Help Me Hear Dialogue Again! Speakers for Apartment

[Sink]

I recently moved into a ~800 square feet apartment that has a 14 feet x 16.5 feet living room and am looking to upgrade my home theater.

I have an old pair of speakers, along with a Sony STR-DN1000. I'd like to replace the two speakers, in addition to adding a center speaker. I think we can count out surround speakers because I don't think the room is really made for them. As for a subwoofer, it might be a little too much bass in my house that has seven other apartments but if you think otherwise than I might reconsider.

I use my setup for movies, video games, and music - in that order of importance.

As for my budget, I don't think I'd like to spend more than $500 on a single speaker; however, I could be convinced otherwise if presented a solid case, especially since I use this setup every day.

One issue I currently have is trying to pick up dialogue. It's summer time in Philadelphia so I have my central air running; however, there's a large, loud vent in my living room. Also, my washer resides in the room as well. And let's not forget my dishwasher in the kitchen, which is connected to the living room. So as you could imagine, dialogue really gets drowned out when even one of these things is on.

Finally, I'm thinking of maybe replacing my receiver too. It neither has an aux input, nor Bluetooth, so I can't use my iPod or iPhone for music. I think I could live without this feature, though. But if my receiver could use an upgrade then I might be convinced to get a new one.

Thanks!

 

[TheWarrior]

You've probably never heard of this company, but these are possibly the best value I've ever heard:

Philharmonic Audio's Affordable Accuracy Monitor.

The bass from these monitors is incredible!

Seriously, keep your money! Set up an interest earning account and put the rest in there til you have detached living!

 

[agarwalro]

The Ascend Acoustics with NrT upgrade fit the budget, http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRM1/srm1.html

 

[afterlife2]

I second the Philharmonic Audio's Affordable Accuracy Monitor or if patient the new Andrew Jones speakers are coming: http://elac.us/speakers/

 

[Sink]

Thanks for the replies so far, fellas.

So you guys think I should go for bookshelf/monitor over a floorstanding pair, even without a sub? Also, do the speakers you recommended work in the center as well? I'm asking since it'd be on it's side so depending on how I lay it the tweeter will be on one side and the driver on the other. Or are you recommending not buying a center and just having a left and right?

And if you haven't noticed, I'm totally a speaker noob. So if I say something completely stupid please excuse me

 

[TheWarrior]

Thanks for the replies so far, fellas.

So you guys think I should go for bookshelf/monitor over a floorstanding pair, even without a sub? Also, do the speakers you recommended work in the center as well? I'm asking since it'd be on it's side so depending on how I lay it the tweeter will be on one side and the driver on the other. Or are you recommending not buying a center and just having a left and right?

And if you haven't noticed, I'm totally a speaker noob. So if I say something completely stupid please excuse me

Yes! I urge you to buy those AA Monitors because they will show you what a well designed crossover does to a speaker. And this will shape your taste going forward, and hopefully, keep you from dropping big bucks on inferior design when you are ready to upgrade!

The bass out of those monitors will rival most budget tower options...

 

[herbu]

Also, do the speakers you recommended work in the center as well?

Without a Center speaker, your AVR will split the Center signal between the Left/Right speakers. If your L/R are balanced, the split signal will sound like it's coming from the Center, thus a "phantom" Center. I can tell you from experience that a phantom Center w/ two good L/Rs sounds better than a cheaper real Center.

The Philharmonic Audio speakers suggested above are good speakers. For a small apartment, I would start w/ the AA Monitors and forget a Center and Sub for now. As your space and budget grow, you can expand. And even with a top-shelf system, the AA Monitors will make great surrounds, so you haven't lost any $.

 

[Sink]

Sorry for the lack of response on my part - life has been a little crazy recently.

I appreciate the responses and feedback but I kind of want a center speaker. And I just threw out those numbers for my budget without anything backing them up. I use my entertainment system everyday and money isn't too much of an issue; however, don't take that as I'm willing to drop 5k on a single speaker. I'm just looking to buy the first few pieces for this apartment and when I buy a place in the next couple years, add some more pieces.

If after reading that you guys still think I should go with the aforementioned speakers, that's fine, but I picked up a sharp entertainment center the other week and it has an opening that's just pleading for a center speaker

Thanks again!

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
One issue I currently have is trying to pick up dialogue. It's summer time in Philadelphia so I have my central air running; however, there's a large, loud vent in my living room. Also, my washer resides in the room as well. And let's not forget my dishwasher in the kitchen, which is connected to the living room. So as you could imagine, dialogue really gets drowned out when even one of these things is on....

Thanks!

How is the dialogue when there is absolutely no competition for it?

Does it help when you do have some competition to turn up the volume?

 

[Sink]

How is the dialogue when there is absolutely no competition for it?

Does it help when you do have some competition to turn up the volume?

When there is complete quiet, the dialogue is okay but not great. The speakers I currently have are like 20 years old, no lie.

When there is some other noise besides the TV it definitely helps turning up the volume but I'll still either end up turning off other things or turning on closed captioning.

 

[herbu]

OK, Sink. Budget is flexible. If I knew then what I know now, this is what I would do in your shoes...

Go to Dennis Murphy's website, http://philharmonicaudio.com/
Look at his speakers and pick out the ones in your pricepoint, ($195/pr, $1450/pr, $2200/pr, $3500/pr).
Send Dennis an email, explain your situation and indicate the pair of his speakers that are in your budget, and ask his suggestion for a matching Center.

He will open a conversation with you. You can trust his advice... and you can Love his speakers.