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20 Posts
Hi all,
I am setting up my HT system in a small room and I live in an apartment building.
Since I also listen to a lot of music (probably 50% of the time), I prefer to start "small" with a high quality 3.0 system and then upgrade later, rather than spending the same amount towards buying a cheapish 5.1 or 7.1 HTIB.
Specifics:
The room is almost rectangular, L 5.5 x W 3.3 x H 2.4 m (approx. L 18 x W 11 x H 8 feet).
Windows and door along the narrow walls, heavy curtains. Flat ceiling. Hard wood floor.
Video source: ceiling-mounted projector, the screen is about 2.3 m (90") diagonal 16:9 and on the wide wall (throw distance 3m, seating distance about 2.8 - 3m).
Audio source: Denon AVR-2312ci (7.2 with about 105W-135W per channel)
Speakers: After a LOT of listening around, I am set on getting Totem Dreamcatcher fronts and centers. In about the same price range I listened to Kef R100, Monitor Audio RX1 Silver, B&W 685 and Paradigm Mini-Monitor v6, I liked the Totems better than any of them.
Questions:
1. without wanting to shake the walls, will I still severely miss the lack of a subwoofer?
2. where do I go from here, maybe in a bigger room in the future?
Should I rather go for a "small" 5.1 with another pair of Dreamcatchers and a decent subwoofer (maybe SVS SB12-NSD?),
or rather a "bigger" 5.0 with a pair of Totem Arros or even Sttafs in the front and assigning my dreamcatchers to do surround duty?
It would actually not make a huge difference in price.
Essentially, what do I do if I realize that I am missing some "oomph"? My fear is that going the 5.1 dreamcatcher + subwoofer route would result in a system that is too small to handle a larger room in the future, but that augmenting the system with Arros or Sttafs still leave me lacking in the bass department for HT. And while I was assured that my 8 ohm receiver can easily drive a bunch of 4 ohm dreamcatchers, would I be pushing my luck if I add 4 ohm Arros?
I would appreciate any insights and gut feelings from the community, thanks!
PS: One more thing - where I am located audio components easily retail for 150-200% of the MSRP, so budget is definitely a big issue :-(
I am setting up my HT system in a small room and I live in an apartment building.
Since I also listen to a lot of music (probably 50% of the time), I prefer to start "small" with a high quality 3.0 system and then upgrade later, rather than spending the same amount towards buying a cheapish 5.1 or 7.1 HTIB.
Specifics:
The room is almost rectangular, L 5.5 x W 3.3 x H 2.4 m (approx. L 18 x W 11 x H 8 feet).
Windows and door along the narrow walls, heavy curtains. Flat ceiling. Hard wood floor.
Video source: ceiling-mounted projector, the screen is about 2.3 m (90") diagonal 16:9 and on the wide wall (throw distance 3m, seating distance about 2.8 - 3m).
Audio source: Denon AVR-2312ci (7.2 with about 105W-135W per channel)
Speakers: After a LOT of listening around, I am set on getting Totem Dreamcatcher fronts and centers. In about the same price range I listened to Kef R100, Monitor Audio RX1 Silver, B&W 685 and Paradigm Mini-Monitor v6, I liked the Totems better than any of them.
Questions:
1. without wanting to shake the walls, will I still severely miss the lack of a subwoofer?
2. where do I go from here, maybe in a bigger room in the future?
Should I rather go for a "small" 5.1 with another pair of Dreamcatchers and a decent subwoofer (maybe SVS SB12-NSD?),
or rather a "bigger" 5.0 with a pair of Totem Arros or even Sttafs in the front and assigning my dreamcatchers to do surround duty?
It would actually not make a huge difference in price.
Essentially, what do I do if I realize that I am missing some "oomph"? My fear is that going the 5.1 dreamcatcher + subwoofer route would result in a system that is too small to handle a larger room in the future, but that augmenting the system with Arros or Sttafs still leave me lacking in the bass department for HT. And while I was assured that my 8 ohm receiver can easily drive a bunch of 4 ohm dreamcatchers, would I be pushing my luck if I add 4 ohm Arros?
I would appreciate any insights and gut feelings from the community, thanks!
PS: One more thing - where I am located audio components easily retail for 150-200% of the MSRP, so budget is definitely a big issue :-(
