A new setup.. 7.1.. newbie.. challenges..

[Grasp]

Okay, I don't know if there will ever be a good time to ramble about this... so... I pick now!

I've alluded to this in my introduction post, but I came here because of the Frugal horns site. I've been looking at DIY for a while because I would like to replace the current speaks I have With something a little bigger, cooler looking and most of all, to have a sound presence that is similar across all speakers, and have the drivers mostly all at the same level. (perhaps drivers is the wrong terminology.. I mean the speakers! ).

So - let's start with what I have currently:
Yamaha HTR 5760 I believe. 7.1, and 95w per channel
Up front - 2 Cerwyn-Vega AT-12's (12" woofer, 4" mid and tweet with a high and mid control knob)
Cerwyn Vega Center channel (smallish) 2 x 4" and a tweet
Sides - old, crappy TEAC indoor/outdoor speakers (you know these terrible things)
Back rears - PSB Alphas (the old bigger ones made of wood - before the plastic)
so you can see I have a real mish-mash, and the only decent speakers that I have are my back rears.. I think my other speakers would be embarrassed if you asked them how they imaged... (Imaging? What's that? I've been a speaker for 20 years, and I've never heard of Imaging! - I can imagine my AT-12's saying!)

Besides this terrible fact - I'm doing a 7.1 system, and from what I can tell, most of you all run expensive tube amps and 2 channel listening rooms.

I will be using this system for 2 channel audio/listening (CD/DVD)
as well as movies and the occasional video game in full 7.1
And may use 7.1 stereo for listening occasionally too.

I have a 42" LCD, and my room is roughly 12 or 14 feet wide by 16 feet long and 7 feet high with an open ceiling (basement, so we just have the floor joists/wires/ducting right now) These are approximate measurements, but I will model it up and post it with my furniture in it. We have a standard LayZboy couch and an Ikea Klippan sofa (short, boxy, low and small). The TV is up on a stand about 4.5' wide and 3.5' high.

Goals
Budget - I'd like to keep the speakers to around 100.00 each (or lower) ***EDIT - 100.00 for the speakers themselves.. the building materials etc.. whatever costs they come to.. cross that bridge when I come to it.. maybe even some exotic wood for a feature etc..***
Sound - I'd love it to sound great (especially for the price), and would be happy with decent sound - it'd be nice to get some imaging again, and some rich, clear tones. I'd like all the speakers to match in tone (not necessarily the same speaker/sound - but similar
Look - I'd like to go with something that will look pretty cool, and don't want to be doing bookshelfs - I would like to do towers all around and have the drivers at about 3.5' - 4' above ground (all of them) - going with the ear height idea...

My journey so far...
Looking around at DIY BEFORE I found you guys (and by you guys, I mean people knowledgeable in building speakers that sound great, not just people who find a speaker and build a box that looks decent, but don't take into account all the sonic information) I got a few ideas, then I came upon the Frugal horn site and saw the work that went into those plans, as well as the knowledge required to build a proper sonic enclosure for specific speaker models. I came in here and got some better ideas - namely the Fostex that I wanted to use, and the speaker design I wanted to use were not matched...
I have since poked around Planet-10 and been in email contact for more info - but it sounds like my room may be too small for the Sachiko's...? The sound requires a decent sized room maybe?

So - I am now in a disappointment phase.
In your experience, a smaller room such as mine - a really bad thing for these magnificent designs?
What would help - dropping the driver size? Or do I have to go with a different design?
What about the half size speaker designs I've seen (like half- chang)
Do the horns need to be completely unobstructed? (wondering about my back-rears - if the couch is covering the bottom horn)
Looking now maybe at the Fostex enclosure for the 8" or 6" full range - what about raising the speaker - building a solid base for them etc - does this ruin the effects of the horn?
Further ideas? I'm feeling a little lost and disappointed...

I was kinda getting my heart set on Sachiko's for the front and Hiro's or Saburo's for the rear and back rears with a Hiro/Saburo/Sachiko OR the Fostex 3x4" center closed design?

But now - well, I need advice

Yours truthfully,
Newbie.

[gurley123]

The Half Changs sound like a good fit for you from the info you provided. They would come in under budget (really under if you go with B20s) and sound good to boot. I am a little unclear as to what you are going to do WRT the center channel. Half Changs are close to 4' tall and would surely disrupt your view of the monitor.

My experience has been that the rears are not very critical in a surround set-up. Driver and speaker matching are most important across the three front channels. I do believe that the mouths of those BVR's like the Half Changs need to be clear of obstructions but I don't think the penalty would be noticed much in a rear channel role.

Others that have a bit more experience will chime in here, but that's my take. I hope we can help you build something that just rocks your sock off. I'll be following along as I want to do something similar, just on a smaller scale.

[rjbond3rd]

Originally posted by Grasp from what I can tell, most of you all run expensive tube amps

Oh you flatter. I would say most run cheap amps (whether tube or solid state), and those lucky folks with expensive amps are as likely to have solid state as tube.

[Grasp]

The Half-Changs do sound like a good fit - I've looked over the build threads a half-dozen times... I feel like a kid in a candy store..
The frequency response of the half-changs looks pretty good too, I'm wondering a little about high-end - but I'll read over some of g.y.'s information again..

I may do the sealed 4" box for the center that fostex suggests - it will have a different sound than the 8" half-changs though.. maybe there is a way to.. hmmm