Speakers to go with projector for home theater

Lachrymite

I recently purchased a ViewSonic PJD5523w projector and a 120 inch screen to set up a home theater. When it comes to audio I am fairly clueless, though. I am not at all an audiophile, so I don't need anything fancy or very high end, just something that will give it a decent, full sound. Can anyone suggest speaker system options that would be compatible with the projector and easy to install? Thanks!

MushroomStick

What are you sending video to the projector with?

Lachrymite

Mostly an Apple TV via HDMI cable, but I'll also be switching in a DVD player and XBox 360 occasionally.

Figgy

You're going to need a receiver, too. You can't just hook up speakers to a projector. It also won't be feasible to keep swapping around devices at the projector itself, let alone running 3-4 cables along your ceiling.

Djeet

A Home Theatre in a Box (HTiB) that has a receiver with several video inputs like this is the cheap/fast way to get there. You can get nicer HTiB's that include more audio channels, more inputs, bigger/better speakers, and more features like video upconversion, but a 5.1 HTiB w/HDMI and component inputs is what you'll need minimally to get an HT experience.

Alternatively you could go separates (e.g. an HT A/V receiver and then put together your own speaker set either from a packaged set or assembling various pairs, center(s), and a sub). Component A/V receivers can get you better build quality, more features, more inputs, pre-outs, more wattage, etc. and there's a lot more variety (size, wattage, cabinetry, build quality) amongst speakers not packaged into HTiB sets. If you do go separates you'll need to pick up speaker wire (and connectors if you want banana plugs or spades instead of direct wiring).

But if you need to buy a receiver and a complete set of speakers to kit out a multichannel HT setup it's going to cost you more (to significantly more) to assemble from separates than to buy an HTiB, unless you look into the used market.

Can't say how easy it'll be to install: (1) a projector complicates things from a panel tv setup as you projector is usually a bit away from your receiver and video sources (2) HTiB's usually have pre-cut lengths of speaker wire to connect the receiver to the speakers.

Typically in a projector you want a single HDMI run from the projector to the receiver output. The receiver is homed with the rest of your devices (Apple TV, DVD, XBOX) somewhere to the periphery of the seating/viewing area or in an A/V closet/unit. Your Apple TV, DVD and XBOX are wired into the receiver. And then speaker wire connects the receiver to the speakers (digital coax to the powered sub if you're using a component AVR).

There can be some additional configuration steps depending upon how video and audio is getting transported to the receiver. The easiest way to get around that is to have all devices connected via HDMI to the receiver.

precisionk

HTiB are great for people who don't care about sound quality as much and want to stay cheap.

I can safely say however if you piece together your Home Theater as in buy the receiver, nice speakers etc separately, there is a MASSIVE sound difference and quality between the two. I am not audiophile at all either, but I can easily tell the difference and depending on the acoustics of your room, it could make a huge difference.

I was going for a HTiB, but opted to by a Pioneer receiver and piece together nothing super high end, just some nice quality Klipsch and they sound about 1000x better then what you would get for $300.

Difference between $300 and $1500 can be heard.

MushroomStick

precisionk wrote: »

HTiB are great for people who don't care about sound quality as much and want to stay cheap.

I can safely say however if you piece together your Home Theater as in buy the receiver, nice speakers etc separately, there is a MASSIVE sound difference and quality between the two. I am not audiophile at all either, but I can easily tell the difference and depending on the acoustics of your room, it could make a huge difference.

I was going for a HTiB, but opted to by a Pioneer receiver and piece together nothing super high end, just some nice quality Klipsch and they sound about 1000x better then what you would get for $300.

Difference between $300 and $1500 can be heard.

That's not really fair to compare a $300 HTiB setup to what you get piecing a system together for $1500. The difference wont be quite as apparent if you were to try that with a $1500 HTiB setup. Yes, buying separate components have the potential to sound vastly superior, but it will cost you the simplicity that it seems like the OP is looking for.

Awk

This begs to ask, how much are you willing to spend?

Shadowfire

You can put together a great system of your own for far less than $1500. A really great set of speakers from Fluance will run you $350 or less (5 speakers but no sub, though you may find you don't need one).

asuko

The receiver I use with my projector setup is a Yamaha RX-V671:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QR56SE/

It allows you to run 1 HDMI cable to the projector since it will up-convert all other inputs to 1080p HDMI.

The speakers I have with it are Klipsch Quintets:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HWRKA2/

The price / performance ratio is very good for these guys. Bought 2 extra satellites and a separate sub for the 7.1 sound. They have a very full sound and I haven't heard any complaints from friends who have experienced my setup.

The overall bang for your buck spending $850 or so will be extremely noticable versus a HTiB at a similar price point. Additionally, you can start with just 5 speakers and add a sub / other surrounds as you feel like it.

Lachrymite

An HTiB type system is more along the lines of what I'm interested in budget wise, at least for now. I'm currently just using the terrible built in speakers on the projector until I figure out what I'm going to do, so anything is going to seem like a massive upgrade. I think the setup will actually be pretty easy, as I've got a shelf on the wall opposite the screen that the projector and various systems will be resting on. I think there's plenty of room for a receiver as well. Thanks everyone!