Expert: Cleggsan - 8/1/2009

Question
I would appreciate some guidance on the best 5.1 sound system to be installed in a 40' x 40' room. This is a classroom with 15' ceiling and carpeted floor. The room will be used to show movie clips; .mov, mpeg, etc. Desktop computer and projector are installed now we need a good sound system.

Answer
Is there some reason why you want a 5.1 system?  As a general rule 5.1 sounds real good in a small home style media or theatre room where there are just a few persons sitting in the center so they all get the full "surround" sound - whatever that is (I say that sort of humoursly because most clips and movies are far from true 5.1 recording in the original sound tracks and after the processing that goes on it gets worse).  In a large room such as you are dealing with you might get better results with a good 2.1 projection type system.  I am assuming you will be using a rather large projector and if over 50 inches you will want a center fill or some call it a 3.1 system.  Get plenty of power and good speakers that project well into the room - maybe something like a bigger Klipsch.  Don't go cheap on the .1 as a good subwoofer will be necessary in a room of this size and, if so,  it will add a great deal to the pleasantness of the system quality.

Don't expect too much out of video clips using mp3 or mpeg4 audio tracks;  compressed audio sounds pretty good on pc level playback systems and even lower end home surround systems, but on real high fidelity systems it will sound pretty lousy.  That is my opinion.

So far as the specific equipment you will need to bounce around to a few shops and do some listening and checking.  Also, google around for the reviews to help you select the right stuff.  There are many subjective factors involved which requires you to shop alot. If there are some students that are into "audio" you may want to consult with them; the younguns sometimes have a really good knowledge of what's hot in the market.

Hope this helps.
C