In-wall speakers & Subwoofer

[jc480]

After mulling over my home theatre options, I've decided to go with an in-wall speakers/center & subwoofer setup.

My choices are...

(3) sets - RC80i 10.75" in-ceiling Polk speakers
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/p...g/hidden/rc80i

(1) subwoofer - CSW200 10" in-wall Polk Subwoofer
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/p.../hidden/csw200
*site indicates a 500-watt amp...do I really need this if I purchase a decent 7.1 receiver?

(1) center - LCi-C in-wall Polk Centerchannel
http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/p...r/hidden/lci-c

(1) Receiver - Onkyo 700+ series or equivalent receiver

(1) 500-watt amp - DO I NEED THIS?

(1) BDP-S550P Sony Blu-Ray Player

(1) Sony KDL-52XBR6 -OR- Sony KDL-52W4100 (depending on sales post x-mas...still trying to decide if the XBR6 is worth the premium)

The room this is going in is as follows...
Height: 11 feet
Depth: 20 feet
Width: 12 feet
Shaped like a rectangle with the TV going in the center of a 12-foot wall...ceiling speakers will be mounted (2) front of room, (2) rear of room & (2) center of room...center channel will be mounted underneath TV and subwoofer in lower right corner of TV wall

My questions are...
Is Polk a suitable brand for my purposes? I realize I am paying more for the convenience of in-wall speakers...are my choices good or is there a better value out there? I'm worried about matching which is why I stuck with Polk across the board...they also seem to have a nice selection along with good quality installation guides, etc

Thoughts on the TV? I like the Sony brand and I was pleased with the picture when comparing to others at BestBuy...the XBR6 seemed a bit better but it was hard for me to quantity vs the W4100

Do I need the amp for the subwoofer or will that receiver be fine? I believe this subwoofer powers down when not in use.

This is my first HT. I am not an audiophile but I can tell crap sound from good sound...although I probably cannot differentiate the degrees of good sound like an experienced audiophile.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Big Daddy]

There was an article in this month's issue of Sound & Vision about Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson's home theater. Apparently, they are using the Polk in-wall speakers. I don't remember the model numbers. You may want to look at the in-wall speakers from Speaker Craft. They make excellent speakers. However, they may be more expensive. Onkyo receivers and Sony Blu-ray player are also excellent.

[jc480]

Thank you...any idea if I really need an amp with that subwoofer?

[plowmanjoe]

looks like you need this http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/p...ifiers/swa500/

[Turkleton80]

yes you do need the amp. i install home theaters for magnolia audio video and with a inwall subwoofer they are all passive and require a dedicated amp, the B channels on most amps don't work correct as they are sending out a full range signal to that wire and will not handle the proper frequencies... so get whichever amp you decide on, use the sub out on it and connect it to the power amp for the sub. they sound great, i've set them up before multiple times... and that is how i've done it everytime.

[Sherm]

You will not be sorry about going with the Polk in-walls.

I do think however you should step up to the TC line of ceiling speakers
the 610i's are about the same price and I believe are of better quality.

[Big Daddy]

There are other options available for subwoofer amps that are cheaper than the one from Polk.

External Amplifiers for Passive Subwoofers:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-812
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/psho...TOKEN=50414889
http://www.amazon.com/Audiosource-AM...8465481&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Acousti...8465645&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.com/TBI-200-su-Sub...8465645&sr=8-5

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

There was an article in this month's issue of Sound & Vision about Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson's home theater. Apparently, they are using the Polk in-wall speakers. I don't remember the model numbers. You may want to look at the in-wall speakers from Speaker Craft. They make excellent speakers. However, they may be more expensive. Onkyo receivers and Sony Blu-ray player are also excellent.

Hah, I was going to mention the same article. I loved his setup.

[mdabb]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

There was an article in this month's issue of Sound & Vision about Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson's home theater. Apparently, they are using the Polk in-wall speakers. I don't remember the model numbers. You may want to look at the in-wall speakers from Speaker Craft. They make excellent speakers. However, they may be more expensive. Onkyo receivers and Sony Blu-ray player are also excellent.

Aren't they only using the "in wall" as surround channels ??? I didn't read the article but I do remember seeing floor-standers and a center channel on a stand.




Anyhow I have a pair of Polk in wall speakers that I use for surround back channels now. I have had them for a while, don't remember the model number but they are enclosed (cabinet). They do a fair job I use to use them on an old receiver for the L/R channels and they have a decent sound to them.

The "enclosed" in walls sound much better than the "non enclosed" ones. the ones without the enclosure lacked bass compared to ones with. Placement is important but no reason to be overly worried.

I plan on putting some "in wall" speakers in my bedroom, kitchen and bathroom one day down the road.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by mdabb

Aren't they only using the "in wall" as surround channels ??? I didn't read the article but I do remember seeing floor-standers and a center channel on a stand.

The only thing I remember is that the subwoofers were in ground with an opening to the main living room. Their system was very modest compared to some other actors/actresses.

I believe the biggest audiophile used to be Fabio. There was a feature article about him in one of the high-end magazines about 10 years ago. He had some unbelievable speakers. Do you remember him with long hair on the cover of most romance novels?

[Bourne1]

I think you need the amp.

Originally Posted by jc480

Thank you...any idea if I really need an amp with that subwoofer?

[mdabb]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

The only thing I remember is that the subwoofers were in ground with an opening to the main living room. Their system was very modest compared to some other actors/actresses.

I believe the biggest audiophile used to be Fabio. There was a feature article about him in one of the high-end magazines about 10 years ago. He had some unbelievable speakers. Do you remember him with long hair on the cover of most romance novels?

I do remember Fabio, Must pay good to be on the covers of romance novels. My sister was big into "romance books". I used to think they were "dirty books" and was very disappointed to find out how wrong I was. Good old days !!!!

Yeah they did have in floor subs, but in wall for the surround. "In floor" subs would be a good idea for the OP if he could do something like that. I bet it wouldn't be too hard to install except for the potential of proper placement do to room layout. Never heard an "in floor" sub but it would allow the room to be more open and less cluttered. I am guessing "in wall" subs would be hard to tune.

[Big Daddy]

I found a reference to Fabio's home theater. He spends close to a million on his equipment.

http://stuff.maxim.com/articles/inde...788&src=stf189

[jc480]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

I found a reference to Fabio's home theater. He spends close to a million on his equipment.

http://stuff.maxim.com/articles/inde...788&src=stf189

Thanks for sharing this. Interesting article...crazy prices. The beginning of Saving Private Ryan must be completely insane to experience with that setup.

[jc480]

Originally Posted by mdabb

Yeah they did have in floor subs, but in wall for the surround. "In floor" subs would be a good idea for the OP if he could do something like that. I bet it wouldn't be too hard to install except for the potential of proper placement do to room layout. Never heard an "in floor" sub but it would allow the room to be more open and less cluttered. I am guessing "in wall" subs would be hard to tune.

Thanks for the input. I was looking at the in-floor cutaway of the subwoofer and thought that was an interesting option. Unfortunately, this particular room is on a cement slab. I would have to jackhammer out a hole for the subwoofer and I don't think I want to invest that much money.

Seeing that I have to fund the additional cost of an amp, I'll probably opt to go with a stand-alone subwoofer like the PSW12 or PSW125 (Amazon shows PSW125 instead of PSW12) and put that in a corner of the room.

My wife is going to kill me when she sees what I'm spending on this...and I haven't even figured the cost of new paint, new flooring (pondering Cork) and some drywall modifications.

[jc480]

Originally Posted by Sherm

I do think however you should step up to the TC line of ceiling speakers
the 610i's are about the same price and I believe are of better quality.

Hi Sherm

I looked at the 610i's that you suggested...they are about $100/more a pair...since I need 3 pairs I'm not sure that I'm going to hear $300 more in sound quality?

Frankly, I'm not happy to spend $700ish for 6 ceiling speakers. I've looked at some of the speakers that were linked here in this thread...is there a concensus for an alternative that is a good value while still maintaining acceptable sound quality? Is $100/pair an unrealistic goal for in-ceiling speakers?

Lastly, I see speaker sets listed on ebay at substantial discounts over what I can purchase from reputable online stores. Anyone have experience buying these?

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by jc480

Hi Sherm

I looked at the 610i's that you suggested...they are about $100/more a pair...since I need 3 pairs I'm not sure that I'm going to hear $300 more in sound quality?

Frankly, I'm not happy to spend $700ish for 6 ceiling speakers. I've looked at some of the speakers that were linked here in this thread...is there a concensus for an alternative that is a good value while still maintaining acceptable sound quality? Is $100/pair an unrealistic goal for in-ceiling speakers?

Lastly, I see speaker sets listed on ebay at substantial discounts over what I can purchase from reputable online stores. Anyone have experience buying these?

At the price point you're looking at, here's what you'll get: 6.5" coaxial car speakers, wired to 8 ohms instead of 4 ohms, and a ceiling plate. That's it. The audio quality will be very limited - it's the kind of sound you hear with office music systems, that double as public address speakers.

Whether you consider this to be a realistic alternative is subjective - it depends on if you think a visible speaker doesn't match the esthetics of the room or whatever. Some people simply don't want to see speakers, for various reasons.

But you won't get good sound. Unless you are in an ideally constructed audio area, it will be difficult to get non-directional in-wall or in-ceiling speakers to sound good.

For the same money - or less - you can get small speakers that can be set up to direct the sound much better. In-ceiling mounts are for ambient music, not home theater or true audio enjoyment, unless the room is built around the speaker locations. You should really consider this carefully before buying the equivalent of swap-meet car speakers for this purpose.

[jc480]

Originally Posted by Blu-Dog

At the price point you're looking at, here's what you'll get: 6.5" coaxial car speakers, wired to 8 ohms instead of 4 ohms, and a ceiling plate. That's it. The audio quality will be very limited - it's the kind of sound you hear with office music systems, that double as public address speakers.

Whether you consider this to be a realistic alternative is subjective - it depends on if you think a visible speaker doesn't match the esthetics of the room or whatever. Some people simply don't want to see speakers, for various reasons.

But you won't get good sound. Unless you are in an ideally constructed audio area, it will be difficult to get non-directional in-wall or in-ceiling speakers to sound good.

For the same money - or less - you can get small speakers that can be set up to direct the sound much better. In-ceiling mounts are for ambient music, not home theater or true audio enjoyment, unless the room is built around the speaker locations. You should really consider this carefully before buying the equivalent of swap-meet car speakers for this purpose.

Good advice, thank you. I guess I wanted to satisfy myself that I'm not spending more money than my ears can appreciate. Thanks for clarifying.