest (they have to make matching in-walls)?

Any comments on making outdoor music sound decent? Should he get one of those subwoofers that look like a rock or tree or whatever?

Of course the decision will ultimately be made by my buddy's ears (we are starting our demoing sessions this weekend--awesome); I just want to get some thoughts on what to recommend.

Thanks everybody.

p.s. How much fun would it be to start from stratch like this?!
Von Schweikert VR4-jr
Valve Audio Predator
Denon DVD-2900
PS Audio Digital Link III w/Cullen Level IV Mods
Pro-Ject Xpression w/Blue Point No. 2
Graham Slee Special Edition 2
PS Audio UPC-200
Post edited by cstpeter on
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Comments

  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited May 2006
    Oh man, great place to put LSi7's. It wouldn't be long until he turned into an audiophile.
    madmax
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • cstpeter
    cstpeter Posts: 387
    edited May 2006
    No doubt, but then you run into the issue of extra amplification (which of course RTi's could use, but don't necessarily need) and matching in-wall/in-ceilings all being 4 ohm.

    I have heard good things about the B&W CWM LCR 7, so I think we'll demo those too.
    Von Schweikert VR4-jr
    Valve Audio Predator
    Denon DVD-2900
    PS Audio Digital Link III w/Cullen Level IV Mods
    Pro-Ject Xpression w/Blue Point No. 2
    Graham Slee Special Edition 2
    PS Audio UPC-200
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  • 2+2
    2+2 Posts: 546
    edited May 2006
    Keep in mind that your friend cant crank the music loudly in a condo.....I wouldnt go overboard....
    System 1: Martin Logan Vantage, Rotel RC 1070, B&K Reference 200.2, Music Hall DAC 15.2, Yamaha 2300

    System 2: LSi15 w/db840, Marantz SR8400, Rotel 1080, RM6800 (C&S), Sony X2020ES

    System 3: LSi7, Yamaha SW215, Music Hall Maven, Music Hall MMF CD25 w/627opamps

    System 4: RTi100, Harman Kardon AVR 230, Panasonic DVD
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  • cstpeter
    cstpeter Posts: 387
    edited May 2006
    2+2 wrote:
    Keep in mind that your friend cant crank the music loudly in a condo.....I wouldnt go overboard....

    That's not a concern: It is a whole floor of a building above a retail store.
    Von Schweikert VR4-jr
    Valve Audio Predator
    Denon DVD-2900
    PS Audio Digital Link III w/Cullen Level IV Mods
    Pro-Ject Xpression w/Blue Point No. 2
    Graham Slee Special Edition 2
    PS Audio UPC-200
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