ALT0153

Yes, I've seen that the Oppo DVD players are popular and highly recommended but cost as much as an AVR. Do I need that in order to take full advantage of the speakers or make sure I have a good AVR? Why have both units "decoding" the same audio?

As I stated in my finishing basement post, I know little to nothing about audio equipment, specs, setup etc., but am trying to learn it little by little. After selecting the speakers and AVR, my next goal is to purchase a blu-ray player. My question for all the experts is do I need to be looking for anything specific in the blu-ray player in terms of audio decoding ( e.g., Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby Pro Logic IIx/z, DTS, DTS Neo:6, DTS-ES, DTS-HD, THX, etc) Is it necessary to have the DVD player support as many of these formats or will the HDMI or digital coax cable "pass-through" to the AVR with decoding/processing capabilities? Should I just be concerned with the specs of the AVR rather than the blu-ray player? I'd hate to spend $800 on a blu-ray player if I didn't have to, but I also don't want to spend $2,500 on speakers and get terrible sound quality because of the black-friday special player at the top of the stream. Thanks for your input!

Ok thanks. I'm slowly learning things The Onkyo TX-NR636, NR737, and even the NR838 are limited to 5.2.2. In order to step up to 7.2.2, the receiver must be 9-channels or have a 9-channel preamp output for adding amplifiers. The first model in the Onkyo line with this ability is the Onkyo TX-NR1030 ($1,600) Yeah, that one's not in the budget. lol. So my next learning curve is the Watts/RMS? The Onkyo TX-NR636/737/838 are nearly identical other than their RMS power output of 95W/110W/130W respectively. Looking at the Klipsch speakers, I'm guessing I have to stay under the Onkyo specs? RF-62 ii - 125W RMS / 500W Peak RC-62 ii - 150W RMS / 600W Peak RS-62 ii - 150W RMS / 600W Peak RF-52 ii - 100W RMS / 400W Peak RC-52 ii - 125W RMS / 500W Peak RS-52 ii - 100W RMS / 400W Peak RF-42 ii - 75W RMS / 300W Peak RC-42 ii - 75W RMS / 300W Peak RS-42 ii - 75W RMS / 300W Peak So am I correct to say the TX-NR636 (95W RMS) can only handle the 42 ii speakers? Or could I do the 52ii or 62ii, just not at "full power" or would I need to add a power amp? I'm guessing it's just cheaper to get the higher RMS AVR?

Well, it does look like the best it can do is either 7.2 or 5.2.2. Their overview info is misleading.

Like I said, I'm an audio newbie. I probably know more Chinese than I do audio. If I use pre out, I then need an amp too? Just looking at the Onkyo AVRs would I'd have to go up to the TX-NR838 to get pre out...and then get an amp?

The Onkyo TX-NR636 can do 7.2.4 with the latest firmware. My setup will be just 5.1 for now. My intention for the future ceiling speakers was going to have two for rear surround and two for atmos, so a 7.1.2...but I suppose I could make them all atmos 5.1.4?

The only important seat is the one in the middle That's where I'm sitting. So here's the revised speaker layout. I never asked what everyone would recommend for an A/V receiver. I was originally looking at the Onkyo TX-NR636 for it's 7.2 atmos capabilities and HDMI 2.0. Will that work with this setup?

That makes sense. I'll definitely be calling them soon. Where on my diagram would you suggest I place the pair of RS-52 ii? The green area or behind somewhere? I will look into those thanks. I like the small footprint option of the pc-2000 I agree with you. I'd rather have a killer 5.0/5.1 than a mediocre 7.1....However , wouldn't it be a good idea to at least pre-wire the other speaker locations with a gang box or something before all the walls are sealed up? That way I could add speakers in the future? If so, were should I run the other cables? Thanks for the great advice!

If it was only that easy Pimps don't have wives

Lol. Yeah, that's what I wanted to do, but my wife wouldn't allow it. "No theater rows and the fireplace is more important" paraphrasing a bit And yes, the bottom is a window. That's why I have a speaker placement problem.

I though the corners may be too far (purple). So would ceiling speakers work instead? (purple circle locations) The door under the stairs doesn't leave much room on either side and they'd be less than 3 feet apart.

Thanks! Yeah, we don't have any walls up yet so I have to opportunity to run the wires to the right spots. It's the side and rear speaker locations that I am unsure where to run or what type of speaker to mount (ceiling, wall, in-wall). I edited the OP to include budget and Reference Series speakers that I've been looking at.

We are in the final design stages for finishing our basement. I need to determine where cables should be run for speaker placement. The room is wide with a back wall that makes it difficult to adhere to Dolby's recommended speaker placement. I am audio newbie and this will be my first (and only) surround sound set-up, so hopefully someone can help me get it right! 1) At minimal I'd like 5.1, but if possible run wire for 7.1 or even 7.1.2 (if atmos ever catches on) 2) I've linked to our room layout with some initial speaker placement. - Red = standard center, left, right, sub (RC-42 II, RF-42 II, R-110SW) - Purple = possible rear placements? (RB-41 II or CDT-2650-C II) - Green = possible surround placement? (RS-42 II or R-2650-W II) - Blue = Atoms locations? (CDT-2650-C II) These speaker placements are primarily intended for movies. Looking a Klipsch Reference 42 II range of speakers since my speaker budget is around $3,000. Thanks in advance for your help!