I am trying to piece together a nice home theater andI have a few questions about parts.

I have a nice reciever (at least I think it is nice and it works for me) but I am working on putting together the speakers for it, and I find myself at a loss to know what makes this or that speaker better.

What should I look for in a subwoofer? Frequency Response? wattage? I can't go too powerful as right now I live in an apartment but what can I do to maximize it?

As for the rest of the 7.1 system I am designing, what makes for the best sounding stage (floor standing) speakers?

The amount of speakers? the look? ack! I don't know!

And for the front center channel what to look for?

Lastly for the side speakers (the 2 extra that the 7.1 adds to the 5.1 setup), are wall mounted "satellite" speakers good enough?


Lastly, the part that has been annoying me all week... What the heck is up with Monster Cable? does it actually improve the sound in anyway? or is it just more commercial propaganda to get you to buy crazy priced speaker wire?


Thanks for reading this, and I know it is alot of questions but I don't know anyone near me that knows enough except for salespeople and I would rather trust random people than them anyday.

uuuhhhhhhhhh............can't help you there!

I would go to the most expensive sound/stero store I could find. Ask them all I wanted to knoe , then buy at K-Mart

If the salesmen wouldnt there just to try to sell me the most expensive stuff I would. The last 2 times I was there they managed to make me nearly hit them they were so rude. Also my supervisor went alone and had one tell him and I quote "you need a degree in engineering to prove me wrong" .

Aside from the fact that engineering wouldn't prove anything useful about electronics... Maybe electrical engineering but whatever that dude was thinking he had issues I would rather not trust their solutions.

you want to match your speaker to your amperage

it does no good to get 300 watt speeaker if yer using a 100 watt amp

if you have a speaker outlet place may be your best bet

i built my systems boxes and matched speakers to the mackie
amps i am using

but a dj system is a little differnt

and probably a lot bigger than yer looking for

you may want to wsee if you can find small amps and build them into your speaker if you can build your own boxes

that way they are always independent and can be used anywhere

but hey what do i know

Thank you very much

That does help.

try this link. I it should help.. http://www.hometheatermag.com/ Take Care Miles

first buying a stereo at walmart is criminal.
You need to bring your favorite tracks so you can hear the speakers with something you are intimately familiar with.
Find a place that has a listening room
Tell them your real price range
Do not go on Friday or Saturday or a holiday Monday
Try Tuesday or Wednesday
The best worst you could do is buy a boxed sony, panasoic, etc speaker system for your surround system. You may want to spring for the matching receiver.
The components will be matched and coordinated.
Buy it at a big box like Best Buy, Circuit City or whatever is local to you. Go in for several days and listen, listen, listen, listen to your music only.

>> If the salesmen wouldnt there just to try to sell me the most expensive stuff I would. The last 2 times I was there they managed to make me nearly hit them they were so rude.



Unless I have a specific reason to do otherwise, I -never- trust the "informational advice" of any salesperson, anywhere! Unless you already know enough on your own, you have do your own independent research or go on the advice of someone you trust.

Sorry, I can't help you with your question, I just read your words and I agreed so emphatically that I wanted to comment.

i have been asked to leave sound stores many times

i build all my own now

i can push over 6000 rms if i wish

SBMNYC: The idea to bring my own music is one I had never thought of, even though it is so simple.

adj4u: What is rms refering to? and how much would be appropriate for an apartment? Thanks for continuing to give me advice on this.

Thanks again to anyone that reads or replies to this.

rms is actual wattage out of the speakers


an apt


25 watts per channel and maybe 50 for yer sub


would probably be enough to get your neighbors upset

but i would not go any smaller ya can always turn it down

Fated:

Whatever your budget, spend at least half, if not 2/3, on the speakers, and the remainder on the receiver. The best speakers come from brands you've probably never heard of... Paradigm, B&W, and Definitive Technology are three excellent entry-level-audiophile brands... you can probably find at least one of them for sale at any decent audio shop (only *maybe* at Best Buy or Circuit City, and definitely *not* Target, Sears, or WalMart). Next choice would be a top-end mass-produced brand like JBL or Klipcsh or Boston Acoustics.

Do NOT under any circumstances buy BOSE. It is over-marketed, over-hyped, way-over-priced, mediocre stuff. Same goes for Monster Cable: over priced; you're paying for marketing and packaging.
--Gary

Hi fatedtodie,

I'm an Audio Designer. Let me know if I can help. If you go to Google and just type in Michael Green Audio you will see a bunch of stuff. It doesn't matter to me if you bought my products, but I can tell you which ones to get.

Now is a great time to be looking at systems because the mass production has caught up to the High End. For example I'm doing a review right now on a system that only cost $200 that out performs many systems. Keep in mind that I'm not just saying this. My speakers can cost as much as $15,000 a pair, and I have over 80,000 clients. The key is to look at your room as part of the system. If you go to Webster and look up the word audio you will see that there are 3 parts to audio, acoustical, mechanical, and electrical. We call this the "Audio Trilogy". This may sound complicated, but it really isn't. You can put together a system that will amaze you at what ever $$$$ price you want to spend.

Like I said, let me know if I can help you. Most of all have fun.

michael

best speakers for system check out www.crutchfield.com they have very nice jbl and infinty speaker systems for that 5.1 or 7.1 setrups