# Please help to buy Home Theatre under 4K



## Guest (Aug 17, 2008)

Hi All,

I need to buy a home theatre from scratch (DVD, Sub, Speakers) for the Australian Club in Dhaka. I have been reading about home theatre for last couple of weeks but unable to decide the best option. The problem is in my country there is no shop that sales speakers like- Harman Kardon, Onkyo, Klipsch, Martin Logan, etc. So i can't test them myself. I will purchase them from Australia. The following are the conditions i need to fulfill-

1. The room is 30 feet by 55 feet with open on three sides.
2. All the speakers must be wall mounted.
3. I prefer 5.1 or 6.1 
4. I prefer the components from one or max two vendors, so easy to setup and control. 
5. Total budget is not more than 4000 Australian dollars.

Since the room is very big and open, i am really confused what to get. I will be really grateful if you could help me with your expert advise.

Thanks

Anik

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## mayhem13 (Feb 2, 2008)

You didn't mention a video display, do you already have one or is the need included in your budget?


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2008)

No need to worry about the video display. I have a LCD.


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## mayhem13 (Feb 2, 2008)

That's a huge room so you are going to need very efficient speakers to get it done. Wall mounting presents a whole other set of problems. Line arrays would probobly be the best alignment in this application. The only other alternative i can think of would be some used JBL Synthesis gear or Pro Audio Monitors


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

You'll probably get more helpful responses if you give some more information. I'm thinking things like a drawing/floorplan of the entire room, with a description of the spaces that the room is open to, ceiling height, seating arrangements/distances, what the system will be used mostly for, (Presentations/movies/television broadcasts) and anything else that you can think of. Too much info won't be a problem. Pictures would be great.

My first thought was, "How many people are going to be watching? Is he going to need multiple surrounds to cover the audience front to back, plus rear surrounds?"

So give. The more, the merrier.

And I think you may also end up going with pro gear for that large space, but you can probably work it with good consumer gear, too. Either way, your budget may be in danger.


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

tenzip said:


> You'll probably get more helpful responses if you give some more information. ...


Somebody is not awake ....



> So i can't test them myself. I will purchase them from Australia. The following are the conditions i need to fulfill-
> 
> 1. The room is 30 feet by 55 feet with open on three sides.
> 2. All the speakers must be wall mounted.
> ...


:bigsmile: . addle: . :rofl2: .


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

salvasol said:


> Somebody is not awake ....
> :bigsmile: . addle: . :rofl2: .


Actually I'm quite awake, sal. I'm hoping for MORE information, like I said. Are YOU awake? :neener:

I did actually read his post, did you read mine? I wanted to know how many people, and where are they sitting? Pictures would help too. There's a big difference between 5 people sitting 15' from the screen in one row, and 35 people sitting 15-40' from the screen in multiple rows. If the latter, multiple surround speakers would likely be required like your local cinema.


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

tenzip said:


> ... Are YOU awake? :neener:


What's that??? :bigsmile: :rofl2: :boxer:



> ... I wanted to know how many people, and where are they sitting? ... There's a big difference between 5 people sitting 15' from the screen in one row, and 35 people sitting 15-40' from the screen in multiple rows. If the latter, multiple surround speakers would likely be required like your local cinema.


Well, he wrote that he wants a 5.1 or 6.1 :yes:

Maybe I'm mistaken but the rrom seems very large for HT ... unless is a Family/Living, or he made a mistake when he wrote the dimensions.

Asuming is a Living/Family ... I think the area for the HT will be around 15 by 20/25 :yes:

I agree about the pictures ... that will replace a thousand words :bigsmile:


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

I think his dimensions are correct, he said it was a club, so I'm picturing a large room. And it would still be 5.1 or 6.1 with multiple surrounds.

But let's let him tell us.


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## Guest (Aug 18, 2008)

hey guyz, thanks for the replies. It is indeed a club. The size is 55 feet x 30 feet x 9.8 feet (ceiling). I have attached a rough layout of the room (yup, i know my architectural drawing is not award winning . Usually it will used with the projector(has HDMI input) to watch TV/movies on big screen for around 60 people.Once in a month for Party music for around 100 people. And sometimes for presentation with laptop for around 30 people. I need to add that we want as less cabling as possible, hence prefer 5.1 instead of 7.1. I already have lots of cabling- dvd player to projector and amp, tv to projector and amp, laptop to projector and amp. The positive side is that most of the audience is not that av specialist and would not mind if the bass is not earth shaking.


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## Guest (Aug 19, 2008)

(i replied with an attachemnt yesterday, wished it would have been approved and published by now..anyway i guess i will try to sketch by words)

hi guyz, thanks for the replies. Well, it is indeed a club room. The size is: 55 feet x 30 feet x 9.8 feet (ceiling). There are fifteen small table placed randomly each having 4 person. At the front there is a 10' x 8' projector screen. At the back, there is a bar where people can seat and enjoy. The small tables are between the projector screen and the bar. There is a small room right next to the bar where i need to put the av and the sub. Currently i have a good Yamaha AX396 there. The Yamaha is connected with 2 big size old Bose speakers outside (though it can support 4 speakers). The sound i get from this system is ample but not surround or good enough for movie experience. The 5.1 or 6.1 will be used for watching tv on the screen for around 20 people or watching movies (i have got a Epson TW700 home theatre projector with HDMI) in the screen for 50 people or party music for around 100 people or presentation with laptop for around 80 people. Currently i have a TV, DVD and Laptop each connected with the overhead projector and the amplifier at the back room. The input is selected by a seperate input switch. As you would understand that i already have lots of cables, i prefer as less cable as possible for the home theatre, hence prefering 5.1 over 7.1. I know wireless speakers are not yet upto the mark. The open 3 sides are- Tennis court, swimming pool and garden. The positive side is that, most of the member of the club is not too concerned about the quality of the sound and won't mind if the bass is not earth shaking. 

Hope this will give you some idea. I will try to attach the layout seperately.


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

I'm afraid I don't see any good options for you, but I'm not any kind of expert, maybe someone else with more experience has better ideas, so don't give up!

20 people spread out over 5-7 tables is going to be a challenge to provide decent surround sound for. 50 people at 15+ tables is going to be a completely different, bigger challenge. Your Yamaha AX-396 is a stereo integrated amp, so you'd need to get something else for surround sound processing, plus more amps to drive the surround channels. And I understand that Bose speakers tend to be rather inefficient, so you might be better off to sell those and replace with some speakers that have horn tweeters, as they tend to be very efficient, and you can drive a much higher SPL.

I think you would be well served to scrap the surround idea, and just concentrate on getting clear, intelligible sound to everyone in the room instead. My suggestion would be to get some wall mount pro-audio monitors around the perimeter of the room. I would sell the Yamaha and get a preamp to drive several pro amps for the speakers.


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## thxgoon (Feb 23, 2007)

It's going to be hard to get great performance in that environment for under $4G with either pro or home equipment. If you are looking at home equip I would take a strong look at Klipsch. For the money (and for the watt) they will have the greatest output, and would cover that space. Your greatest challenge is going to be bass, as you have so many openings and such a big room. I would suggest a higher tuned DIY, maybe you could build into the wall or something, but whatever it is it won't fit behind your bar. Maybe you could ceiling mount the subs, I've seen this in several restaraunts and bars.

Any setup I try to imagine to fill that room quickly blows your budget. You will either have to sacrafice performance, or as tenzip says, go two channel.

From a pro solution (from experience these sound great for music but I have no idea for movies) would be 5 or 6 of these, along with an old cheap 5.1 pre-amp like a Lexicon MC or something. That would be under your budget but without a sub, and I would think it would sound great.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

for a room that size you need to go with a receiver or a processor with external amps to power speakers that are designed for auditorium sized rooms. Community or EV speakers will do a great job for the speakers however for your budget it may be tough to get them. I would look at a sub from SVS The PB13 Ultra is about the only one that could even start to fill a room that size two would be almost a must but again your budget could not handle it.
The isssue is the size of room needs som serious power in order to even remotely fill it with decent volume and even then you run the risk of blowing speakers if you push it with consumer grade speakers.

When you say "open on three sides" what do you mean? how larg is the other area. and can you close it in with some sort of removable divider for when you do movies?


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## thxgoon (Feb 23, 2007)

I'm not sure 2 Ultra13's would fill it, and that would put him way over his budget. For affoardable bass in this senario, if you have any wookworking skills we can help you design something for a lot less. It won't go nearly as deep, maybe 25-30hz or so, but could have the ouput for the room. Otherwise, I'd see if you could find some second hand cinema subs somewhere with at least 2 18" drivers, and some cheap power ala Behringer or used QSC.


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

I think thxgoon's suggestion for the Mackie monitors is a good one, I had in mind Klipsch, or possibly some passive pro monitors, but the Mackies would be a great choice, as they each have their own amp inside, so you'd just need to provide a preamp level signal to each. You might e-mail Mackie, and ask their advice, given your budget and the space you have to work with. Or any other company with a comparable product would work, I'm not sure what you have access to, or can afford to have shipped to you.

Any way you go, I suspect you're going to have trouble doing it for $4k, Aus or US.

Trying to provide subwoofage to a space that large and open will be kind of like trying to empty the ocean with a spoon. Your efforts will tend to disappear without notice. Spending your entire budget on subwoofers would probably get some result, but that's a bit unrealistic.

I still suggest working on your 2-ch sound to start, just so everyone in the room has a chance to hear what's going on. The Mackie products could in theory be hooked to a surround processor, so that's a possibility too.

Edit: I think 6 of those monitors would do a decent job of providing music for parties in that space, too.


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## salvasol (Oct 31, 2006)

tonyvdb said:


> for a room that size you need to go with a receiver or a processor with external amps to power speakers that are designed for auditorium sized rooms. ...


I have a pair of  Gemini GSM 1250  and they sound good (I use them for music with a DJ mixer and amp) :yes:

As Tony mentioned, maybe you can get a receiver (5.1 or 6.1), three external amps ( Behringer A500 ), and three pairs of this speakers (Behringer CE1000P Speaker ) ... I'm assuming receiver $600, external amps $897 (299 ea) and speakers $837 (279 pr) :yes:

But ... this is just my opinion :bigsmile:


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## tenzip (May 4, 2007)

Here's a dealer for Mackie products in Bangladesh:

Mackie sales and technical support in your area are managed by the distributor(s) listed below. They'll be happy to assist you with your support needs.
Orient Electronics
GENERAL CONTACT
GPO Box No. 813 Union Square Building 7th Floor, 1078 Ramjoy Mohajan Lane, Asadgonj, Chittagong 4000
Bangladesh
Phone: +880 31 631 304
Fax: +880 31 610 107
Email: [email protected]

I have zero experience with Mackie, so this isn't a personal endorsement, although I've heard they make good equipment. Just looked it up on their web site. I'd call them up or e-mail them and describe the situation, or you could even give them a link to this post, so they can see everything that's led up to this point.

Good luck with the project, and keep us up-to-date, I'm interested in the outcome!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

For your mains have a look at these for your main front speakers, at $450 ea they will do the job.
The community MVPII series speakers have several that will work for your surround channels as well.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2008)

hi guyz, thanks so much for the opinions. Special thanks to Tenzip for the Mackie provider in Bangladesh. I have contacted them, they said they sell 55 brands. I will go to their shop and let you know what is availabe. Also, it might be cheaper to get JBL, Mackie in here. Then i can increase my budget upto 5K. I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, can anyone tell me if i can consider KEF(may be the wireless ones, may be with some modification)


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2008)

hi guyz, thanks so much for the opinions. Special thanks to Tenzip for the Mackie provider in Bangladesh. I have contacted them, they said they sell 55 brands. I will go to their shop and let you know what is availabe. Also, it might be cheaper to get JBL, Mackie in here. Then i can increase my budget upto 5K. I will keep you posted. Meanwhile, can anyone tell me if i can consider KEF(may be the wireless ones, may be with some modification)


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