new home=first home audio setup

[txred0810 10+ year member]

Just moved into a new house and i'm looking for a good home audio system to compliment my new big screen. I read through most of the threads in this section and it looks as if most people are going the DIY route. Not sure if it would be better for me to go that route or just go with a good 6.1 package. My budget is around 400-500 for a whole system going in a medium sized living room of probably about 400 sq ft. I'm looking to step up from an old school sony system. If needed i have some car audio subs, JL 12W0s, just layin around i might be able to incorporate, although i bet my new IDQs would sound awesome in a HT setup. Let me know what you think would be the best route....

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

How many channels are you looking for? 5.1? 6.1? 7.1?

$500 is tight, but certainly doable if you go DIY. A good receiver like an Onkyo, Pioneer, Denon or Harman Kardon could go with a set of DIY surrounds and mains...I'm thinking something like the Lytle Five project posted up on the PE projects page.

And you're right, the IDQ's, when hooked up to a plate amp, would sound awesome pulling HT duty.

 

[txred0810 10+ year member]

DIY looks like the best way to go for best sound for your money after looking through some of those projects. Only thing i don't really understand is the crossover setup. I have no idea whats going on with that. Is it some kind of resistor just wired up before he signal reaches the speaker?? What would be the best way to spend my money if i didnt want to go the DIY route?? I'm probably looking for a 6.1 system... Ohh and i just found some dvc IDQ 8s i've got my eye on that may work well for this...

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

There should be good tutorials out there on how crossovers work and how to design them...but for this project, you should be good just by following the plans of someone else.