2. home-theater
  3. 1138648435

HT system education

Hello all- a friend of mine referred me to this site and said I would get the best information here.
I can tell you that I am NOT an audiophile or a hobbyist in this sport. I appreciate any input from you folks.
Let me tell you about my quest.

budget: $2,000 to $4,000. I know that's a big range. And my preference is to find lightly used components or systems.

I am looking for a complete home theater system. My first preference is to buy one system, in one box. I saw the Sony Dream System- the DAV-LF1 and have been impressed with the quality, at that price.
But I'm not opposed to finding components and building them up.

However the one really big kicker is this- my house is all panel glass on one side and all rock on the other, and no way to route wires for the surround or rear speakers. The monitor is bolted to Texas Limestone, and you can't drill down it to get to the hollow wall. It is not possible to run wires so I have to use a wireless system for the rears. I've tinkered, dug through insulation and even considered running the wires through the vent cap in the roof, there is just no way with our vaulted ceilings and layout that I can get wires back there- and running them across the floor is not an option.

Here are some pictures so you can visualize what I'm talking about.

http://www.sumofallparts.net/images/aud/1.jpg

http://www.sumofallparts.net/images/aud/2.jpg

So given the budget I'm looking at, and bearing in mind I'm not a hobbyist what would YOU do? I'm just a guy with $4,000 who wants to have a good, loud and clean system to watch Sean Connery blow stuff up.

We will also occasionally watch TV (Discovery HD is about the only thing we watch!) listen to DVDs and Music-on-demand.
podstar
pabelson
344 posts
 
My advice is, don't try. I'm not aware of any remotely decent wireless speakers, surround or otherwise. Plus, your current setup has your main fronts on a different plane than your center, which is not ideal, to say the least.

I suggest you consider a different route:

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/ysp1/idx_concept.htm

All your "speakers" are in a row, right under your monitor. It appears that you can add a subwoofer. The YSP-1 is being phased out in favor of the 800 and 1000. This isn't an audiophile solution, but as you said, you're not an audiophile. You're looking for a way to have a home theater experience without stringing cables all over the place, and this might just be the ticket.
podstar OP
3 posts
 
okay here is a layout of my living room (very crude)

http://www.sumofallparts.net/images/aud/lroom.jpg
podstar OP
3 posts
 
That looks similiar to the Bose 321 concept, which in my uneducated experience is junk. I know the out-of-the-box HT systems are not excellent. But I'll settle for "very good" in exchange for some simplicity.

So there is no "wireless" solution that is any good huh? Surely there is a market for that...
pabelson
344 posts
 
Yeah, but that's Bose. (And while many Bose products do legitimately stink, most of the people who rag about them have never heard them. They just think it shows off their refinement to scorm that particular company.) I wouldn't automatically condemn every similar attempt. I've heard neither the Bose nor the Yamaha (nor Polk's variant), so I can't offer any subjective judgment on them. But this sort of product can work, and does meet your needs.

There are wireless speakers. Maybe somebody here has some experience with them, and has found a decent set. I'm not aware of any.
podstar OP
3 posts
 
I heard the 321 system and it won't work. I couldn't care less if it's made by some guy with no vowels in his name or it's Bose or it's something in the clearance bin at Walmart. If it sounds good, and it is a good value and it suits my needs I'll buy it. But I'm really stuck with this wireless deal it sounds like!
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