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!)
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!
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!
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