Were currently in the process of building a new home, and we need speakers for our home theater room. The room is pretty big 22X18 ft or something like that. Were not too picky about floor standing or in wall. We just want the biggest bang for our buck and good quality.
We would prefer not to go over 4000 $ for the speakers, and we want 5.1 channel sound. What brand of speakers are the best quality in that price range? We were looking at Bose speakers(i forget the name of the package but the speakers were pretty small). For the whole 5.1 package it was 2400 bucks, and they seemed really good to us, but a salesperson at another store says that similarly priced Difinitive, Klipsch, or Polk speakers are better. He says that because the Bose speakers are so small they cant move air as well and cant play as loud or clear.
Really we dont care much about volume, but we care about sound quality.
Is there any standard unit or other specification/form of measurement to look at when determining the quality of speakers?
and what about projectors and screens? what brands are good? We are looking for at least a 90 inch screen and want good picture quality.
Feel free to ask for more information if you need because i will check up on this question every couple of minutes.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
First its important to understand there is a "big difference" in the design and sound of surround sound speakers verses music or hi end speakers. Surround sound speakers are designed completely differently in that they are designed to give you a more direct sound as to be more directional and have less interaction with the room acoustics. They want the speakers to be directional also because surround systems utilize several speakers so they want the sounds to be localized so you can more pin point were the effect is coming from. Also most surround speakers are designed to handle a more limited frequency range as to allow higher playback volumes for dynamic effects, and also the .1 channel (in a 5.1, 7.1 etc. system) subwoofer channel is to supplement the lack of lower frequency’s the mains speakers are designed not to reproduce.
The attention in musical reproduction is not the priority for home theater speakers but rather handle the dynamic effects for movies.
Hi End speakers on the other hand are designed to do just the opposite. First they are designed to handle a wider frequency range and not be directional but rather try to be more open sounding as to give you a bigger soundstage or image. This though in turn will mean the Hi-End speakers will have a bigger effect on the acoustics of the room, requiring careful placement.
You can use hi-end audio speakers for home theater systems which I personally recommend, as it’s a much better choice, as it plays music better, and gives a more realistic soundstage or image for movies as well.
I always suggest to my clients not to buy home theater speakers but rather music or hi-end speakers as this will give you the best of both worlds. A little more careful placement is required but is well worth the effort.
Because speakers are very subjective and not knowing enough about the room and acoustic of the room, go to your local Hi-End audio store as they have a much better selection of speakers to choose from and the salesmen are much more knowledgable in helping you find the right speakers for you needs.
No specifications will not tell you about sound quality, bit it will tell you how much power you will need and the quality of power needed to drive them properly.
Stewart film screens Only !
Little pricy but screens make a huge difference dont underestimate the importance of the screen.
Projectors: Again big difference in the quality of image and brightness of the lower price projectors and the higher end models.
Higher end models: Runco, JVC, Barco,
Lower priced models you might want to check out: Panasonic AE 4000, Epson 9500UB (bigger brother to the 8500ub)
Bose lol no please dont.
35 years hi-end home audio video specialist.
Kevin
Any further questions feel free to ask
hmmmisthatright@gmail.com
Please, please, please do not by Bose. They are very low quality, and Klipsch or Definitive are far better for the money. EVERY person I have ever known to buy Bose has regretted it.
Home Theater magazine just published their Speaker Round up. Comparisons of 40 different systems broken out in to High end, mid range and budget categories. Run out and get a copy tomorrow.
Here is a secret about home theater speakers:
- You do NOT need music-caliber speakers for good home theater sound
- You want an impressive subwoofer to create impact.
- You do not need to buy the same brand subwoofer as your other speakers.
I have Definitive Technology speakers paired with a SVS Cylinder series subwoofer. It always impresses. Paradigym, Atlantic Technology are some other names that have outstanding reputations.
Some other things:
- Run network to behind your rack of equipment. More and more HT gear want internet connection.
- Run telephone wire to behind your gear. Some cable/sat box’s want this.
- Make sure the AC outlets in the room all come from the same side of your AC service. Talk to your electrical guy – he will know what this means.
- For in-wall HDMI and component wires – go to http://www.bluejeanscables.com for custom lengths. Inexpensive but uses the stuff production studios use.
- The down side of projectors is they dont last as long as a TV and you must be able to blackout the room. A lot of people I know have a normal HDTV for casual watching but pull down the screen and fire up the projector for movie nights.
- If you run speaker wire in-wall, have the guys pull enough wire for un-broken runs. Have them run through electrical outlet box’s and just drill holes in blank wall-plates for a custom look. Those binding post covers – $60 each and you can always add them later.
- If you run speaker wire in-wall, make sure it is CL3 or in-wall rated and 12 ga. Try http://www.partsexpress.com for spools of the stuff that wont break the bank.
Hope this helps.