Looking to upgrade my setup

[ajl7519]

Looking to upgrade my existing setup. I live in a condo, so I have to be careful with the volumes levels, so I'm looking for a setup that would provide clarity without blowing the roof off my neighbors. I primarily watch movies and play games sometimes. I don't listen to music too often.

My living room is 20x15, but it's an odd setup, so my TV is not directly in the center of the room. I have hardwood floors with not too much on the walls.

Here is my current setup.

AVR: ONKYO HT-RC370
Fronts: Polk Audio Monitor 65T
Center: Polk Audio CS2 Series II
L/R Surrounds: Polk Monitor 40
Rear Surrounds: Polk Monitor 30
Sub: Premiere Acoustic PA-120

I would rather pay more for something that I would not need to upgrade later down the line. I would say my budget overall would be around $2000-2500.

Thanks in advance,

A

 

[jcparks]

do you need speakers sub and an AVR??
I gotta plug my EMP's as I am blown away by them and the price is awesome so..
Fronts/surrounds: EMP tek E5bi x4 $450
EMP Tek E5Bi Bookshelf Speaker
center: EMP tek E5ci $195
EMP Tek E5Ci Center Channel Speaker
Sub: SVS SB 1000 $500
SVS SB-1000 - 300 Watt DSP Controlled, 12" Ultra Compact Sealed Subwoofer
AVR: Marantz NR1605 $700
Amazon.com: Marantz NR1605 7.1 Slim Line 4K Ultra HD A/V Receiver with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: Electronics
Grand total.. $1845
The sub may be a bit much if you need neighbor friendly, but IMO everything else will serve you good including the Low profile receiver which will be easier to work with in a small space.
Good luck man
-Chris

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I recommend this: Keep the AVR, Sub and Rear surrounds, Just replace the LCR to Ascend 340SE and you would hear world of difference.
Also would not hurt to add an area rug between the center speaker and you

 

[zieglj01]

Looking to upgrade my existing setup. I live in a condo, so I have to be careful with the volumes levels, so I'm looking for a setup that would provide clarity without blowing the roof off my neighbors.

Focal 717 towers
Focal 701 center
Accessories4less: High End Audio at Low End Prices!

If you desire to change the sub - then the SVS sub recommended above.

 

[agarwalro]

+1 to everything BSA said.

 

[ajl7519]

I recommend this: Keep the AVR, Sub and Rear surrounds, Just replace the LCR to Ascend 340SE and you would hear world of difference.
Also would not hurt to add an area rug between the center speaker and you

Edit: Actually, I was reading and I would rather get a full tower instead of a mini tower. Is there a similar brand you recommend.

 

[ImcLoud]

the cbm170s are large speakers, over kill of surrounds, I would look into the 200se's or wave crasts hvl1's for surrounds {I use the 200se's and love them}... The only short comings of the entry level ascend line {I have 340 front stage also} is the finish, its black vinyl, nothing fancy just sticky vinyl stuck to the cabinets...

You can not go wrong with the 340's that is for sure, I love mine...

Since you have the room in the budget I would add an HSU ULS15 to the system and get rid of your pa-120 sub.... I know you are in a condo and can not shake the house, but the uls15 will give you some quality bass to make up for not being able to rattle the foundation {which it can also do}.... When ever someone cant play loudly I always recommend a couple butt kickers {transducers} in the system at the listening position, adds to the effect with out bothering the neighbors...

 

[agarwalro]

Edit: Actually, I was reading and I would rather get a full tower instead of a mini tower. Is there a similar brand you recommend.

Since you have a subwoofer in the mix, with bass management done via the AVR, the benefits of towers (added bass) is inconsequential. Instead, get better bookshelf speakers with better drivers/crossover and your money is better spent.

Other brands of interest,
Aperion Audio Verus Forte Tower or Grand Bookshelf with center from same series, SV Sound Ultra Series, Philharmonic Audio Monitor and Center.

 

[shadyJ]

for a real increase in sound quality, I would go for a 2.1 setup for now. Quality over quantity. One speaker I would look at is the Wharfedale Jades. Get the Jade 1 or Jade 3. They have a phenomenal soundstage. The KEF LS50s are just terrific as well. Supposedly the Ascend Sierra 2s are quite good also. For a subwoofer, I would look at either a Hsu ULS-15 or a Rythmik F15. You will want to ditch the PA-120, not a bad sub for the price but the Hsu and Rythmik will be quite a bit better.

The nice thing about the system outlined above is that you will not want to replace them, and an upgrade path is clear if you so desire- just add a matching center. You do NOT want to use a mismatching center with Wharfedales, KEFs, or Ascends. You could probably use your Polks as surrounds until you wanted to upgrade them, but do not use the Polk center with superior left/rights.

 

[ajl7519]

Since you have a subwoofer in the mix, with bass management done via the AVR, the benefits of towers (added bass) is inconsequential. Instead, get better bookshelf speakers with better drivers/crossover and your money is better spent.

Other brands of interest,
Aperion Audio Verus Forte Tower or Grand Bookshelf with center from same series, SV Sound Ultra Series or Philharmonic Audio Monitor and Center

Thanks (everyone). I really like Verus series. I was thinking about going with the Verus Grand Tower, but it looks like it's OOS until September. I was thinking I could use the Grand Bookshelf as my fronts for now and then get the Grand Center. Later I could get the Grand Towers and use the Grand Bookshelf as the rear surrounds and then maybe get the Verus Surrounds as the sides. Also, I want to add a new sub for now. Would you recommend the Bravus II 10D Powered Subwoofer (looks like that is OOS until October, yikes)? This way I can get a good 3.1 setup for now and later upgrade with the tower and the surrounds. What do you think?

My second option would be the SVS Ultra Series.

 

[agarwalro]

I really like Verus series. I was thinking about going with the Verus Grand Tower, but it looks like it's OOS until September. I was thinking I could use the Grand Bookshelf as my fronts for now and then get the Grand Center. Later I could get the Grand Towers and use the Grand Bookshelf as the rear surrounds and then maybe get the Verus Surrounds as the sides. Also, I want to add a new sub for now. Would you recommend the Bravus II 10D Powered Subwoofer (looks like that is OOS until October, yikes)? This way I can get a good 3.1 setup for now and later upgrade with the tower and the surrounds. What do you think?

Doing 2.1 or 3.1 only to begin with and then extending it to 5.1 is a very good plan.

In the $500-700 range, the current forum favorite subwoofers are, https://outlawaudio.com/products/lfmEX.html and VTF-3 MK4 Subwoofer on the upper limit and SVS PB-1000 - 300 Watt DSP Controlled, 10" Ported Subwoofer on the lower end.

 

[ajl7519]

Doing 2.1 or 3.1 only to begin with and then extending it to 5.1 is a very good plan.

I ended up going with the Aperion Verus Grand Tower and Verus Grand Center. After reviewing all the info on choosing a sub I realized I would need one to fill a large room because I have big open area to another other room adn hallway. I was looking at the SVS SB13-Ultra, Rythmik F15HP, Power Sound Audio XV15se, or the HSU ULS-15. Which one do you think would provide the best clean/clear sound at low to moderate listening levels? I would also consider adding 2 subs that would put me in the $1000-1500 range for both.

Thanks again.

 

[agarwalro]

Dual Rythmik FV15HP or PSA XV15se.