2. home-theater
  3. 138505-115029

Home theater setup recommendations?

My daughter, married, middle aged, has asked me to help them set up a decent home theater/listening room in their new home. I've been an audiophile since the 70's......before I even heard the term, so I'm a pretty competent 2 channel guy and I understand room acoustics............That said, I never really ventured into HT. I simply went with my 2 channel rig and was perfectly happy with things that way.....still am.

I guess my questions are..........How  important is multi-channel for movies vs audio.............dumb question, I'm sure, but it's not my area, so I'm asking...............and any recommendations for a decent, not UBER, sound system primarily for movies. They're willing to spend some money to get a nice setup, but not the kind of coin that many here likely would. I'm thinking used gear, speakers, subs, receiver or amps. Something that will sound good, but not require a second mortgage..................These folks think that hanging 4 inch Bose speakers in the corners of the room with a micro, wanna-be sub is good sound..............I want to "enlighten" them..........thanks
shadowcat2016

Showing 4 responses by caphill

caphill
678 posts
 
Or get them Bose surround sound system as this seems to be a reference system for them and for lots of people (non-audiophile crowds). 
caphill
678 posts
 
Naim Muso will sound much better than soundbars but it is meant for listening to music only, not for watching movies or tv shows. And it isn't multi-channel setup but it is very simple. Thought I just threw it out there for you. 
caphill
678 posts
 
@david_ten

Agreed....those acoustic panels from Sony OLED is pretty good for tv viewings. Or else Bose small surround sound speakers system will work for them since Bose seems to be a reference system for them and is simple to operate.
caphill
678 posts
 
For starters or for someone who isn't an audiophile such as your daughter I think a good quality AV receiver would suffice it. As suggested by audiotroy earlier I would look for audiophile brand receivers eg NAD, Rotel, Arcam, Audio Control, Anthem, Cambridge Audio for good reproductions of both music and surrounds (movies) and avoid those Japanese mass produced AV brands as they usually won't sound that good for stereo music playbacks but fine for movies (surrounds). 

The Cambridge Audio CXR200 av receiver retails for $2k but recently I think there's one offered for sale here for around $1200 if I'm not mistaken. This is a quite musical sounding receiver and this will be your cheapest audiophile receiver option IMO. The Cambridge isn't loaded with features or bells & whistles like those found on Japanese mass produced AV receivers but for stereo music playbacks the Cambridge CXR 200 will sound better than most if not all Japanese av receivers. 

The NAD, Arcam, Rotel, Audio Control make great sounding av receivers especially for stereo music reproductions but cost more than the Cambridge Audio. So your best cheapest audiophile quality receiver will be the Cambridge CXR 200. 

For speakers there are countless options out there and you should look for the ones that are suitable for both music and movies as suggested by audiotroy earlier. KEF, Paradigm, Martin Logan, Monitor Audio, Golden Ear Technology, B&W, PSB are great options for both music and home theater (movies). 
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