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Help building a new 5.1 setup?

1K views 44 replies 10 participants last post by  venkman781 
#1 ·
1) Your Budget.
I've got about $1200 available to spend on this project without driving the wife over the edge. We just moved into a new home and part of the deal was that I get to outfit the TV room. I've already invested in a Samsung 65" KS8000 this past fall.

2) Your listening interests: movies/gaming/music--and whether or not any of those are your primary concern.
Gaming and movies are the primary interests. I'll be using an Xbox One S for UHD 4K discs in addition to games. I also run a PS4 and Steam Link on this display for gaming. There's a 3rd Gen Apple TV connected for Netflix and streaming options.

3) Your existing audio equipment (make/models) if any. Include comments about what you hope to improve upon.
I'm in need of an AVR and want to purchase two fronts, a center and a sub, if possible at my budget. The previous owner of the house we bought mounted two Yamaha NS-IC600 speakers in the ceiling that I plan to use as rear channels to create a 5.1 setup (for now).

4) The size of your room. Please also mention if there are adjacent open areas and how big they are (important for subwoofer choice).
The room is a 15'6" x 19'6" rectangle with a smaller alcove under a dormer on the long side wall. The KS8000 is wall mounted at the center of the short wall opposite the entry door. There's a sofa about 9' from the TV. The ceiling mounted IC600s are 16' from the TV (making them 5' behind the sofa, on the left and right rear)

5) Any placement restrictions.
Not really. There's a media console under the TV that could be used to house the fronts/center channels.

6) Any aesthetic or size concerns.
Not really. Probably want black fronts/center just to avoid too many clashing wood tones with existing shelving.

7) Any equipment you are already considering.
Considering the Denon X1300 as it seems to have the right number inputs and features (4k, HDR)
 
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#4 · (Edited)
I did a bit more research last night. Started thinking I should cut back on the budget for the AVR and focus more on the speakers and sub. Here's where I landed:
AVR: Denon s720 (same basic perks as the x1300 for Accessories4Less)
FR-FL: Elac b6
Center: Elac c5
Sub: Bic PL200

This brings the cost to $1037, leaving me a little scratch for wiring, plugs, etc.

Is this a decent setup for the price? The focus is gaming and movies, not music.

Edit: think the PL might be a larger cabinet than I'd like.


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#5 ·
You are wise to consider bookshelves for the front three rather than in ceilings.

Elac makes a great speaker, albeit one that might tax your receiver as they are 4 ohms, but good news is you can buy them at Best Buy and return them with ease if they are problematic in any way.

For your use I'd generally recommend a HSU front three but that would be around $600 delivered.

Give the Elacs a try and let us know what you think.
 
#11 ·
Would it be worth evaluating an AVR that would power the 4Ohm Elacs? Or would that toss my meager budget out the window?
In that case, start with 2.1 and get some Ascend Acoustics or HSU speakers and stick with the receiver you picked out (add the center later). Easier to drive than the EMP Teks and the Elacs, and should even get a little louder volumes with the same receiver power.
 
#15 ·
Update

Decided to pull the trigger on the s720w from A4L and went with the Elac B6/C5 combo for the fronts. I'm still in decent shape budget wise with about $350 left. I'm debating just pulling the BIC F12, as it's pretty widely regarded as one of the best value subs around here from what my searching turns up. Any potential pitfalls I should consider?
 
#16 ·
The Bic F12 is a good sub for the price, the PL-200 even better. You might want to upgrade either one of them one day, as there are subs with a lot better low end extension and better SQ.
 
#17 ·
I decided to go with the RSL Speedwoofer 10s for a sub. They had some in the outlet for $379 in like new condition with the same warranty/return policy. I thought I'd give it a try and if it's not for me, I'll wait and go for something with a little more budget (e.g. an SVS).
 
#18 ·
I haven't heard them, but from all the user comments and reviews they seem to play well about their class. Best of luck on your new system. Just take some time when setting everything up (front speakers first so they are playing their best, then integrating the sub, then the center & surrounds). Please come back and let us know what you think once everything is up and running.
 
#23 ·
Yesterday was the big day! Everything had been delivered and I got to work on the setup.

I decided on using 12 AWG cable and banana plugs from Monoprice, so I spent most of the morning assembling those. Love the convenience of the banana plugs. Next, I assembled the stands, they are the Pangea 28" steel stands purchased from Amazon. I had to remove the banana plugs from one end on each of the cables for the mains to feed the line through the legs (valuable lesson learned - scope the cable runs first before assembling). All in all, I'm really happy with the build quality of the Pangea stands. For $115 they offer decent weight and the carpet spikes keep wobbles under control.

I got the S720 hooked up and within minutes I was in business. I ran Audyssey on the just the mains first, then played around with the available Internet radio options and found a station to test general sound quality. The Elac B6s really have a nice full sound and I was immediately impressed by the depth at higher volume. For now, the mains are positioned about 8' apart and the main listening position is about 8-9' away from the TV.

Setting up the inputs was a snap. I decided to use the KS8000 ARC port and ran the PS4, XBox One S, AppleTV and Steam Link all to the AVR. With the exception of the XB1S (which displays at 4K and wouldn't display the AVR GUI overlay), navigating through the setup was easily done in a few minutes. I had to hit enter on the remote when the XB signal came through and changethe the Denon to another input before the GUI reappeared.

I then added in the center and the sub, reran Audyssey and did some more testing. Finally, I added the two rear ceiling mounted Yamaha speakers in to make 5.1 happen. Reran Audyssey and then started more testing.

The Speedwoofer sounds deep and punchy, but I noticed it would switch off if it didn't get a signal for a while. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing that's causing it. I think at least once I had been sitting on the pause screen with the AVR fully muted. It may also have to do with the sound settings I was trying out with the Steam Link. I believe it only passes 6-channel PCM and I was fiddling with the sound modes at the time. I'm going to try a bass crawl today to see if I need to adjust the position of the sub.

The Yamaha "rears" are decent and I noticed that they needed about a +1.5db adjustment on the Steam Link during gaming. They are almost 8' behind the couch and face down from the ceiling, so I'm not surprised. They're not an ideal rear surround but they'll have to do for now until I get more dough to throw at another set of bookshelves.

I did watch a few trailers via the AppleTV and was blown away by the sound stage when using 5.1 with this new setup. I've attached a picture of the current layout. I've got some cable management to do and some more testing, but all in all, super happy with my choices. Thanks again for helping me pick out the gear!










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#24 ·
Yesterday was the big day! Everything had been delivered and I got to work on the setup.

I did watch a few trailers via the AppleTV and was blown away by the sound stage when using 5.1 with this new setup. I've attached a picture of the current layout. I've got some cable management to do and some more testing, but all in all, super happy with my choices. Thanks again for helping me pick out the gear!
Excellent; you have a very nice system there.

Try putting some rubber bumpers or foam under the front of the center channel so it is aiming at your ear level and pull it forward so it slightly overhangs the shelf.

Do you have the crossover bypassed on the back of the sub?

Do you have the gain on the sub about halfway and the sub plugged into the top left LFE RCA in?

If a source has no content below the crossover setting the sub will auto shut off which is normal.
 
#29 ·
Excellent; don't be afraid to play around with the crossovers but don't put them lower than 50hz for the fronts or 70hz for the rears.

80hz is the THX standard based on the idea that frequencies below 80hz are almost impossible to localize.

Some AVS members love their 120hz crossovers but I certainly wouldn't recomend that.
 
#43 ·
As Cel stated, distance for a subwoofer is meant as an indication of the time delay that occurs in subwoofer’s amplifier processors (DSP). It’s quite normal to have the subwoofer’s physical distance not match its actual distance, because it is not running filters for distance. Have a subwoofer that is wireless? Watch those numbers climb :).

If people treat Audyssey as a guide in setting up their systems, and only after taking the time needed to physically set everything up correctly, I think it’s a great tool in getting that extra bit of sound performance. But it’s up to each individual to take care when setting up their system and then modifying those filter settings for their own personal taste.

gajCA’s reference article statement is spot on, imo. I’m sure that @Bill Fitzmaurice has setup many of his audio systems properly long time before Audyssey (or another brand of software) ever came to market.
 
#44 ·
Completely agree.

I started in 5.1 before the AVR when there was no such thing as Audyssey and the Shure HTS5000 settings were all done by physical distance measured and by ear.

I have an SPL meter now but not sure if I used one back then in the mid 80s.

Sounded great though with my $1250 cutting edge JVC HiFi VCR!

That's almost $3000 in today's money!

WTF was I thinking! :eek:
 
#45 ·
FWIW, and as the OP, I ended up going back to square and reading through the Audyssey 101 and FAQ here. I ended up re-running Audyssey yesterday after I made a bunch of uninformed changes to the distances and the trims. Alas, new learnings. I set the crossovers back to 80Hz and I'll probably run Audysset another time. The trim on the sub came out at -10.5dB so I might like that a little finer tuned.
 
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