7 in-wall speakers and receiver for $700?

[ckwase]

My step brother has asked me to to design a 7.1 all in-wall home theater system for him. The room is 15 x 20. His total budget is actually $1500 but almost half of that will be spent on the sub-woofer / bass shaker system consisting of a tc sounds tc2+ 15" mounted into a large storage closet powered by an adcom gfa-555 and six aura pro bass shakers powered by a plate amp. So all that is left to purchase is a 7.2 receiver (would like to stay with 7.2 so the sub-woofer and bass shakers can be easily be independently controlled) and 7 in-wall speakers that will be crossed over at 80 Hz and can go loud enough to complement the sub-woofer. I know this sounds like an impossible task for $700 but i suppose the budget could be stretched to $1000.

Note that he is not an audiophile but i would still like to put together a system that far exceeds his previous home theater in a box systems. Anyone have any experience with the parts-express ES series in-walls? Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance.

[Chris D]

Yikes, that sure is tight. No, I can't think of any recommendations for that budget. Looking at it, you'd have to go $350 for a receiver, which won't really buy you much of anything, and $50 each for 7 speakers.

[Kevin D]

And I can't think of any receiver I would recommend for $350 that would have 7 channels of amplification, much less 2 separate LFE outputs.

Kevin D.

[ckwase]

What do you guys think of the Yamaha RX-V863, found it for $510, and then 4 pairs (one spare) of parts-express ES65W 6.5" 2-ways, which are about $90 a pair for a grand total of $870? Will the parts-express in-walls impress the average joe or are they complete junk?

[ClosetSciFiGeek]

I would advise your freind or relative to do 2.1 with a used stereo receiver from Audigon. He is looking at a Home Theater In a Box budget. You don't get something for nothing.

[Silentj20]

What about a Yamaha RX-V765 (under $500 and 2 sub outs) and inwall speakers at monoprice.com. Not big name or the best out there, but very affordable. And the "average joe" seems to put up impressive reviews. Don't forget about speaker wire, monoproce has good prices on that as well. Good luck.

[ClosetSciFiGeek]

What about shifting from in walls to a smaller affordable DIY speaker that wouldn't be too offensive in any room. What about these at $44 each for speakers and crossovers? Assuming you would spend about $80 on wood/screws/glue/binding posts that would still leave you with about $400 for the receiver.

http://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy-overnightsensations

You could go even cheaper with Zaph's B3N full ranges for $23 each for speakers and smoothing circuit. I built these and they sound good, just not incredibly loud without a subwoofer and crossed over at 150Hz. This option would leave you about $500 for the receiver.

http://www.zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker18.html

Both designs are nominal 8ohms and can't accept that much power from the receiver. 50watts/channel crossed over at 150Hz should be a reasonable match.

Look at some Refurbished NAD units possibly, here's a good site:

http://www.spearitsound.com/nad/T737.asp

[numberoneoppa]

Actually, I would recommend doing the Zaph 3" design for the rear 2 speakers and the center channel and then doing the Overnight Sensations for the main LR.

Needs a sub, though.