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Speaker upgrade suggestions

3K views 36 replies 9 participants last post by  ece2k2 
#1 ·
I am looking to upgrade my speakers - especially the LCR ones. My current set up includes:
1. Boston Acoustics A360 towers - L/R
2. Klipsch RP250C - C
3. Klipsch RP140SA - Surrounds
4. Boston Acoustics A26 - Back
5. B&W AM1 - Ceiling mounted atmos
6. Rythmik FV15HP - Subwoofer
7. Anthem MRX 720 receiver
8. Music Fidelity M6si dual mono amp - For driving L/R speakers
9. Crown XLS 1502 - For driving back speakers
10. Crown XLS 2002 - For driving ceiling mounted atmos speakers

I understand that my current set of speakers are a mish mash combination, but they seem to work decently well - probably because of Anthem ARC. While I am happy with the surrounds and atmos speakers, I would like to improve the LCR speakers to start with. My usage would be 80/20 for movies/music.

I don't have any sound treatment done as the room is supposed to double up as a living room as well. Room dimensions are 16x32 feet.

While I don't have a very strict budget for the LCR speakers, I don't want to splurge if the additional money is not going to give incredibly better results. I am based out of India and I should be able to audition major brands out here. But when I auditioned during my last purchase, things got confusing as all the brands were not available under one roof and it was impossible to do a proper comparison when the room/setup changes from one place to another. Please share your thoughts.
 
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#2 ·
Help us - what is it that you don't like about the A360 towers? What is lacking? Is there coloration? Would you know there is coloration without another speaker to switch with?

That aside, generally speaking, it is best to look for neutral-sounding speakers.

I am unsure what is available in India. Many of the go-to recommendations I'd make may be simply not available there. However, I notice you managed to get a Rythmik - that is awesome. Not sure how you managed that.
 
#3 ·
Well, there is nothing with A360 that I dislike per se. It is more of an upgrade bug that I am facing now. Infact I went with A360 5 years ago as I was having a very limited budget then. But I am prepared to spend quite a bit more now and I just don't want to lose out on the experience if something significantly better exists in the market.

Fortunately I found a Rythmik dealer out here and Rythmik sub does make a big difference to the setup :) .

I was kind of decided to go with Klipsch RP 8000F L/R, but I couldn't make up my mind. Almost every major brand is available here, but they come with a hefty premium when compared to US/UK prices. Some of the IDD brands like Ascend, HSU, etc. don't have any presence here though. I have also attached a picture of my setup to give you a better idea. Thank you!
 

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#9 ·
Unfortunately listening to the Klipsch in a dealer show room, or any speaker for that matter, can only tell you so much. With 40-50% of the sound we hear coming from early reflections from our home interior walls, a room with different dimensions will make the speakers sound different than in our homes. Especially if the show room is much wider or has very high ceilings.

This might help.

 
#10 ·
Just to chime in only about your center, I wouldn't skimp there since it does so much of the work for home theater. Be sure to go with a substantial upgrade in that position along with your L/R.

Just as another option to consider, maybe the KEF Q950 towers and Q650 center.

Also, not sure what your access to these would be, but Canton is available on Accesories4Less at some very steep discounts.
 
#11 ·
for that space I would get larger speakers. its very taxing on a system to playback movies/music in a large space at reference.
 
#12 ·
I second Zorba's RP-6000/504C recommendation. It certainly doesn't look like you have enough room for the RP-8000 on the left side. Besides, that Rhythmic sub will play everything under the crossover freq, rendering the bigger towers moot.


You may want to look into acoustic paneling - I would put up some absorption panels behind your towers - get some artwork applied to some material and in order to "hide" them.


While I am firmly in the camp of using speakers from the same make and line for surround channels (ie: RP-400M) if you have the budget for them. The RP-140SA speakers are Atmos up-firing speakers, and make for poor surrounds. I suggest the small bookshelf mentioned earlier.
 
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#14 ·
I checked around and came across a couple of potential options that I am planning to consider for my upgrade.

1. XTZ cinema series - M8 towers and M8 center
2. PSA - MTM-210T and MTM-210C

Again, I wouldn't be able to audition either of these brands, but I believe the internet reviews are great for both options.

As far as the pricing is concerned, both options are priced around the same in my place - US $5200. This roughly translates to a pricing premium of $2000 in case of PSA (compared to US prices at https://www.powersoundaudio.com/products/tower-systems?variant=6802836164) and $500 for XTZ (compared to EU prices at https://www.xtzsound.eu/product/cinema-series).

I am not sure if PSA is worth the relatively higher premium - especially considering the fact that XTZ seems to be priced a bit more reasonably out here when compared to its EU prices.
 
#15 ·
At that price point, you may wish to look at Klipsch THX Ultra2 speakers.
They MAY be more available (at least through dealers) to you.

https://www.klipsch.ca/thx-ultra2
 
#16 ·
Thank you for the suggestion sigpig. If Klipsch Ultra 2 speakers would manage to meet or beat the performance offered by XTZ cinema series and PSA 210 series, things might work a lot cheaper for me. I should be able to buy Klipsch Ultra2 LCR for about $2700 during my next trip to Europe as they aren’t too heavy to carry them back to India.

But I am still not sure if they can match the performance of bigger tower speakers. Please share your thoughts.
 
#17 ·
Safest bet IMO would be the PSA, though I have not heard the XTZ speakers myself.

And in your moderately sized room, with a solid subwoofer in play, there's no need to get the 210T for your front L/R, I would simply go with the M110 bookshelves + 210C. Heck, you'd probably be fine with 3 x M110.
 
#27 ·
I wouldn’t base the decision on your local cost compared to how much they cost in the US. If you are getting the PSA for the same or lower cost local to you, they are a better, more capable speaker. They should cost more than the Klipsch. Their low price in the states is only because they are internet direct and have *very* little markup compared to Klipsch.

I would just base your decision on which is the better speaker for your application. The PSA is the better speaker. That it is cheaper is just icing on the cake.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#29 ·
OK, I have decided to keep this as a 2 step process

Step 1: Rythmik FV15HP subwoofer - for going dual

Step 2: If I am not satisfied with the second subwoofer addition, I am going to add:
PSA MTM-210t Towers - to replace boston a360 towers
PSA MTM-210c Center - to replace klipsch rp250c center
I might also end up replacing my side surrounds with PSA MT-110SR speakers.

Thank you all!
 
#30 ·
I have a quick question about the second subwoofer placement. The only place I can keep the second sub is inside the rack (circled in red in the picture attached) and I don't have the flexibility to keep it elsewhere in the room. Please let me know if there could be a potential problem with this placement. I don't want to introduce more problems if this placement is wrong.
 

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#32 ·
Adding a second sub there should be fine since those are front ported.

You might be best off doing 3 x MTM210 all in horizontal alignment underneath your screen, or 2 x M110 + 1 x MTM210 because a tower on the left would be partially blocked by the wall on one side and the cabinet on the other. I understand this is not as visually pleasing as two towers but acoustically it would work a lot better.
 
#31 ·
No personal experience but I've heard some favorable comments about the ELAC Degut 2.0 F6.2. I've also seen a lot of comments about having the same brand and model so the audio blend better at least from the front speakers and ideally all of the speakers.
 
#36 · (Edited)
I'd get a smaller cabinet or remove the two side "boxes" or side cabinets.....get towers and pull them in right next to the screen...plenty of distance from the wall that way. Then put the subs wherever they need to go to sound best. You can push one out all the way into the corner or whatever. I'd put the second one in the back of the room, opposite corner.

This way you get the towers you want, with more capability and more optimal placement. If your furniture is dictating what speakers you want to get, and creating sonic compromises, its ok to change furniture.

Placing the subs close together on the front stage will result in no improvement in the frequency response of the single sub. This negates most of the benefit of dual subs.
 
#37 ·
Being a living room, I don't have the privilege to alter any of the existing furniture or modify the rack :crying:

Regarding the sub placement, I simply don't have a provision to place it anywhere else in the room as I cannot run cables outside of the rack.

If placing the dual subs on the front stage as indicated in the picture isn't going to help me, I should just forget adding the second subwoofer. Since the subwoofer costs $2000+ and returning it isn't an option, it would be helpful if there is a sure shot way of understanding its benefits before I place the order.
 
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