What speakers do you guys use?

[LEO MODE]

I am in progress of setting up a simulator in my media room. It's 28' by 17'. It's going to be used for golf/movie/karaoke.

I stumbled upon different speakers mainly Bose Lifestyle 650 but most of them these days came with long center soundbar-like speakers where we wouldn't find a place to install for our golf purposes.

Would having 2.1 channel be the only way for hitting something onto the net? How would you guys setup speakers for multiple purposes like me?

[gene438]

I am in no way an audio expert and I'm sure you could spend a lot more money than I did...but, I have a similar setup and I use for golf, movies and karoke.....I have a $300 vizio system with the long center bar and 2 back speakers with a wireless subwoofer.

I can only take it at 7 out of 10 on the volume and everyone says the surround sound is excellent. I mounted the long center bar behind my screen at the very top of my ceiling. I was concerned about if the sound would go through the screen...but, I had no problems....

[legendsfan]

I can't claim to be an audio expert but I have invested way more money than I ever should have in Home Theater equipment. It can be a bit of a money pit but of all the components speakers age the most gracefully so investing in something nice will last for a decade or longer. I'll hold back on recommending a brand as I have no idea about your price point but if you are going to use for movies you definitely want a subwoofer. I'm in the planning process for building my indoor sim and looking at in wall speakers. Curious if anyone else is using in wall speakers or in ceiling speakers for their setup.

Expensive but love the Def Tech line of in wall speakers which I have in my house powered by Sonos amps.

https://www.definitivetechnology.com/home-audio/in-wall-in-ceiling

[andygg1986]

Some normal projector screens are considered acoustically transparent, meaning you can put speakers behind them. I think that the thinner impact screens like the Supertex would work with a center channel speaker placed behind it, but the heavier ones would muffle the sound. I have 7.1 surround sound and use in wall and in ceiling speakers for the ones on the side and behind me. They work fine for that purpose, but I personally prefer tower speakers for the front. With a large room like that, you will definitely want a subwoofer. The problem you will run into with 2.1 in a large room is that when you are off center, you will hear one speaker much more than the other. I haven't done this, but maybe you could mount a center channel at the top of the screen with a piece of black net in front of it for protection?

[legendsfan]

andygg1986 - Where do you have your center channel mounted? I'm of the understanding the Carls Premium screen is fairly thick so mounting behind it doesn't seem like an option but where else could one go other than in the ceiling which is less than ideal.

[andygg1986]

My media room has a screen for movies with the center channel under it, and my impact screen is against my left wall. I'm planning to add a second projector but right now my game is not projected on the impact screen. It is a little weird hitting into the impact screen and then watching the shot on the movie screen but that is the only way I could set it up in my room. I agree that above the screen isn't ideal. I guess you could switch between 2.1 and 5.1 for gold and movies and just hook up the center speaker when you watch movies

[LEO MODE]

Thanks for your comments guys.

I am planning to install HQ screen as I heard that is the best screen out there for both golf and movies. I should ask if putting a center soundbar-like speaker like Bose Lifesound 650 would fit the bill in this situation.

Thanks.

[Ookie]

Stay away from Bose. Anyone who is in to audio will tell you that. There is a reason why they don't publish frequency response, etc. Older article, but still relevant:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/tech-news/2007/05/25/Sound-Advice-Bose-keeps-sound-specs-under-wraps/stories/200705250301

They also spend a ton of money tuning the rooms in their sales locations to make stuff sound good.

If it's in your budget, Golden Ear is the way to go. Dude who founded that company previously co-founded both Polk Audio and Deftech. Golden Ear's Tritons ($3K/pair) were compared to Steinway Lyngdorfs that sell for $60K/pr (!). SuperSat 3s can be found at $250/each and will put any Bose product to shame.

If that's not in the budget, give a sat/sub combo from Monoprice a try. Site is down for me right now, but will post one later.

Also, think about passing on the HQ screen for one from Spectrum Custom Golf. I just set mine up. VERY impressed. Will do just fine for movies and also be a lot quieter. In addition to the cost, what turned me away from the HQ is seeing that other forum members had hit balls through them. No way at that price.

A screen is a consumable item. If you use your sim a lot, it's something you are going to want to replace every few years. Much easier with a <$200 screen than one that costs over $1,500.

[LEO MODE]

Stay away from Bose. Anyone who is in to audio will tell you that. There is a reason why they don't publish frequency response, etc. Older article, but still relevant:

http://www.post-gazette.com/business/tech-news/2007/05/25/Sound-Advice-Bose-keeps-sound-specs-under-wraps/stories/200705250301

They also spend a ton of money tuning the rooms in their sales locations to make stuff sound good.

If it's in your budget, Golden Ear is the way to go. Dude who founded that company previously co-founded both Polk Audio and Deftech. Golden Ear's Tritons ($3K/pair) were compared to Steinway Lyngdorfs that sell for $60K/pr (!). SuperSat 3s can be found at $250/each and will put any Bose product to shame.

If that's not in the budget, give a sat/sub combo from Monoprice a try. Site is down for me right now, but will post one later.

Also, think about passing on the HQ screen for one from Spectrum Custom Golf. I just set mine up. VERY impressed. Will do just fine for movies and also be a lot quieter. In addition to the cost, what turned me away from the HQ is seeing that other forum members had hit balls through them. No way at that price.

A screen is a consumable item. If you use your sim a lot, it's something you are going to want to replace every few years. Much easier with a <$200 screen than one that costs over $1,500.

Some cool information here. Thank you so much I'll definitely Google those out as well.

[Ookie]

Monoprice is back up for me.

They have both standard 5.1:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=8247&seq=1&format=2

and and premium 5.1 sets

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10906&cs_id=1090601&p_id=10565&seq=1&format=2

Really solid stuff at a lower price point. The premium is definitely worth the extra money.

Remember, with audio, one man's ceiling is another man's floor. I spent about $3K on my speaker set, including subwoofer. Some would say that is insanely expensive. Others spend $50K plus. It's all relative. But it's really tough to beat Golden Ear at any price.

Your ears should be the final arbiter of anything. I always tell people... I wish Radio Shack speakers sounded good to me. I would have had a lot more money in my pocket.

But seriously, stay away from Bose. If you take them apart, a lot of their speakers have paper cones. As in what toilet paper tubes are made from.

[legendsfan]

Ookie thank you for the post about Golden Ear. I'm a huge Definitive Technology fan but feel they aren't as great of a value as they were 20 years ago. I'm getting close to building a smallish studio shed and have. Ern researching audio equipment. I'll probably stick with Def Tech for a sub though.

[mthunt]

I have a Bose system in my sim and I'm very happy with it. The sub under a table and the small speakers are up high. I also have Bose Bluetooth speakers and headphones. I like them too. I know audiophiles hate Bose but I don't. I also have a very high end audiophile set up in another part of my house with Paradigm powered by NAD. Although the high end system sounds better, the small Bose speakers work well and take up little space in my sim. I have the cinemate in my sim. My Bose Bluetooth speaker sounds great in a golf cart as well.