My new Home Theater Setup

[unni_pg]

I am newly setting up a home theater in a 17*12 room.

I have just completed the ceiling and bass traps, ordered 3 recliners and about to order carpet tiles.

I am thinking of going for Epson TW 8100 Projector and Elite Sable fixed screen - 110.

For receiver, I am thinking of Yamaha A 3020. I look forward to some suggestions from this group for buying a 7.1 speaker system. Right now, I am thinking of Klipsch RF52. What is your opinion about pairing Yamaha with Klipsch? My budget for 7.1 speaker setup is <2.5 lacs. Do you have some other suggestions than RF52? By the way, I am more of a fan of music than movies.

I am also thinking of buying PS3 mainly for blueray + occasional gaming.

 

[Thtpro]

Try it out with the following Paradigm Monitor Speakers

Monitor 9 s7 Floor Standing Speaker- Qty 2
Centre 3 s7 Centre Channel Speaker- Qty 1
Surround 3 s7 Surround Speaker- Qty 4
DSP-3200 v2 Subwoofer

You should be able to get these within your 2.5 Lakh budget

 

[vinay]

Congratulations for getting into the marvel of a personal entertainment room.

If you are planning to put 3 recliners in a single row then i think it will be congested keeping in the mind the room breadth.

I did not understand carpet tiles, please advice.

As far as 7.1 goes, it may not be a good idea, a 5/1 should be perfect all the way.

For which ever screen you go for, please consider a well branded one.

V.

 

[unni_pg]

Thtpro, Thanks for your suggestion. Let me see where I can find Paradigm Monitor speakers in Kochi. Guess you rate this above Klipsch RF52 when mated with a Yamaha receiver.

Vinay, I am buying one of the home theater series recliners from Rockn Chair. Total width for the 3 of them together will be 98" (incl arm rests), I still have 46" to spare in my room. So, I think this should be ok. By the way, the decision to go for 3 recliners is prompted by the size of the family By the way, I will have one more row behind the recliners where I will go for a plain sofa. This row is elevated from the floor level by 1 feet.

Well, we get carpet as tiles, the only advantage being that if some thing happens to one small portion of the carpet, it is easier to replace those tiles as opposed to carper sheets where professional cleaning is the only solution. One disadvantage is that we cannot have foam below the carpet, if we go for carpet tiles as these have to be fixed on firm floor. These tiles are slightly costlier than the carper sheets as well. So, it is debatable whether it is a better idea in a home theater as compared to normal carpet sheets.

I didn't understand why you said 7.1 may not be a good idea. Perhaps you meant I can buy a better quality 5.1 speaker by saving the cost of those two extra speakers?

By the way, what is your suggestion for a branded screen in India?

 

[prosenjit]

5.1 is good enough..save some money and use the money to get a costlier centre.
in 6 ch recordings centre matters...

about klipsch...hear it..being extremely efficient..they are little harsh too...well i have not hraed them..read it..although people love it for movies...
and onkyo klipsch is very good combo as per review..also onkyo is very good for movies..
so listen to many combos as possible then decide..
also look for dlp pjs as well...8100 is good 3 lcd pj..but you must demo dlp as well...i recently demoed sanyo zplv4000 3 lcd pj..and being frank i did not like it..it was like 120 inch led tv was there..the filmy touch was absent..like in theaters...so demo dlps as well.
just gave an example...not comparing sanyo vs epson or so...or anything..no offences..

just checked you are more music fan than movies...
then you must demo kef,dali,monitor audio,wharfedale.......pairing with marantz and yamaha as well....

get some budget adjusted and get a stand alone blu ray player than ps3.....imho...buy ps3 for gaming only...
for the budget for pj and screen you mentioned...do some justice with player...

 

[sdurani]

I have just completed the ceiling and bass traps, ordered 3 recliners and about to order carpet tiles.

Instead of carpet tiles, can you do regular wall-to-wall carpeting with a double layer of padding? That will be much better for you acoustically.

For receiver, I am thinking of Yamaha A 3020.

For that kind of money, it is missing the latest processing from Dolby and DTS, and it's room correction isn't as effective as the latest from Audyssey. I would instead save some money and look at the Denon AVR-4311: better room correction, latest surround processing, and you'll still get 9 amp channels (like the Yamaha 3020).

Right now, I am thinking of Klipsch RF52.

The RF-52s go down to 36Hz. IF you're going to spend money on subwoofers to reproduce the low frequencies, why waste money buying speakers that reproduce those same frequencies. Instead, save some money and get three RB-61 bookshelf speakers.

Three identical speakers across the front will prevent sounds from changing as they move across your front soundstage and give you the kind of left-to-right consistency you hear at mixing studios. To maintain that consistency, you can use smaller versions (RB-51) for sides, rears and heights.

 

[unni_pg]

Prosenjit, thanks for your suggestiions. I did see some DLPs from BenQ and to me the LCDs from Epson looked better. I know the more I look around, the better chance I have to spot the most appopriate one. But in the interest of time, I will rather stick to Epson for projector now.

Thanks for your other suggestions. Yes, I will certainly go for another Blueray player option in future. I am slightly confused between a media player/blue ray combo such as PCH C300 / Dune HDMAx or a better Blueray player from Oppo. PS3 will be an interim solution till then. Please share if you have some views on this.

sdurani, I seriously consider your suggestion to go for wall to wall carpets, which I agree to be a better choice both accoustically and aesthetically. But a lot of people told me about the difficulties of maintaining wall to wall carpets in an Indian home :-( By the way, the choice of Yamaha was more based on its musical qualities rather than features; Denon and Onkyo are not to my taste. Another option that I could consider is Marantz SR 7007. By the way, I am not so much worried about the built-in room correction as I have access to a professional who can do the job for me.

The point you say about RF-52 and its frequency response is interesting. I will be definititely going for an active subwoofer. Does it mean that I dont have any reason to go for floor standing front speakers? If this is really true, then I can choose some higher rated (possibly THX certified) book shelves at the same price range, right?

 

[john_k_antony]

You can audition Jamo D-500 or D-600 THX series only for movies. Please be noted that they are 4ohm rated speakers and you will need to choose an AMP that can drive them. Pioneer LX86 is a THX certified AVR. I think Yamaha 3020 can drive THX speakers too.

I heard D-500 and they are amazing for movies. Not good for 2 channel stereo though.

-John.

 

[prosenjit]

it is always a good idea to get same priced bookshelves rather than fs....if getting a sub anyway...as you have a dedicated sub..why waste money in the fs for creating low freqs...
thats a perfect idea...but for movies...for music case is different when only 2 ch is in action....means 2 bs or 2 fs only...
so consider it..

yes oppo is a fantastic player who can read from usb also...so oppo is better option than a media player...imho..

i dont know your avr budget...if possible get a power amp also at least for fronts now....

 

[prosenjit]

For that kind of money, it is missing the latest processing from Dolby and DTS, and it's room correction isn't as effective as the latest from Audyssey. I would instead save some money and look at the Denon AVR-4311: better room correction, latest surround processing, and you'll still get 9 amp channels (like the Yamaha 3020)

:sad:

firstly what is missing in 3020...dts hd ma..or dolby tru hd??
both are present even in 10k avrs..and its the top end avr...
and you said yamahas room corrction ypao is not good as auddsy...
any document regarding that??
well i am not a yamaha supporter or denon hater...in fact i love denon sound...asking for increasing my knowledge...

 

[sdurani]

firstly what is missing in 3020...dts hd ma..or dolby tru hd??

Those are decoders. I said "it is missing the latest processing from Dolby and DTS", such as DTS Neo:X and Dolby PLIIz. By comparison, the Denon 4520 has both. Even Denon's 3 year old 4311 has PLIIz.

and you said yamahas room corrction ypao is not good as auddsy...
any document regarding that??

Low frequencies are where room correction is most needed, since those problems are the easiest for our human hearing to detect, and fixing them gives the most benefits (across multiple seats).

Unfortunately YPAO doesn't correct below 63Hz:
Auto Set-Up and YPAO Configuration | Audioholics

And YPAO sometimes makes peaks & dips worse:
RX-A2020 Menu System & YPAO Room EQ | Audioholics

By comparison, even a 5-year-old version of Audyssey was improving response below 15Hz:
AVP-A1HDCI Video Tests & Audyssey Analysis | Audioholics

 

[unni_pg]

As I will be listening to music a lot, I am more in favor of FS than bookshelves.

For speakers, I am now seriously thinking of increasing my budget in favor of Paradigm reference studio 60 v.5 fronts and CC490 center. Will Paradigm Surround 3 s7 (2 Nos) and DSP-3200 v2 sub go with that?

Fronts + centre + sub in the above combo will come to around 2.4 lacs. The surrounds can be added later at another 40K. Please advice me if this combination would be good.

Dali is another option.

Many people told me to also consider Pioneer LX86 and Marantz SR7007 in addition to Yamaha 3020. I don't prefer bright sound. I was thinking Pioneer sounds bright (I remember hearing some Pioneer systems years back) but some people tell me that these new systems from Pioneer do not sound bright. Similarly, is Marantz 7007 better than Aventage 3020 feature wise?

Request some advice from experienced forum members.

 

[sdurani]

I don't prefer bright sound.

Carefully turn the treble control down until it no longer sounds bright. This can be done on any of the receivers you've mentioned so far (and any recording that sounds too bright to you).

 

[prosenjit]

thanks sanjay
i did not know about that ypao drawback..

to unni
consider KEF/monitor audio....if demo possible

 

[unni_pg]

Pioneer LX86 has both DTS Neo:X and Dolby PLIIz.

But the spec says it is "3D Ready". Is 3D Ready the same as full 3D? Or is there a similar difference as between "HD Ready" and "Full HD"?

 

[prosenjit]

audition avrs.....feutures are nothing to audio experience...
audio is main....feutures are just marketing

 

[unni_pg]

Yes I agree, for audio part, I must rely on audition. But I may not be able to check full compatibility with 3D video during those auditions.

 

[prosenjit]

even my 3400 entry level avr can pass thru 3d signals..from 3d files as well from 3d original disks......dont worry..

 

[sdurani]

audition avrs.....feutures are nothing to audio experience...
audio is main....feutures are just marketing

I don't see how you can make such a blanket statement. The "feature" you asked about earlier, room correction, can make a noticeable improvement to the sound by minimizing frequency response problems.

Do you really think that getting rid of peaks & dips that weren't in the original recording is "nothing to audio experience"? Do you believe that hearing less of your room's unwanted contributions and hearing more of what was in the source material is "just marketing"?

 

[prosenjit]

nono sorry i did not mean that..it to be as an firmly one meaning statement..

what i meant..some useless feutures...like say.
.5 hdmi port vs 4 hdmi port...



off course room calibration is a great feature..