New to Home Theater and I need some advise on speakers for a large basement room!

[DaveH]

Hi Guys, nice to be here. I'll make this short. I am building an 850 square foot rec room in basement which will include a large screen TV with surround sound. I was leaning toward the RF-7 Klipsch Reference Series speakers, but the place that is doing the wiring is trying to sell me the polk audio high end speakers. I need to fill a pretty big room and the Klipsch Reference Series I was told would do the trick. Any other suggestions would be great also. Thanks. Later.

[This Guy]

Yeah that room is big, and you cetainly would benefit from their efficiency. Listen to them first because some people don't like the sound of horns. Did you budget for a subwoofer? You're gonna need atleast two high powered subs to fill this room. What are you going to be powering them with? And if you go with the Klipsch, buy the whole set for surround sound so they are timbre matched. The subwoofer can be a different brand.

[Wireworm5]

Paradigm Studio 100 v3. These however require a power amp to sound their best. I would consider the Klispch RF-7 too. Haven't heard them but they would be on my shortlist. I've seen the new Polk line never listened to them either but I would check them out, can't imagine them being better than the Studio 100's. Enery Veritas is another speaker I can think of that should be on your shortlist.

[JeffBrecklin]

Buy some mac subs and some peavey tops my friend has these and you can literatly feel the cement shaking and they sound so good. I would say the cost of these speakers would be 2000 dolars or around 2000 all of my friends speakers put together would be 15000 watts. The subs are powered and are rated at about 600 watts a piece really nice speakers.

[Bryan]

I would go with the Klipsch if you enjoy their sound. If you enjoy the B&W sound, Onix or Swan are excellent factory direct manufacterers.

One thing to keep in mind is your room will be a very large one, going to at least 6800 cubic feet. For that, you are looking at needing 2 or 3 SVS PB2-Plus subs, for example.

It all starts with the budget.

[goatspeed]

I like klipsch alot for HT applications too. I also agree with looking at SVS for subs. If you are looking into spending the kind of money it takes to put together a Reference "7" setup, you are in very broad area of the speaker market. I just put together a 50/50 HT and music setup and I think I was in the similar budget area as you. Here are some brands/sets that are in your range that you should take a look at.

Klipsch Reference 7's
Infinity Kappas
B&W 6 series
Monitor Audio Silver
Magnapan MMG
Energy Conneseurs
Kef Q series

That's pretty much the list I went through before I settled on the Monitor Audio silvers. I liked the sound the best which was key. The Infinity Kappas are worth a listen too because they can be bought so cheap right now, and I thought they were the 2nd best sound in that group.

[goatspeed]

BTW, This Guy mentioned to listen to Klipsch to see if you like the horn. Just thought I'd ellaborate on that. Some folks really love the horn, I certainly do. Some really hate it and it hurts their ears after long periods of listening. So, audition some of your favorite music on the RF7's and see if you still like them after 6 songs or so. Klipsch seems to have a really punchy bass sound and the horn makes them very vibrant up high. I tested them with various music and I liked what they did high and low, but I didn't like what they did in the middle. Still, I think they are pretty widely known as very good HT speakers.

I went with Monitor Audio (not to sound like a commercial) because they were the only speakers I could find that had the punch of the Klipsch down low, the nicely projected middles of the B&W (which was my favorite till I heard the MA system), and a nice slightly bright high end (just what I like). While I was looking, I often thought "if I could have that kevlar B&W mid in the Klipsch speakers, I'd buy them".

[pelly3s]

perfect home theater setup, JBL 4435's for left and right, and 4430's for center and surround. all bi-amped with crown k1's and k2's. ok so i have sick thoughts lol. if anyone has ever heard them they would understand. for subs get some custom boxes made with jbl 2445's. I know a lot of people here don't believe a pro driver is good for use in home but I swear by them plus I love horns. You could spend less money and get 4430's for left center and right and 4425's for rears. now the only thing is is finding the speakers.

ok now for a response that is a little easier to handle. the klipsh are good sounding speakers and they are highly efficient which is good. i would try to stick with something with horn loaded mids and highs just for the extra throw. a member here (gonefishin) has the pefect speakers for you're task too bad they are custom made.

Or you could go with Altec Lansing A-7's the new Voice of the Theater

[kfalls]

You state the size of the room, but don't really say what type of environment it is "live" or "dead". If the room has a lot of hard surfaces which will reflect sound, you would want a more laid-back speaker. If you have carpet, over-stuffed chairs and the like which will absorb sound, a horn may be just what you need to compensate for the high-end loss. I really don't think you can go wrong with the Klipsch', they're efficient enough to fill the room, have plenty of bass, good built quality and look pretty impressive especially with the grilles off.