Help picking a home theatre system

M

Maxaxe

Audiophyte
I am confused on which system to get for my new home theatre. Room Dimensions :24ft x 18ft x 11ft
My budget is around $10000.
After a little research online I came up with the following options: -
Option 1: B&W CM10 mains, CM5 rear surround, CMC2 centre, ASW12CM Subwoofer

Option 2:Martin Logan Motion 60XT mains, Motion 35XT surround,Motion 50XT centre,Dynamo 1000W subwoofer

And also the RBH Sound Signature SX Reference Series.

Thanks for your suggestions!
 
TheWarrior

TheWarrior

Audioholic Ninja
Um, if you've got $10k burning a hole in your pocket, the internet is the last place you should be asking for subjective opinions.

Do yourself a favor and seek out as many dealers as you can, preferably ones that will allow you to hear speakers in YOUR space, and then decide!

That said, my only advice would be to purchase subwoofers from ID companies like SVS, HSU, Rythmik. The performance will be identical, if not superior, and will save you a good bit over B&M options. For a $10k set up, you better have atleast two subwoofers, lest you be dissatisfied with uneven bass distribution in a large room!
 
H

herbu

Audioholic Samurai
$10k is a really tough budget in my opinion. It is enough to get outstanding some things, but not all things. So you have to think about your use, and choose which things(s) get the "outstanding" treatment.

If your primary concern is TV/Movies, especially action stuff, I would put 2 subs at the top... probably ~$4k for the pair.

If your primary concern is music, I would put the 2 Front Left/Right speakers at the top... again probably ~$4k for the pair.

That is likely the most differentiating decision you'll have to make. (Keep in mind, either focus can perform adequately for the other use, but can be awesome for its intended purpose.)

Regardless of your above decision, I'd go 5.1 if music is primary, 5.2 if TV is primary. Probably ~$1k for AVR, ~1k for amp, ~$200 for BDP, the rest for speakers. For music you can give less consideration for the Center speaker than the Left/Right. For TV/Movies, you need a great Center, (as somewhere around 75% of all sound will come from the Center). For music, the sub(s) won't be as important IF you get great L/R speakers... at least big honkin, chest thumping, window rattling, chair shaking Low Frequency Effects won't be as important in your sub(s).

Whatever you do, $10k can put together a great system!!!
 
agarwalro

agarwalro

Audioholic Ninja
I'd suggest not buying into Ultra HD and Atmos/ DTS:X just yet. The price points are high, the media is sparse, the argument not convincing.

A 5.2 or 7.2 speaker set would be the best investment. In a couple of years, a good Ultra HD display.
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
If this is for a dedicated home theater room, those speaker choices are not very good. If this is something that needs to blend in the living room, I can see why you ended up with them. Still not my first choice for such a system though. The subwoofers for those systems are particularly poor values compared to what you can get elsewhere. At $10k, I would be looking at Funk Audio for something that needs to look good in a living room.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
A bit under 5k cuft - you don't need to go crazy with subs - pair of these would do amazingly:
https://reaction-audio.myshopify.com/collections/subwoofers/products/echo-15?variant=1107662665
Speakers - I think you'd be hard pressed to find better speakers than these:
http://philharmonicaudio.com/slims.html or these:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/SRT/srt.html
both offer home trial and Ascends has already matching center http://www.ascendacoustics.com/pages/products/speakers/horizon/horizon.html

For Dennis's speakers, a matching center would a custom order from Jim Salk's company (afaik). They work very closely.
 
H

herbu

Audioholic Samurai
Speakers - I think you'd be hard pressed to find better speakers than these:
http://philharmonicaudio.com/slims.html
Agree, BUT w/ a $10k budget I would step up from the Phil Slims to his Phil3s. As subjective as opinions are about speakers, I don't think I've ever seen someone who thinks there is a better sounding speaker for the price, ($3500/pr).

Their bass is good enough to preclude the necessity of a sub for music. These speakers could remain your L/Rs for the life of your system, remaining through many thousands of $ upgrades in other areas.
 
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