Need speaker recommendations for a pretty big basement....

[blake_mooney]

Hey guys, gonna be building my home theater in my basement. Just wondering what kinda speakers would fill a room that's roughly 30' x 30' in size? Need recommendations for surrounds, center speaker, floor standings, and a sub. Thanks in advance.

Also, what kinda floor standing and center speakers would work well for a behind the screen set-up? I'll be using a projector btw.

Thanks again.

[Guest BobG]

That's a big room. As a point of reference, THX Ultra 2 spec is for a 3,000 cu ft room.

[Q-Man]

It's a room for a Klipschorn home theater with the Danley DTS sub. You can build false corners for the Klipschorns and one behind the screen will work.

Shorten one wall so your room isn't square, maybe 27' x 30'.

[Buckeye_Nut]

What's your budget?

[blake_mooney]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, and my budget is around $4000~.

I personally think the best route for me is DIY though, you can build a

much better speaker for a lower cost then with major brand names,

seeing as you aren't paying for all the overhead that comes with

mainstream speakers.

Right now I've got my eye on some Dayton

and Goldwood drivers for the floorstandings, surrounds and center

speakers. With the floorstandings I'm gonna go with three 8" bass

drivers, one 4" midrange, and one 1" dome tweeter for each. For the

surrounds I'm gonna go with two 4" midranges and a 1" dome tweeter for

each (It'll be 7.2). The center will have four 4" midrange drivers and

two 1" dome tweeters. And I'm gonna use two MTX THUNDER5500 15" subs

with a 15" passive radiator on the back of each one. The frequency

range on these babies is 19-150 Hz. And for the receiver I'll use the Onkyo 7.1 TX-SR703S THX Select2.

Pretty excited, this is gonna be one hell of a home theater project.

Shortly after I finish my 15" projector I'm gonna build a 17" HD

projector and give the 15 incher to my parents.

Any suggestions on how to build some kickass DIY speakers are appreciated.

[dougdrake]

"I personally think the best route for me is DIY though, you can build a
much better speaker for a lower cost then with major brand names,
seeing as you aren't paying for all the overhead that comes with
mainstream speakers. "

Maybe. But if I were you, I'd look at buying 6 used LaScala speakers. I bet you could pick up 3 pair for under $3000, and have $1000 for a sub or two. I know you could find one to two used subs for $1000.

That would give you 6 fully-horn loaded speakers for 6.1 surround. I think it would kick arse.

[blake_mooney]

"I personally think the best route for me is DIY though, you can build a

much better speaker for a lower cost then with major brand names,

seeing as you aren't paying for all the overhead that comes with

mainstream speakers. "

Maybe. But if I were you, I'd look at buying 6 used LaScala speakers. I bet you could pick up 3 pair for under $3000, and have $1000 for a sub or two. I know you could find one to two used subs for $1000.

That would give you 6 fully-horn loaded speakers for 6.1 surround. I think it would kick arse.

More like "definitely". When you build it yourself you always get more for your money. I do appreciate the suggestion, but I've decided on DIY.

[colterphoto1]

It's a room for a Klipschorn home theater with the Danley DTS sub. You can build false corners for the Klipschorns and one behind the screen will work.

Shorten one wall so your room isn't square, maybe 27' x 30'.

I second that- a square room is a definite NO-NO

M

[colterphoto1]

Disagree on the DIY route. Used Heritage is the best bargain around. I know of an all LS system that kicks butt. And I have 5 Cornwalls surrounding me that cost a whopping $1300 for the set.

The problem with your theory is that you're greatly discounting the value of research, engineering and testing. With your DIY, you've got one shot to get it right.

M

[dkp]

The problem with your theory is that you're greatly discounting the value of research, engineering and testing. With your DIY, you've got one shot to get it right.

M

Good point, Michael. Heritage truly is one of the best values around...

David

[Buckeye_Nut]

With your room, I would definitely factor in the cost of acoustical

room treatments, because anything you put in there will sound bad if

the room remains untreated.

[dougdrake]

Hey, if DIY floats your boat, great. Personally, I couldn't handle the cabinetry and finishing to end up with anything I'd want visible

Also, if you haven't heard fully horn-loaded speakers such as the 'Horn, La Scala, and Belle, you're in for a major treat.

[DrWho]

I'm all for DIY, but $4000 for 8 speakers isn't going to get you a

better sounding system...especially with such a large room. The Dayton

Tweeters sound great for near-field listening, but get 10 feet back and

they just don't have enough power. And you can also do much better for

the subwoofers than the MTX drivers...(yuck)

I personally think the best route for me is DIY though, you can build a

much better speaker for a lower cost then with major brand names,

seeing as you aren't paying for all the overhead that comes with

mainstream speakers.

The problem with this reasoning is you aren't realizing the huge

discount the larger companies get through mass production. And the

amount of overhead going to mainstream products is going to be nearly

identical to that of the final product in the DIY world. The reason

being that all drivers on the market were built with certain design

concepts in mind - it's not like they just throw a driver randomly

together and then hope an enclosure might work with them. And where a

manufacturer is charging a markup for their costs, your local DIY

speaker provider is also charging a markup for their costs too (which

are often higher because they are taking risks by buying products and

hoping they will sell).

It definetly is more fun to go DIY, but rarely is it ever more cost-effective...

If you are serious about your sound then at the very least I would

recommend building your own lascalas from the speakerlab plans. I

believe a single lascala can be made from a single piece of plywood?

You can probably build 7 speakers for about $3k? not sure...but that

would leave you $1k for the subwoofer. You could go with a single Adire

Tumult 15, maybe dual Titanic 15. Ascendant Audio has a killer deal on

the Arsenal12" drivers...if this is a dedicated theatre you could

probably swing 4 of them along the front (yielding over 125dB with an

F3 of 17Hz).

http://www.ascendantaudio.com/

The cool thing about building your own lascalas is you can start off

with the custom ported bass bin - yielding stronger output down to

around 40Hz. You could also have a customized tractrix squaker built

and go with whatever tweeter you wanted.

I'm also not sure why you would come to the klipsch forums asking for

DIY advice if you're not going with a klipsch inspired design. The

system you're proposing to build would be spanked by the Synergy lineup

- which would cost you about the same amount too.

Btw, as far as your room...make it 6 feet narrower in the front and

angle the side walls. So a 24 foot front wall with a 30 foot rear wall.

While you're at it you might also consider going with a fake wall along

the front where you can flushmount your mains and subwoofers and inset

your screen - which would give your room a 27-28 foot depth. Throw in

some curtains around the screen and painted grills and you won't even

have to see the speakers. It would also make for a killer IB situation

as well. The best part is all these considerations won't have to cost

you that much more money and the acoustical benefits are huge.

[SCOOTERDOG]

Agree on the square room, a big no no. My room was 26x 32 but an odd 32. I went with a 26x19 by adding in a another wall, This also lent to having an area outside the HT for future bar etc. I too suggest a false wall in the front like a stage. I did this and it really adds to your movie experience.

I came out 4' in the center and did a 12" radius and my stage is 10"h. my false wall is 24" off the main wall giving me plenty of room for center and subs behinde it. I made an acoustic cloth and particle board cover that is easily removable to service the speakers behind the false wall plus it lets the sound thru.

Although like many others here I am still adding to my Ht all of the time. It will be a couple of years before I am satisfied with it. But compared to where it was when I started, it's a completely different environment. Check out mine, tom adams, and Frznt for some idea's.

[SCOOTERDOG]

Oh and don't forget to check out Formica's too!

[Jay481985]

That's a big room. As a point of reference, THX Ultra 2 spec is for a 3,000 cu ft room.

but isn't 30X30 by ummm say 8, 7200 cubic feet??? []

Heritage all the way! Heck if you can find some klipsch professional speakers that say an old movie theater might be closing down or so.....

[blake_mooney]

I was wondering if you guys could point me in the direction of some good quality speaker drivers? You guys said MTX isen't good for subs, but Parts Express is really the only site I can find that sells a lot of DIY speaker stuff. Are there other places online that I can go to find quality DIY speaker components? Thanks in advance.

And we'll have to agree to disagree on the DIY part guys. I've always found that going the DIY route for the things I build has always saved me money, gotten me better quality for the money, and been a LOT more fun. Sure commercial products serve their purpose and are a great choice for a lot of people, I'm just more of a DIY guy.

P.S. I was totally wrong about the size of the room guys! I was simply estimating (which I'm apparently terrible at ). I just measured it and It's actually 22 x 23 feet long exactly. Sorry for the confusion.

[Jay481985]

still that is very close to a perfect square......

OK if you want to do that route you sure as well can. I mean it is your money. MTX speakers are known for the car world and not for the hometheater. Car Subwoofers are usually one noters. Also they are made for cars which gain car gain (using the car as an enclosure). Anyway...... They usually have a high qtc also etc etc etc not to say that car subs cannot be implemented into the home theater but its harder......

DIY ummm hmm partsexpress, madisounds but they are expensive as they are the botique of diy..... diycables.com, adireaudio.com, acoustic-visions.com ascendantaudio.com hmmm

[colterphoto1]

have fun!

[blake_mooney]

still that is very close to a perfect square......

OK if you want to do that route you sure as well can. I mean it is your money. MTX speakers are known for the car world and not for the hometheater. Car Subwoofers are usually one noters. Also they are made for cars which gain car gain (using the car as an enclosure). Anyway...... They usually have a high qtc also etc etc etc not to say that car subs cannot be implemented into the home theater but its harder......

DIY ummm hmm partsexpress, madisounds but they are expensive as they are the botique of diy..... diycables.com, adireaudio.com, acoustic-visions.com ascendantaudio.com hmmm

Nice, thanks for the heads up. I decided against using the MTX subs. I never have liked the boomy sound of most car subs. I think I'm gonna go with dual 15" Tumult 15D2's, these things go all the way down to 15hz! I'm looking for very very low frequency DIY subs with high output. For all the other drivers I think I'll use Dynaudio, Dayton or Peerless.