WTB: receiver (IR-only is fine), & bookshelf speakers

[IVB]

I'm going to setup my kids school with a sound system, so they can hold dances/movie night. The room in question is a gigantic cavern, about 60' x 40' with 25' ceilings. I'm putting in a 6.2 system (2 floorstanding speakers, 4 bookshelfs along the side, 2 subwoofers).

I need a receiver to drive it all, at least a 120W x 7. This is entirely a charitable donation, so i'd rather not spend $$$ to acquire all the bits. I saw jchurley's Yamaha, very tempting, but I was hoping for <<$200. RS232 isn't needed, so really anything simplistic is fine.

Also if anyone has bookshelf speakers with at least a 6" woofer, let me know.

[AnthonyZ]

Not to be a nay sayer but, your design (6.2) in that space is going to leave you unimpressed. It's not that you'll lack in SPL but that size room is for all intents and purposes an infinite baffle. Two resi subs will sound anemic at best. Also, with an area to cover that large, you'll lose all sense of sound fields and the "surround" image I believe your looking for will become a horrific, muddy mess. I applaud your benevolence, IVB, I just think your throwing the wrong solution at the problem. There's a reason why a solid EQ and/or totally different approach (as in stereo or distributed mono) is necessary in "pro" spaces.

[IVB]

Not to be a nay sayer but, your design (6.2) in that space is going to leave you unimpressed. It's not that you'll lack in SPL but that size room is for all intents and purposes an infinite baffle. Two resi subs will sound anemic at best. Also, with an area to cover that large, you'll lose all sense of sound fields and the "surround" image I believe your looking for will become a horrific, muddy mess. I applaud your benevolence, IVB, I just think your throwing the wrong solution at the problem. There's a reason why a solid EQ and/or totally different approach (as in stereo or distributed mono) is necessary in "pro" spaces.

yeah, I came to that realization yesterday after reading and learning more, thankfully before I bought all the speakers. (sorry beelzerob, no freebies this time).

the new plan is to get 4 qcs powered 500W pa speakers, and either a mixer or an outlaw 990 (it has xlr outputs) for simpler switching between inputs. I might still get the receiver to power a center channel for movies (dts/dd), not sure.

I went to a Guitar Center yesterday, they had a qcs on sale for $700 each after rebate, that's the current target. I need to get the pta to pick up 55percent of cost first, though, or else they won't be "committed and invested" in the outcome.

how's that plan sound?

[klindy]

There's gotta be some pawn shops around there that can help with this type of equipment. I know around here I can find a half dozen that pretty much cater to the "live music" segment and rotate through this equipment pretty readily. You may be able to save quite a bit of money if you can find something decent.

[IVB]

the only concern with a pawn shop (or craigslist) is whether the speaker itself is damaged or not.

[klindy]

the only concern with a pawn shop (or craigslist) is whether the speaker itself is damaged or not.

True, but a decent pawn shop would let you test it at least. Maybe we have a different type of shop here but most of them are pretty good about concerns like that. At a minimum its no more risky than an ebay purchase. Some offer returns others mark it sold as soon as it walks out the door. Worse case ask if it's "as is, where is" or if you can take it back if it's damaged.

We're in a place where we have a large liberal arts university and TONS of local bands. Perhaps things are better here since the local bands tend to use the pawn shops as a place to swap equipment, trade up, etc.

As always, do what you think is best. Just a thought to save a few buck since you mentioned it was a charitable donation in the original post.