15 x 17 ft theater room andMartin logan slm speakers on the wall. I yearn for some mids.

I'm looking to upgrade while being thrifty. I want to pick up some towers that need to be mounted with their backs against the wall and they would have 2-4 ft on the sides with roughly 9-10ft of space between them. I will do probably 90% movies and gaming with these speakers and 10% music.
I have the following speaker options available to me...
Paradigm studio 60 v3 500$
Kef model 2-2 700$
Polk lsi15, pair of lsi9 and lsic for 1000$
Thoughts on which of these speakers would sound best given my proposed setup?

With 90% HT usage, the Polk LSi series would be a poor choice even though $1K for 5 of them is a tremendous deal --- they are demanding to drive (an external amp is almost required unless you always listen at moderate volumes) and have a "warm" presentation better suited for music not movies.

The KEF and Paradigm options you listed are better but not great values at all for those prices...you can actually do better buying brand new speakers in the same ballpark.

It appears that you want to spend no more than $1K? No worries, even with that budget it's not hard to get a noticeable improvement (richer, fuller-bodied mids) over any ultra-slim on-wall speakers like those MLs. It's a question of simple PHYSICS, not price...THIN speakers produce THIN sound, no matter the price-tag.

Limiting yourself to front-ported speakers only will drastically reduce your range of choices, since the vast majority of normal-sized speakers are rear-ported. And it's not even necessary...since your system features two capable SVS subs, all you need to do is run your speakers on "small" with an 80Hz or higher crossover and you can put them as close up to a wall as you need without issue. In addition, you can also stuff the rear ports to further eliminate any boundary interference if a higher crossover point isn't enough.

For 90% HT, here are some options:

• JBL Studio 580, $300 ea. with free return shipping (jbl.com) - my rec if you're ok with their looks
• JBL Stage A180, $200 ea. with free return shipping (jbl.com)
• JBL Stage A170, $180 ea. with free return shipping (jbl.com)

Emotiva speakers are also worth looking at if trying to maximize value and their musical performance is superb:

Loudspeakers

Shop Emotiva speakers | engineered in the USA for audiophile sound and home theater impact. High-performance, honest pricing, built for real systems.

emotiva.com

• example: T0+ towers with C2+ center would total just $700; T1+ towers with that center = $850

If they absolutely must be front ported, the 4 x Sony Core towers ($230 ea. on Amazon or Best Buy) would fit your budget...well reviewed here:

Sony SS-CS3 Floorstanding Speaker Reviewed - HomeTheaterReview

The low price of Sony's new SS-CS3 tower speakers is sure to turn some heads; and, as Brent Butterworth discovers, so will their performance.

hometheaterreview.com

 

Zero Dawn? Excellent choice! You've got the frame for a great HT here, nice. Zorba offers excellent advice, can I offer some? For the love of God, man! Look at some basic acoustic treatments! You could probably through a few hundred bucks at the basics and experience SIGNIFICANT sound improvement.

 

Had not considered wall Acoustics but will research them.

Zorba, thank you for taking the time to write such a well spoken post. For more detail I will be amplifying the speakers but have not selected one yet. One of my svs subs had a failed amp on it I'm powering that with an audiosource amp 300. Might repurpose that for the fronts and order a new sledge amp for it.

My budget is a grand. Even if I drive the polka you don't think they are suited for ht and gaming? I will research the speakers listed, ultimately would like to setup a 7.2.4 in the room but currently am running 7.2.

 

My budget is a grand. Even if I drive the polka you don't think they are suited for ht and gaming?

The Polks wouldn't be terrible, but they would not be optimal for HT and gaming, where a speaker that has more dynamics/energy can make the onscreen content come alive and be much more exciting, compared to a "warm" speaker that tends to have more rolled-off highs and more bass presence than bass punch/speed.

(I'm assuming these are the first generation LSi speakers not the second generation LSi-M which have a good deal more energy/dynamics and are a bit easier to drive.)

 

Paradigm - especially if you can find a CC-690 for sale.

 

Ended up going to check out the paradigm, guy was including a monster power source, rotel 1055 and cc 470 v3 along with monster speaker wire and terminals for 600$. Couldn't pass it up, need a receiver with preouts next and a new center channel wall mount...

 

Ended up going to check out the paradigm, guy was including a monster power source, rotel 1055 and cc 470 v3 along with monster speaker wire and terminals for 600$. Couldn't pass it up, need a receiver with preouts next and a new center channel wall mount...

Hard to pass up, indeed!

How do you like the CC470? I'd try to raise the screen so that you can elevate the center as much as possible.

I'm sure those Studio 60 must be a big improvement for 2 channel music listening.

 

I would also cross this collection of LSi's off your list. I've had the Polk LSi25's, 15's, 9's, 7's and the matching center. The 15's are the weakest model IMO. The bass response was very boomy in my room. If crossed over at 60hz or higher they "might" be ok. I fact, even Polk recommends replacing the 8" woofer with an upgraded model. The 25's, 9's and 7's are the real stars and wonderful for music but I'd rather have the RTi series for movies. Accuracy for music, impact for movies. And $1000 for those 5 isn't really a good deal at all. I bought the same 5 piece set 4 years ago (along with an enormous amount of other stuff - help me...please!) for $550 and sold them recently for $625. The 25's have a true powered subwoofer with an adjustable crossover. The LSi9's are incredible. They hit the nail on the spot with those. I should have just kept them. But the LSi15's? I'd keep looking.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I couldn't find anyone raving about the lsi15 for home theater. Interesting to hear your feedback on the lsi9s, might keep my eye out for a pair.

 

Unfortunately I cant mount the screen any higher because I don't want to block the vent above. But I'm going to mount a shelf for the speaker and angle the front to point higher. The speakers sounds much fuller already. The center channel is kind of a monster, super heavy and actually puts out some bass. I can tell the speakers need the rotel hooked up to really get the wow out of them.

I have a local option to grab a denon x3600h receiver near by that has the preouts for the rotel and 11 channels which I want to setup in the room. While it only supports 4k/60hz my benq x3000i projector can't support 4k/120 and upgrading that is off the table for several years. I'll chime back in after getting some real power to the speakers.

Next piece I'm targeting are some mirage omdr for surround sound, might be able to get a set in great shape for 250.

 

Unfortunately I cant mount the screen any higher because I don't want to block the vent above. But I'm going to mount a shelf for the speaker and angle the front to point higher. The speakers sounds much fuller already. The center channel is kind of a monster, super heavy and actually puts out some bass. I can tell the speakers need the rotel hooked up to really get the wow out of them.

I have a local option to grab a denon x3600h receiver near by that has the preouts for the rotel and 11 channels which I want to setup in the room. While it only supports 4k/60hz my benq x3000i projector can't support 4k/120 and upgrading that is off the table for several years. I'll chime back in after getting some real power to the speakers.

Next piece I'm targeting are some mirage omdr for surround sound, might be able to get a set in great shape for 250.

Yeah, I overlooked the vent. Some people don't even use a center speaker and seem to like it.

 

Very nice purchase! On an aside, even though your kids are older and you're not as worried about speaker tip-over, these outriggers would add extra stability. I use something similar on my tall and narrow Energy towers. I live in earthquake country, and I'm not worried at all about them tipping over. They're super stable.

Dayton Audio OS-2M Outrigger Speaker Spike Set 14" Wide with Black Steel Base 2 Pcs

Dayton Audio OS-2M Outrigger Speaker Spike Set 14" Wide with Black Steel Base 2 PcsGive your speaker projects a professional look and more stable base with Dayton Audio's OS-2M outrigger set. By creating a wider base, the OS-2M outriggers can improve the stability of tall, narrow, and top-heavy...

www.parts-express.com

 

Just posting a long term update thst my paradigms sound phenomenal for gaming and home theatre. Comically I ended up picking up the set of polk lsi15 and lsi9 and lsic for my downstairs. The sound is night and day lacking with the polk versus paradigm, the center had way to much bass, swapped that out. Have been looking for another comparable paradigm set for downstairs.