7 speaker set up for new home theater build

[hendo24]

Hi all! I am in the process of building a new home theater from scratch and am looking for the main 7 speakers for the system. I put forth the question of subs in that forum

My room is rather large 564 sq ft and 5346 cu ft (22x27x9). Two level seating with a bar at the very back of the room

I've come up with the following systems. It will be probably 90% movies/video games/TV in this room, so while I'd want something that sounds good with music, it wouldn't be the driving factor

1. Paradigm Studio 60, CC-690 center, Surround 3, Atoms (for rear surround) - 4700

2. Kef R500, R600c, Q800ds, Q300 - 4650

*question for each of the above, will the cheaper surrounds match well with the more expensive center and towers in the same brand?

3. Salk SongTower, SongCenter, SongSurround x4 - 4650

*I have seen good reviews for these speakers with music. Any opinions for home theater?

4. Monitor Audio Silver 10, Silver Center, Silver Fx, Silver 1 - 4500 (or 4000 with Silver 8)

5. MartinLogan Motion 40, 50XT, Fx, Motion 4 - 4200

6. Focal Chorus 836V, CC800V, SR800V, 806V - 4120

7. Kef Q900, Q600c, Q800ds, Q300 - 4100

8. Paradigm Monitor 11, CC-690, Surround 3, Atom - 3900

*Upgraded the center to the larger, upscale Studio version. Not sure if this is needed or will play well with the lower market Monitors?


I know...lots of choices and I'm sure you guys can suggest more. I have limited ability to listen to all of these, but I have heard the Paradigm Monitor 9's and thought they were decent. Also heard the new Paradigm 75F which I thought performed well. But I have heard the Studio's are a lot of people's preference compared to the newer Prestige

Also heard the MA Silver 8, next to the Monitor 9 and thought it was good too. A bigger speaker obvious and I felt it did indeed play bigger to some extent. Not sure how it'd match up to the Monitor 11s

Heard the ML Motion 40s and liked them, but the listening space wasn't ideal. I'm going to try to hear the Kef's later next week.


I'm by no means an audiophile and I struggle at times to hear all the minutia in music (granted, I listen to mostly mp3's ripped at 320). I definitely did not like the B&W's (CM8 I believe?) that I heard next to the Monitor 9 and MA Silver 8. I felt it was hard to listen to


Thanks for all your suggestions!!

 

[Swerd]

I think #3 Salk SongTowers is by far the best choice.

The distinction between speakers good for music or for movies is in my opinion overblown. Any speaker good for music will also be good for movies. Speakers good for movies, but not for music, are just not good speakers.

For what its worth, I've had SongTowers for more than 7 years and love them. More recently, I added the SongCenter. I strongly recommend them for you.

You can save quite a lot of money by substituting NHT SuperZero speakers for the much more expensive Salk SongSurrounds. The SongSurrounds are excellent small monitor style speakers, but for rear channel theater speakers you can get away with the less expensive NHTs. I use them for rear speakers in my 5 channel set up, and have been happy with them.

For what it's worth, your general speaker preferences may not be much different than mine. Years ago, I thought the Monitor Audios were not bad, and I didn't like any of the
B&W speakers I heard. In my opinion, the Salks are in a class above the others you mentioned.

Where are you located? If you are near Maryland, you are welcome to come hear mine.

 

[hendo24]

Swerd, Thanks for the info! I wish I was near you...I'm in Southwest Ohio. Couple of questions re: the SongTowers
1. I have a large room, are the towers and more specifically the center going to play big enough to for the back row?
2. Have you heard/can you recommend any of the upgrades? Specifically the RAAL or just the OW4?

 

[Swerd]

Swerd, Thanks for the info! I wish I was near you...I'm in Southwest Ohio. Couple of questions re: the SongTowers
1. I have a large room, are the towers and more specifically the center going to play big enough to for the back row?
2. Have you heard/can you recommend any of the upgrades? Specifically the RAAL or just the OW4?

My family room is 23'×17'×9', not quite as large as yours. It joins a kitchen, separated by a half-height wall, making the total room length 38' instead of 23'. I have SongTowers and a SongCenter (both with dome tweeters) in the front, and two NHT SuperZeros in rear.

What matters most is not the total size of the room, but how far away the seats are from the front three speakers. In my room its about 9-10 feet. I have no problem with lack of sound anywhere in that room, or in the adjoining kitchen. I've heard ST systems, owned by others who have larger rooms, home theaters in finished basements, and they have no problem filling the room with sound.

Those speakers are very conservatively rated at 88 dB sensitivity. Some other brands are notoriously less conservative about sensitivity ratings, so comparing those numbers can be difficult. I'm rather certain that Paradigm and B&W overestimate their sensitivity ratings compared to Salk.

SongTowers are easy for receivers to drive. Any AVR rated with about 80 or more watts per channel can drive them. At the same time, these speakers can easily handle much more powerful amps, such as 200 wpc. In your large room, a more powerful 2-channel amp added to an AVR will probably do well. Drive the SongTowers with the external amp, and use the AVR to drive all the rest.

Yes, I've heard SongTowers with both kinds of tweeters dome and ribbon. They're both excellent and I can't say which I prefer. Ribbon tweeters on the front 3 speakers will add significantly to the cost, so I imagine, for your intended movie use, you'll notice the difference less, go with the standard dome tweeters.

If you're in SW Ohio, there very well may be SongTower owners in your general area. Call or email Jim Salk. He keeps a list of owners who are happy to demo for people like you. If you contact Jim, ask him your same 2 questions. He will be happy to talk about your needs and concerns without trying to sell you more than you want or need.

 

[GIEGAR]

.
My room is rather large 564 sq ft and 5346 cu ft (22x27x9). Two level seating with a bar at the very back of the room

I've come up with the following systems. It will be probably 90% movies/video games/TV in this room, so while I'd want something that sounds good with music, it wouldn't be the driving factor

1. Paradigm Studio 60, CC-690 center, Surround 3, Atoms (for rear surround) - 4700

2. Kef R500, R600c, Q800ds, Q300 - 4650

*question for each of the above, will the cheaper surrounds match well with the more expensive center and towers in the same brand?

3. Salk SongTower, SongCenter, SongSurround x4 - 4650

*I have seen good reviews for these speakers with music. Any opinions for home theater?

4. Monitor Audio Silver 10, Silver Center, Silver Fx, Silver 1 - 4500 (or 4000 with Silver 8)

5. MartinLogan Motion 40, 50XT, Fx, Motion 4 - 4200

6. Focal Chorus 836V, CC800V, SR800V, 806V - 4120

7. Kef Q900, Q600c, Q800ds, Q300 - 4100

8. Paradigm Monitor 11, CC-690, Surround 3, Atom - 3900

*Upgraded the center to the larger, upscale Studio version. Not sure if this is needed or will play well with the lower market Monitors?
.
.
Thanks for all your suggestions!!

G'day Hendo. The systems you've shortlisted are all competent to very good "jack-of-all-trades" speaker systems that are well suited to the typical living room situation. To better meet your needs (largish dedicated HT, heavy movies/gaming priority) however, I reckon you need to look beyond the slender, moderately sensitive, quasi full range tower masquerading as a high performance HT speaker.

Within your $4K - $5K price range, I'd be looking at the offerings from outfits like Pi Speakers, Power Sound Audio, Reaction Audio and JTR Speakers. My pick for the front end would be 3 X JTR Noesis 228HT's (Usually $1300 each, currently on sale for $1040 each + shipping). For precision, clarity and dynamics at all volume levels, the JTR's will put "the usual suspects" in the shade. The combination of genuine high sensitivity (unnecessary LF extension is traded-off), high power handling/low distortion and controlled directivity (not spraying sound all over the side walls) are the keys that set JTR's apart.

A payoff with the JTR's is that you don't need über amps to drive them... at 98dB/2V/1m sensitivity, mid-tier AVR power is all that's required to drive them satisfactorily to VERY LOUD levels. (For sample, this refurbished Integra DTR-60.5 would do nicely.)

Suitable surrounds for the JTR's include JBL 8320's ($500/pair + shipping), or if budget permits, these JBL 8340A's ($1100/pair + shipping) or the Reaction Audio CX-8's ($550 each with mounting hardware) are good options.

If you'd like an audition, jump on the Official JTR Speaker thread over at AVS and ask around. Many JTR owners are only too happy to oblige with a listening session, and with any luck there's someone in your area.

Good luck!

(Recommendation incoming on your sub thread too.)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Nice promising room.

I would say just continue listening to different speakers and hopefully you will fall in love with one.

I didn't see you list Revel, PSB, GoldenEar, or Definitive Technology, so you may want to give them a listen as well.

 

[hendo24]

I'm going to try to audition the X1T (that's the only PSB the dealer has in my price range)

I was told/read that the Revel's sound a lot like B&W, which I wasn't a fan of. The dealer has some but I didn't have a chance to listen yet

I did listen to GoldenEAr and wasn't really that impressed. Which surprised me bc of the rave reviews I have read

I hear DT a long time ago (actually in one of best buy's magnolia rooms, so not the best set up) and I actually have a center channel of theirs (mythos 7). I should go audition some

Thanks for the recs! The earlier suggestion of JTR has me looking around for more HT type speakers...fortunately I have a few months before I need to start ordering!

 

[3db]

I'm going to try to audition the X1T (that's the only PSB the dealer has in my price range)

I was told/read that the Revel's sound a lot like B&W, which I wasn't a fan of. The dealer has some but I didn't have a chance to listen yet

I did listen to GoldenEAr and wasn't really that impressed. Which surprised me bc of the rave reviews I have read

I hear DT a long time ago (actually in one of best buy's magnolia rooms, so not the best set up) and I actually have a center channel of theirs (mythos 7). I should go audition some

Thanks for the recs! The earlier suggestion of JTR has me looking around for more HT type speakers...fortunately I have a few months before I need to start ordering!

The PSBs are equally good for music and HT. Check out my two systems based on PSB . I've had the T45s since 2005 and have not felt the need to upgrade..

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I'm going to try to audition the X1T (that's the only PSB the dealer has in my price range)

I was told/read that the Revel's sound a lot like B&W, which I wasn't a fan of. The dealer has some but I didn't have a chance to listen yet

I did listen to GoldenEAr and wasn't really that impressed. Which surprised me bc of the rave reviews I have read

I hear DT a long time ago (actually in one of best buy's magnolia rooms, so not the best set up) and I actually have a center channel of theirs (mythos 7). I should go audition some

Thanks for the recs! The earlier suggestion of JTR has me looking around for more HT type speakers...fortunately I have a few months before I need to start ordering!

As picky as you are, you better not buy anything unless you can listen first.

Some Internet companies (NHT, SVS, Aperion, etc.) also offer 30-day free returns.

I would not assume anything. You may love the Revel. Never know. Just keep an open mind. If there is a RBH dealer nearby, also check them out. Take your time. Then you can say that you've listened to practically all of them.

 

[3db]

Take your time. Then you can say that you've listened to practically all of them.

Solid advice.
+1 on that. Audition as many as possible with the same material you know the best and take detailed notes of each audition for later on review.