# Building a starter system.....



## rmclain73 (Oct 22, 2010)

My long term goal is to have a 7.2 surround setup in a dedicated theater room once I own a home. At the time I am living in a small Boston apartment on the second floor. It may be a while until I have the home and the room to create the theater I want. My current viewing room is 12x19. I would love to have a sub, but its just not practical under my current living conditons. I am thinking of starting out with either a 2.0, or a 3.0 system matched with an Onkyo 708 receiver. If I go the way of the 3.0 setup I would buy a pair of the SBS bookshelves, matched with a SCS center channel. Later down the road I would use the SBS's as surrounds in a 7.2 room. If I go with the 2.0 system I would choose the STS towers. The 3.0 setup is much cheaper, but I do like a sound with good base. I would lose the base with the 3.0 setup. 

The question is how much base will I lose with the bookshelves and center setup over just the 2.0 towers? Will I get bored with a 2.0 setup? Are the towers a little overkill for the size room I have, and will they rattle the floor below? If you had to decide between the two, what setup would you go with?


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## Stroh (Sep 14, 2010)

To me it is a little vague on requirements/limitations. I would buy the speakers and receiver you think you want for down the road. Turn the bass down on the receiver or buy a EQ and do the same. I would much rather have speakers that aren't currently playing their full spectrum than to have speakers that can't play the spectrum I want down the road. Buy with the intentions that the people downstairs won't always be home


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## rmclain73 (Oct 22, 2010)

Stroh said:


> To me it is a little vague on requirements/limitations. I would buy the speakers and receiver you think you want for down the road. Turn the bass down on the receiver or buy a EQ and do the same. I would much rather have speakers that aren't currently playing their full spectrum than to have speakers that can't play the spectrum I want down the road. Buy with the intentions that the people downstairs won't always be home


I want all of the speakers I mentioned in both setups. They will all be used down the road. The question was which SVS setup is best for now, the 3.0 or 2.0. Not having heard them I want to know which setup those who have heard would think I would like to use now.


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## drdoan (Aug 30, 2006)

Go with 3 if you prefer movies. 2 if you prefer music. I would not play them below 80-90 hZ. Have fun. Dennis


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## Ed Mullen (Jul 28, 2006)

All of the S-series are designed to be compliant with the spirit of the THX standard - i.e., sealed speakers with an acoustic roll-off of ~80 Hz (the surrounds roll-off a bit higher). This holds true for the towers too - they are not designed for deep extension but boy do they have a lot of slam/impact in the upper bass regions and can play loud/clean/dynamic with high sensitivity too. This is where they shine over the bookshelf or even the SCS-01M.


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