# Large room speaker suggestions



## noreason (Aug 31, 2011)

I am in the process of putting together a 7.1 setup specifically for movies in my living room and have a few questions. The room is 20x23 with a vaulted ceiling. The left and right surrounds will be mounted roughly 8ft from the floor.

My budget is roughly round 1000 to 1200 for all speakers, but I can live with putting a bit more on the primary 3 fronts for a while while I save up for the rest, if the benefits will show in the end.

My buddy keeps pushing me hard on paradigm, so I've been looking at some used monitor 11's... Are these big enough for a room my size? What would be good matching surrounds / centers for a room my size?


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Paradigm Monitor 11's would do nicely. If a big Room, you are really going to want to get a quality Subwoofer. In which case, unless you want to do a DIY Subwoofer, you are going to need to spend around 500 Dollars for a good one.

I agree in placing the priority on the Front Stage. (Mains, Center Channel) However, if needing to stick really close to your stated budget, you might need to consider a less expensive speaker than the Monitor 11. Also, you really might want to start with 5.1 and add the additional 2 Speakers when funds are available.
Cheers,
JJ


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

I have to agree with JJ on the speaker choice. Another option would be something in the PSB lineup but from personal experiance the Paradigm Monitor 11's will not ask you for more they get loud with minimal power and sing every note to to you no matter the music you or movie you have going at the time.:T


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## Homethrstud (May 28, 2011)

noreason said:


> I am in the process of putting together a 7.1 setup specifically for movies in my living room and have a few questions. The room is 20x23 with a vaulted ceiling. The left and right surrounds will be mounted roughly 8ft from the floor.
> 
> My budget is roughly round 1000 to 1200 for all speakers, but I can live with putting a bit more on the primary 3 fronts for a while while I save up for the rest, if the benefits will show in the end.
> 
> My buddy keeps pushing me hard on paradigm, so I've been looking at some used monitor 11's... Are these big enough for a room my size? What would be good matching surrounds / centers for a room my size?


I have a much larger room than yours with the dinning room and kitchen connected to it. My Paradigm 11's fill the room just fine. My surrounds are also mounted 8ft off the floor. I run the cc-390 for the center adp-390 for surrounds.


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## phreak (Aug 16, 2010)

I also have the Monitor 11's and CC390, and I could not be happier. My budget would not let me get the ADP390 surrounds, so I picked up 4 used BIC V52 bookshelf speakers for cheap.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

noreason said:


> I am in the process of putting together a 7.1 setup specifically for movies in my living room and have a few questions. The room is 20x23 with a vaulted ceiling. The left and right surrounds will be mounted roughly 8ft from the floor.
> 
> *My budget is roughly round 1000 to 1200 for all speakers, but I can live with putting a bit more on the primary 3 fronts for a while while I save up for the rest, if the benefits will show in the end.*
> 
> My buddy keeps pushing me hard on paradigm, so I've been looking at some used monitor 11's... Are these big enough for a room my size? What would be good matching surrounds / centers for a room my size?


My room is is about the same size and its open to the rest of the house.
Monitor 11's should do a good job for you.
Hit the Paradigm website and see what the "matching" speakers are to round out a system anchored with Monitor 11's.
The Monitor 11's are ~$1500/pair retail so I don't know if you will be able to get a 5 channel setup for $1200 even on the used market, and you will still need a sub which for that size of space starts around $550 new from one of the ID companies.
Good luck and have fun.


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

They won't be cheap, but I would have wanted to recommend these: http://jtrspeakers.com/home-audio/triple-8ht-lp/

A less expensive alternative more close to your budget, though it would require some DIY assembly and construction, would be a three Pi kit from Wayne Parham:

http://www.pispeakers.com/Prices.html


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## mojojojo (Aug 7, 2011)

Jungle Jack said:


> Hello,
> Also, you really might want to start with 5.1 and add the additional 2 Speakers when funds are available.
> Cheers,
> JJ


Agree with this. Those extra two speakers would put extra strain on your budget which would be better served by buying a better LCR - front three speakers (left, center, right) and saving up for the side surrounds. 

Something no-one seems to have mentioned is the subwoofer as you mentioned you want one.

So for $1200 budget 5.1 system, a suggestion would be Elemental Designs A6.t - Pair ($500), A6.mtm - Single (center, $205), A4.b - Bookshelf Pair (rear, $140) and the A2 - 300 Subwoofer (will hit those lows, $415). This will give you the bang for your buck you are looking for.

Good luck and welcome to HT!


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

GranteedEv


> A less expensive alternative more close to your budget, though it would require some DIY assembly and construction, would be a three Pi kit from Wayne Parham:
> 
> http://www.pispeakers.com/Prices.html
> 
> Read more: Large room speaker suggestions - Home Theater Forum and Systems - HomeTheaterShack.com


 I noticed that you suggest a lot of DIY options.. These interest me. What is required to put together a great sounding speaker in kit form, are the kit's complete and do they indicate tools required etc...And is there any good reference material I could read for DIY speaker construction


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## flyng_fool (Apr 10, 2010)

These are similar to the pi speakers in completed form:

http://www.chasehometheater.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=122

For home theater applications compression driver along with high sensitivity will give you the best experience. The wild swings in volume in movies can really tax a speaker and amp so the more sensitive a speaker is, the less power has to be put into it to get the same volume from a less efficient speaker. Plus, they can get really, really loud before they start to compress and distort. Conventional speakers have a much harder job in this arena.


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## JerryLove (Dec 5, 2009)

At $1200, I'd likely pick up a used (v.3 or v.4) Paradigm Studio 20 or Studio 40 front set, use anything I liked that was placeable (for reference, I'm using a pair of Infinity primus 362's as surrounds on my Pardigm S2 fronts in my bedroom) and a decent sub. 

Filling a room, until we start discussing sound re-enforcement, is most simply viewed in terms of undistorted volume (SPL). If you need to move up from the above recommended: we start discussing high efficiency speakers (horn loaded usualy), or multiple subs (something I recommend regardless).


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## GranteedEV (Aug 8, 2010)

pxj said:


> GranteedEv I noticed that you suggest a lot of DIY options.. These interest me. What is required to put together a great sounding speaker in kit form, are the kit's complete and do they indicate tools required etc...And is there any good reference material I could read for DIY speaker construction


Well, I don't know the exact details about the Pi kits, but generally what you would need would be clamps, a router, maybe a table saw or access to a CNC, and if you use plywood, then you can just stain to finish - I think bamboo especially seems to make really pretty results. MDF is cheaper and what most commercial speakers use as it is pretty dense, which you can finish with primed spray paint or a wood veneer. Basic wood working tools. I think in the case of the pi kits, a lot of the cutouts are done for you so all you might need may be a router to do edge roundovers etc. Your best bet, is to get in touch with him and get more information one what level of assembly is required, as I have not put together a Pi kit myself. He's very helpful.

In the case of the Pi kits, i believe you can get Wayne Parham to assemble the crossover for you, otherwise you might want a soldering iron or at the very least some crossover ""easyclip"" connectors. I recommend the De250 tweeter upgrade as it's one of the finest compression tweeters in the world, although i don't doubt the eminence tweeter sounds fine as well.

Come on over to our Home theater Shack DIY forum and start a thread and we'd love to help you out! I think the payoff will be very exciting and sound better than you could imagine for what you paid!


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## MikeBiker (Jan 3, 2010)

I am another who says concentrate on the front three and a sub then save up for the surrounds. The surrounds mostly provide background sounds that are seldom missed.


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## warpdrive (May 6, 2007)

MikeBiker said:


> I am another who says concentrate on the front three and a sub then save up for the surrounds. The surrounds mostly provide background sounds that are seldom missed.


I totally agree with this strategy. I had a 5.1 system, and then decided to upgrade the speakers so I sold the set. Then I started with just the front 2, added a sub. I ran it that way for half a year then decided to get the center. Then two months later I got the surrounds.

I definitely preferred the sound after I got the center as the soundstage sounded a bit vague without the center, but I didn't find that the surrounds added that much more to the experience. Sure I notice that there are sounds coming from the sides sometimes, but in general I was perfectly happy with just the front speakers.


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