I’d love to get your thoughts and recommendations as I am working on putting together a new system basically from scratch.
A little info for you. I have been around music for a long time working with a number of bands and concert venues. I have always gravitated towards a warmer sound (I instinctively think tube amp when I think of the type of guitar amp I would want or nowadays something like a Berhinger that can simulate a tube sound among many other options because depending on the style of music, there may be occasions I’d want a more solid state sound.) I listen to pretty much all types of music but often listen to indie rock, shoegazer, alternative, edm, hip-hop, remixes, etc.
I work for a nonprofit and have a hard time justifying spending so much money on speakers considering what I make. But music means so much to me and I have been saving up for a new system for a while. Even with that, it’s (relatively) really a tight budget.
This system is going to have to serve for both music & home theater purposes. Let’s say 50/50 split music & movies.
As mentioned, I work for a nonprofit. Actually, my wife and I work for a college ministry with 2 focused ministries. One is for the general college student population and the other is for international college students. I say all that to say we will host events & parties at our house for students where we will play music and dance, as well as have a set up for karaoke. I plan to attach a 4 channel mixer to the system so I can run some mics and computer for karaoke parties, especially for the internationals. The karaoke is less of a factor in this discussion really but the parties are still.
Not that I expect this to achieve club levels or anything but…
The environment: Well, we just bought a fixer upper. We are currently giving it an overhaul with our remodeling renovations. The house is pretty empty. So, currently listening to a set up is far from ideal. Even when we get things set up, it will still not be the best acoustical environment. This area is an open floor plan with a funky layout. It has concrete floors. We will probably throw down an area rug or maybe two.
We will have a sectional in front of the tv/front speakers with the main seating facing about 9 feet from the wall.
The speakers will probably not be able to be placed an ideal distance from the wall but placed on top of an entertainment system cabinets. Nor will there be a natural sweet spot for listening to music as this will often happen as I am up and moving and not simply sitting in the hot seat. A sweet spot will be more true for movie viewing but again when hosting a movie night there could be upwards of 20-30 people scattered around the great room area with varied viewing/listening angles.
Ideally, I’d love to have a 5.1 set up… well, ideally I’d love to have an atmos set up but I’m trying to be realistic.
I have considered a 4.1 set up due to budgeting limitations but also because after listening to a recent 2.1 set up in this far from ideal empty house I felt like something was missing. One conclusion I came to was that I like to feel like I’m overcome by the music (surrounded/enveloped). So, I felt like a multichannel stereo or dolby listening experience might be what I need but I don’t know.
I was listening to KEF LS50’s with a SVS SB 1000 on a Denon AVR X1500h that had not been set up yet with Audessey or really configured much at all beyond the basic plug and play. I recognize my environment is harsh and could also play a factor. I have considered trading the x1500h for the x3400h as it would have 105 watts vs 80 or 85 watts. I’ve heard people say that the LS50’s need at least 100 watts to really sound good despite KEF’s claims. Idk.
I chose these per a Best Buy recommendation based on my budget, aesthetic desire for white speakers (these LS50’s do look sweet).
I did also audition the LS50W’s (powered) and when they were cranked, the highs seemed too harsh for me. I had to ask it to be turned down. This was in a listening room at Best Buy. At the time, I didn’t make the connection.
I do like the LS50’s and think they sound good on the one hand but still feel like something is missing. Would adding rears (and maybe a center) make the difference? Idk. Turning up the bass helps but still… I also wonder about listening fatigue with these.
I will listen at low to medium levels but do definitely like to crank it up and rock out so to speak. Again, these LS50’s often seem harsh when cranking it up. Turning up the bass and dropping the treble a notch does help but…
I also often listen on shuffle and noticed that I kept wanting to tweak the eq with different songs to get a better sound when it was turned up… but this is far from ideal. Most of the music I listen to I suppose would be considered poor recording quality in the audiophile world.
I also do love the way the LS50’s look. Aesthetics are important to me. While my ideal is to get white speakers, I could be open to dropping that for blacks. But aesthetics will take a back seat to other things as necessary.
I do have a turntable but it has a preamp built in so I can get by without a preamp in the receiver. It’s also far from my main music listening source.
At this stage, I have been considering buying a bunch of different types to audition and compare in my home environment to see what I like best. Some of the ones I had been thinking about include (but I’m still learning and being exposed to new ones):
KEF LS50’s, Q150’s, Q350’s, center?
Canton Vento (accessories4less.com) for front & center, not sure about rears
Elac Debut 2.0, Unifi Slim or maybe Unifi UB5 ?
SVS Ultras for Front, Primes for rear, not sure about center (B&W?)
B&W’s 600’s, htm7
I feel like I should probably rule these out but they were a consideration.
Kef T205
Bose Acoustimas 10
Others???
Reviews of the Buchardts sound promising too but not sure how I could make those work with a full setup.
I again was leaning toward the SVS sub as it was the most regularly recommended “best” sub option but am open to other ideas on this too.
And I’m looking at bookshelves not towers.
Oh, and the all important question of budget. My ideal budget would be $2000 all in. However, I believe I can swing taking that up to $2500 or even $3000 if I really, really stretch it. I would basically be planning/hoping on this system lasting us for decades
I picked up the Denon x1500h for $400. The Denon x3400h is going for $600 ($500 refurbished). The SVS SB1000 was $600 and LS50’s $1000. All are still in the window for free returns.
I’m far from a true audiophile but I do love audio and have a more discerning ear than that random guy on the street I’d say.
So, with all that said, I’d love to hear your thoughts and any recommendations you could make for speakers/systems I should check out.
Oh, I’d prefer not to buy something that I’d have to return and pay for shipping/restocking fee and lose out on money. I just don’t have it to be throwing away. That is one challenge with the Cantons.
One last thought, I am leaning toward getting Sennheiser PXC550’s (waiting for them to drop below $200 again) over Bose QC35’s & Sony 1000MX3’s. The Bose and Sony NC bothered my ears but on top of that I just like the sound of the Sennheiser’s better. Granted a room system is different than headphones in a number of ways but I threw that in for what it’s worth.
As an added note, I've always preferred studio recordings to live as well. And I was thinking about my headphone comment, I do think the Bose headphones sound good but the NC was messing with me whereas the Sennheiser's sounded great and the NC didn't hurt my ears.
Oh, I have until mid January to return the Kef's / SVS. So, it is a relatively short window unfortunately.
I recognize this is all a challenge in many ways and is largely dependent on personal tastes and whatnot but I appreciate you taking time to think and guide me in this process.
Any insights and leads you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
(Sorry this is so long but in some ways figured it's better to provide more detail to hopefully produce more relevant results.)
