In-wall Speaker Recommendations

tateke

Hello all. I have been looking over the forum here for the last couple of days to help me make my final speaker selection for my new house. So I figure I will just put this out there and ask for help. I am moving into a new house, but it already has the drywall up and is almost finished, so this will have to be a retro installation. I want a 6.1 setup of in-wall speakers for the l/r/c channels and in-ceiling speakers for the rear channels. Here is my current setup:
TV - Panasonic TH-42PX25
DVD - Samsung DVD-HD845
Recv. - Onkyo TX-LR552
Sub - PSW 450

Here is the "theater" room dimensions:
Front wall - 19'7"
Side walls - 28'
Sofa distance - 15' (Great room that is open to the kitchen)

I am also looking for a pair of in-ceiling speakers for our dining room. This room will not have a sub.

At last, but not least, I am looking to do this on a budget ($2000) for all 10 speakers (two Atrium 45s too). I was thinking about the TC series, but it seems like there are many who think that the LC series the way to go. Should I mix and match (LCs up front and TCs in the rear)? I was also thinking about the RC series in the dining room, but not sure since there will be no subwoofer.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Keith

skykeys

Hi Keith, I had my family room remodeled back in February. It was ripped down to the studs. At that point, it occurred to me that in-wall speakers would be a good idea and now was the time to get them in.

To make a long story short, I used LCi265s for the front R + L, and I bought the optional enclosure cabinets - which fit behind the dry wall in between the studs. I used the LCi-RTS-C center speaker - because it comes with an enclosure cabinet. The LCi-C, which would have matched the LCI265s, can not use an enclosure cabinet because of its design, but the LCi-RTS-C is designed to use (and comes with) the enclosure. While I couldn't justify the extra cost of the top-of-the-line RTS speakers for the left and rights, I figured that it is worth it to have the best center speaker, as the center speaker is very important in 5.1 (or 7.1) audio configurations, and I really wanted the enclosure. I used LCi80 in-ceiling speakers for the rear surrounds. All of that was installed before the drywall went up.

I have a 5.1 system. I just didn't see the need for a 7.1 system, plus a 7.1 speaker configuration would not work as well in my family room.

I used the same amp I had in my older system, which is a seven yr old. Yamaha RX-V620 receiver. I have a new Polk DSW-500 subwoofer.

Bottom line is, I love how the system sounds, for both music and HD television/movies. I've very happy that I went with the LC line. For in-wall speakers, you don't want to mess around because it's a messy hassle to upgrade later.

I'm considering upgrading the amplifier and going with separates if they fit into my cabinet, which can only take about a 15" deep component. I'm looking at the new switching Class D ICEPower amps because they are much smaller (they fit in my available space) and much more efficient than traditional Class A/B amps. I'm considering amps from Nuforce, D-Sonic, and Rotel. I have not seriously looked at the preamp - A/V processor units yet, but I'm in no rush to do this upgrade because the system sounds great now.

Hope that helps.

Skykeys

readonly

Good post, I am thinking how to set up the speakers for my game room

readonly

BTW, do you guys think if it is good idea to mixed Polk RC60 (rear) with TC620 (front) with Pioneer 2-Way In-Wall Center Channel Speaker w/ Dual 4.5" Woofers?

readonly

I forget to tell the Pioneer center channel is S-IW60T, which I bought from Walmart

tateke

Thanks for your reply SkyKeys. I like your setup, but I don't think I can do that with my budget. What do you think of using LCs up front and TCs in the back? And any recommendations on the dining room speakers?