Advice on home theater / stereo equipment

[cnielsen]

We just purchased a condo in Seattle which has existing wiring in the walls for a surround sound system. The old system was Bose as there are still some amp components and a subwoofer left by the previous owner. I figure it is probably best to start from scratch and not try and work with that old Bose equipment.

The room is about 15'x25' and has 2-story vaulted ceilings and I have a new LCD TV on one of the long walls.

I want something that can do surround sound for the TV and play via iPod for pandora etc.

Is this something that I can just buy at one of the box stores or should I go nicer component style?

Can I utilize all the existing in-wall wiring and just cut/splice connectors as needed?

Any recommendations or things I should consider?

[Steve Viegas]

That is a big space. You will need a lot of horse power to fill it. I am not sure you can do that with a Theater in a Box system. Today's systems seem to utilize HDMI very well. For this reason I would not consider used equipment and would focus on new. I think it will greatly reduce wiring hassles. Buy your HDMI cables on line from a cheap source (Amazon seems to be a reasonable place).

Majority of your spend on speakers. I think 5.1 is fine, even if your room can handle more (you have the space) much of today's source material comes as 5.1. You will likely not find an amp that will be marketed as 5.1 (today 7.1 or 7.2 seems standard), but you can set the amp for 5.1 playback.

For the best sound, you will want the wires to each speaker to be the same length. I would not "cut and splice". There are likely electronics built into the higher end amps/preamps to handle time delays, but I suggest you are better off having each speaker cable be the same length. There is a very profitable industry based on expensive cables. I suggest braided copper wire, lamp cord thickness will suffice. No name brand needed in my opinion.

Have fun.

[VincentVega]

It usually comes down to $$. Figure a budget and I bet you can get a good sound for that price point. Usually holds true no matter your $$ spent.

Assuming the wiring is solid no reason it cant be used.

Good advice with cables, no need to spend big $$.

[kach22i]

Substantial space as mentioned and a budget in mind as requested above.

You can do it right for 20k (really right for 120k), or get a little better than TV sound with Bose, and then there is everything in between.

[MBAtarga]

monoprice has some of the most competitive HDMI cable prices

[scottmandue]

I agree with setting a budget first and then shop around within that budget.

I have a smaller room and did surround for around $5000 but easily could have spent $20,000-$120,000.

While I also agree that in a perfect world the speaker wire should be of equal length. We don't live in a perfect world and the ease of using the installed wire outweighs that factor (IMHO) as long as the existing wires are in good condition and reasonably good quality.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by MBAtarga

monoprice has some of the most competitive HDMI cable prices

+1 on Monoprice

Also, most of the better units have a mic that you place where you sit and it sets all the delays properly for you. That way your wire and speaker size and differing distance are taken care of.

[masraum]

Well, five feet vs five hundred feet, you could possibly heart our at least measure a difference, but probably not if the difference was twenty to thirty feet.

[scottmandue]

An African or European sparrow?

[cnielsen]

Whoa, $120K??? Ok, I guess we need to set a budget...

What can I do for less than $2K? Most bang for the buck

Any specific brands that are good or bad ones I should stay away from?

[SiberianDVM]

Ever built any speakers? I used to do it all the time and there is some really nice and inexpensive modeling software now. I highly recommend Parts Express: the #1 source for audio, video & speaker building components for speaker and crossover components.

I have 3 full HT systems in my house. Most of them are fairly long in the tooth by modern standards, but they still sound great.

But I have always wanted a MacIntosh system, kinda like the way I always wanted a Porsche.

[cashman]

Onkyo 6200 is one of the best HTIB options for the price. Unless you are a hardcore audiophile you should be satisfied. I have it and I agree monoprice is the best place for cables.

[scottmandue]

These guys have good prices on amps... just add speakers.

I want to upgrade my Panasonic DVD to a OPPO Blu Ray someday.

Receivers, Amps, & Tuners Reviews, Ratings, Deals and Comparison

When I prewired my house I also ran stereo to the bedroom.

I got a Pioneer 7.1 system (seven amps for seven speakers) but I only have the five speakers in the living room (plus sub) so I can run stereo in the bedroom at the same time.

Connect everything with HDMI cables

[Zeke]

This kind of equipment abounds on CL. Some good stuff for next to nothing. I was looking for about a month to get the picture.

[RWebb]

despite the fact that conduction speed in copper differs from that in air, I don't think you have to worry

[WolfeMacleod]

Originally Posted by cashman

Onkyo 6200 is one of the best HTIB options for the price. Unless you are a hardcore audiophile you should be satisfied. I have it and I agree monoprice is the best place for cables.

I picked up an Onkyo system a couple years ago. Not sure which model, offhand, but it was only around $300. Shortly after that, I scored a pair of older JBL tower speakers at a thrift store for something like $50. I use them as set "B"

Sounds pretty damn good, really.

[89911]

One thing that I have done in one of our rooms is connect a computer to the system via HDMI and use either the receiver or TV for switching. I am using a small form factor Dell on a gigabit ethernet that is hidden and I use a wireless keyboard for input that connects to a usb extension. Now you don't have to worry about getting your web based media via apps on you TV or DVD player. I can stream anything such as Amazon Prime movies or Youtube HD feeds. Your options are endless and really add to the home theater setup. Make sure you get the best video card available with HDMI out and your good. You can order the computerwith a blue ray player also to watch movies this way also eliminating a DVD player.

[oldgunner]

check out AudiogoN - The High-end Audio Community lots of used audio gear.

[Jagshund]

9.2 is the new 5.1 . . . wouldn't consider anything less than 7.1 today or it will be seriously outdated when 4K pic/12.4 audio standards start becoming commonplace next year. Or 2016.