New to the "shack" and seeking help

**damonb70** · **04-20-09, 03:39 PM**

I am new to the Shack and am in need of some help. I have been in my home 3 years now and i have a dedicated room that is going to be my theater (17 feet wide x 27 feet deep x 8' ceiling). I have heard things from lots of people. Where does one start? Sub Woofer? Screen size? I'm lost.

**tonyvdb** · **04-20-09, 03:42 PM**

Hi Damon, Welcome to the Shack.
Your room dimensions are quite good but on the large size so for starters you will need a system with a bit of oomph.
Do you have a budget in mind?

**drdoan** · **04-20-09, 04:12 PM**

Welcome Damon. I am glad you are starting your quest for the HT experience. If you could ask some specific questions and give us a budget, we can help. Have fun. Dennis

**Kai Winters** · **04-20-09, 04:16 PM**

You should start with a basic budget, then add 10 to 20% for the unexpected, then an idea of what you want the room to provide.
Will it be a bit multi-purpose with a wet bar, etc?
Do you want to use a projector, flat panel, etc?
What sort of furniture do you want to use? Furniture lying around the house now or new? If you are planning and have room for rows of seating you need to think about a riser for the rear seats.

I would start looking at the Home Theater Gallery on this site, and perhaps others, for what others have done to get some ideas to get your imagination going.

This could be a lot of fun for you and us as we watch you progress and help in whatever way we can.

**damonb70** · **04-20-09, 04:18 PM**

no budget at the present time, would definitely like to use a pair of svs pb13 ultras. the rest i'm not sure .

**drdoan** · **04-20-09, 04:21 PM**

You are right on with the SVS's. You should decide on which medium you want for tv. Projection, flat screen-plasma, lcd, etc. Is the room going to be dark enough for projection? Dennis

**damonb70** · **04-20-09, 04:21 PM**

i am so lost as far as this whole project is concerned
i have had guys tell me the only way to go is by mounting LCR & subs all on the front wall.

**tonyvdb** · **04-20-09, 04:32 PM**

Dont worry about sub placement right now your room is almost the same size as mine and your able to get a decent sized screen and have the mains and subs up front. You should have no issue going with a 106" diagonal screen.
Two rows of seating will give you a 14' from the screen front row and a 18' second row with several feet to spare behind the second row for rear speaker placement.

SVS not only makes great subs but their speaker line is fantstic as well.

**damonb70** · **04-20-09, 04:34 PM**

I am wanting to do a projector, screen size would be 106"

**damonb70** · **04-20-09, 04:38 PM**

i had a home theater guy out here tell me to use speakers in a bad boy series

**tonyvdb** · **04-20-09, 04:44 PM**

I dont know what you mean by the "bad boy series" term, is this a brand of speaker?

**dewd** · **04-20-09, 09:09 PM**

Quote:

damonb70 wrote:

no budget at the present time, would definitely like to use a pair of svs pb13 ultras. the rest i'm not sure .

We still need an idea what you are willing to spend. Speakers go from a few hundred dollars to $20,000 and more.

**dewd** · **04-20-09, 09:11 PM**

Quote:

damonb70 wrote:

i am so lost as far as this whole project is concerned
i have had guys tell me the only way to go is by mounting LCR & subs all on the front wall.

I will say just the opposite. The only reason to mount on a wall is for looks.

**damonb70** · **04-28-09, 12:26 PM**

true audio is the ones that carry the bad boy series

**JCD** · **04-28-09, 05:00 PM**

I'm just going to through a few of my personal "truisms"..

Wall mounted or inwall speakers will not sound as good as non-wall mounted speakers at the same price point
Speakers are totally personal -- what will sound good to me might not sound good to you
You can't go wrong with subs from SVS
Do NOT forget acoustical treatments for the room. Properly set up treatments will dramatically improve the imaging and overall sound of a system
Do not buy high priced cables/wire. Buy all of that stuff from monoprice.com or bluejeanscable.com.
Unless you decide to go for separates, I'd buy a receiver from Denon, Yamaha or Onkyo. Find the feature set you like best and buy that one.
A good remote is a great thing to have. Harmony remotes are a good place to look. Pronto or higher end Universal remotes are some others to look at.
A bookshelf speaker will out perform a similarly priced tower speaker.

As for speaker brands, there are tons that I would recommend having a listen to. A short list would include Paradigm, Usher, Monitor, PSB and even the speakers from SVS (although, being online makes that a little more difficult). If you want to step up the price a little, add Dynaudio to the list. The other manufacturers have speakers at all price points, Dynaudio seems to stick to the higher end stuff. If I had wads of cash burning a hole in my pocket, I'd probably be looking at something in their Contour or Confidence lines.

I'm not going to be much help with the choice of projector -- I'd get some opinions here and maybe take a look at what's reported at projectorcentral.com and/or projectorpeople.com. Screens would be another area where I don't have much experience. Carada.com was supposed to be a great online source for screens at a reasonable price.

Finally, I'd read this before auditioning speakers.

Good luck and keep us informed on your progress!

And more importantly, enjoy the process!

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