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Please help me decide what to upgrade

post #1 of 16
6/30/11 at 1:36pm
Thread Starter 
Hey,

So I bought the Denon DHT-591BA 5.1 Home Theater System, which comes with the Denon AVR-591 receiver and a set up of 4 Boston Acoustics surround/bookshelf speakers,1 center channel speaker, and a subwoofer. I'd post a link, but I can't. If you google it, I am sure you will see it.

I now want to upgrade something, and I think the smartest would be to upgrade either the front 3 speakers or the sub. Please let me know what you think would be the best upgrade for the system. I listen to about 50/50 movies and music. Also, I would like to keep this under 500. The budget can move in either way though, not by much.

Thanks for the help.

The LCR set up needs to consist of 2 bookshelf speakers due to room requirements.

Also, the room is about 10H x 15L X 12W. Set up basically like this.
LL
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post #2 of 16
6/30/11 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by difallstar View Post

Hey,

So I bought the Denon DHT-591BA 5.1 Home Theater System, which comes with the Denon AVR-591 receiver and a set up of 4 Boston Acoustics surround/bookshelf speakers,1 center channel speaker, and a subwoofer. I'd post a link, but I can't. If you google it, I am sure you will see it.

I now want to upgrade something, and I think the smartest would be to upgrade either the front 3 speakers or the sub. Please let me know what you think would be the best upgrade for the system. I listen to about 50/50 movies and music. Also, I would like to keep this under 500. The budget can move in either way though, not by much.

Thanks for the help.

The fronts need to be bookshelf speakers and a center.

I would make due with the sub you have for now and upgrade your LCR first. If you got yourself some Polk Monitor 70's and CS2 you may be able to get away without a sub for a bit.
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post #3 of 16
6/30/11 at 1:44pm
Thread Starter 
I wish I could, but I can't have floorstanding speakers due to setup issues. Thanks for the reply though!
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post #4 of 16
6/30/11 at 2:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by difallstar View Post

I wish I could, but I can't have floorstanding speakers due to setup issues. Thanks for the reply though!

This would be the bigger Boston speaker
http://www.bostonacoustics.com/HS-60...shed-P468.aspx

This would be the center
http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Acousti...9467638&sr=1-1
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post #5 of 16
6/30/11 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by difallstar View Post

I wish I could, but I can't have floorstanding speakers due to setup issues. Thanks for the reply though!

I missed that in the OP that they needed to be bookshelf.
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post #6 of 16
7/1/11 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
I don't really care if the speakers match, I just would like a good LCR setup. I looking into BIC America and BIC Acoustech, but couldn't find much helpful info on them. Also, my friend looked into the Polk Monitor 40s and wasn't the biggest fan of them so that deters me a little.
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post #7 of 16
7/1/11 at 9:21am
Do you have room for rear ported speakers? Rear ported speakers need room behind and around them to give the port room to do it's thing. If you have the room then I'd consider Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE bookshelves and center. If you don't have the room then you'll need to look for front ported or sealed speakers.
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post #8 of 16
7/1/11 at 9:23am
Thread Starter 
How much room do you need in the back?
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post #9 of 16
7/1/11 at 10:41am
The first "rule" to upgrading your LCR is that they "match"...

So, saying you want to upgrade, yet not match...is the complete opposite...anyway.

I would stick with BA. BA sound different than Polk, which sound different than BIC, which sound different than Dali, which sound different than Mordaunt Short(and you can keep on going...)

So...BA makes several good speakers(and great ones...but for much more than your budget). The "classic" series is one of the best bargains there is.
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post #10 of 16
7/1/11 at 2:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by difallstar View Post

How much room do you need in the back?

I'd call and confirm with the manufacturer but most rear ported speakers do best with 12-24" behind them. The distance from the wall effects how the bass sounds, however sometimes you can get away with taking a speaker rated for 60hz and crossing it much higher - say 80hz in order to minimize the output from the port in which case 3-4" may be plenty. Some also come with port plugs but again you then have to cross it over much higher than the rated frequency. If you go with Ascend I'd call and talk to the owner/designer and see what he suggests.

I'm a big fan of high-end Boston Acoustics but not of the CR23 or CR26. I'd listen to those a bit before even considering them. If you wanted you could replace all 5 BA with two Infinity Primus P163, a PC251 center and two P153 for surrounds and still have change in your pocket. The Primus series are all (except the center) front ported and you should be able to audition them locally. IMO the Ascends are a bit better but they cost more.
http://www.harmanaudio.com/Search_Br...INF&market=HOM

Reviews of last year's P162:
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/1007inf/
http://hometheaterreview.com/infinit...aker-reviewed/
http://www.audioholics.com/reviews/s...ty-primus-p162
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post #11 of 16
7/5/11 at 11:10am
Thread Starter 
I am going to listen to the RTI4 today, and hopefully I will like those because they are sized perfectly for my set up. I plan (if I like it of course) to match it with the CSI A4 off of the polk ebay site.

Do you think these will work fine with the little sub that I have? Or should I seriously consider shelling out another 200 for the BIC F-12 or something similar.

Thanks all!
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post #12 of 16
7/10/11 at 6:20pm
Thread Starter 
So I listened to the rti4s and was extremely happy with them. I am going to get those through j and r for 150 including shipping and tax. Also, I'm going to buy the csia4 off polk's eBay site for 200 total.

With my small room (15x10) do I need to upgrade to a larger sub? My current is an 8" 100w Boston acoustics. But I noticed avs's new sale website has the f13 for 140. Would that be significantly better?

Also, I want to put the front 3 Boston acoustic m95 speakers on craigslist. Does anybody have a suggestion on how much I should ask for? If I get a new sub, how much should I ask for the ba 8" that I have?

Thanks for all the help!
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post #13 of 16
7/11/11 at 11:39am
Thread Starter 
Anybody? Nobody ever answers my thread
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post #14 of 16
7/11/11 at 11:46am
Bic f12 for 140 doesn't include shipping so just buy from amazon at $187

Personally I would upgrade the Front 3 though as you will get a better result and the BA satelites need a 120hz crossover so the Bic F12 would struggle to meet that with any skill/tightness
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post #15 of 16
7/11/11 at 11:51am
Thread Starter 
thanks! i already decided to upgrade my front 3 to the rti4/csia4 (in post above).I was just curious "With my small room (15x10) do I need to upgrade to a larger sub? My current is an 8" 100w Boston acoustics. But I noticed avs's new sale website has the f13 for 140. Would that be significantly better?

Also, I want to put the front 3 Boston acoustic m95 speakers on craigslist. Does anybody have a suggestion on how much I should ask for? If I get a new sub, how much should I ask for the ba 8" that I have?"
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post #16 of 16
7/11/11 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Smigro View Post

I would make due with the sub you have for now and upgrade your LCR first. If you got yourself some Polk Monitor 70's and CS2 you may be able to get away without a sub for a bit.

Smigro,

If going subless, are the Monitor 60s sufficient for bass extension or is that only possible with the 70s?
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