I am finishing my basement, and am trying to figure out how to outfit the space with home theater equipment. I currently have a nice 2-channel system that I am considering moving to the basement because I think it might get more use down there once the home theater is set up. I also think that I might save some money and end up with a better system if I try to incorporate my 2-channel system into the HT setup.
Here's what I currently have:
Paradigm Studio 40 speakers Acurus A200 amp Acurus preamp Rega Planet CD player
I was originally thinking that I'd buy a home theater receiver and all new speakers, and leave the 2-channel system upstairs for serious music listening. But if I move my existing equipment downstairs, then I'm wondering if perhaps I should keep with the separates philosophy that I went with for the 2-channel system. I know very little about separates with regards to home theater equipment. The only piece I've got for the HT is a Sharp Aquos 52". I'd like to set up a 5.1 system. (I'm a bit skeptical about the need for 6 or 7 channels for surround sound, but if I'm wrong, please correct me.)
So here are my questions: 1. What would you recommend that I consider adding to my existing system to make it a decent HT setup? 2. Are my Paradigm Studio 40s good as front speakers for a 5.1 setup? (The basement is about 30' x 24', but the TV viewing area is only about 15' x 15', and the back half of the room will have a pool table.) 3. Would the Acurus amp and preamp have any place in the 5.1 setup? I assume if I wanted to use the Paradigm speakers as my front speakers for the 5.1 setup, I'd need to have some kind of A/B switch so the 2-channel system used the Acurus amp and the 5.1 system used a different amp (since the A200 is only 2 channels).
I clearly don't have much of a clue about the details of connecting this all up, and whether it makes any sense to use my existing equipment in my 5.1 setup.
Ideally you could keep your existing equipment for music and buy a whole new set up for movies and TV. You can easily use your room for both applications.
On the other hand the speakers would be fine and buying the surround speakers from Paradigm would make for an excellent theater however the electronics would be somewhat more difficult to incorporate. This certainly does not mean that it is impossible and perhaps the best place for more info would be the store that you bought your equipment from.
The Paradigm 40s are a very nice speaker adds a Paradigm CC690 center, ADP 590 surround and a velodyne sub. Integra, Denon, and Pioneer are all nice surround sound receivers. I don't have an opinion on the stereo rig.