I am looking for recommendations for three front speakers for a home theater system.
Usage/Ideal Features:
- I listen to 50% music and 50% movies/gaming.
- The main listening position is about 10-11 feet away from the speakers.
- I’ll be running dual subwoofers (likely HSU VTF-3 MK5) crossed over around 80 Hz.
- I want to make sure they can play reasonably loud for movies. Based on some rough estimates I did with a phone SPL app I probably listen around 75-80 dB average (not accounting for peaks).
- I want to avoid a 2-way horizontal center channel. If horizontal, I’d like a 3-way center channel. However, it could be a two way center placed vertically if it isn’t too tall (it will on a stand in front of the TV stand and needs to sit below 22-inches so it doesn’t block the TV).
- I’d like the speaker to be relatively neutral.
- Budget for front three channels: less than $2000.
Based on reviews and conversations I’ve had with some folks here, I’m considering the following:
- Monolith THX 365T/C
- NHT C3/C LCR
- Kali LP-8
- Adam A7X
I probably lean slightly toward passive speakers, but I’m open to doing an active speaker system. The only logistical issues I see with active speakers is ensuring there outlets accessible where I want to put the surround speakers, making it easy to power them all on, and ensuring the speakers won’t get poked by curious kids or pets since they often lack grills. But these are over to overcome.
