Hey All,
I’m renovating my basement and just wired for in ceiling surround speakers. I will be using the center, subwoofer and R/L speakers that came with my Yamaha home theater-in-a-box setup. As you can tell by my system, I’m not an audiophile, but I appreciate good quality at a reasonable price.
I need to buy 3 in-ceiling surround speakers (round)to go with what I have. Most of my budget is going to the plasma tv so I’m looking for cheap, but decent speakers for under $100/pair. I will buy 4 if they only come in pairs. Can anyone offer suggestions? I’ve read some good reviews on AudioSource speakers, but haven’t been able to find them anywhere to hear them. All of the “superstores” around me carry about 4 different sets of speakers of just the major brands and half the time the demo setup doesn’t work.
Thanks,
DB
p.s. Any recommendations on 37"-42" plasma tvs? Numerous reviews put Panasonic at the top.
[quote]dollarbill44 wrote:
I need to buy 3 in-ceiling surround speakers (round)to go with what I have. Most of my budget is going to the plasma tv so I’m looking for cheap, but decent speakers for under $100/pair. I will buy 4 if they only come in pairs. Can anyone offer suggestions?
p.s. Any recommendations on 37"-42" plasma tvs? Numerous reviews put Panasonic at the top.[/quote]
As an audiophile and Home Theater enthusiast, I strongly believe speakers and TVs are a very personal choice. Much as a car, you absolutely need to test and compare before you buy. If your superstores don’t have anything you like, look for a smaller store.
For example, I can tell you that indeed Panasonic plasmas are highly rated and most people love them, but both me and my wife hate them. So we have a Sony XBR LCD RPTV which we love. Even though a lot of people would swear by the Samsung DLPs (which we also don’t like). It’s personal taste…
I can also tell you in your case I’d pick Infinity speakers, which I believe are the best sounding ceiling speakers, however not everybody likes them and even if you do like them they would steal all the thunder from your Yamahas… So you’d have to buy matching Infinity speakers for all the other channels…
[quote]bikemike wrote:
See if you can find a store that sells Polk Audio.[/quote]
Polk has good stuff, just too expensive for this project. I’m also looking at getting a new rack from Elite, so I’m looking to go pretty cheap on the speakers. I just want to get the best cheap speakers I can.
I hate Panasonic with a passion, personally. I wish you best of luck and hope you dont encounter the same problems I have had with my former tv.
Aso for the speakers, I recently spoiled myself and installed K/H 7.1 Surround in my basement too.
My set:
I knew someone in the business however so I managed to get a very good deal - pretty much what she pays.
I dont know how your basement is situated however, so if it is like a rectangle like mine, I set up the .1 (bass) facing up, behind my couch. the 7. are two corner ceiling, 4 surrounding the tv, and the last bass under, facing up, towards my tv. I hate to have the subwoofer facing me cause I crank that mother fucker and so it filters out most of the treble. Face it up and you’ll get all the 'oomph and half the distraction.
Even if you get a 5.1, keep the towers facing you as close to where you’ll be sitting. The farther apart they are, the more indistinguishable they’ll be to your bass and corner speakers.
just my two cents but why spend a couple of grand on a tv and go low budjet on the speaks ? kind of like driving a 911 on coopers. the sound is at least half the experience so don’t waste $100pr cause its all frickn junk. just stick w/ the tv speaks until you can at the very least step up to polk or bose.
[quote]swivel wrote:
just my two cents but why spend a couple of grand on a tv and go low budjet on the speaks ? kind of like driving a 911 on coopers. the sound is at least half the experience so don’t waste $100pr cause its all frickn junk. just stick w/ the tv speaks until you can at the very least step up to polk or bose. [/quote]
I’d rather drive a 911 on Coopers than have a 911 sit on blocks until I can afford Pirrellis. Thanks for your $.02 - I’m putting it towards some Polk speakers.
So you’d have to buy matching Infinity speakers for all the other channels…