# My head is spinning...



## mrshanes (Mar 3, 2010)

The thread title says it all. I'm constructing my dedicated theater and I need to start deciding on speakers. I'm going with a 7.1 system. I will have an AT screen and don't need in-wall speakers. The room is 16x22. I plan to house the surrounds and rears inside columns. From what I've read, it's important for the l/c/r to match. Should all 3 be vertical? Does the center channel really need to be horizontal? Can you even buy speakers individually to get 3 identical speakers? My theater will have two rows of seating, so I think I should be using dipoles for the surrounds placed between the two rows. My problem is finding out what speakers I want/need? I have no way to try any. I don't think my ears could tell the difference between a $1000 set vs. a $10,000 set.
Any tips, ideas, suggestions?
Thanks,
Shane


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## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

The main reason why most center channel speakers are horizontal is to allow them to fit either under or above a TV or projector screen, if you are using a AT screen and placing the speakers behind it you can use a non center channel and place it vertical in the middle of the screen (exactly where voices should becoming from) 
Some speaker companies do not sell individual speakers unless it is the center channel and some of those, because of tweeter design, are designed to only be used horizontal (which is not the best way of using a speaker). Many companies do sell individual speakers, just depends on what you are looking at.

What is your speaker budget and are you looking for bookshelf or floor standing speakers for the LCR?


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## mrshanes (Mar 3, 2010)

I'd like to stay under 3K (including the sub). I'm leaning towards the XS30 for the sub, so that leaves just under 2K for everything else.

Not sure what I want/need for the l/c/r regarding floor or bookshelf. Are there pros/cons of one over the other?
Thanks


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## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

There are pros and cons going both ways. Typically floor standing speakers have larger woofers in them making them more full range but with a decent sub you can get away with bookshelf speakers which tend to be more mid to high range frequencies and let the sub deal with all the low frequencies. 
A lot of people prefer full range floor standing speakers for 2ch listening without using a separate sub. 

What will your front wall look like? Will there be speakers with a AT screen that lowers down in front of them or will there be a wall with the speakers located behind it. If there is a wall you would have to be sure that all of the drivers in the speakers can fire through the screen (or some kind of acoustically transparent material) which might be difficult to do with floor standing speakers. 

My personal preference is for bookshelf speakers which tend to be less expensive than their floor standing equivalent allowing you to put the extra money towards the subwoofer.


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## mrshanes (Mar 3, 2010)

I will have a false wall covered in fabric, but it sounds like my best bet is the bookshelf type and I can have them on stands so they are completely behind the screen unlike floor models might be.

Any recommendations for decent bookshelf speakers?
What about the surrounds and rears?

Thanks


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## typ44q (Apr 7, 2008)

It is going to be tough to recommend something as everyone has different preferences but staying in your price range you might want to check out the Polk RTi series, they offer Bipole/Dipole Surrounds but I do not know if you can buy the fronts individually so you might have to use their center channel. Shop around on the Polks, you can find some amazing deals on them.

Emotiva has a line of speakers in that price range that are supposed to be very good but I don't think they make bipole surrounds. 

a lot of people in here like axiom audio speakers (never heard any personally) but they are in your budget and they have bi pole surrounds. 

Hopefully others will chime in with their suggestions as well.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

mrshanes said:


> I will have a false wall covered in fabric, but it sounds like my best bet is the bookshelf type and I can have them on stands so they are completely behind the screen unlike floor models might be.


For aesthetics perhaps, but for performance and ability I think bookshelf speakers probably won't be the best option. Even if your ceilings are only 8 feet that means you have over 2800 cubic feet of space, which is too large for the vast majority of bookshelf speakers. If floorstanding speakers are definitely out then you should probably look for very efficient speakers, like some of the Klipsch. At least that way they can play at high volumes without putting too much of a strain on your amp.


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## mrshanes (Mar 3, 2010)

How about the Klipsch RF-62 II then? Those are floor models, but the speakers would be up behind the screen since they're so tall. Looks like I can buy them individually too, so I can get three for the front.
Thoughts?

Thanks,
Shane


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

mrshanes said:


> How about the Klipsch RF-62 II then? Those are floor models, but the speakers would be up behind the screen since they're so tall. Looks like I can buy them individually too, so I can get three for the front.


They have an astonishing 97 db sensitivity, and only an 8 ohm load, so there's no question you'll be able to hear those loud and clear in your room.  You could probably even drive them to high volume levels with just a 50 watt amp.


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