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Suroun System under $2000

609 views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  bluewizard 
#1 ·
I hope I'm in the right forum.


I just purchased a new home and I'm in the process of setup a movie room/man cave. I currently have an old Kenwood 5.1, Klipsch Quintet II's, and Yamaha YST-SW315 sub that I purchased back in 2004-2005 timeframe. I have set aside $2K to spend on setting up a new home theater system and I have to say there are so many speaker systems and brands out there that I don't know where to start. I'm looking for a 7.1 system and would like the capability to use Dolby Atmos at some point. I don't think I need to replace the Yamaha sub. I'd rather save that and spend towards the other speakers.


My room size is 14x14 with hardwood floor that I plan on placing a rug or something to reduce echo. I have a Blu-ray player and digital cable box that I'll be using in the mix, both HDMI. Hopefully this is enough information to get started.


Thanks for the help.
 
#3 ·
IMO your room is too small for a 7 channel setup. A 5.1.4 atmos setup should be what you want to get.

For ht use the sub is the most important part of the system. Unless you don't watch action movies. Your sub will need to be replaced sooner rather than later.

Is your budget just for speakers or do you need an avr too?
 
#5 ·
There are several factors to consider before making any purchases. What is your priority? Movies, music, games? How loud do you listen? Is the space dedicated room?

You should try to audition as many speakers as you can so that you'll know what type of sound you prefer. Some ID companies will let you audition for free. With $2,000 budget, you should focus on spending the most on subs and fronts. Your room acoustics and speakers will make the biggest difference in sound.

Your kenwood receiver does not put out 600W, definitely not driving all 5 channels simultaneously. You should consider buying Denon or Yamaha at accessories4less.com. They have many new or refurbished units that come with warranties.
 
#6 ·
I stated it was a movie room, so movies is the focus. This room is dedicated to the room. As far as sound level I usually like to crank it up to a level you would here at the theaters, but I will have to play with it as in my current house my room is pretty far away from other rooms, so I could get away with it. In the new house the room is close to the living room and on the other side of a bedroom. It's interesting that you are the second person mentioning the sub as most important. Back in the day when I was into this stuff the center channel was always the most important considering it's doing most of the work.

As for the Kenwood, I was referring to total output, it's 100 watts x 6 channels for a 6.1.

Thanks for the info.
 
#9 ·
Speakers: Go out and audition as many speakers as you can. Find out what you like and don’t like. I.D. companies give you a 30-day (or so) in-home trial period. SVS will pay shipping both ways, many will pay shipping to your home, while some require you to pay shipping both ways.

Bookshelf speakers should perform very well in your space. The following are only examples, but all have had excellent user and professional reviews:

$195 / pair (shipping extra) Philharmonic Audio Affordable Accuracy bookshelf speakers: http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.htmlaa.html Talk to Dennis Murphy.

$225 / pair (includes shipping) EMP Tek R5Bi bookshelf speaker (formally E5Bi): http://emptek.com/r5bi.php (I own these)

$230 / pair (check on shipping) ELAC B5: http://elac.us/speakers (should be released soon — I heard them at this years audio show in Newport)

$300 / pair (shipping charges may be $30 or so each way) Chane A1rx-c: http://www.chanemusiccinema.com/chane-loudspeakers/A1rx-c#productreviewsanchor

$320 to $380 / pair ($50 shipping) Hsu HB-1 Mk 2: http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/hb-1.html (I auditioned these at Hsu Research)

$600 / pair (free shipping) JBL Studio 530: http://www.jbl.com/estore/jbl/us/pr...earchMode=regularProductOnly&sCatId=cat140013 This is the one speaker I wished I had auditioned, and may do so in the future just out of curiosity. A lot of positive comments on this speaker.

Also look at NHT, Wave Crest and Ascend Acoustics (I’m sure I’m missing several other very fine options).

Subwoofer: You have a fairly small room (just under 1,600 cu. ft. if you have 8-foot ceiling height), so any decent subwoofer should be impressive, including sealed designs. I’d be looking at the $500 to $1,000 range. This is dependent upon what you seek as far as movies (good bass support or shaking the room). Take a look at Hsu, PSA, RA, Rythmik and SVS. Talk to all the owners/designers to get a good feel of the company. PSA and RA has free shipping both ways on many of their models, while SVS has free shipping both ways on everything.
 
#10 ·
To do Atmos any justice, you need to have the ability to install in-ceiling speakers in your ceiling. Are you able to do that? If not, don't even worry about Atmos. For Atmos you will also want to stick with a speaker brand that has in-walls and in-ceilings that matches their regular speaker lines. Some brands that do that are Klipsch, Polk, and Hsu. You also say you want a system that can get loud as a theater, in that case you will want to stay away from smaller speakers. I would get bookshelf speakers with 6" bass drivers or larger, or tower speakers. One speaker line I would look at is the close out deals on Klipsch Reference IIs at the moment. Hsu also offers powerful bookshelf speakers. For subwoofers, I would get one of the ported 15" subwoofers from Reaction Audio, Hsu, or Rythmik.
 
#11 ·
I'd like to do Atmos at some point in the future. I plan on in-ceiling for that, but we are probably looking 6 months to a year before I look into that. I'm sure most of you guys who own a house know that after closing you are not left with a crap ton of money, which is why I only have a $2k budget to play with, otherwise I would expand the budget.

Any recommendations on center and rear speakers?

Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
#12 ·
In a 10x10 room, rear speakers might be a bit tricky if your seating is against the wall. $2k is not a bad budget though due to the room size. With respect to center and rears, you will want to keep those as much like the front left/right speakers as possible in an Atmos system. In fact, if you can, have the center speaker be the same as the left/right. One of the only exceptions I would say for that is the Infinity Primus line, since they have such a good center speaker in the c351. You would also do well to consider the Infinity Primus series on account of the very high performance-to-cost ratio and also the availablity of matching in-ceiling speakers. What you will not want for Atmos is dipole and bipole surround speakers, especially in your room. Make sure the surrounds are bookshelf speakers or in-walls.
 
#16 · (Edited)
In my opinion, in a room 14ft x 14ft, and a somewhat restricted budget, start with 5.1 and expand as you feel the need arises.

Keep in mind that beyond 7.1, all the channels are synthesized. This is, they don't exist in the original sound track, so the AVR computer makes a best guess as to what it is going to send where.

Nothing wrong with that, but in this respect I'm something of a minimalist. So, again, start with 5.1, and over time as you feel the need arises, expand from there.

Also, relative to In-Ceiling speakers, it is easy to stand in the room, look at the ceiling, and imagine the speaker there, but consider what it takes to get the Speaker WIRE back to the Amp.

You might get luck and the ceiling joists will run in the direction you need to run the speaker wire. In this case, only the minimum of tearing up, patching, and painting the walls and ceiling. This installation, because of the tearing up of walls and ceilings, is extra cost, and right now, you simply don't have the budget for it.

And on the issue of BUDGET, $2000 for AVR and 5.1 speakers is pretty lean. Though if you check the thread I linked to you will see some very good options for a small room that hit your budget pretty closely.

This is the system I suggested in that other thread, though it was really down to two possible systems depending on the needs of the Original Poster.

$_800 = Denon AVR-X4100 Receiver ($1500 Retail value)
$1000 = SVS Satellite 5.1 system with Sub
--------------------------
$1800 = Total

The next system uses larger Front Bookshelf speakers and breaks down like this. Consider this system below if music is a higher priority -

$_800 = Denon AVR-4100 AV Receiver ($1500 retail AVR)
$1550 = SVS Bookshelf 5.1 system with 1000 series Sub
---------------------------
$2350 = Total

Bearing in mind that is nearly HALF PRICE on a 2014 Denon $1500 AV Receiver. Got to love a bargain. Though it is only a 7.2 channel amp. Though it does support Dolby Atmos.

The AVR-X4100W lets you add two overhead or up-firing speakers (sometimes called "height" or "top" speakers) to a conventional five-channel system — this is referred to as a 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup. Here's a breakdown of all the Dolby Atmos speaker configurations this receiver supports:

  • 5.1.2 - five conventional surround speakers, one powered subwoofer, and two overhead or height speakers
  • 7.1.2 - seven conventional surround speakers, one powered subwoofer, and two overhead or height speakers (requires an external stereo power amp)
  • 5.1.4 - five conventional surround speakers, one powered subwoofer, and four overhead or height speakers (requires an external stereo power amp)

You can use one or two subwoofers with any of these configurations.


Best check out all the spec. Despite being a 2014 model, it still has all the features you could want and plenty of power.

There are links to all the equipment and the specs in that other thread - (Post 10) -

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-speakers/2125098-need-suggestions-1500-2000-system.html


Steve/bluewizard
 
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