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Help with speaker and setup choices

508 views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  sigpig 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello everyone,

I kind of have a tough decision to make, so I would like thoughts on some speaker choices and setup ideas.

Im moving into a new house and ALL of my old electronics are going to be gone. That means I have to start over. I like the idea and will find it enjoyable, but also feel nervous because I want to make the best choices.

I'm moving into a large bungalow with a full-sized basement. This means a large main floor and a large basement, not including a good-sized office on the "2nd floor" over the garage. Although the office might be used later for a smaller setup, my current situation is that I have to furnish the main-floor living room and a downstairs open area. My preference would be to have both areas with full 5.1 home theaters, but it's evident that costs are going to start going up. With that said, I unfortunately do care about quality though.

If I had to choose 1 room to make sure it had the full home theater, it would be downstairs first. The reason is that it can be more dedicated to entertainment than would be suitable in the main-floor living room. To give details, the downstairs entertainment area would be more of an open area in a larger room, instead of a dedicated room. Also, I like the idea of not putting speakers in walls because I enjoy changing the layout sometimes, and I also prefer the look.

I feel confident that I want at least one of my areas to have Paradigm speakers. Obviously I think the Prestige look beautiful, and in my opinion are substantially nicer looking than the monitors. Therefore, I kind of think that the Prestige are more suitable for the living room, due to their aesthetic appeal. Second, my downstairs might be carpeted or have rugs, and monitors don't seem as sturdy for that. Therefore, I kind of like the idea of having Prestige in the downstairs also. The problem is that I don't think I should go with Prestige in both areas for budgetary reasons. Therefore, I'm considering the monitor series.

My problem is that I am now considering putting Prestige in the living room and having a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, and having less expensive (maybe monitors) downstairs. The thing is that in my head I know that I'll be watching movies on a lower-quality system than I have upstairs.

Do you think I'll regret going with the monitor series (or equivalent) downstairs while knowing that upstairs the quality is better?

I'm sure some will ask why I don't just do the 5.1 upstairs, and the reason is that I kind of like the idea of the 5.1 being downstairs because I think it will be more of "my area" than the upstairs. Of course my wife will watch movies downstairs, but I envision when I'm chilling out, or with buddies, the downstairs will feel more comfortable.

Is the large extra price of the Prestige really worth it over the monitor series?


Additional details:

- I plan one area to be a 75-inch TV, and maybe both. The size won't be larger for either area due to cost
- there is a small chance that I would set up Atmos rear heights downstairs, but at this time it's not on my list of things I really care about
- I really do want to buy some Paradigm speakers. They might not be the best, but I think I'll be happy with them.
- I just had to let go a 5.1 Klipsch RF52II system and a 2.1 KEF Q700 system, both running off Marantz receivers, and enjoyed both
- I owned a good 5.1 Paradigm Studio Reference V2 system back in the day, and enjoyed it
- I'm not sure of total budget, but keeping it under $15,000 Canadian (before taxes) is my current idea, which is just under $12,000 USD before taxes
- Im not using that money for wire costs, because I have my own resource for getting good quality at a low price

I know all this is subjective, but I just wanted some people's opinions. Maybe some of you had similar situations that you've faced before.

Also, I will post this in the Paradigm-owners thread as well.

Thanks in advance for anyone who has some opinions. If I missed some important information, please ask and I'll try to answer.
 
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#2 ·
My brother had Paradigm towers and they are an excellent choice for HT IMHO.

Mind you the KEF Q series are on fire sale right now here in the US but I think that fire sale is worldwide so you might consider those for the lower priced system.
 
#3 ·
For movies the Paradigm Monitors are great, I love mine. Good sensitivity, good imaging, nice full and detailed sound etc. They are worlds above my Polk's which I honestly didn't mind.
I've personally never liked the sound of Klipsch, too bright/harsh sounding for me.
For movie watching I couldn't justify the extra cost for the more expensive Paradigm lines as the Monitors already do a great job.
 
#7 ·
That's very good to know. Your last comment is kind of what I'm thinking.

A decade ago I lived in an apartment with a roommate who had a 5.1 system of monitors in the living room. I think he had 9's at the front and 7's at the rear, or 11's and 9's. In any case it sounded nice, but at the time I didn't have anything to compare it to. I'm sure they still sound good though, and I'm really considering them.
 
#5 ·
#9 ·
I have really considered this option. Ironically, the idea of putting KEF downstairs makes me think in a whole different direction, and I question why I don't go with KEF on both floors. Although I had (and liked) the 700's, I read a negative review just recently that criticized the lower end of the bass reproduction. Not saying one review is everything, but I also don't feel I'm the smartest in terms of knowing what might be proper, or good, or better than something else. It made me think maybe the next speakers I get might be a bit better. I'm not sure how to explain my feelings after reading the review, but it certainly made me think maybe I was missing something that others could probably identify. Anyways, the hardest part is that the KEF Q-series looks really nice and is priced very competitively. I'm considering going with 4 bookshelves and a center. The price would certainly be excellent since they do seem to come in cheaper than the paradigm monitors.
 
#6 ·
In that range, you should audition PSB and Totem as well (both Canadian companies). I know getting stuff over the border is an iron-clad b$%^&, but you may want to talk to Tom from Power Sound Audio or Jeff from JTR for their offerings for your basement theatre. Both those companies use PA (Pro Audio) components for their speakers and will literally blow away the consumer-brand speakers you're looking at for HT. For your living room, I believe Paradigm had an offer for a free centre with a pair of 95F towers a while ago - you may still be able to leverage that for your living room.
 
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#8 ·
I've looked at Totems but haven't had the chance to audition them yet.

Regarding Pro Audio gear, I tend to agree with your comments. Unfortunately, Im willing to pay more for less with the above-mentioned "name brands" due to my laziness. I'm sure I'll be happy with a wide variety of speakers, so I want to keep the list shorter or else I'll be overwhelmed with choices. At that point, I'll have more uncertainty than I do now. :) I have also tended to find that the finish on the name brands tends to be a bit nicer. I could be wrong though. I'm sure my wife will care about cosmetics, as do I.
 
#10 ·
All good suggestion thus far. For a mid sized room (20X15) I would suggest getting Polk Lsim 706 as center channel and 703's for everything else. Add two Outlaw Ultra 12 subs and you are golden. A pair of 703's can be had for $650+ tax now. 706's are about 50% off as well.

You can also pick up a Denon 4300H for a great price (PM for details). You should come well within your budget.

It all comes down to your listening preference. Good luck, remember to avoid the upgrade bug.
 
#11 · (Edited)
To save some money, you could do prestige 15b X5 or 45c/55c for the living room. If you don't plan on listening at reference level and add a decent sub or 2, should work very well. This way you could get prestige for both setups and stay in budget, or close to it.


EDIT: Just saw your post regarding the Kef. Going with Kef would certainly be way cheaper and you'd still get a quality setup. I wouldn't worry about the negative comment regarding the Q700 since you'll be crossing over to a sub(s) 80hz.
 
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#13 ·
My problem is that I am now considering putting Prestige in the living room and having a 2.0 or 2.1 setup, and having less expensive (maybe monitors) downstairs. The thing is that in my head I know that I'll be watching movies on a lower-quality system than I have upstairs.

Is the large extra price of the Prestige really worth it over the monitor series?
For HT, the Monitor series will be more than adequate. So would the Klipsch and KEF systems you used to have. Just make sure you get a good sub, which means NOT a Paradigm sub. I think SVS subs are available in Canada at reasonable cost.

The Prestige series, like the Studio series, I would only get for a predominantly music-listening system.

If you're dead set on getting the Prestige series in the LR, I would choose between the Monitor, Klipsch, and KEF options for your basement HT speakers based on cost if you need to in order to not have to cut corners on the sub.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for your reply. I do have a slight criticism of your theory however.

Take the movies in the Jason Bourne series. They have great soundtracks, and were integral parts of those movies. In fact, many great movies have awesome music throughout them. According to your theory, I should choose speakers that are inferior for reproduction of that music. I have to say that I have never understood that rationale. During a movie, I want to hear music as good as it can be, so I'm unsure why music in my living room is more important than music during movies. Anyways, that's just a point I somewhat disagree on.

I do, however, agree with your comment about a getting a really good sub, and would be open to knowing what types of specs or features you suggest I should be looking for. I'm actually not very knowledgeable about subs. I know deep bass is not all that matters, and accuracy needs to be factored in. I really don't know what size sub I should be looking for, but I do know they can get really expensive. Any information you'd like to share on that topic?
 
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