Opinion on new setup

ChrisinNY

Hi all,
I've finally decided to go in for a surround sound system and I would like some opinions on the following setup:

TV - Samsung HL S6188W
Receiver - Yamaha RXV 2600
Speaker - Polk Surroundbar
Sub - Velodyne DPS12

The reason I've gone in for the Surroundbar is because of my room layout. It is around 14' x 18' with open walls on one side. The room is carpeted. The reason for the Yamaha, even though it looks like overkill, is twofold:
- I hope to be finishing my basement and moving the entire setup there, at which time I will probably go in for a full surround sound setup and the surroundbar will move to the bedroom
- the Yamaha can upconvert signals from my DVD player and switch to HDMI and it will allow me to expand in the future

Three alternate setups (keeping the same TV) to keep the budget down:
Receiver - Yamaha RXV 659
Speaker - Polk Surroundbar
Sub - Velodyne DPS10
OR
Receiver - Denon 2805
Speaker - Polk Surroundbar
Sub - Velodyne DPS10
OR
Receiver - one of the above
Front - RTi6
Center - CSi3
Sub - Velodyne DPS10
Surround - FXi3

I'm not sure if the last setup will really work given the layout of the room.
I would really appreciate some opinions. I'm totally inexperienced at this and I need to know if the entire setup is too much for the room size?

Skynut

Never too much.
I have never heard any of the products you mention.
You can always turn the volume down but you never know when you will want it louder.

Mazeroth

Definately the last option.

jdhdiggs

Last option- The surround bar is cool but it can't totally replace seperate speakers in the correct locations.

Shizelbs

All would be cool in their own way, but the last option is your best bet.

Sami

I am pretty sure you can fit in the surrounds in a way it would still sound better than the surroundbar even without compromising the aesthetics. I once tried my surrounds behind the sitting location, on the floor facing up. Not optimal but not as bad as you would think either, and I would think there would be other ways to find some solution that sounds decent.

ChrisinNY

Thanks for the quick replies. I too prefer the last option but I'm kind of concerned with the positioning of the surround speakers. I have a large opening on one side of the seating location (opening into the kitchen). Is it ok to position the surround speakers about 7ft up? ie over the doorway? will they sound odd?

Also, has anyone used the flat wires from decorp?
http://www.decorp.com/product/audio.htm

I've read all the arguments regarding good quality cables etc and I was wondering if anyone has tried these?

aaharvel

given your room concerns, I would go the Denon 2805, Surround Bar, DPS 10 and not look back.

Holydoc

Well it appears you have two objectives that you are trying to resolve:

1) Temporary fix for this room
2) Permanent setup for basement and bedroom

The problem that you are going to run into is that the soundbar depends alot on reflection to get you the full surround effect. With you having one open wall, you might not get the effect you are looking for. Since the soundbar cannot be moved to negate this problem, you will be stuck with poor surround around.

The problem with the RTi6's and FXi's is that it will allow you to get a much better surround effect but the RTi6's may be too small for your final basement setup.

The advantages with getting the RTi's and FXi's is that the FXi's can be tranferred later to your basement as your surrounds without having to be replaced. This would give you the receiver, sub, and surrounds that you will not have to purchase in the future. The RTi6's could be transferred to your bedroom with cheap satelite speakers added later if you want surround sound.

With this in mind, the RTi/FXi selection would give you better surround now and be the best cost effective in the future when you are building your final setup.

Good luck.

Holydoc

ChrisinNY wrote:

Thanks for the quick replies. I too prefer the last option but I'm kind of concerned with the positioning of the surround speakers. I have a large opening on one side of the seating location (opening into the kitchen). Is it ok to position the surround speakers about 7ft up? ie over the doorway? will they sound odd?

The FXi's perform great at that height. Mine are set almost that high and because of the way they diffuse the sound, it works out great!

Sami

ChrisinNY wrote:

Is it ok to position the surround speakers about 7ft up? ie over the doorway?

Absolutely, that's close to where they should be anyway.

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/loudspeakers/hometheaterspeakerlayout.php

"The main left and right surrounds should be to the respective sides of the listening area, above ear level if possible (ideally 2 feet or more)"

ChrisinNY

Holydoc wrote:

The FXi's perform great at that height. Mine are set almost that high and because of the way they diffuse the sound, it works out great!

That's really good to hear! Now if I can figure out if the flat wire is any good, I can probably make a decision. I need to conceal the wires that will be running up the walls.

ChrisinNY

aaharvel wrote:

given your room concerns, I would go the Denon 2805, Surround Bar, DPS 10 and not look back.

Thanks for the reply. Any reason you recommend the Denon over the Yamaha - other than the price?

Holydoc

ChrisinNY wrote:

That's really good to hear! Now if I can figure out if the flat wire is any good, I can probably make a decision. I need to conceal the wires that will be running up the walls.

Since this is a temporary solution (the basement being the final goal), I would worry about getting the correct gauge and then aesthetics. As long as you get the correct gauge for the distance your speakers are at, you will be fine with flat wires.

Here is a link to a nice table to help you decide on your gauge. (take the rest of the article with a grain of salt)

http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#resistancehigh


Now once you finish your basement and start setting up down there, I would resurface that wiring question since you will want everything perfect at that point.

Good luck!

aaharvel

ChrisinNY wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Any reason you recommend the Denon over the Yamaha - other than the price?

nothing in particular. I'm simply not a fan of Yamaha at any pricepoint.
But you may disagree. You should listen to both and see for yourself.

ChrisinNY

thanks for all the replies. Just thought I'd give you an update - after all my research I had decided on the following setup:

TV - Samsung HL S6188W
Receiver - Yamaha RXV 2600
Front - RTi6
Center - CSi3
Sub - SVS 20-39 PCi (instead of the Velodyne DPS10)
Surround - FXi3

BUT it's not going to happen... my plans have been shot down and 'we' decided to go in for a samsung HTIB!

Willow

Are you sure you can't have "you" reconsider. You won't be happy and "you" will end up spending more down the line.

Mazeroth

I'd rather listen to the television's speakers.

Willow

Mazeroth wrote:

I'd rather listen to the television's speakers.

or have it muted

Mike682

Welcome to the forum Chris.
Where are you in NY?

ChrisinNY

Mike682 wrote:

Welcome to the forum Chris.
Where are you in NY?

I work in Westchester but live in CT. I've actually been lurking for more than a year on this forum and will probably go back to lurking. I find that most all of my questions get answered before I can post them!

In defence of the decision, I must say that it's probably right given other circumstances but still... it was so close

Mike682

ChrisinNY wrote:

I work in Westchester but live in CT. I've actually been lurking for more than a year on this forum and will probably go back to lurking. I find that most all of my questions get answered before I can post them!

In defence of the decision, I must say that it's probably right given other circumstances but still... it was so close

I know how you feel..try doing a little at a time. What if you were to go a little lower on the receiver, something like a Yammy 5860 or 5960. Both have pre-outs for future upgrades and offer a nice feature set for the money

Tell the other that HTIBs will cost more in the long run..

Good luck, and hang around

Willow

ChrisinNY wrote:

In defence of the decision, I must say that it's probably right given other circumstances but still... it was so close

Well why not wait till you save more $$$ or is it a size issue?

cfrizz

Hi Chris & welcome.

If it is a matter of money, & you have already waited this long, waiting & saving a little longer is not going to kill you.

ChrisinNY

Willow wrote:

Well why not wait till you save more $$$ or is it a size issue?

believe it or not I was not the one driving the move to the whole home theatre thing. I watch barely 4 hours of tv a week - mostly news and in a good month I might watch 1 movie, I'm more of a book guy. It's just that whenever I decide to buy anything I really like to make it as perfect as I can afford. So... anyway, there's still time and things might change...

cfrizz

Wow! That's a shocker!:D Now I really think that you should wait & save to get a nicer setup than HTIB! It's not too often that you get a woman who cares about a good audio system!

Look at it this way, She'll be happy getting a system that she can be enthused about & the few times that you do sit down to watch TV or watch a movie, you'll be able to enjoy it as well knowing that you bought the very best sound for the money that you've spent!:)

Willow

ChrisinNY wrote:

I'm more of a book guy. ...

lots of books are turned into movies....;)