Moved into our new house three months ago and I'm pecking away on the home theater. So here's where I am... So far I've got a Sony 40" XBR high-def TV and a Sony progressive scan DVD player. I just bought a Panamax 5100 line conditioner to feed my new electronics nice smooth power. The space I have to fill with sound is quite large, about 7'000 cubic feet in all. It it is a living room with the back wall open to the kitchen and dining area. The living room has a ceiling vaulted up to 12' and the dining & kitchen are 9' ceilings.

Next on my "list to purchase" are a receiver/amp and speakers. I think I have finally narrowed my receiver choice down to the Outlaw 950 though I have not choosen an amp. yet. I was looking at Sony or Denon all-in-one box but the price of the Outlaw makes it a strong contender.

The big problem are speakers. I've got a $3'000 budget in mind. Of course, the wife does not like big speakers so I am limited somewhat in size. My side surrounds MUST be in-wall and the front L & R can be bookshelf size. I put my foot down on the sub (gotta pick your battles) and can do about anything. So far I am leaning towards the M&K since they seem to have a speaker for each location that I like. What does everyone think I should do with my $3'000 speaker money.

Lots of advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Dane

This has got to be an exciting time for you.

Let me start backward by bringing up the sub first since that's what I'm most familiar with out of my 6 speakers. Adire Audio's Shiva is it when it comes to price & performance ratio. I wrote this in B & W subwoofer category in this chat room. Forget all the commercial stuff unless you spend over 1K. I've been using Shiva for 6 months and I couldn't be happier after spending about $400. It is both musical and dynamic (for home theater). I built my own enclosure which saved some money but you can find pre-finished enclosures at reasonable prices. Look up www.acoustic-visions.com. Also, see the reviews on this sub at www.audioreview.com.

As for the center and main, try Vifa A/V kit speaker from www.Madisound.com. I've been using them for a year now and it upsets my friends when they audition it. Why? They spent more on their name brand speakers but mine sounds better! The clarity and details are said to be equivalent to those costing up to $ 1,000 or more per pair and its only $ 216 each. See the review on this at audioreview. For the surrounds, ideally, you want to match the speaker parts with center and mains for harmonic surround sound. I would also recommend Vifa kit from Madisound. You can mount them above the head height while pointing them down a little. But if you must have in-wall speakers, try www.partsexpress.com I personally have not auditioned these in-wall stuff. Thiel audio makes some high-end in-wall speakers if you want to spend more.

Hope this helps.

M&K is a very solid company which makes very good speakers for home theater applications. You would not go wrong purchasing a system of their products powered by Outlaw Equipment. Another nice thing about their products is that they blend very nicely together. The only problem I could see would be the size of your room. That's a mighty large space to fill. Which model of M&Ks were you looking at for the front L/R channels? The surrounds would work fine with in-walls but I'm wondering about the amount of punch available from the mains.

Also, I would seriously consider twin subwoofers in a room that size. Actually, I believe you would be better off with two subwoofers in any size room!!

Just looking quickly at M&Ks website for pricing, your budget may be in trouble when you start to consider a system of the size you're looking at. I may be a M&K buff, but I'll add that many different speaker companies make speakers of different types that would fit your given set-up. You may also want to consider systems by PSB, Paradigm, Infinity, and more that are beyond my memory at this point. The point being, remember to listen to speakers by these various companies before deciding on installing them. It's not a small amount of money you're investing and you want to be happy with what you end up with. Let your ears decide for you.

M&K speakers are truly excellent, and I recommend them highly.

You might also want to check out Atlantic Technology: I know they make a variety of in-wall speakers including a darned impressive in-wall subwoofer!

Jeff

Keep the ideas coming...

From my old system I have a 250 watt Acoustic Research sub which I will use until I upgrade the last piece in my puzzle. So far I would like a pair of SVS, but I have not found anyone in the area with them.

My big problem, beside coming up with some $$$$ is that I live in the middle of nowhere NC. Listening to several different brands of speakers will involve a lot of driving and a bit of flying. At this point I am trying to slim down my search a bit. My room is huge, but I am not going to try and push it to THX volumes. The sytem will spend 80% of it's time playing normal television shows and the remaining will be split between music and movies.

I have listened to the Klipsch which sounded OK, but they only had one in-wall speaker that I really like. A store about 35 miles away sells B&W so I'll be making a trip there next, but I think they will be too expensive (though the wife thought the Nautilus towers ($8'000 each) would look good in the living room). One of the biggest things going for the M&K so far is that they seem to have some decent speakers in smaller sizes (gotta keep the wife happy). I am a bit worried that some reviews say that the M&K I like (150THX) has a narrow sweet spot.

I knew I forgot to mention Atlantic Tech. I got their literature, and they have an in-wall that looks good but it looked like they only sell it as a part of their total in-wall system. I am making things difficult by splitting between in-wall and standard freestanding/bookshelf speakers. My wife like the idea of in-walls to make them invisible, but I am not conviced that an in-wall could provide enough oomph for my front channels in my huge room.

Well, Gonk and I are Paradigm men. Given the WAF, the studio 20's and Paradigms inwall speakers may be just up your alley.
They come in black, a natural cherry, and a red cherry finish (I've got the natural cherry finish in my apartment right now, and the look great with my hardwood floors.) You can check out the Paradigm website at www.paradigm.ca.

For the sub, I know SVS are the best bang for your buck...especialy since you may need 2 subs to realy make that large room sing. However getting the Mrs' acceptance on 2 black water heaters may be a little hard to do. Check out the PW2200, and just tell her to decorate them as end tables. I've demoed the PW2200 and it's an excellent sub that can be had for around $600. Not quite the performer as a SVS 16-46PCi that I've got sitting in my system right now...but it's very close. The nice thing about the PW2200 is that it's available in the same finishes as the Studio 20's, so having her "coordinate the furniture" may be a decent selling point/comprimise for some very fine audio gear.

Jason

speaking of gonk...

I have had very good luck with my Paradigm Reference speakers, and they do have in-wall speakers available. A Studio/CC, Studio/20 or Studio/40 mains, and some SA in-walls would be a nice system. The Studio/40's are bookshelf speakers, but they are on the large side for a bookshelf -- the Studio/20 is a bit smaller. Atlantic Tech would also be worth checking out, as already mentioned. According to something in their online FAQ , you may be able to "mix and match" a bit between their different speaker systems:



Another possibility is B&W - the Nautilus 805's would put a dent in your budget, but they are reportedly great bookshelf speakers.

As for the SVS (which I have and have been very pleased with), have you checked out Audio Envy yet to look for nearby SVS owners willing to demo their gear?

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

I didn't hear the AT in-wall sub, but I saw it at CES last year and the year before, and it looked like it could produce quite a lot of oomph! Perhaps you can arrange to hear a demo somewhere?

Jeff

M&K may be a good choice for subwoofer if you have a higher budget. When it comes to subwoofers, Adire Audio can slay other brand names at it's price range without even breaking a sweat. In a side by side comparison, Adire's Shiva will have other brands like Paradigm, Polk, Infinity and JBL run away like a dog with it's tale tugged between the legs.

I've listened to my friend's Klipsch subwoofer costing $1,000 and my Adire's Shiva out performs it. I spent less than half of that. Its tight, loud, musical and the ability to move the air is incredible. Check out www.adireaudio.com for more detailed spec on their drivers. Shiva has Xmax distance of 15.8 mm one way! That's the amount of air it can move/vibrate. I doubt you'll find drivers like that from $500 subwoofer if they even list it in their spec. 1 Adire's Shiva may do the job for your large room. Why spend more on getting two? What about the square footage that you are giving up by having two? If you think Shiva may not be enough then you may want to try Adire's 15" Tempest or the ultimate Tumult (Xmax = 34 mm one way). These products can be delivered to your door and dollar for dollar, the quality is outstanding. I'm not their salesman. I'm just a fortunate user of their product.