~$2000 for theater sound -- what trade offs?

[marsal]

Hi, folks. I'd like your advice on best sound equipment for a new home theater, for about $2000 total. The system will go in my living room, 16' x 18' with cathedral ceiling. I will use the system for casual listening to music as well as TV.

The constraints: I have severe space constraints. I can accomodate either a) very small speakers (maximum 5" wide x 10" tall x 6" deep) on either side of the flat-panel TV, or b) in-wall speakers that would have to be placed quite a bit above the TV, about 8' above the floor. (The TV will be in a normal height, centered about 50" above the floor.)

An example of what I am thinking for plan "a" (the very small speakers) would be the Bose Lifestyle 28 system.

An example of I am thinking for plan "b" (the in-wall speakers) would be a Denon AVR-2308CI receiver plus some NHT IW3 speakers.

I know that many people on this forum have stated many times that Bose speakers are mediocre and very over-priced, but -- here is where the tradeoff comes -- I'm wondering if the fact that I could put Bose speakers in the "correct" location for good home theater, i.e. at the same level as the TV, would make plan "a" better than plan "b". It's a question of superior location vs. superior speakers. Which is more important?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Ajani]

Hi, folks. I'd like your advice on best sound equipment for a new home theater, for about $2000 total. The system will go in my living room, 16' x 18' with cathedral ceiling. I will use the system for casual listening to music as well as TV.

The constraints: I have severe space constraints. I can accomodate either a) very small speakers (maximum 5" wide x 10" tall x 6" deep) on either side of the flat-panel TV, or b) in-wall speakers that would have to be placed quite a bit above the TV, about 8' above the floor. (The TV will be in a normal height, centered about 50" above the floor.)

An example of what I am thinking for plan "a" (the very small speakers) would be the Bose Lifestyle 28 system.

An example of I am thinking for plan "b" (the in-wall speakers) would be a Denon AVR-2308CI receiver plus some NHT IW3 speakers.

I know that many people on this forum have stated many times that Bose speakers are mediocre and very over-priced, but -- here is where the tradeoff comes -- I'm wondering if the fact that I could put Bose speakers in the "correct" location for good home theater, i.e. at the same level as the TV, would make plan "a" better than plan "b". It's a question of superior location vs. superior speakers. Which is more important?

Thanks in advance for your help!

In your situation, I'd opt for the Bose.... especially since your primary goal is HT and not listening to music..... Though I find Bose to be overpriced and not the best choice for music, when it comes to space saving ht designs, they are hard to beat....

Also, having in-wall speakers at 8 feet and your tv at 4 feet sounds like a really bad idea....

[bfalls]

You should look into the many on-wall speaker systems made specifically to use with flat-panel tvs. A quick google search should provide a respectable list.

[basite]

Not bose.


bose is last resort, overpriced crap. stay away.

the best really small speakers I've heard in a normal price class are Monitor Audio Radius series speakers..

The R90 will fit perfectly, and with a little luck, the R180 might be an option too...

link:
http://www.monitoraudio.co.uk/range.php?range=4

Definately MUCH better than any bose system built today...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[blackraven]

I'd look into the NHT super zero's or the infinity primus 142's and a subwoofer. The NHT super Zeros are a very good sounding speaker. Just make sure you get a very musical sub and a very good center channel that can handle some of the lower frequency's.

[flippo]

Mirage makes good small satellite speakers (omnisat v2) and would blow away the bose (get an hsu or svs sub to go along).

[audio amateur]

You should check out www.orbaudio.com
I'm sure it beats the crap outta bose.

[blackraven]

Here's my choice for a system with your requirements

4x NHT Absolute zero's with an NHT center channel and then a musical sub, preferably an 8" for musicality like a Velodyne SPL 8, Martin Logan Dynamo or a Mirage S8. These subs will put out great bass and will also be very musical for 2 ch music since you will be running small front channel speakers. The NHT zero's are excellent speakers and will sound much better than the bose or mirage system for stereo and HT.

Also consider the Onkyo SR 605 receiver along with the Denon.

[blackraven]

Marsal, I meant to say NHT Absolute zero's instead of the super zero's which are discontinued.

And I would try to go for the NHT Classic 3 center channel if possible. It has 6.5" mid bass drivers vs 5.25" and would handle bass better.

[marsal]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies.

The Absolute Zeros are, alas, too big. I'm really looking for something not much bigger than the Bose Cubes.

I'm leaning toward the Mirage Nanosat speakers with the Martin Logan Dynamo subwoofer, plus the Onkyo SR 605 receiver. I definately need a subwoofer that can reach up to 120 HZ, as the Nanosats poop out at that point.

I guess I'll also use the Mirage Nano CC speaker.

[marsal]

Wait! I just saw an article about some really small satellites -- the EMP ECA-4 system that was just reviewed in January. This would be instead of the Mirage Nanosat. Has there been any talk about the EMP ECA-4 system on the forums? These are the speakers that Clint DeBoer says are identical in sound to RBH Sound's CT-series speakers.

http://store.audioholics.com/product/1630/17/emp-5-speaker-compact-satellite-speaker-system---black

Jack

[nightflier]

I'll second the Orb suggestion and also Gallo. I'm curious, why would you not consider on-walls such as the Martin Logan Vignettes or Tickets. You have $2000 to spend, so maybe you have some remodeling options? I would even suggest some DefTech (Mythos Gems?), Polk (VM10), or Infinity (TSS) on-walls over the Bose. Actually the Infinity Cascades look very nice, if you have the room for them.