Affordable HT setup $800-$1400 HELP


So here's the situation:
My dad has commissioned me to buy an affordable HT setup for him. He will use it mostly to watch movies, but also to listen to music. He's not the kind of guy that makes little adjustments to the toe of the speakers or the placement of the sub, he just wants it to sound good. As such, he's not willing to shell out for minor improvements in sound quality. His living room is quite large, though it is split into two sections by a couch. The whole room is probably 30' x 15', though the actual movie watching area is 15' x 15'.

I am toying between two theories here, and their actual speaker configurations.

One is that he mostly watches movies with little care for accurate musical reproduction, and I get him the following:

PSB Image B15's for front and rear
PSB Image 9C for center
Subsonic 6i for the subwoofer.
Approx. cost = $1250

Or, assuming that he appreciates his music, I get him the following:

2 PSB Image 7PT's for the front
2 PSB Image B15's for the rear
PSB Image 9C for the center
no sub
Approx. cost = $1300

Or, a final scenario which would be ideal, but I can't consider because of the prohibitive cost, is:

PSB Image T45 for the front
PSB Image B15 for the rear
PSB Image 9C for the center
PSB Subsonic 6i for the subwoofer
Approx. cost = $1500

Now, this is assuming that the new Alpha's aren't up to par, however, I would definitely consider them if they're all that some reviewers say they are (I am planning to listen to them before I buy). If they're decent, I might do this setup:

PSB Alpha T's for front (or Alpha B's in their place)
PSB Alpha B's for rear
PSB Alpha C for center
PSB Subsonic 6i for subwoofer
Approx. cost = $1150 ($1050)

The only thing I am wondering on is the subwoofer. I assumed the Subsonic 6i was the best for the money for this size of a room, but I could get two Subzero i's for the same price. I assumed that he would experience lower, more tuned bass from one 6i than two zero i's because the zero i's would put more emphasis on the 30Hz+ range and are not meant to play below that, so having two won't increase bottom end, whereas the 6i is designed to play lower, and as such, would be a better package. I suppose if this was a strictly music setup that two separate subs would be better, but considering the room size, and that this system is primarily for movies, I figured the 6i would be better.

Oh, and one final note: I have a feeling that my mom will get a headache if the system is turned up loud, so don't expect to have to reproduce massive volume with this, it just needs to sound good and full, and have good response on music at low volumes.

Thanks for your advice in advance!
erikkellison
I know this thread is getting longer and longer, but I just was reminded of Aperion Audio. I can get an affordable setup for much less than the prices listed above, but it would be the 512D's (similar to the Image B15's) for front and rear, would have a lesser center channel (a 512D turned on it's side, but optimized for being played on its side), and a 8" subwoofer (S-8APR) that plays down to 35Hz well.
I know it's probably not as good as what's above, but the cost is roughly half of the other setups, and I figure I could use the money saved to upgrade where I need to once I get it setup and listen to it. Thoughts? Is the B15 better than the 512D?
Most of the theater low frequency is above 30Hz. Given that two subs generally integrate much better than one, I think two subzeros might be a better option. The 6i will probably play louder and move more air.. but given your mother... the advantages of the 6i would hardly get to shine. Furthermore, the subzeros are likely to be quicker and more musical (smaller cones), giving them another advantage.
But I would definitively recommend checking out subs from HSU and Pinnacle as well, great values for the money.
What are you using to drive the speakers? Also if you are using a receiver or pre/pro, often if these are not good, they seem to choke off the low-level detail retrieval and as such the whole system can totally suck, unless played at louder than life levels. After having suffered through many-a-friends "systems" designed this way, often the built-in speaker on the Tv itself is clearer, and less muddy.

So be careful. It looks like you are on the right path. So my question is, have you heard any of these speakers, or are you guessing on their quality? Also what do you plan on driving them with?
Your room is 15x30 acoustically, plus any openings to other rooms!...for the record.
Sounds like you already have seeds planted for PSB gear. My recommendation, so you can sleep at night, knowing whether the PSB's would have worked out 'er not, is to buy the best PSB's you can get for your money, and match gear that fits your budget!
If it were my money, based on what you mentioned you're consdering however, I'd either be looking at old used PSB Stratus Silver I's, C-6 center, used, and STratus mini's in the rear, and a deal on some good used sub.
Better yet would be exact matching NHT M5's all around, maybe matching dipoles in rear. Sub's I'd look at depended on budget left.
The PSB Image series is really just ok stuff. There's better, much better for similar money.
Good luck
A couple of thoughts;

1. Perhaps you might visit ascendacoustics.com and look at their HT package set ups.

2. I also happen to like the Atlantic technology system 1200 for ht, but I am not real big on the sub in that package.

3. I thought the idea of used gear given above made good sense too.
Thanks for the advice so far.
I am not really set on PSB, and I've only heard the older Titans (v.2 or v.3, I think). I liked them, but they didn't compare to the Monitor Audio Silver xi stuff or the Paradigm Studio stuff, and nowhere near Snell. I've heard DefTech extensively as well, but was not into their over-bassy response curve (or so it sounded to me).
However, I like PSB so far because they seem good for the money, which is my main constraint. My dad is less hard to please in the quality department, so even if the PSB's are only "okay," then they're still probably more than he is expecting. However, I am constantly looking for the best deal. Right now there's an auction for some NHT Super 1's/2's with a center and a sub for decently cheap, but I remember not liking what I hear from NHT's (though the memory is vague in my mind).
I am trying to figure out just what I'm going to need to fill this large room since I have a feeling that bookshelf speakers and a sub won't fill it properly, if you know what I mean. I have a feeling I'll be missing part of the frequency spectrum. That's why I want towers, which is hard to work into my budget. Hence my continual reversion back to Monitor Audio, the brand that I personally own. I found out that the 3i's that I have far outperform the Alpha T's, which is disturbing. It makes me think that I might be able to get away with some of the following:
MA Silver 4i's for front
MA Silver 3i's for rear
MA Silver 10i for center
MA ASW110 for sub
-or-
replace the 4i's and sub with some 8i's.
Any ideas on what will be required to fill this room with even sound? Loud is not as necessary as flat response, in fact loud is not even desired for the most part, but I find that some systems only sound good at loud levels. I want this to sound good at lower volumes, maybe up to medium, but I know my mom won't want to watch movies at a loud volume because she'll probably complain to my dad about a headache and he'll never get to enjoy the speakers.
As far as a source/receiver, I am also shopping. I was thinking about NAD (since that's what I have, and I really like, especially for the money), but I'm also considering HK, Denon and Marantz. I know it may sound silly, but I don't want to spend upwards of $300 for a receiver, especially since I'm probably going to go overbudget on speakers.
If you people have any recommendations on what kind of power I will realistically need to fill this room with sound at low to medium volumes, I'd appreciate that as well.
Thanks again!!
Yeah, everyone has different gear. YOu'll honestly just have to try something to see if it fits your tastes...then learn to maximize the sound with matching gear and proper setup. If not, you'll never know. Good luck
So in case anyone cares, I bought the following:
Monitor Audio Silver 5i's
Monitor Audio Silver 3i's
Monitor Audio Silver 10i
Monitor Audio ASW110
I'm still working on finding the best price on a Marantz SR4500 or SR4600, and may end up just buying one off the shelf since these are very hard to find elsewhere.
Oh yeah, cost was $1270 shipped for all the speakers. Another $150 on wires, and hopefully $350 for the receiver makes $1770 for an incredible system (or so I hope!)