What order to buy speakers in?

[codyaaron2]

If you dont have all the money right now but would like to start building you home surround system what order should you get your speakers in.

Thanks

[Bill H.]

I suggest, after you buy either a receiver or Amp to get:

1. The Mains (get the most speaker you can afford).

2. the Matching Center

3. The Surround speakers..........

[codyaaron2]

Well i'm having a house built and they are running speaker wires for the rear speakers, so I will need to get them at least or I will have

wire hanging from the walls. I thought that most of your sound comes from the center speaker, right or wrong? Also do you buy the

sub last? I was think about getting the RS-52's for the rear speakers. Can you hang these on the wall or are they better on stands

on the floor in the rear.

Thanks

[ram2500]

Mains and center. Then souronds and last the sub.

[jamesV]

Well i'm having a house built and they are running speaker wires for the rear speakers, so I will need to get them at least or I will have

wire hanging from the walls. I thought that most of your sound comes from the center speaker, right or wrong? Also do you buy the

sub last? I was think about getting the RS-52's for the rear speakers. Can you hang these on the wall or are they better on stands

on the floor in the rear.

Thanks

Welcome,

Have you seen this, http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062683&cp=&sr=1&origkw=speaker+wall+plates&kw=speaker+wall+plates&parentPage=search. A friend of mine had a house build and we finished the family room and put these in. It made for a really nice / clean look and the only speaker wire you see the from this to the speaker. He even has a multiple plate behind the receiver. Just a thought.

I also would have to say that the first speakers to purchase would be the front mains. Also buy the most speaker you can for the money and listen to them with your own music before you buy them. Only you will know what sounds good to you and what doesn't.

James

[sethhobrin]

I guess you COULD put RS52s on a stand but they are meant to be 2ft higher than ear level and mounted on the wall with a drywall stud or some other mechanism. I have RS52s as side surrounds and they are great and also a little more forgiving on placement because of the dispersion technology. For rear surrounds you generally want mono pole speakers like RB -61s or RB-51s or RB 41s. DO NOT GET 7.1 speakers until last as they will add the least amount of sound coolness factor to your setup.

Honestly you need the front 3 speakers for sure. Surrounds are optional but add so much immersion. Then the next optional component is a sub to bring it all together and really add some personality and impact.

Get the BEST Center and fronts that you can afford. But make sure they are timber matched. i.e. don't get an RC-64 and RB61s. I screwed myself over and was ticked off for years because my center didn't match the fronts and it just sounded awkward.

I really love my RC-62. Its the best bang for the buck I think. Then for fronts I'd go with RB-81s if you like bookshelves or RF-82s if not.

Just make sure they are from the correct series. Dont mix and match for the fronts and centers.

[DrWho]

Have you seen this, http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2062683&cp=&sr=1&origkw=speaker+wall+plates&kw=speaker+wall+plates&parentPage=search.

A friend of mine had a house build and we finished the family room and

put these in. It made for a really nice / clean look and the only

speaker wire you see the from this to the speaker. He even has a

multiple plate behind the receiver. Just a thought.

I think going with a wall plate is extremely good advice. And there are

plenty of other styles available if you don't want to go with the

radioshack ones. [Y]

As far as building slowly - you always gotta start with the mains. There are two options:

1) Purchase a nice pair of floorstanders. Sounds like you're interested in the RF-52's for the long term?

2) Purchase a nice pair of bookshelves + Sub. Then later on down the

road you can move the bookshelves to the rear when you purchase new

mains. (and then even way further down the road you can purchase a pair

of surrounds and use the bookshelves and surrounds in a 7.1

configuration).

But basically, the center is going to be the last speaker you purchase.

When you don't have a center channel, your receiver will automatically

put the center channel information into the LR mains. Later on down the

road when you have a center channel, the receiver won't reroute the

information any more and only then will 70% of the movie content be

coming from the center. In other words, the reason people mention that

so much comes from the center is because you don't want to skimp out on

the center channel once you have one.

I would probably even recommend purchasing a sub before purchasing the

center channel. The exception to the rule would be cases where you're

not hearing the dialog clearly with just the LR mains (which is

sometimes the case depending on how the receiver handles the signal).

You might purchase the sub before you get surrounds depending on the LR

mains you end up with. Something like the RF-52 would benefit from a

sub moreso than something like the RF-83...Either way, you don't want

to skimp out on the sub. The Reference floorstanders are really tight

and punchy - so any defficiencies in a subwoofer will be readily

apparent.

One last thing...since your builder is running the wires for you and

all that, it would be extremely beneficial for you to have him pre-wire

for 7.1. Even if you never plan to run 7.1, it will benefit the resale

value of your home. And for the channels you're not using, the wall

plates work very well at hiding the holes/wires.

Btw, you can also purchase wall plates that have nothing on them -

which blend better into the wall. They also sell blank wall plates that

are modular....basically, you can change the style of jack on them

without removing the entire plate. This would be convenient in cases

where it'll be a little while before you add surrounds and you don't

like the look of the bare banana jacks. I think some of them might even

be paintable too...