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Need suggestions for speakers, processor and amp

I am building a new house with a 17.5 x 20 ft family room that will have a cabinet built to house a rear projection tv and will have cabinets/bookshelves built on each side to house speakers and processor and amp. Cabinet will be on the 17.5 ft wall and left side of 20 ft wall will have fireplace while right side will have approx 15 ft of windows. Ceiling height is 10 ft and rear speakers will need to be in ceiling. Cabinet can be built to house either bookshelves or floor-standers. My wife prefers front speakers built in to cabinet, although I may be able to place floorstanders outside the cabinet on each side. I am also going to buy a subwoofer. I'm considering totems or spendor (local av retailer recommends jamo concert series)

I also need suggestions for preamp/processor and amp. I don't know whether to go 5.1 or 7.1 in this size of room (rear centers would also need to be in ceiling). I'm considering the new outlaw 950 and matching amp, but I've heard good things about rotel.

Any suggestions would be helpful.
thanks,
mark
msf
msf OP
23 posts
 
perhaps soliloquy or tyler acoustics speakers?

maybe B&K or adcom processor and amp?
natalie
404 posts
 
Firstly speakers must be positioned at ear Level to sound good.Dont waste your time mounting them in the ceiling.
Also whatever you buy will not sound good placed in a cabinet.
In your situation.Since your wife is more interested in looks than sonics.
I would not invest a great deal of money since you wont be able to set it up properly.
Look at PSB Atoms 189.00.
They are a great little speaker and will be invisible.
A 5.1 will do.Entery level Mid fi products will fit your room and placemt limitations.
You are just not going to benift from HI end gear with the type of set up you are trying.

What would work well if you can pull it off is a pair of monitors on stands for the front and a piar in the back on stands with a good sub.
Then you will get nice sound and steping up to some Hi end Electronics will pay off.

DO not under any circumstance put speakers in the ceiling.
gunbunny
43 posts
 
I agree that cabinets are not ideal places for speakers, and while I always don't agree with Natalie... I've never heard speakers in the ceiling that were as good as well placed monitors.

There are many good monitors for HT and some are great for music too. I prefer to only comment on speakers I've heard first hand and like Msf commented, I like Soliloquy. However, unless you can get them out of those cabinets and atleast 1-2 feet away from the cabinet and walls the only one I would go with is the Soliloquy SAT 5. These are outstanding sealed monitors and won't give you the trouble that rear ported speakers like all the other Soliloquys are. The Soliloquy S-10 subwoofer is outstanding. I just read a review on it that says it's is very comparable to the REL line, offering more slam than the Strata II and more refined than the REL Q-series subs.

I'm having a hard time getting the Soliloquy C3 center to work right in my system, but I don't think it's the speaker. I would bet that 4 Sat5's, a C3 center and 2 S-10 subs (or subsitute another Sat5 for the C3)would be incredible. If you get them away from the cabinet go with the 5.0 though which offer greater bass extension.

But this is just one option. While paradigm may be considered more mid-fi than hi-fi by some... I still like them. The Soliloquys are defintitly more refined though and are among the most beautifully finished I've ever seen.

I don't know what your wanting to spend, but the Pro Ac 1SC is a great speaker also.
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