Well I have had my HT setup for about 6 years now and I have ALWAYS had towers and I am ready for a change.

Setup info:

Room is 24x24x10 we sit about 14 feet from a 119" screen.
Current receiver Denon 3806 but I will be moving to the 3808Ci soon
Current speakers are Onix Rocket RS1000s, X series center and surrounds, and a Rocket UFW12

The room is used for about 98% movies & TV. I almost never get to listen to music in there. We do have HD-DVD and Blu-Ray capability in the room.

I am looking something like the KEF 3005s or 5005s. I would DEFINITELY get a better sub for the system (say SVS or keep the UFW).

Am I nuts for thinking the KEFs will work in a room this size??

Greg

I have tried going from towers (with or without a sub) to sats+sub, and I always end up going back to towers. The sound is just fuller.

That's true - but it doesn't hurt to do that for a 'change'. I find you run with sat's and a sub for awhile, when you go back towers you appreciate them that much more.

That being said, with the proper smaller speaker - and a very very good blended perfectly into it - you may not want to go back to a tower.

That's true - but it doesn't hurt to do that for a 'change'. I find you run with sat's and a sub for awhile, when you go back towers you appreciate them that much more.

That being said, with the proper smaller speaker - and a very very good subwoofer or two blended perfectly into it - you may not want to go back to a tower.

thats a lot of room to fill i bet you end up driving the sats harder.

Yes you are nuts.
I had to say it ;>)

GCS -

Satellite speakers are those very tiny speakers like Orb speakers. Do you want to go with bookshelf speakers or satellites (there is a difference).

I'd recommend going bookshelf, not satellite, unless you are really stretching to place a bookshelf sized speaker.

Oh, and after having the RS1000's, yes, you'll regret your decision. :D

Keep the towers!

is this in a basement? is there access to the ceiling? have you thought about trying in-ceiling/in-walls? save some space. Towers are still better, but in-ceilings/in-wall are getting pretty damn good sound wise and I prefer them over satellite speakers.
Towers are always the best for the best overall sound, but sometimes a change is necessary. Good luck.

OH... and... I do like the sound of the Kef orb speakers. Kef has a new, lower $$ set of orbs coming out soon, too. All very modern, which is nice.

Am I nuts
Greg
well, I can't speak to your mental state, but this is a very good question...
(the question about the sat/tower, not the sanity:))
are towers really that much better? I currently have a 7.2 setup and with towers it does look a bit like Stonehenge... it would be nice to regain some lost space so to speak... but not if I will lose quality or quantity....

Yes you are nuts.
I had to say it ;>)

+1 keep the towers.

If you're looking for a change, upgrade your center to the one that matches your mains. http://www.**********/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=100.1

That's true - but it doesn't hurt to do that for a 'change'. I find you run with sat's and a sub for awhile, when you go back towers you appreciate them that much more.

Exactly right. That is always how it goes in my case. (In fact, I enjoy listening to what good small speakers can do on their own, without a sub, but it is always temporary.)

well, I can't speak to your mental state, but this is a very good question...
(the question about the sat/tower, not the sanity:))
are towers really that much better? I currently have a 7.2 setup and with towers it does look a bit like Stonehenge... it would be nice to regain some lost space so to speak... but not if I will lose quality or quantity....

Exactly! These things are beasts and eat up so much room. I am not 100% sure I am really using them for what they are worth either. The room gets used 99% HT and while they sound great I am just kinda thinking I can get similar HT sound w/o the HUGE towers.


If you're looking for a change, upgrade your center to the one that matches your mains. http://www.**********/products_product.php?section=speakers&product=100.1

I used to have a bigfoot but changed out some time ago since I needed money for a back injury and was able to swap out the bigfoot for an x-center and pocket some $$.

Thanks

Greg

Keep the towers, Like car engines there is no replacement for displacement.

5760 cubic feet... small speakers are not going to do the job. Towers or large in-walls are the best way to go in that large of a space. I love AV123 but the UFW12 is not going to give you the impact of the other subs that you are thinking of for HT in that size room - get the SVS Ultra first and then see if you feel the need to upgrade the rest of your speakers - you may be suprised. OH / IMHO

Exactly! These things are beasts and eat up so much room. I am not 100% sure I am really using them for what they are worth either. The room gets used 99% HT and while they sound great I am just kinda thinking I can get similar HT sound w/o the HUGE towers.




I used to have a bigfoot but changed out some time ago since I needed money for a back injury and was able to swap out the bigfoot for an x-center and pocket some $$.

Thanks

Greg
PM me if you sell your 1000's. I'd like to know how much.

Yeah, tower speakers are way better than bookshelf speakers. Unless you mount your small speakers on the wall, you are not really saving any space with small speakers because speaker stands take as much space as tower speakers do.

Yeah, tower speakers are way better than bookshelf speakers. Unless you mount your small speakers on the wall, you are not really saving any space with small speakers because speaker stands take as much space as tower speakers do.

Towers with a constant profile all the way down also look better to me than the same profile on top of a differently-shaped stand.

I'm a previous tower (magnepan) owner who just installed an Orb Audio sub/sat setup in the family room b/c of WAF and space constraints. While the little orbs do an admirable job for their size and are MUCH better than the Boston sub/sat setup that came with the house, they do sound a little thin compared to towers, and certainly compared to my old magnepans. I'm still in the break-in stage with the Orbs, but, I still doubt they'll open up enough to be mistaken for towers. I'll definitely be doing towers when I set up my new HT in the new house my wife and I are moving to later in the year (AV123/Axiom?/Paradigm/Magnepan are on the short list).

In short: stick with the towers if you have the space.

Satellite speakers are not necessarily small. There's a reason why all movie theaters use satellite systems...you can't mount floorstanders in the middle of a screen.

Since all the best home theater speakers are satellites (M&K S-150 for instance), moving from floorstanders to satellites is not necessarily a downgrade.

All THX Ultra 2 speakers are either in-wall, in cabinet or satellite type. You can't meet the requirements in a floorstander...or at least no one that I've seen has done it.

I went from towers to something like a monsterous bookshelf monitor. I went from PSB 6T to Klipsch KL-650THX. At 40lbs each they are massive monitors. Fantastic for movies if you are able to listen at near reference levels.

Satellite speakers are not necessarily small. There's a reason why all movie theaters use satellite systems...you can't mount floorstanders in the middle of a screen.


There is a difference between Satellite and bookshelf speakers. Satellite speakers only come in a small form factor and have higher crossovers (thus less bass) than bookshelf speakers. They are also harder to blend IMO.

I doubt movie theaters use "satellite speakers."

Yes, bookshelf speakers are meant to use as a stand-alone typically in stereo pairs.

A satellite system is where you use multiple speakers in conjunction with a sub or several subs that are designed to work together. This is how movie theaters are set up. They do not use bookshelf speakers, they do not use floorstanders, they use satellite speakers.

For instance, even Audioholics put their review of the Klipsch THX Ultra 2 system under satellite speakers.

http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/speakers/satellite/klipsch-thx-ultra2

Home theater speakers are not designed to be used in a bookshelf. They are designed to be used either on stands, or pedestals, in cabinets or hung on walls. They are usually crossed over to the sub at 80hz.

Some people seem to think that the term satellite speaker presents connotations of small little cubes (think Bose Accousticrap (TM), but it's just a series of speakers designed to work together with a sub for multichannel listening.

A satellite system is where you use multiple speakers in conjunction with a sub or several subs that are designed to work together. This is how movie theaters are set up. They do not use bookshelf speakers, they do not use floorstanders, they use satellite speakers.
The same can be said about bookshelf and even floor standing speakers. To imply that only satellite speakers are designed to be used in conjunction with a sub and designed to work together is wrong. In fact, most speakers are designed this way, hence why it's important to timbre match. Even most floor standing speakers will need to be crossover over to a subwoofer. Floor standing does not mean "full range."


For instance, even Audioholics put their review of the Klipsch THX Ultra 2 system under satellite speakers.
So that automatically makes it true? :rolleyes: I highly doubt that Audioholic's website is the be all, end all website and what they say gets written in stone.

Home theater speakers are not designed to be used in a bookshelf. They are designed to be used either on stands, or pedestals, in cabinets or hung on walls. They are usually crossed over to the sub at 80hz.
Bookshelf is just a "term" and doesn't mean they have to be used on or in a bookshelf. A bookshelf generally means a larger cabinet, lower tuning and bigger drivers. So yes, I'd agree that speakers should be put in bookshelves...why did you bring that up anyway?


Some people seem to think that the term satellite speaker presents connotations of small little cubes (think Bose Accousticrap (TM), but it's just a series of speakers designed to work together with a sub for multichannel listening.
In many cases, it does usually mean a smaller cabinet that doesn't reach as low and can be placed virtually anywhere. A subwoofer is absolutely necessary with a satellite speaker, but it's not with a bookshelf or floor standing speaker (depending on how low it's tuned to go). However, I've heard large "bookshelf" sized speakers that didn't reach as low as comparable satellite speakers. It all depends on the design and crossover.

In the end, and especially now a days, the term "satellite speaker" usually does imply that it's small, needs a sub and was designed to be placement friendly.

We can agree to disagree about what movie theater's use.

YMMV.