New sound system for an Anime club

[torndar]

The current system the club is using is a HTIB that is starting to die (the rear channels only work intermittently among other issues) and we are looking to replace it. Our budget is 500-800USD and 800 would empty the club account but I consider it worth it to get a decent system.

The room we usually set up in [1] is 44x45 ft with the first row of seats about 10-15ft from the screen.

The audio source is using standard stereo from a laptop line out jack. We don't have many sources that are true surround sound but we would still like to be able to take advantage of surround sound when it's available. We can make more purchases in future years but our income is only about 100 a year currently and we don't get any direct funding from the university.

Issues we have to deal with that I think are uncommon enough to mention are:
1) The system is used for ~4 hours at a time twice a week and needs to be packed up and stored when not in use so it needs to be able to withstand a lot of handling.
2) There is no way to protect wires running to rear speakers and they get tripped on fairly regularly (part of why the existing system is dying) so wireless speakers may be necessary for the rear speakers.


[1]
http://www.conf.purdue.edu/meeting/rooms/default.asp?pageid=details&RoomID=398&build=STEW

 

[sdifox]

newegg has the Energy Take 5.1 Classic going for 400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882269024

Get a receiver of some sort in your budget, done.

 

[torndar]

That looks like a great speaker set for the money all right! Anyone have any suggestions for a receiver in the 200-300 range then?

 

[fralexandr]

maybe something like this?
onkyo 508 (7.1 if you want to add speakers later) 250$
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR508...9875315&sr=8-6
or
onkyo 308 $200 (5.1 no audyssey)
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR308...9876482&sr=8-1

you could also go polk monitor 50 x2 $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290204
polk 10" sub 100$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290034
polk cs1 $100 -$35 promo code =$65 (expires today)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290210
polk monitor 40 (pair) $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16882290202

$465 + $250 = $715 + tax & shipping
cutting a bit close though >.< how's tax in your state? :S
also some of those deals are ending soon, but deals pop up alot on newegg for the polk stuff

the home theater systems ie klipsch quintet III, energy take, 5.1 set types tend to vary alot in price based on season.
the energy take was $250 at some point :S and the klipsch quintet III about $300

edit:
you might not wanna go with all the individual speakers (and just go with a set like the energy take) since they're kinda heavy and not as easy to store (the take probably come in 1 box), sorry the receiver should be good though

if you're looking for a good consolidated place for home theater information go to avsforum.com

 

[richardycc]

you will need PA/DJ speakers, they are relatively cheap(~$60-150 each), can play loud, and take some abuse. Please don't get the energy take 5.1, they are too small for the room, or any home speakers for that matter.

 

[fralexandr]

richard is probably right on getting the PA/DJ speakers, that is a pretty big room. I just don't know anything about them.

 

[sdifox]

Anime nerds don't need to blast their ear drums

 

[Aikouka]

The 50s would definitely be too small for that room... well, you could probably make them work if you turned them up .

Anime nerds don't need to blast their ear drums

As long as you can hear the "iie iie... ohhh ii kiiimochi" you're good. Wait a minute... how would I know about that :hmm:.

 

[JSt0rm]

forget about surround in there for real. That room will be a mess from an acoustics stand point.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mackie-TH-15a-T...535?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5add64d51f

http://cgi.ebay.com/Mackie-SRM450v2...723?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564096b7c3

^ better

 

[kornphlake]

you will need PA/DJ speakers, they are relatively cheap(~$60-150 each), can play loud, and take some abuse. Please don't get the energy take 5.1, they are too small for the room, or any home speakers for that matter.

This^
Pawn shops are usually a good place to find PA gear cheap, in a room that large you're going to be pushing anything designed for HT too hard.

 

[JSt0rm]

lol dude hasnt responded since the energy suggestion. I would seriously lol if they bought that shit for that room.

 

[torndar]

I'm still around, looking at both options. I'm leaning towards the PA system because of the acoustics of the room and the fact that most of our source media is stereo anyway, durability is also a factor. I still need to run the options by the other club officers before I make the decision.

(Also my "thread subscription" seems to have failed, I haven't gotten any notifications of new posts since the first one)

 

[Kirby]

As long as you can hear the "iie iie... ohhh ii kiiimochi" you're good. Wait a minute... how would I know about that :hmm:.

lulz :biggrin:

 

[Modelworks]

Something to consider with stereo sources is the sound field of the center image. You don't want someone sitting on the left side to be blown away by the left speaker.
To make it more enjoyable I would split the speakers into subs and midrange/high.


Do you have access to behind the screen, if so how much space is there ?
Placing a couple higher frequency speakers behind the actual screen works really well for keeping dialog centered.

 

[JSt0rm]

Something to consider with stereo sources is the sound field of the center image. You don't want someone sitting on the left side to be blown away by the left speaker.
To make it more enjoyable I would split the speakers into subs and midrange/high.


Do you have access to behind the screen, if so how much space is there ?
Placing a couple higher frequency speakers behind the actual screen works really well for keeping dialog centered.

Honestly at his price point the mackies are the best bet. Keep them just left and right of the screen and if everyone is sitting back 10 feet or so the image will be fine. I would keep people down the middle of the room though.

If you want to do surround in that room you will need around 10k

 

[torndar]

The current feeling seems to be that the PA speakers would be too powerful. I think they would be great but other people seem to be concerned that we will be accused of disrupting other peoples meetings just because of the size of the speakers. I hate politics...

I really want to get the Energy Take Classics and the Onkyo receiver but I'm getting some push back on the price. I appreciate the suggestions and if I find anything else I'll probably check back here for comments.

Thanks!

 

[Tiamat]

45x45 sqft is huge. No normal consumer grade speakers in your budget, or most budgets for that matter, that is portable will be able to handle the wattage required to play at a decent level where people can hear what is going on.

Unfortunately, for such a huge room, you simply need a ton of power and large speakers. If the room was no larger than say 18x18, the normal consumer grade speakers <1000$ for surround would work OK. However, with such a huge room, bass is going to be very difficult right off the bat.

I would look at some professional PA speakers and begin with just the front two. Perhaps something like a pair of Mackie Thump TH-15A or Yamaha MSR100 for example. These are self powered, so all you need is the signal from the source. Certainly, these smaller PAs may still only be good for the people sitting within 20-25 feet from the speakers. People at the back may have trouble.

If you buy a small consumer grade speaker, it will not last long. The Receiver will most likely not last long and be driven into clipping/overheating due to the size of the room.

 

[Tiamat]

The current feeling seems to be that the PA speakers would be too powerful. I think they would be great but other people seem to be concerned that we will be accused of disrupting other peoples meetings just because of the size of the speakers. I hate politics...

I really want to get the Energy Take Classics and the Onkyo receiver but I'm getting some push back on the price. I appreciate the suggestions and if I find anything else I'll probably check back here for comments.

Thanks!

Size of speaker allows it to produce the sound required for the room size. Just because the speaker is larger than what people are used to, doesn't mean it will be disruptive. The room is so large that you need a speaker with proper radiating area with robust voice coils. Any speaker too small may burn up its voice coil and possibly destroy itself since there is not enough radiating area and it tries to make up by exceeding its standard throw.

Unfortunately, big space = big money when it comes to general acoustics.

 

[sdifox]

how many people?

 

[VirtualLarry]

45x45 sqft is huge. No normal consumer grade speakers in your budget, or most budgets for that matter, that is portable will be able to handle the wattage required to play at a decent level where people can hear what is going on.

I remember at one computer show, in a huge hall with lots of noise, and this one vendor had a speaker set with an integrated sub pumping out some music, and it was actually very listenable over the din of the hall. I'm having trouble remembering what system it was though. I think it was an Advent setup. I wanted to get one for myself, but I didn't have the cash at the time. I got some Advent Powered Partners, they are trianglular in shape, they have two drivers, one smaller than the other. They are loud and sound great.

 

[JSt0rm]

The current feeling seems to be that the PA speakers would be too powerful. I think they would be great but other people seem to be concerned that we will be accused of disrupting other peoples meetings just because of the size of the speakers. I hate politics...

I really want to get the Energy Take Classics and the Onkyo receiver but I'm getting some push back on the price. I appreciate the suggestions and if I find anything else I'll probably check back here for comments.

Thanks!

LOL Get the energy 5.1 please. Do it.

 

[torndar]

I got the Energy speakers and the Onkyo receiver and the general consensus in the club is that it sounds dramatically better than what we had. I'll agree with the statement that the sub is somewhat under powered for the size of the room but the satellite speakers work great so far. I also found out that standard stereo lineout/headphone jacks on cheap laptops have trouble with bass for some reason.:\

 

[sdifox]

I got the Energy speakers and the Onkyo receiver and the general consensus in the club is that it sounds dramatically better than what we had. I'll agree with the statement that the sub is somewhat under powered for the size of the room but the satellite speakers work great so far. I also found out that standard stereo lineout/headphone jacks on cheap laptops have trouble with bass for some reason.:\

no digital out from the laptop? Get a usb digital out.

How many people is there anyway? You don't have the budget for a big sub. Unless you got handy people that can build subs.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I have a $25 Turtle Beach Micro II USB "soundcard" with analog + optical digital out that works very well for music, though I've never tried it for surround sound.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Ignore the "too loud" people and get the PA system.
45x44 is 1980 sq feet, assuming the room has an 8 foot ceiling... we're talking over 15000 Cubic feet... .and if it's one of those rooms with like a 12 foot ceiling, then well over 20,000 cubic feet...

Most HTIB or home theater type speakers are designed for a living room or a den of like 15x15 or 15x20, or maybe 20x20... With 8 foot type ceilings... well under 5000 cubit feet...

you could maybe get away with some highly efficient speakers, but PA systems will be the only truly affordable option that will meet your needs...

Also, size does not match volume.

There are some really really really big speakers with small sound, and there are some decently small speakers with big sound...

I have a pair of BIC Acoustech PL66 as my rear channel, and they are small bookshelves, but they can blast louder than my front channel speakers, BIC RTR1530s. Size is not everything!