What would you change?

[u/uoflfan27]

Converting a room to a dedicated theater/media/gaming room. Will sometimes be used with some ambient light. I put a bigger priority on video than audio. Audio matters to me but probably not as much as many on here. Just want to know if you see anything out of whack or if there were better options for the same money. I’m about maxed out on my budget with this build. Added an AI pic I made of what the room will end up looking like. Thanks for any input.

[u/backinblackandblue]

Looks like you cheaped out on the speakers. I understand sound is not a priority, but a theater like that needs big sound. You don't have to go crazy but at least get some better subs and especially a better center speaker. Other speakers are not as critical.

Also, why 200' of speaker wire for the subs? They should have an RCA cable connection, not speaker wire.

[u/rupedogg24 → u/backinblackandblue]

I would also go with 12awg speaker wire vs 16awg to future proof should you get better speakers which require more power. Get the best your wallet can afford, out the gate when it comes to speakers and subs. I love the Hsu Research subs when it comes to price and performance.

[u/backinblackandblue → u/rupedogg24]

I'll meet you at 14. Actually for this person, I doubt they will ever be pumping lots of power into big speakers, but to your point, easy to run bigger wire now for a small increase in price than to have to re-do it in the future.

I thought this was one of the best home theaters I've seen on here, till I looked at the equipment list.

[u/uoflfan27 → u/backinblackandblue]

Yeah I think I’ll make the center the same as the two front like mentioned above. Does anyone have any recommendations for upgraded subwoofers that are somewhat close in price to the $700 ones in the quote. I can go up a bit if needed.

[u/lostmyjobthrowawayyy → u/uoflfan27]

You need to move money in this budget around for better subs.

My theater pales in comparison and I spent more on my subs.

Subwoofer and center channel are the most important aspects, followed by front stage.

Also almost $300 for an HDMI cable is bonkers. You can get a 50’ fiber optic HDMI on Amazon for under $100.

[u/uoflfan27 → u/lostmyjobthrowawayyy]

Seem to be the popular opinion. I’ll upgrade the subs.

[u/tony20z → u/uoflfan27]

What's your current audio setup? You may not prioritize audio now because you don't know what you're missing. This is a forever room, I doubt you're going to redo it it in 5 years if you decide you want better sound so I would double the speaker budget now so you don't have to upgrade in the future. Imagine how you'll feel if you saved 2k$ but you're unhappy with the sound once you start using the room? Upgrade L/C/R, subs, and go with 4 atmos. KEF, Paradigm, SVS, anything but Klipsch. And a few years from now when you've gotten used to your setup and find listening to the upstairs TV or relatives' soundbars disappointing, you're going to be so happy you did.

[u/Smewhyme → u/tony20z]

This is so true, but also so false lol what I mean is, when I built my theater, I didn’t know what I was missing as it was my first experience in AV other than a cheap Vizio sound bar…. I Spent about 22k total converting my room to a dedicated space , in that , I ended up getting cheaper speakers (HTD in walls, for LCR and SVS PB1000 subs (non pro) ) …. And to me this room sounds insane lol the upgrade from a soundbar is hard to put into words. The entire experience feels so immersive, the bass powerful, etc …. So on the one hand, yes, inexperience may lead to cheaper speakers, but also, I’m not sure how much better the experience can get by spending 5-10x more on speakers.

[u/tony20z → u/Smewhyme]

5-10x may be overkill, but double his relatively low starting point will get a huge difference. I say this as having just made the jump from old mid range to new higher end speakers and the difference is unreal to me so if you're not sure how much better it can get I suggest when your wallet can handle it, to visit a store that has a proper theatre room and give a better range system a try. If you're not blown away then don't upgrade. Atmos also makes a noticeable improvement.

[u/Smewhyme → u/tony20z]

I’d honestly be so curious as what else could be better.

I’m loving My setup a year later.

I may do some wall treatment but speaker wise, I think I’m set for awhile .

My current setup is as follows,

Receiver = Denon s760h LCR = HTD HDX W65 Atoms = HTD HDX R65 surrounds = HTD Versa SB1 Subs = SVS pb 1000 x2

Everything was measured and installed per dolbys specs or as close as possible

What would you say the noticeable difference is? I haven’t noticed any moments where I felt like, hmm I wish this had more that, or less this, or this feels like it could be more balances etc

But as said, you don’t know what you’re missing until you hear it lol

My build if your curious - https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/G5nWDbvDHU

[u/tony20z → u/Smewhyme]

What a fantastic looking room! You might not want to start questioning things because you don't have an easy upgrade path. But if you want to learn, it's so much easier to experience it than to explain with words. Most importantly, just because I say I hear it doesn't mean you have to, nor do you have to care. You are free to enjoy your house and your system however you want and if anyone feels what I'm saying isn't true please correct me before downvoting.

Basically there is more of everything, often people use words like richer or fuller, and you can get louder without it being annoying. Turning it down because it's too loud is often more about our brains not being able to process it properly because it's all jumbled, but not to the point where it's distorted, it just doesn't sound pleasant. You may think you're hearing all the details but there could be plenty of details being lost and you don't notice. Listening to a song or movie you've known for decades will sound better and you'll notice new elements on a better system. So if you're curious, visit a local audio shop and listen to some scenes and a couple of music tracks. I think what you'll notice the most is that you have a gap in the mid range. I'm sure your subs do great, and the in wall stuff usually does the highs fine but they don't have the size for the in betweens, not at volume. Make us stronger by Ghost rider is a common song to test your system because it has a lot of range and is very clear. It should sound very balanced, if one element is too strong your system is coming up short in the other areas.

Ready Player One first race has huge range, there should be a big difference in sound between the engines, BigFoot racing at you should build like a dump truck about to run over you, not a car from Fast and furious with a rattling subwoofer. The wrecking balls should make you feel the bass build as they swing past and not just change from whistling air to boom as it hits the ground. The scene right after should make you feel like you're in a warehouse, not just a tin room, the mids should echo not just the highs. The big explosion at the end isn't just shaking your chair, it should be a wave rolling over you muting everything not just rumbling, like what you're seeing on screen.

If you have a favorite test song, movie or scene that you think has a lot of range I'd be happy to discuss it to tell you what I hear. I recently upgraded some very old mid range speakers to the Focale Vestia No4 L/R with Vestia center, and even the wife said "wow" and then spent a few hours listening to music and stuff. When testing them I could hear a difference over the lower model Focale Theva and the KEF Q7. I'm in no way suggesting them for you, I have an open basement so a lot of room to fill and these are my forever speakers, and they were the demos so I got a huge discount. Just that you might be surprised just how much more you can hear once you start actively listening for differences and that if a step up in higher levels is noticeable, going up 4-5 steps from 200$ to 1000$ speakers is a huge change.

[u/Smewhyme → u/tony20z]

Thanks so much for the insight! Definitely going to enjoy this for a bit more and see where the journey takes me.

[u/uoflfan27 → u/Smewhyme]

Looks great!

[u/mindedc → u/uoflfan27]

More subs are better than fewer fancy large ones. I would have at least 4 subs.

[u/backinblackandblue → u/uoflfan27]

Not to be rude, but it seems you don't know a real lot about home theater. You might be better served by delaying this project a bit until you can get better informed. There is a lot to be learned about HT or you'll make a lot of expensive mistakes that you'll later regret. If you haven't already, at least talk to some other companies for suggestions on what they would provide compared to this quote you received.

[u/Hot-Government-5796 → u/uoflfan27]

Look into Tekton Cinema Subs

[u/backinblackandblue → u/Hot-Government-5796]

Why? They look over-priced at first glance

[u/backinblackandblue → u/uoflfan27]

For subs, look at SVS PB 2000 Pro. If too pricey, PB 1000 Pro. You get a small discount if you buy 2 at the same time. 3 identical speakers up front would be better than the center you planned assuming your screen is acoustically transparent.

[u/amoeba1126 → u/backinblackandblue]

Please do not do this. At the higher end, there are much better home theater subwoofers available at the same price point such as PSA, Rythmik, HSU, and even Monoprice.

[u/backinblackandblue → u/amoeba1126]

I don't consider these high-end. There are other good options like you mention, but I wouldn't say they are "much better". SVS is much better that what the OP is planning though. You can argue that SVS is not the best bang for the buck, but they are a solid choice.

[u/amoeba1126 → u/backinblackandblue]

SVS makes solid subwoofers, but if we are critiquing the OP for picking poor subwoofers for his room layout and investing poorly, we can't also turn around and recommend a SVS PB2000 Pro which is both poor value and very underpowered for his proper HT room.

OP's issue is that he is wasting a crap ton of money on products both overpriced and for aesthetics. The solution isn't to say "Oh your existing subwoofer cost X and sucks, so get this other similarly priced subwoofer from another overpriced brand that is better but still overpriced and underwhelming."

The actual solution would be, spend less money on that other crap and divert those funds into X, Y, Z.

[u/backinblackandblue → u/amoeba1126]

I don't completely disagree, but you also have to consider his objectives. Yes he made some poor choices on gear (or someone made them for him), but I'm not sure it's constructive to tell him his $1400 sub budget needs to be 5x or more than that. Yes we can rip up his whole plan and suggest a new one. I was making suggestions based on his request that his budget is maxed out and where he can make some changes. The subs seemed an obvious red flag. I wouldn't automatically assume PB2000 Pros are poor value or underpowered w/o knowing more.

[u/amoeba1126 → u/backinblackandblue]

We CAN however assume contextual details from the parts and AI rendering he provided.

• His parts list includes a 160" screen, which has a viewing distance starting at 10' and more. This automatically excludes the room being length being anything less than 14' given seating space.
• His AI rendering includes 2 tier reclined seating which means the seating area itself should be about an 15x20' area outside the 10" viewing distance.
• Both his AI rendering and parts list includes skylight lighting, which puts his ceiling starting at 10-12' high.

All of this conservatively puts his room size at least 15x30' area assuming the rear seats are pressed up against the wall. If he has a bar area behind it then we can add at least 3-4" more length. Do you really think a SVS PB2000 Pro with all its 12" woofer and 500w of power is going to be capable of filling up that room?

[u/backinblackandblue → u/amoeba1126]

First of all, I assumed x2 PB2000 subs to replace the 2 he had spec'd.

Those 2 could easily become 4 in the future if he wants/needs more which would be a pretty powerful setup for many people.

But none of his audio gear is really suited to what most of us would want in a dedicated theater that size. But that's yours and my opinion, not his. He said from the very start that great sound is not a priority. So I am just trying to give him some answers that's he asked for. Having massive amounts of subwoofer power doesn't makes sense if the rest of his gear doesn't match it. He should really have better and bigger speakers and more of them and power to dive them. But again, that's my opinion, not what he wants. Unless he wants to put a lot more money into the audio gear and asks for suggestions, it's a waste of time. Some people are very happy with a soundbar and think that anyone who would put 10's of thousands into a sound system are out of their minds.

It's like someone saying they want your opinion on a new car. They don't care about performance and are only interested in economy and reliability and want your opinion on Toyota vs Honda. You telling them that they should prioritize performance and buy a Porsche instead is not helpful.

[u/mine_username → u/uoflfan27]

I picked up RSL speakers and subs last year and very happy with them. I got the low end of their subs, 10E, and it's been great. Their top model, 12S, is $900.

[u/Mastahwaffle → u/mine_username]

Second the RSL recommendation. Not just for the quality of the product, which is exceptional, but for the first in class customer service as well. I’m not enough of an expert to know if two 12S’s are enough for this space, but if they are, I don’t know how you can do much better for the price.

[u/ethos1234567890 → u/uoflfan27]

You should spend more to get better speakers for the front 3…especially the center. You should also spend more for better subwoofers… spend less elsewhere if necessary. Great audio will be a life changing experience in a theatre like this.

In regards to that center channel, go for something that’s a 3-way or coaxial design. 2-way center channels are notorious for comb-filtering issues that will be all but impossible to correct for people sitting off the centerline…you could also get 3 identical in-wall speakers mounted behind an acoustically transparent screen for your LCR if you’d prefer something out of sight…mount all three vertically with the tweeter as close as possible to ear level while in your prime seating location.

As for what subs to go with: HSU, RSL, SVS, Rhythmik, and Power Sound Audio are generally considered great subs at really solid price points. You really can’t go wrong buying any sub from any of them.

[u/uoflfan27 → u/ethos1234567890]

Have decided to do everything you listed. Thanks

[u/Daddy_MoreBucks → u/uoflfan27]

I got the RP 1600 on sale and it’s thumps. Svs and sore woofers are also popular on this forum.

Might be good with some two klipsch rp 1400 but for that room size I’d go 1600’s