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Recommend some fronts please!

2K views 58 replies 14 participants last post by  gajCA 
#1 ·
Hi, I just moved into a condo on the top floor, with a 17' x 15' x 8' (W x D x H) living room and my listening distance would be about 8-10ft away.

The center channel would be on a TV stand/desk that's 71 inches wide, so the L/R would be that far apart.

I was using the Polk monitor 70 series II as my front L/F and a Polk CS10 center, paired with a BIC America F12 12" subwoofer. All connected to a Denon X4400H. I got the L/R as a gift so I don't want to get rid of them, but I'm willing to use them as surrounds and replace the center channel because I don't really like the CS10.

I'm going for a 5.2.4 setup eventually, with atmos upfiring speakers and maybe another F12 subwoofer (not sure if two subs are necessary yet, or if I should just use 1 better sub). My priority right now are good fronts that wouldn't make the Polks sound out of place.

I watch a lot of 4K blurays and listen to a lot of music.

My budget for the L/C/R is about $1,000 with a $1,250 hard limit. Please recommend some good options for a whole upgrade of the fronts! Since I'm planning to put atmos upfiring modules on top, a flat top design is ideal.
 
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#2 ·
#6 ·
My budget for the L/C/R is about $1,000 with a $1,250 hard limit. Please recommend some good options for a whole upgrade of the fronts! Since I'm planning to put atmos upfiring modules on top, a flat top design is ideal.
Atmos "bounce" speakers simply do not work very well; I'd stick with 5.1 and get a sub with flat frequency response from HSU, Rhythmik or Monoprice THX.

Are you near any of these folks?

ACCESSORIES 4 LESS*** NEAR ORLANDO FLORIDA
APERION* NEAR PORTLAND OREGON
ASCEND** NEAR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
CHANE TAMPA FLORIDA
CRUTCHFIELD*** CHARLOTTESVILLE VIRGINIA
DEEP SEA SOUND SUBS NEAR KNOXVILLE TENNESSEE
DIYSOUND GROUP CINCINNATI OHIO
EMOTIVA NEAR NASHVILLE TENNESSEE
HI FI HEAVEN*** GREEN BAY WISONSIN
HSU NEAR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
HTD* NEAR DALLAS TEXAS
JTR NEAR MILWAUKEE WISCONSIN
MONOPRICE NEAR RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA
MUSIC DIRECT*** CHICAGO ILLINOIS
NHT NEAR SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA
OHM BROOKLYN NEW YORK
PSA NEAR YOUNGSTOWN OHIO
RBH NEAR SALT LAKE CITY UTAH
RHYTHMIK SUBS NEAR AUSTIN TEXAS
RSL* NEAR LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA
SALK AUDIO PONTIAC MICHIGAN
SATURDAY AUDIO--- CHICAGO ILLINOIS
SEATON SOUND NEAR CHICAGO ILLINOIS
SELAH AUDIO NEAR RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA
SVS* YOUNGSTOWN OHIO
TEKTON NEAR PROVO UTAH
TYLER ACOUSTICS NEAR LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
WORLDWIDE STEREO*** NEAR PHILADELPHIA PENNSYLVANIA

CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS
AXIOM NEAR TORONTO CANADA
FLUANCE NEAR TORONTO CANADA
FUNK AUDIO NEAR VANCOUVER CANADA
PARADIGM NEAR TORONTO CANADA
PSB NEAR TORONTO CANADA
TOTEM NEAR MONTREAL CANADA
* free return shipping
**Ascend also carries Rhythmik subwoofers on site
***retail outlet of many brands
 
#8 ·
My living room is not enclosed. There's a kitchen completely open on one side and hallways to bedrooms start on the walls between the kitchen and living room, both front and surround wall are pretty much open on just one side to the right of the listening position.

Maybe about 40% music.

I'm looking at the Emotiva T2 and C2, SVS Prime series, or HTD Level 3s. I notice that the HTD and the Emotiva have ribbon tweeters, and my Polks have domes. Would that matter as much, or just a concern for LCR?
 
#15 ·
I've got a setup in my condo living room and went with a 'phantom' center which allowed me to put my budget towards just the left and right speaker. If you're going to have larger groups of people over you might need a center, but if you are sitting directly in front of the screen the phantom center works well. Sometimes it's worth getting the best left and right speaker that you can, especially if they will be used for music as well. Just another option though.
 
#21 ·
A pair of Revel F35's would probably be around the top of your budget with a good dealer price, and would likely hold an edge for sound quality, especially crossed to subs.
 
#31 ·
Thanks for all the advice, everyone! After a little bit of research, I'm leaning towards the Emotiva T1 + C2 for the LCR. From my understanding, if I'm pairing with a sub like the Hsu VTF2, the T2 will be a pointless extra $300 that can go towards the sub. I do prefer the look of the HTD, but the Emotiva seems to have a slight edge in value. Is this a fair assessment to have? Do these 3 companies usually participate in black friday/cyber monday deals?
 
#32 ·
HTD doesn't, I don't think. Not sure about Emotiva...their best discounts were for discontinued clearance stock and for model line upgrades like the recent "plus" editions. You can also call them up and ask for any "B-stock" which is what I did, and what they sent me looked totally pristine.
 
#39 ·
Not to add to the confusion, but I think it's worth seriously considering Chane. Anything from the A1.5 (bookshelves) up to the new A5.5 (towers), and an A2.4 center. You could do the A1.5/A2.4 combo for around $600, plus an HSU VTF2.5, and stay under your max budget. Chanes really do punch WAY above their weight. And they have flat tops ;-)

Fwiw, I have that exact combo in a roughly 5000 ft3 space and there is more than enough output (and I do like it quite loud from time to time).

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
#42 ·
Much of the music I listen to benefits from having a linear response down to 20 Hz. That is to say that it isn't rolling off at 30 Hz, which is where most music ends, but not all. In-room my system is flat to almost 10 Hz, which provides a feeling of weight, pressure, and impact. There's just that last bit at the bottom that provides a solid footing for the music that's worth it to me.
 
#43 ·
So, I just bought some Emotiva T1+ & C2+ purely because they're having a little sale right now. I got 100 off the order and an additional 200 in-store credit voucher. I just received them today, so I'll try to have someone help me set them up soon and give some impressions later! I have a question, though: if I have wood flooring, should I use the included spikes? Are there pros/cons to using them?
 
#44 ·
if I have wood flooring, should I use the included spikes? Are there pros/cons to using them?
Only if you plan to replace your wood flooring soon. :)

Spikes = only if you have thick carpet that renders the towers or speaker stands unstable.
 
#45 ·
I would not base your speaker purchase decision on whether or not the top of the speakers are flat for mounting atmos speakers. Everything I have read says that upfiring atmos is garbage. If your going to do it, do it right and mount them in the ceiling. Cry once for quality instead of paying for crappy implementation that ends up being a waste of money.
 
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#47 ·
I get that, but who wants to volunteer and mount them for me? I know the consensus is that it might be a waste, but I won't know unless I try. If you want to help me mount them to the ceiling, I would gladly accept your offer, and will buy you beers! For real, though.
 
#52 ·
The penny spreads the force from the spike so it does not make a hole in your floor.

\/
---

spike
penny
floor

Edit: I really wanted to make some sort of joke about penny vs. nickels vs. quarters and the effect on the sound but figured (a) it would go over poorly here and (b) someone would believe it and quote me later.
 
#54 ·
Pennies are small and cheap and will protect a wood floor from the spike.

If you put a small divot in the center of it with a drill bit the penny will remain centered on the spike.

Or you could get these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D9BFDM...uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
I see. So having spikes won't affect the sound in a negative way? I know I don't need it for my floors, but the extra height would be nice since my Polk surrounds are about 4" taller without spikes.
 
#58 · (Edited)
I performed a simple test. You can too.

Put your phone on vibrate mode, and set it on your desk or table. When you receive a text message or other notification, the phone will vibrate, and loudly, against the desk. But it's not the phone making most of the noise - the energy transmits through the desk and the desk makes noise, too.

Now, put a damping material under the phone. I used a rubber band.

The next vibration will barely be heard.

The phone is your speaker and the desk is your speaker stand.

Try it.

I don't know the degree to which isolation helps a speaker, but there is an effect. I use sorbothane to decouple the speaker from the stand, but I also use spikes to make the stand more stable on carpet. They aren't needed on hard floors IMO.

Then there's the "tightly coupled" approach as described by Don. In that approach, you're trying to send vibrations through the floor where they will be grounded. Instead of decoupling the speaker from the stand, you would couple it - with something like Blu-Tack.

I don't like to reduce the vibrations from my subs. I specifically set them up in a 2nd floor room so that they vibrate the floor without needing to be huge or expensive.
 
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