LCR Speaker Selection With Limitations

[konajoe]

Hi Folks!

I'm still working on speaker selections for a 5.1 system in the house we are building. I have lots of limitations that I have to work around for the LCR speakers. Here they are:

1. The LCR speakers will have to be located in a large home entertainment/bookshelf cabinet. I've already bought into the idea of considering only sealed or front port designs.

2. Dialogue clarity is a premium.

3. The room is 27 x 16, with 13' ceilings. We will be sitting about 10 to 14' from the speakers.

4. This is a new consideration for me. The floors are wood, and there will be minimal sound absorbing features in the room. I'm really worried about the speakers being too bright in that room.

5. Budget is $1000 to $1500 for 3 speakers.

6. Store demos would seem meaningless since the rooms would be so different.

I'm currently considering KEF Q100 and Q300, and NHT speakers (don't know which ones) based on earlier forum recommendations.

Any more ideas, especially in consideration of the anticipated brightness of the room? Thanks.

 

[zieglj01]

MB Quart Alexxa 1B - with the current pricing - by 2 pair and use 1 (ea) as a center,
worth it to have a spare speaker
AS-B1PB (Pair)*| MB Quart

With NHT, the Classic Two - however, if willing to pay the regular price
Classic Two (Black) | Bookshelf Speakers | Premium Audio Equipment

Philharmonic Audio - the Philharmonitors - see if you can get a deal for 3 each
Monitors~Philharmonic Audio

 

[psbfan9]

Konajoe, how large is this entertainment/bookshelf? Will the speakers be going in a small cubby type hole or a larger space? Have you considered a good quality sound bar or on wall speakers like Audio Wisdom or some of Martin Logan's speakers?
If this entertainment/bookshelf is large enough (pics. or a link?) you could mount the speakers onto the shelf unit. Or, if it's not too large you could mount above, below, or to the sides of the unit.
I'm not sure how much the Wisdom Audio speakers are but the ML's would fit your budget.

High performance in-wall and on-wall architectural products and subwoofers with Audyssey Room Correction - Wisdom Audio

MartinLogan - Motion SLM - Left/Center/Right Speaker-Audio Advisor

Review ML slm;

MartinLogan Motion SLM-XL Floorstanding Speaker

 

[konajoe]

Thanks for the suggestions. Here's a typical home entertainment center: Sterling Vista Wall System - Entertainment Centers at Hayneedle

My wife is a pretty solid 'no' on the wall hanging speakers, and I agree. As a result of the big fireplace and home entertainment center in that room, she won't have much room to hang her paintings.

My wife is being reasonable on this stuff, I think. So, for example, we'll be getting a cabinet that will allow room for a center speaker. We may end up getting stands for the l and r if we absolutely have to. But I told her that I'm going to do my best to find speakers that would work well when placed in those side cabinets.

I read a review of the MB Quarts which referred to them as being near field speakers?

The risk of boomy base in those cubicles is easy for me to understand. It makes sense to stay away from rear or up or down firing ports. But is there a general characteristic of speakers that would send up a red flag when it comes to the possibility of getting a harsh or 'over bright' sound in that highly reflective room?

 

[zieglj01]

I read a review of the MB Quarts which referred to them as being near field speakers?

No - they were designed and engineered to be like most other bookshelf speakers.

To be set up in a room, for both music and home theater listening.

 

[konajoe]

http://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Speakers/MB-Quart/Alexxa-AS-B1/speakers/28/286262.htm

 

[ImcLoud]

No brainer on this one, ascend sierra 1's, in no way a "bright" speaker, awesome sound, grab a Q-P kit for them and call it a day, they sound awesome tucked away in a cabinet, and will fill your room with sound... You can get bstocks for a good price rite now, in natural finish for around $1000 shipped...


Sierra-1 Bamboo Loudspeaker
Ascend Direct: Missing Product Attributes
Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!!

 

[zieglj01]

http://www.audioasylum.com/reviews/Speakers/MB-Quart/Alexxa-AS-B1/speakers/28/286262.htm

They can also be used nearfield - however, they were not designed just for nearfield use

A lot of speakers can work both ways

 

[konajoe]

No brainer on this one, ascend sierra 1's, in no way a "bright" speaker, awesome sound, grab a Q-P kit for them and call it a day, they sound awesome tucked away in a cabinet, and will fill your room with sound...

Great. Just when I had ruled out rear ported speakers for those bookshelves with 5 closed sides. Why would these speakers be any different? Was I wrong to rule out rear, top, and down ported speakers?

 

[its phillip]

I think the q-p kit he is referring to would be some sort of port plug kit so the speakers would be sealed.

 

[JohnnieB]

No brainer on this one, ascend sierra 1's, in no way a "bright" speaker, awesome sound, grab a Q-P kit for them and call it a day, they sound awesome tucked away in a cabinet, and will fill your room with sound... You can get bstocks for a good price rite now, in natural finish for around $1000 shipped...


Sierra-1 Bamboo Loudspeaker
Ascend Direct: Missing Product Attributes
Announcement: A Sierra-1 add-on enhancement!!

+1 on the Ascends

 

[konajoe]

OK. I've been doing alot of reading about limitations of placing speakers in cabinets. I found this interesting old thread on another forum: In-cabinet speaker list - Page 2 - AVS Forum

Especially interesting to me was post #59. It suggests that Audessey can correct for many of the issues that would be caused by placing a speaker in a home entertainment center. What do y'all think?

 

[zieglj01]

OK. I've been doing alot of reading about limitations of placing speakers in cabinets. I found this interesting old thread on another forum: In-cabinet speaker list - Page 2 - AVS Forum

Especially interesting to me was post #59. It suggests that Audessey can correct for many of the issues that would be caused by placing a speaker in a home entertainment center. What do y'all think?

While Audyssey tends to be a somewhat miracle worker for some people - I am suspect of that.

I do not see or put hope in audyssey as an engineer transformer.

A speaker in a cabinet can tend to bring a cavity/tunnel effect.

For me, if placing a rear ported speaker in a cabinet - I would want at least around 12 inches of rear space,
However, I would also prefer that the speaker come with rear port plugs, or a rear port adjuster tool/kit

It is all up to you - test some speakers if you wish - your choice and call