[YooJoo3119]

I am trying to decide on speakers. So far, I have 2 rooms I am furnishing. I would say I like great sound, but not a complete audiophile.


First, is what is noted as the Family room in the picture. I have 14 foot ceilings and as you can see, it is open to the hall, breakfast area and kitchen. The red arrows represent where I have pre-wired the house at about 8-9 feet high. The red boxes are where I was thinking of placing my sub or subs. Here is what I was thinking so far. I would say I would be using about 50/50 or maybe up to 70/30 movies/music. as the TV will be in the nook, it does not appear that I have a good place for a tower, thus planning bookshelves. I would say my budget is 2-3000 though I can spend more, but of course the lower would be better.


Receiver: Yamaha Aventage RX-A1040
Front: EMP tek R5Bi
Rear EMP tek R5Bi vs R55Wi
Center: EMP tek R56Ci
Sub: SVS PB-2000


Questions:
1. I am pretty set on the receiver as I prefer reliability and Yamaha seems to have great reliability based on reviews.
2. Will the EMP tek's which have gotten great reviews fill the room, if not the area with sound?
3. For the rears, which speaker should I go with?
4. Of course, I will have to test out the best sub placement once I get it. Will one be enough or would I need 2?


Second, is the Dining Room which I am using as an office. I was going to place speakers in the green arrows. it will most likely be 10/90 movies/music as it will be hooked up to my computer. Budget here would be 1500-2000.
I was planning on the RX V677 for the office
as far as speakers, I was thinking the Pioneer Andrew Jones 5.1 box set with bookshelves and no tower.


Thank you in advance for any advice. I am still pretty much open to anything.

 

[RayGuy]

Order a pair of the Emp Teks and listen to them in each room. If you are happy with them, order the rest of the speakers and enjoy. If not, send back the pair and look at other options.

As to the Yamaha, the "A" series components are of good quality and should be more than adequate.

 

[dsrussell]

I agree with RayGuy. Order two of the R5Bi's, set them up on stands and test them out and use those 30 days to get a good idea of their performance. I have mine setup in a 3,400 cu. ft. area (part of which is a nook area). It has a 6-foot opening to the kitchen (right angle off the nook) and two, 4-foot openings (one to the living room, the other a hallway). But since you already have a subwoofer, it makes little difference to your speaker choices. It's the length from your listening position to the speakers that will have the most effect. I sit approximately 8-9 feet away.

Just a few notes concerning the EMP Teks. Many like an oversize center channel. I do not. The E56Ci is the mating center channel to the R55Ti towers. They have two larger drivers than the R5Bi's (and two identical drivers as the R5Bi's). The larger drivers concern me. The R5Ci's is usually the choice to be used with the R5Bi's (identical drivers to the R5Bi's). I ended up just choosing a third R5Bi and turned it on its side for my center channel. And yes, it has worked out great. Your choice, of course.

Rear channels carry much less audio information than the front stage, so I'm not a big believer in spending a lot of money there (but it is dependent upon your seating arrangements and what can and can not be covered). If you listen to a lot of 5.1 music concerts, then identical rear speakers to the fronts are a big plus, so go for two R5Bi's for your rear channels. The R55Wi is basically two R5Bi's set at an angle. If your use is mostly for movies and not many 5.1 music blu-rays/dvds, it's not as critical, and one can do with a cheaper alternative for the rears.

 

[YooJoo3119]

I will be sitting about 9 feet away as well. As far as matching the drivers, would the sound not match if I was to get a the large center speaker that does not match? I have not bought anything yet, but from the reviews, for the sub, it sounds like the SVS subs are the ones to get.


also, do Emp Teks sound like a good idea for this room? I'm still a noob at this.


How about the office area? As it is a smaller room, I think the pioneers would suffice. They are on sale on amazon, though they just went out of stock.


Thanks again for the responses.

 

[crazyrob425]

I like the idea of going with the EMPtek's get a pair and try them in both rooms. Your office I really doubt you will be using for surround sound so just a pair of speakers EMPteks with a subwoofer is all you really need. There is no real benefit to a 5.1 set-up when you are just using it for music.

I like the SVS subwoofer especially with their inhome trial period and that they pay shipping both ways if you don't like it and they long warranty. Given your 4100 cu.ft. family room that opens up to other rooms 2 SVS PB-2000's would be ideal but you can always start with one and upgrade later down the line if you feel you need to.

Now onto the major problem before you purchase a full surround sound set-up you need to figure out your seating area and TV positioning. As it in that little nook I am assuming right next to your fire place, that does not really lend it self to being a great position for the TV or seating. Best place with your pre-wired speakers and such would be in front of your windows which would not be a position I bet you but mainly your partner would OK.
(If just seems to me that surround sound and TV location is an after thought in 90% of homes these days. They rarely even stage homes with TV's even though 90% of the population uses TVs quite frequently.)

 

[dsrussell]

I will be sitting about 9 feet away as well. As far as matching the drivers, would the sound not match if I was to get a the large center speaker that does not match? I have not bought anything yet, but from the reviews, for the sub, it sounds like the SVS subs are the ones to get.


also, do Emp Teks sound like a good idea for this room? I'm still a noob at this.


How about the office area? As it is a smaller room, I think the pioneers would suffice. They are on sale on amazon, though they just went out of stock.


Thanks again for the responses.

Using identical speakers is a personal choice. I simply prefer identical speakers across the entire front stage. I feel anything else is a compromise. But that is just me. Others will prefer dedicated center channels, and the bigger the better (but from the same company so they will be reasonably timbre matched). It is up to you to determine your own preference. Obviously, it is much less money to add a third R5Bi. If you don't feel that is enough, then ship it back and get a dedicated center channel.

I suspect you have read the following review on the R5Bi's: Andrew Robinson review: http://hometheaterreview.com/emp-tek-e5bi-bookshelf-speaker-reviewed/ If not, that review may answer some of your questions. You can also find my review here: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/dbtreview.php?do=view_review&id=4850&ri=review

The SVS PB-2000 is a fine choice, but usually for rooms that are a bit smaller than yours. As crazyrob indicated, a second PB-2000 may be required to fill your volume adequately. You will know once you integrate the sub. But once you reach the $800 arena, your subwoofer options expand quite a bit. You might also look at the following:

VTF-3 Mk5 HP (15-inch ported design) @ $799 ($89 shipping): http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-3mk5HP.html Yes, a little over the $800 range, but it is a great sub for the price and difficult to beat its performance.

S-15 (15-inch sealed design) @ $650 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/s-15-500w-sealed-subwoofer
V-15 (15-inch ported design) @ $750 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/v-15
PS-15x (15-inch sealed design) @ $800 (includes shipping): http://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/ps-15x-1000w-sealed-subwoofer

XS15se (15-inch sealed design) @ $799 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/xs15se
XV15se (15-inch ported down-firing design) @ $899 (includes shipping both ways): http://www.powersoundaudio.com/collections/subwoofers/products/xv15se Again, over your $800 budget, but it will have a lot of output.

Note that PSA has the same 5-year transferrable warranty and free shipping both ways as SVS.

===

As far as your office area, I would suggest not going with EMP Tek (since you plan on getting them for the larger room). Why? Again, it's a personal issue. I prefer to audition a different speaker just to test which I like the best. You've got 30 days to find this out, and the Pioneers (even the Affordable Accuracy mod … please check the return policy) is cheaper than the EMP Teks. It could be that after listening to both speakers for a few weeks, you might prefer the Pioneers over the EMP Teks (or vice-versa) and then can make a decision to use the best sounding speaker for both rooms (sending the other back).

 

[YooJoo3119]

Nice review dsrussell, it was very helpful.


Thanks everyone, looks like more research for me.