Sound for my new theater?

Next week the Oppo digital BluRay player comes out that will, eventually, do all discs including SACD and DVD-Audio, so wait and buy that. Then since you have a nice budget, I would go all Maggie speakers with Bryston amps, a Rel B1 sub, and Cary 11a and 11v home theater processor.

Thanks, that was fun to spend your money!!

I would also add a Scoutmaster Sig turntable with and ARC 5 phono preamp.

Man, that's a nice system. Can I come over and watch/listen????

All Magggie 7.1 systems sounds interesting. You are going to need some bass reinforcement and big amps to pull it off. I would consult the maggie crowd for amp recommendations.

Soundstage liked them.

http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/magnepan_mmgw_mmgc.htm

I got my dad into the Anthem AVM50 and he loves it. It has HDMI switching, and he felt that was the future standard. They provide some upgrade paths in the design as well to avoid obsolescence.

Wow. Nice size room and screen! Yayy you. 12 seats? You’re the proud father of a very large family, or you will be entertaining. Congrats either way.

I’d think the biggest obstacle in erecting a good to excellent HT system, is when someone wants to mitigate the intended aim or goals of an actual home theater rig. Namely by adding this item to their designs , “… and for music as well”.

That simgle compromise confounds me, and I’m quite guilty of making it. My answer was provided me by separating things into individual systems. In your case perhaps via a ‘pass thru’ option in the pre/proc.. in mine, just separates entirely will suffice… and maybe a tube CDP or TT.

I’m sure you get this but I’ll add it in to be sure. Audio and theater rigs are in fact very different animals. Only the components seem to indicate some correlations… though not the actual content of each. HT wants snap crackle, and BANG! Music wants sizzle, slam, and smooth extension. Occasionally some of the HT attributes yet in a different context

It’s pretty hard to have breaking glass, gun shots, helicopters, missles, lightening, monsters and rain sound like they should when played in a musical system with the same impact they have in theater systems… the ‘jump’ factor is a prerequisite for HT!

I’ve never employed panels at all. My observations & auditions of them however don’t lend them to providing HT excellence though IMHO. I say go cones throughout. I’d say too, rethink the sub or subs for that size room. I believe two will be your best bet. I do like my DD 15 in an < 2800 cu ft. closed off room. I’d also think about dipole surrounds to lessen the point source info and increase the information those sitting off prime real estate positions will receive.

Anthem does a good job with their pre/procs. I’d go with other amp (s) though. Krell amps offer much for HT SUCCESS. I’d also look for a pre/proc with MACROS, so you can configure all the lights, projector, amps, etc to initiate sequentially for a stunning presentation. Triggering on & off this and that, lights, curtains, screen deployment, etc. with but a single button push of the master remote sure makes you look like the expert you are… and the cool factor is off the scale.

My Onkyo receiver will do that so I assume a good processor should too.

HDMI 2.0 is now on the scene in limited fashion, so at least go with 1.3a there. A nice Blue Ray player isn’t a lot of money now either. A good item there can do all the decoding for you via analog anyways. HDMI DOES give you great sound and video though too… and saves $$$. I run a 26 ft HDMI cable to my PJ without any issues at all. $60 - $75 via Blue Jeans incld ship. Also for other components at $12 - $20 depending on the lengths you may need. Only until I get well into my IC cables does the sound improve noticeably… and I do mean well into… HT Magic IIs, SR Resolution Refs, Nirvana SX, etc. I’ve found Audio art a tuff to improve upon calbe, until you get well into the $400 > $500 per set range.

Personally keeping the Lynn speakers and adding to them if they are in fact acceptable is where I’d start, unless you just want a change. I’d focus on good strong amps, subs, cabling, and ease of operation.

Had you thought of built in wall speakers? The resultant cosmetic is super clean and expands the overall room size by not subtracting speaker foot prints and their resultant configurations. I’d strongly think that way were I to do it all over again… or on the scale your’s is headed.

With all HDMI cabling through out, power cords can become quite the thing at each end of the signal train… sources or amps.

I’m very happy with what my HT array supplies me, and it’s not a full on HT rig. The Silverlines do very, very well in HT but save some impact from the most leading edge of information, given their Dyn Audio drivers. Musically however as the result, they remain quite enjoyable… with SS power. Better with tubes though for sure. The DD sub makes all the difference in the whole of things I’ve always felt that they did have a great effect with HT RIGS AND SHOULD SOME COMPROMISES BE NEEDED, LOOK ELSWEWHERE THEN AT THE SUB WOOFERS TO GET IT..

For me to improve overall, only adding a 3ch amp, and maybe thereafter a dedicated processor would be required to really elevate things. BTW I used Canare 4s11 speaker wire and am impressed, especially with a couple runs of near 40 ft to the rears which the Onkyo receiver runs now with out issue driving Silverline SR 15s on Sound anchor stands.

Given your screen size, the audio does need to be as congruent as possible to fill out the effect. Pretty good duynamic speakers with good to very good amounts of power and a great sub or two, should do the trick.

One last note… it’s more of an embarrassment to explain why something isn’t just right in the audio or video end when I’m entertaining someone, so do spend time in there getting all the bugs out, and instructing yourself on exhibiting a seamless presentation for your guests by previewing the proposed content before they arrive… by setting .volumes mostly so you are hands free during the event when the lights go down.

Very good luck.

"First priority is music but this is a full blown custom built theater with 12 seats and a fairly large volume."

Every time I've tried putting anything between my Eidolons the staging suffers.
I love my modest HT setup, thankfully it's in another room.

My suggestion is to change your priority to multi channel. Music videos are fun. Go with two smaller Velodyne DD subs for better system/room integration and room loading. Look into Wyred 4 Sound multi channel amplifiers. Blue Jean cable.

"Start over with a Magnepan based system using 3.6s as the mains with the Maggie center and surrounds. Also add sides for 7.1 and a Rel sub"

Have sold the Magnapan line, and have intimate experience with them. Down sides are going to be limited off-axis high quality sound (tiny sweet spot), VERY LIMITED dynamic output (low efficiency/sensitivity, more delicate speaker - not so great with heavy dynamic material, period). Also the Rel is going to do well in a small/medium room setup for modest music dubties, not a full blown HT system. The Rel will bottom out on you, and is a better music sub than it is a balls to the wall HT woofer (also, just one woofer? You'd need more!)

I'd recommend, yes, looking into more dedicated HT dynamic speakers, that are still musical, have a good focused propegation (Dappolitos), still offer excellent detail, and have tremendous dynamics! I'd be recommending possibly some sort of active speaker system if you could, otherwise something that's either higher efficiency, has a very simple passive crossover network (like 3 of the Triangle center speakers across the front - using smaller sides/rears, likely), maybe something with active woofers like Definitive makes, and forget about the linn system! Keep that in another system or whatever.
You must prioritize, and limit your compromises. I mean is it a system where mostly others will be joining you often, or mostly just you?
Keep in mind off-axis will compromise some stereo imaging, but multi-channel can make up for that, and you want balanced, high quality sound overall for lots of seats. Also, a center seat in such a room will still be in a bad acoustic spot. I'd setup for 4x4x4 seating if I were you, and you needed 12 seater.
Look at big centers from PSB, Dunlavy, Thiel, Triangle, Definitive (I like these with tubes in the system, FTR), and other higher efficiency systems. Also, horns like tubes, but do exceptional with dynamics and acoustical friendly applications!
Good luck