Total newbie

[copaaz]

We've just moved into a new house and are looking to invest in a home auto theater. I do not know all of the lingo so please be patient with me. I have 5 speaker connections in the ceiling. Three up front and two in the back of the room. Other than the 5 speakers that I need to purchase, what other devices will I need? I know I need a receiver. Is there anything else? Is there a "guide" for newbies that I can go off of? Thanks!

[Vardo]

Niles makes very good in ceiling speakers.......link:

http://www.nilesaudio.com/product_de...kers&catcdID=1

and this av receiver from Yamaha has getting pretty good reviews:

http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=87265

Other than that you will need a subwoofer. I recommend HSU
many because I've owned them and thus the bias........

http://hsuresearch.com/

If you would tell us the cu ft of your listening area, and budget,
that would help in getting more replies....vardo

[elapsed]

Hi copaaz, welcome to AR! A few questions to get you started

1. What is your budget?
2. What are the dimensions of your room?
3. What are your sources (e.g. DVD, HD Player, DVR, gaming consoles, etc)
4. What model TV do you own?
5. Is this system primarily for home theater, music, gaming, sports?

Items to consider are: speakers, subwoofer, a/v receiver, subwoofer cable, surge protector, universal remote, a/v stand, hdmi cables (or other forms of cabling such as component video, digital coax, optical audio, if your sources do not have hdmi).

Cheers

[filecat13]

We've just moved into a new house and are looking to invest in a home auto theater. I do not know all of the lingo so please be patient with me.

Just to help you be more accurate, you want to write "audio" not "auto." You can see the difference.

I have 5 speaker connections in the ceiling. Three up front and two in the back of the room.

Is the ceiling already finished? Was it designed to allow speakers to be mounted in the ceiling or is your intent to put some speaker brackets on the ceiling or neaby walls and mount speakers on the brackets?

Other than the 5 speakers that I need to purchase, what other devices will I need? I know I need a receiver. Is there anything else? Is there a "guide" for newbies that I can go off of? Thanks!

A receiver is simplest, though you could buy a separate amplifier and preamplifier. These days, preamplifiers for surround sound systems are usually called "pre/pros" or preamplifier-processors because of all the electronic processing that the special chips and circuits provide. For most people starting out with a receiver is the better choice.

As others mentioned, you'll need a subwoofer. Particularly with ceiling or high wall mounted speakers, which tend to be small, you need a subwoofer to fill in the lowest frequencies.

You'll also need a source; that is, something that plays your media. A receiver is a source because it has a tuner that plays the radio; thus it's your radio source.

If you want to play CDs and DVDs, then you'll need a DVD player that plays them. If you think you're going to go high definition with your video, then you need to consider either an upscaling player if you have a lot of DVDs or a Blu-Ray player if you plan to buy the more expensive Blu-Ray discs with their improved audio and video. An "upscaling" DVD player will take your current DVDs and move them to a higher resolution. Its usually a good improvement, though not always, but it still can't make true high-definition from a standard definition source. On the other hand, Blu-Ray is true high definition at a cost. For some the high cost and the limited selection is a barrier to ownership. Things are changing and eventually prices should come down.

You're going to need something for video (picture). The usual choices are a flat panel TV or a projector and screen. Flat panels are good choices for beginners who don't want to mess with running more wiring up to the ceiling, installing a projector, and calibrating it. As flat panels improve, some folks are completely happy with flat panel displays, and they have a definite cool factor. Still, a projector-based system will allow you much larger pictures, and projectors are advancing at a rate equal to or faster than flat panels. Prices for both flat panels and projectors continue to come down even as the products get better and better.

The final thing is that no one can give you specific recommendations until we know your room size, planned uses, and general budget number.