Total Newbie, Great Room Suggestions?

[oldjonny]

I'm totally new to this site. Have been completely out of anything to do with stereos since my college days (Long time ago). I am just finishing up construction on a basement family room and looking for suggestions on equipment for a surround sound system.

My room is 26' x 40'. The space allotted for the TV is along the 40' wall. I actually have an inset in the wall that is 10' wide and 7-1/2' feet tall to "tuck" everything into (this will also give me rear access to everything as I have a door into this inset from the backside). Main ceilings in the area are 8-1/2' (drop ceiling) and floor is all ceramic (I know, not the greatest for sound, but durable with kids!)

I've probably already started out wrong without having a complete plan, but I already bought Polk Audio RTi10's for the front and a CSiA6 for the center channel. I'm thinking about going with two (?), maybe four (?) TC80i in-ceiling speakers for the rear/surrounds.

Any suggestions for AVR? 7.1?, 5.1? Like I said, being out of this stuff for so long, I have no real idea where to start/continue. I'm thinking a Plasma in the 50" range (might also still consider DLP only because depth of the screen is really not an issue and being in the basement, light is not an issue). As of right now, I don't have access to cable TV (when you live in the country this is what you get) although, I think I can "convince" the local company to bring it since only 1/4 mile from the closest existing run.

Local "Big-Box" store guys all try to push me into whatever it is they might be selling..

Help an old guy out here!

Thanks

[Sonnie]

Hi Jon and welcome to the Shack!

Before we can make recommendations we need to know how much you want to spend.

[oldjonny]

I guess I had not really put much thought into the total investment. I'm definitely not trying to make a system that an audiophile will appreciate, but I want something that is decent. $1500-$2000 for the remainder, plus whatever its going to cost for the TV? let me know if I'm being unreasonable, high or low...Thanks

[Sonnie]

$1500-2000 can be made to work for a sub, receiver and DVD player. You mentioned ceramic tile floors so you may need to reserve a little bit for acoustic treatments.

I would probably prefer to go with at least 100wpc for the Polk's. Most of your receivers with the latest features will give you enough power. There are plenty to choose from, but I'll throw out a fairly popular choice in the Onkyo TX-SR805 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver for $730 shipped. You may find it cheaper... make sure you have a valid warranty.

For a sub... $600 for a SVS PB12-NSD... which should be sufficient for now, but maybe consider adding another later on. You can test it and see.

That's $1330 right there. If you just want a good upconverting DVD player then shop around for a Toshiba HD-DVD player for $100-150. If you want Blu-ray, it will cost you at least $325 unless you buy used.

That saves you a little bit for the surrounds and maybe some acoustic treatments.

A DLP will be quite a bit cheaper than a plasma, especially at 50" or larger. If you plan on spending that kind of money... consider a projector, which will increase your screen size and should increase your viewing experience.