Audio Noob - Need Recommendations

[Gunslinger08]

I'm building my first system for my living room setup. The other components I have include a 50" 1080p plasma, satellite box, PS3, and 360. The room is about 14x20, but the entire level is pretty open, so I need speakers that won't sound bad in an open space. The receiver will need to accept at least 2 HDMI (PS3 and 360) and 1 component (satellite box). It would be nice to have a receiver that outputs everything to the TV via 1 HDMI cable, to save a few bucks on cables. I need recommendations on the receiver, fronts, a center, rears, a sub, and cabling. A soundbar for the front channels might be nice, since my TV is located between 2 windows, so tower speakers would probably get in the way.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Did you look at the sticky thread?

Budget?

 

[Gunslinger08]

Just did. Under $1k, but the lower the better. If I can buy a $500 system that sounds nearly as good as a $1k system, I'm all for it.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Especially for music, spending more on your system is going to get you much better results, but whether the difference is worth the cost to you is a personal choice.

Soundbar solutions are usually pretty limited / compromised. Your front three speakers are going to be the most important ones, so if you can get three good ones up front, it's going to be a better system. Is there room to the side of the windows that they could go on the outside of them? Would bookshelf speakers on stands work better?

 

[Tiamat]

Pictures of your place would help immensely. Don't think about surround speakers yet. We should work on the front 3 and subwoofer(s) first.

The open area means that the subwoofer(s) would have to work much harder in order to produce audible deep bass. What are your bass needs? What volumes do you intend to listen at?

Frankly, for MY bass needs in a space the size of yours, I would blow 4x your budget on subwoofer(s) alone. But that is MY bass needs (16 Hz, >100 dB clean SPL), so it is important for us to know what YOUR bass needs are and what you expect.

Your receiver choice will be determined by the features you need (how many hdmi inputs, room auto-eq, etc.)

Have you heard speaker brands that you just didn't like? This can help us understand your subjective leaning in speakers and narrow down the playing field a bit.

Finally, if your couch is up against the back wall, surround sound is probably not a good option. If your couch has some space between it and the back wall, surround sound becomes an option.

 

[cheesehead]

The only soundbars I've seen that are worth the asking price are incredibly wide units apparently designed for use with a projection screen. From what I've read and tried, your head and the speakers should form a triangle with the angle at your end between 45 and 60 degrees - a soundbar will usually only give you about fifteen.

Step 1: Buy satellite speakers from Infinity. The Primus series is nice. If you're feeling flush, buy Paradigm instead.
Step 2: Buy a subwoofer. Hsu does some nice stuff, like this: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html
Step 3: If your TV has S/PDIF (coax or optical out - you can get an adapter from one to the other if needed), you can buy a used receiver and save big. Older receivers without HDMI switching are not considered desirable for HT use, and as such can be bought very cheaply. By connecting all inputs to your TV and only using the S/PDIF input on the receiver, you can get top-quality amplification for less.
Step 4: Buy cheap cables. Monoprice is nice.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Here are some photos of the space, showing you how open it is. You can see that the couch is not against the wall.

http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/joshsquall/back.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/joshsquall/door.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/joshsquall/left.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/joshsquall/right.jpg

 

[Gunslinger08]

I'm also open to using a HTIB. I'm by no means an audiophile. I'll just be using it for TV/movie watching and console gaming.

 

[Tiamat]

The only catches to your situation that I see is:
1. Budget is not infinite (not really a problem)
2. Left side wall is bare and will shift the stereo image to the left due to reflections and since the right side is open without the same reflection.

More questions:
1. Do you WANT surround sound, or do you want a higher quality 2 speaker + subwoofer option (or 3 speaker + subwoofer)
2. Are you against shifting your whole room setup 90 degrees counter clockwise so that the windows are to your right and the couch divides the kitchen from the living room? This setup would allow for better stereo imaging without a shift in either direction. As long as your couch is between 62% and 66% of the way in between the front and rear walls (in whichever orientation), you optimize the smoothness of the bass due to minimization of interaction of bass modes.

If you cannot/do not want to do the 90 degree rotation, can you hang a tapestry with some wrapped absorption material (e.g. 4" Mineral Wool hidden behind it on the wall between the speaker and the couch? This method would help absorb the early reflections off of the left wall so that the stereo image will be more centered.

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
The only catches to your situation that I see is:
1. Budget is not infinite (not really a problem)
2. Left side wall is bare and will shift the stereo image to the left due to reflections and since the right side is open without the same reflection.

More questions:
1. Do you WANT surround sound, or do you want a higher quality 2 speaker + subwoofer option (or 3 speaker + subwoofer)
2. Are you against shifting your whole room setup 90 degrees counter clockwise so that the windows are to your right and the couch divides the kitchen from the living room? This setup would allow for better stereo imaging without a shift in either direction. As long as your couch is between 62% and 66% of the way in between the front and rear walls (in whichever orientation), you optimize the smoothness of the bass due to minimization of interaction of bass modes.

1. I'd at least like the option to upgrade to 5.1. 3.1 for now is okay.
2. I'd prefer to keep it open, so I may just have to live with the poor audio profile of the room.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: joshsquall

Originally posted by: Tiamat
The only catches to your situation that I see is:
1. Budget is not infinite (not really a problem)
2. Left side wall is bare and will shift the stereo image to the left due to reflections and since the right side is open without the same reflection.

More questions:
1. Do you WANT surround sound, or do you want a higher quality 2 speaker + subwoofer option (or 3 speaker + subwoofer)
2. Are you against shifting your whole room setup 90 degrees counter clockwise so that the windows are to your right and the couch divides the kitchen from the living room? This setup would allow for better stereo imaging without a shift in either direction. As long as your couch is between 62% and 66% of the way in between the front and rear walls (in whichever orientation), you optimize the smoothness of the bass due to minimization of interaction of bass modes.

1. I'd at least like the option to upgrade to 5.1. 3.1 for now is okay.
2. I'd prefer to keep it open, so I may just have to live with the poor audio profile of the room.

no problem with 1. This will involve picking out a receiver and trying to get a grip on the type of speakers that match up with your subjective liking.

2. Read my edit. There are other options so that you don't suffer "poor audio quality". The room does have a big control over the quality you can expect, but, there are options out there to help.

If you cannot expense the tapestry, you can wrap the panels yourself in cloth, or you can buy premade ones at a place like Gikacoustics. The first link I showed actually is somewhat affiliated with gik in that the owner of the first link works at gik. For about 130$, you can get 2 4" panels to hang on the left wall in between the couch and the speaker position. Angling the speaker towards the listening position rather than pointing straight out will also help in this regard.

Also, What are your bass needs, what do you expect when you hear bass. This would make the difference between suggesting a 200$ subwoofer or a 450$ subwoofer.

With regards to speakers, there are several 300$ per pair speakers that are good entry level speakers. Notably, the Paradigm Atom v.5, the AV123 ELT525M, offerings from Infinity, etc. Paradigm would have to be found at a local dealer (just got to here). AV123 can be found online here. Infinity can be found on crutchfield.com or amazon.com etc.