New Denon 4520CI need advice on speakers

[Lobo44]

I am new here but not new to audio components and home theater. I have had a Harman Kardon AVR80 for 18 years and finally upgraded to a new Denon 4520CI. THis has created a new problem where my current speakers will perish under the weight of the new receiver.

My current list of speakers:
Klipsch fronts 2.1 bookshelf
Klipsch 3650C surrounds
Klipsch SW15-2 powered subwoofer
Energy RVS Center

The HK AVR80 ran these speaker okay as long as I was careful with them and have never topped out the volume to blow them up. They sound decent enough for 5.1 sound that was good equipment long ago.

So now I have a good AVR on the way I need some suggestions as to what I should be looking at to better outfit the power and quality of it. I am looking to upgrade the fronts and the center first. The Klipsch 3650C's are going to be fine as surrounds and the subwoofer is also going to stay.

I have been looking around at speakers that I know like the Klipsch RC 64ii center and fronts. Trying to find speakers that compete in the same price point and performance has become quite difficult. I have a budget of $1000-$1200 for the first three. More than likely I will bump that up when I learn more about what quality speakers cost today.

If you have any suggestions for a new member I would like to hear them.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Ascend cmt340se

 

[agarwalro]

3x http://www.alexissound.com/rebecca/

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I thought Dennis said something about supply issue with these?

 

[slipperybidness]

I thought Dennis said something about supply issue with these?

Dennis said that he has been resorting to custom builds on these until they get that worked out. If those are an option for the OP, then contact Dennis directly at Philharmonic.

PS--I own a pair of the stock Alexis, bought them from Dennis, mine were a demo pair from an audio show. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

 

[slipperybidness]

I am new here but not new to audio components and home theater. I have had a Harman Kardon AVR80 for 18 years and finally upgraded to a new Denon 4520CI. THis has created a new problem where my current speakers will perish under the weight of the new receiver.

My current list of speakers:
Klipsch fronts 2.1 bookshelf
Klipsch 3650C surrounds
Klipsch SW15-2 powered subwoofer
Energy RVS Center

The HK AVR80 ran these speaker okay as long as I was careful with them and have never topped out the volume to blow them up. They sound decent enough for 5.1 sound that was good equipment long ago.

So now I have a good AVR on the way I need some suggestions as to what I should be looking at to better outfit the power and quality of it. I am looking to upgrade the fronts and the center first. The Klipsch 3650C's are going to be fine as surrounds and the subwoofer is also going to stay.

I have been looking around at speakers that I know like the Klipsch RC 64ii center and fronts. Trying to find speakers that compete in the same price point and performance has become quite difficult. I have a budget of $1000-$1200 for the first three. More than likely I will bump that up when I learn more about what quality speakers cost today.

If you have any suggestions for a new member I would like to hear them.

First things first, I think you are a little bit backwards in your thoughts on this.

The 4520CI will drive those Klipsch just fine and you won't have any problems.

In general, you should select your speakers FIRST, then choose the AVR or amp that will drive your speakers with ease.

But, the 4520 will likely drive most any speaker just fine, so you are covered on that. And, you will certainly get better sound with speakers better than the Klipsch.

 

[Lobo44]

First things first, I think you are a little bit backwards in your thoughts on this.

The 4520CI will drive those Klipsch just fine and you won't have any problems.

In general, you should select your speakers FIRST, then choose the AVR or amp that will drive your speakers with ease.

But, the 4520 will likely drive most any speaker just fine, so you are covered on that. And, you will certainly get better sound with speakers better than the Klipsch.

That might be true but for the price I paid for it I couldn't pass it up and had to grab one before someone else did. So the AVR came first. My other problem is that the only place to listen to and physically see speakers of any worth is at a Magnolia Room a few miles from our home. Outside of that there are not any retail brick and mortar stores to go and look and listen to quality components and speakers. A trip to Dallas for us an 80-100 mile round trip in heavy daily traffic. Needless to say we are limited in access.

 

[Lobo44]

Ascend cmt340se

Nice! I forgot to mention that our room is far from perfect and has no floorspace for floor standing speakers. The fronts MUST be bookshelf and the maximum size can be 22" tall x 24" wide x 12" deep and even then that is really pushing it. For the center it will be using the same mounting bracket as the one that is currently in place. The maximum for the center is 40" wide x 12" tall x 14" deep and 100lbs is max for weight.

 

[slipperybidness]

Nice! I forgot to mention that our room is far from perfect and has no floorspace for floor standing speakers. The fronts MUST be bookshelf and the maximum size can be 22" tall x 24" wide x 12" deep and even then that is really pushing it. For the center it will be using the same mounting bracket as the one that is currently in place. The maximum for the center is 40" wide x 12" tall x 14" deep and 100lbs is max for weight.

There are many Internet Direct companies that sell excellent speakers and will give you a 30 day or more in home trial period.

Look into these brands:
Ascend Acoustics
Philharmonic Audio
SVS
EMP Tek

Any of those brands will have speakers that put the Klipsh to shame as far as sound quality is concerned! The Klipsch may have advantages in other areas like sensitivity etc.

I *think* that you can now audition SVS at the Magnolias.

But, if you are spending "that much" on speakers, a trip to the Big D isn't a bad idea at all. There are a few members on here from the DFW area that might be able to give you the names of stores to visit.

 

[Lobo44]

Aren't these type of speakers designed for mixing studios and the like? My application is a residential home with a large open area. The room is not designed with audio in mind so it is a place that is counterproductive to a home theater. I have made improvements to get the most out of the room that I could.

Room size is 22ft wide x 10ft tall x 16ft deep. The front of the room has a fireplace in the center and is flanked by two alcoves on either side. The alcoves were unfinished when we bought the home and I have finished them out with cabinetry and bookshelves. The right side contains all of the audio equipment and the TV where the other side contains all of our CD's/DVD's/Blu-ray discs and the left side of the cabinet has the sub woofer hidden inside.

The bookshelf speakers are at the top most shelf on either side and the center speaker is mounted on a bracket that hoovers over the TV. The surrounds are ceiling speakers that are mounted 24" from the back wall and place symmetrically behind the front speakers.

This rooms most major disadvantage is that the right side has an area to allow access bedrooms to the front and the back. The left side has the kitchen and a separate eating are with hard surfaces such as tile floors, wood furniture, wood cabinets and granite counter tops. This of course radiates sound something terrible and is a constant battle to fight off with the ear.

 

[slipperybidness]

Aren't these type of speakers designed for mixing studios and the like?

The ID vendors that I listed???

Nope, all those on my list are meant for either HT applications and/or Hi-Fi critical listening applications (not studio mixing, though some of these brands do make speakers that would work for that application too).

Like I said, any of those brands will likely blow the Klipsch away as far as sound quality is concerned.

 

[Lobo44]

There are many Internet Direct companies that sell excellent speakers and will give you a 30 day or more in home trial period.

Look into these brands:
Ascend Acoustics
Philharmonic Audio
SVS
EMP Tek

Any of those brands will have speakers that put the Klipsh to shame as far as sound quality is concerned! The Klipsch may have advantages in other areas like sensitivity etc.

I *think* that you can now audition SVS at the Magnolias.

But, if you are spending "that much" on speakers, a trip to the Big D isn't a bad idea at all. There are a few members on here from the DFW area that might be able to give you the names of stores to visit.

Thanks! That is the exact type of information that I am looking for. Not sure where to find them but hopefully some DFW people can chime in and give me some pointers. Everything I have bought in the past is when I was living in Illinois so I do not know of any retail stores here in DFW. I'll look into the brands you have listed.

 

[slipperybidness]

Thanks! That is the exact type of information that I am looking for. Not sure where to find them but hopefully some DFW people can chime in and give me some pointers. Everything I have bought in the past is when I was living in Illinois so I do not know of any retail stores here in DFW. I'll look into the brands you have listed.

You may consider sending a PM to Paradigmdawg or Itsphillip. Those guys are in the DFW area. I'm sure there must be others, but that's the 2 off the top of my head.

 

[Swerd]

I agree with slipperybidness about the sound qualities of the speakers he mentioned. You may like them a lot better than what you now have, unless your ears are addicted to the Klipsch sound.

Given your budget of $1000 to $1200, and your shelf size limitations, the Ascend CMT-340 SE and CMT-340 SE Center are probably your best choice. They are 21" tall × 7.5" wide × 10.5" deep.

They're sold internet direct, and offer a return policy after you've listened to them in your home. This maker has an excellent reputation, and these speakers, with a sensitivity of 90-92 dB (measured with 1 watt driving the speakers with a microphone 1 meter away) will handle a larger room with no problems.

Your room may not be as bad as you fear. The distance between the listeners and the front speakers is more important than the overall size of the whole space. Furniture and rugs can help a lot with bright sounding reflections.

 

[slipperybidness]

I may have missed a detail. These will be on a shelf? Or more like "in a cubby hole" on a shelf?

If that is the case, then you may want to be looking at front-ported or sealed designs. The Philharmonitors (Alexis) are front ported.

 

[agarwalro]

The bookshelf speakers are at the top most shelf on either side and the center speaker is mounted on a bracket that hoovers over the TV.

Are all your front speakers placed above ear level (when seated)? If so, make sure you angle the tweeter axis towards you.

How much space is there behind the speakers? If they're less than 6" from the walls, you want something front ported. If they are nearly flush, you'd get best results with on-wall speakers.

 

[Lobo44]

Are all your front speakers placed above ear level (when seated)? If so, make sure you angle the tweeter axis towards you.

How much space is there behind the speakers? If they're less than 6" from the walls, you want something front ported. If they are nearly flush, you'd get best results with on-wall speakers.

You are correct on all points here. The speakers are at the 8 foot ;evel up high but that was the only place that I could get them to fit the way everything is laid out. I do have a chunk of trim board under the rears of the speakers to ppoint them downward towards the center point of the room

 

[Lobo44]

Yes the speakers are rear ported which I know is not good. I will need front ported bookshelfs to work correctly where they will be positioned. Is there a way to accurately position speakers with a tool of some kind? I do have a laser that I could use I guess. Where would I place the target point at?

 

[slipperybidness]

Yes the speakers are rear ported which I know is not good. I will need front ported bookshelfs to work correctly where they will be positioned. Is there a way to accurately position speakers with a tool of some kind? I do have a laser that I could use I guess. Where would I place the target point at?

Yup, your good old ears.

Play around with the placement and the angle and see what sounds best to YOUR ears! If your'e lucky, get a couple friends or kids to help while you sit in the sweet spot. If not, then sit down listen, adjust placement, repeate.

 

[Lobo44]

Yup, your good old ears.

Play around with the placement and the angle and see what sounds best to YOUR ears! If your'e lucky, get a couple friends or kids to help while you sit in the sweet spot. If not, then sit down listen, adjust placement, repeate.

I'll have to do it on my own. The wife is out of town and I do not have any children that I know of. If I do they are on their own at this point. I think I need to point them downward more but not sure how I am going to do that. I might build something out of wood to create the angle that I need. I could use a laser and attach it to the top of the speaker with tape. Problem is that what do I point it at? The chair where I sit or the center of the room?

The 3650C I have have the woofs turned to the center of the back of the room where I sit and the tweets are pointed that direction as well. The center is also pointed at the chair I sit in.