hi, new to the forum and looking for some general advice. I'm building up a home theater room mostly dedicated to movies but I love music too so it will get its fair share of that. i feel like i've been around the world and back trying to narrow down to what i think I want. Here's a little back ground:
Using a Yamaha RX-830 AVR
Budget is under $2000 for speakers (was hoping for under $1500 if I can find the right sale)
Need all new speakers
Area is in the basement ~13x20ft with 7.5 foot ceilings. However, it's an open basement design so the east wall opens up to the rest of the basement.
This is what I think i've narrowed down to. I'm leaning towards the Aperion because of the 60day trial/10yr warranty/free shipping both ways. and based on specs they seem like the might be a little better. Any thoughts or feedback would be awesome. I think one of the bigger differences is the Aperion's are 6ohm speakers so i'll get more bang for my buck on my Yamaha receiver. The center for Aperion is a Mid - tweeter/mid - Mid so i think it's capable of producing better, but i have no real idea. Only thing I know about the monitor speakers is what a local rep told me. They seem good for that price. I also looked at the ELAC speakers but I think over all the Aperion's might outperform them. Again I no real proof to back that up other than reading a crap ton of reviews.
Aperion Intimus 5C Towers - $798
Aperion Intimus 5C Center - $299
Aperion Intimus 6DT in wall for surrounds - $179
SVS SB1000 or PB1000 - $500
Total - $1776
60day return/free shipping both ways
10yr warranty
Or Monitor Bronze series has a sell on crutchfield right now.
Monitor Bronze 5 Towers - $629.98
Monitor Bronze Center - $229.99
Comparable in wall for surrounds - $179
SVS SB1000 or PB1000 - $500
Total - $1538.96
60day return
Intimus 5T are
a little forward sounding. I'm struggling to find measurements for the Monitor Audio Bronze package you're considering, but they might be worth an audition. Crutchfield has a pretty generous return policy in case they fail the audition.
Consider doing bookshelfs instead of floor standers. The only sonic advantages to tower speakers are extended bass response (which won't matter if you're running subs), and possibly the added sensitivity from having more drivers. With that in mind, within your budget, my choice would be the
Philharmonitors and
Phil MTM Center. You won't find any better price :: performance ratio within your budget unless you AIY or DIY.
If your $2000 budget includes subwoofer as well, then one of the
Hsu Research hybrid packages (the
Hybrid 15 5.1 package for $1969 shipped, or the
Hybrid 3 HP 5.1 package for $1783 shipped, for example) ought to be at the top of your list. Given the amount of space your subwoofer will need to pressurize, I think the Hybrid 15 package would probably be the better choice for your basement.
If you absolutely must have floorstanders for your mains, then the
XTZ 95 series would be worth considering for your front stage (currently on sale for 15% off!), then just some cheap Fluance bipoles for surrounds. But for that basement, I wouldn't go any lower than a
15-inch sub, which would unfortunately put you over budget.
If you're handy with clamps, glue, and veneer or paint, a DIY project or AIY kit would offer the best value for a floor stander. For AIY, the
Jeff Bagby Solstice MLTL would be a good choice for towers, and I'm sure we could find you a kit for a suitable center to complement them. Or there are several alternatives in stock on
DIY Sound Group.
The advantage of 3-way horizontal centers is that they can have better off-axis response than similar 2-ways. Besides the obvious off-axis benefit, this is helpful to on-axis listening in acoustically untreated rooms where first reflections can screw with what you hear. But W(MT)W / WMTMW config isn't the only way to address the horizontal lobing problems from which horizontal MTM centers often suffer. The Phil MTM Center I linked above, for example, has the mid drivers close together with the tweeter vertically offset a bit so that some of the characteristics of vertical speakers is mimicked. And of course, Dennis Murphy's exceptional crossover design plays a significant part as well.