Attn: Audiophiles. In search of sound system...

Jayce

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So... I'm getting married in October. We're brewing up our wedding to be as in-house as possible. A huge portion of the services typically done in a wedding will be handled by family and friends who have experience in those fields. Likewise, I'm planning on rigging up my computer there to handle the music portion of it (with a laptop as a backup of course), controlled by my brothers who are musicians and at times will be performing their own music as well.

As a result, I'm toying with several ideas. My original plan was to use my computer + rent a sound system, but seeing some NewEgg deals makes me wonder if I could buy a system and later just use it with the HTPC/TV system, since that HTPC currently is utilizing audio through onboard TV speakers, which leave a little bit to be desired.

I guess what I'm questioning is, what is the opinion of speakers like this:

Newegg.com - Pioneer SP-FS51-LR Floorstanding Speakers Pair

...being used at a semi large (100-110 people) event, such as a wedding in this case?

My mentality here is this:
I know if I rent the gear, I'll get what I need.
But if I can buy the gear, with a little additional homework to make sure I'm getting the right thing, I'll take care of the gear needed for the wedding AND be able to utilize it for what would seem to be a rather sweet HTPC audio setup.

That being said, I'm not sure how those speakers (and whatever receiver I would pick) would stack up to what speakers on stands you'd typically see at a wedding, such as these:

jHr7x.jpg


Any insight?
 
If you are going to actually buy over rent, I would suggest getting some better speakers other than Pioneer. While they are good, they also will leave something to desire.

I know B&W, Klipsch and Cerwin Vega make some great products. While you are spending a premium, you get a product that will last. I got my set of Cerwin Vega back when I worked for B&K Components in 1998 and they are still rocking to this day. I prefer them to the audiophonics that Bose gives. So yeah while I spent money on them, they are still good 14 years later. My buddy got a pari of B&W back then and he still uses them to this day.

So really the question comes in, do you want something of quality that might cost you a bit more but last you longer or do you want a cheap solution that will last you a couple of years?
 
@ KSoD - Yeah, I heard the same thing about the Pioneer brand. At any rate I wanted to flirt with the idea and see where I ended up.

Jayce, are you looking for DJ/PA equipment, or a home theater setup?

Well... it'd be nice if I could get something that might satisfy both. It'd be nice to get a solid speaker set that gets loud enough for a 100-115 people venue while still being able to hook them up to a receiver and enjoy them for years afterwards with our TV setup. I know I might be asking for a miracle with some sort of hybrid solution, but it doesn't cost anything to look around and toy with the idea. If we hit the end of the line, I can easily rent, at which point I'm sure we'll still end up with a rockin' wedding.
 
I have my DJ rig setup in my home theater. It rocks this house like no ***** "audiophile" speakers will. Sounds great, too. Just ordered new speakers and amps. Here's my suggestion. What's your budget, btw?

Package Deal | Pair of Dual 15" PA Speakers, Pair of 18" Subwoofers, Two Amplifiers, Four 35 Foot Speakon Speaker Cables | Loud Speakers for PA, DJ, Karaoke, Weddings, Church, Band, etc

I ordered the speakers from that package, and the amps. I already have on of the subs. The sub sounds better than my other subs. Hope the speakers hold the same quality. I recommend this just because it's a package deal, saves a bit of money, and gives you amps so you don't have to look for them. As far as home theater goes, I haven't bought any "modern" HT speakers in years. I like big ol' cabs and haven't found any recently to satisfy my wants.
 
At that price, I'd definitely be renting a system instead. I'd rather rent a system and give it back the next day if it's more cost effective. That said, if renting the gear costs me 500, but I can buy a comparable setup and whatnot for 750... now there's some motivation to just buy the setup instead of renting. I think it's largely situation dependent.
 
Well like I was saying, Pioneer is a decent brand, but they are not what they used to be. I know the speakers I suggested are a bit out of range, but I can vouch for their quality and lifespan. I personally use 1 brand and know people that use the others. So while they are a bit pricey, you are getting great quality for the price and they will be more than what you expect when it comes to both the sound system for the wedding as well as your home theater.

What I personally did was part together my speakers. I got 2 big towers for the front. Something like this:

VE 8F CERWIN VEGA HOME AUDIO SPEAKERS

Got something like this for my rears:

SDS-525 CERWIN VEGA STRUCTURAL DESIGN SERIES SPEAKERS

From there I got a shielded center channel. Some off market brand speaker that I know would be able to be placed by my TV without causing distortion. You have to make sure that it is shielded to protect your devices. Since there is mainly voices that come from the center speaker you can go with just about anything as long as it has decent shielding.

As for the sub, I went with a self powered unit. Just something that I found on sale at Stereo Advantage, a local HT store in town here. So in all I spent about $700 or so on my setup but it wasnt at once and it was on parts that I knew would be able to do the job. You could do something similar instead of buying a whole surround sound system setup.

With doing it this way you get everything you need for the surround sound setup. You can then use the 2 tower speakers as the main speakers for the wedding and place the satellite speakers at a couple locations in the hall to get sound to the other areas. Cerwin Vega speakers can handle being pushed. I had my stereo pushed up to the max volume and still had no distortion coming from my speakers. So there are options, it just comes down to what you really want to do and how you want to do it.
 
I got married last year and felt I could provide the sound system myself, just an iPod playing via a 3.5mm jack to RCA stereo cable into my amplifier, and then driving my pair of B&W CM1 speakers on stands. Was plenty loud enough for a 50' x 30' room, and everyone enjoyed themselves - a great saving over hiring in the equipment too!
 
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