Will a new system sound better than my Kenwood?

[graphage]

Hello, I currently have a 20 year old Kenwood HTIB that had KS-505HT for the front & center, SW-35HT for the sub. I left the surround speakers at my old house and I have no doubt the receiver needs an upgrade simply because the connections are out of date (ie; no HDMI, etc)

I am looking at the SVS Prime Satellite 5.1 package. It fits my budget, which is about 1000 for speakers and 500 for a receiver.

Would this be an upgrade in sound quality? Particular for the 3 fronts and the sub?

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[mazersteven]

Absolutely

If you like I can list a couple of systems that would be better for a thousand bucks

What size room is this system going in

 

[graphage]

Thanks Mazer, that'd be great. The room is 15' wide x 18' long with vaulted ceiling. Approximately 2,700 cubic feet.

 

[mazersteven]

Thanks Mazer, that'd be great. The room is 15' wide x 18' long with vaulted ceiling. Approximately 2,700 cubic feet.

Any limitations on speaker size like do they have to be satellites can they be bookshelves can they be floorstanders

 

[graphage]

No floorstanders. Bookshelf or smaller.

 

[mazersteven]

System #1
Ascend Acoustics 340

CMT-340SE MINI-TOWER PAIR

Uncompromising Performance, Our Best Value! "These speakers’ levels of design, capability, and refinement far exceed what could previously be expected from this price range. Those considering buying far more expensive speakers would be well advised not to ignore the Ascends simply because of...

www.ascendacoustics.com

CMT-340SE CENTER SPEAKER

High Performance Center Channel "Lead vocals through the CMT-340c are clear and natural, and are free of mid-range honk or thinness." -Felix Martinez, DVD Etc. Perfectly timbre matched to our other models, this center will add shockingly realistic dynamics combined with our already renowned...

www.ascendacoustics.com

CBM-170SE BOOKSHELF MONITOR PAIR

The Benchmark Bookshelf Loudspeaker Black Friday Sale! "The State Of The Art Of Budget Loudspeakers" -Jeff Van Dyne, GoodSound Setting new performance standards for affordable accurate sound reproduction for two channel stereo reproduction and multi-channel home theater. Signature Edition...

www.ascendacoustics.com

RSL Speedwoofer

The Speedwoofer 10S Subwoofer - RSL Speakers

rslspeakers.com

This system can also be purchased using all 170's instead of the 340's as main L/R to keep the cost down closer to a thousand if you need to do that

 

[graphage]

Thank you Mazer, I appreciate the recommendation. I have been provided some size restrictions and this will be too large. I'm sure it sounds great though!

 

[mazersteven]

RSL 5.1

CG3 5.1 Home Theater System Special Edition - RSL Speakers

rslspeakers.com

 

[graphage]

Thank you Mazer, the RSL 5.1 looks to fit the size requirements. I will dig into it some more. This will be better sound quality than my old Kenwood?

 

[mazersteven]

Thank you Mazer, the RSL 5.1 looks to fit the size requirements. I will dig into it some more. This will be better sound quality than my old Kenwood?

I'm sure would be a better sound quality than the old Kenwood's I also believe that the Speedwoofer subwoofer would be a better fit for your size room then the SVS SB1000
You could also purchase the SVS Prime satellites and still purchase the RSL speedwoofer separately and put that system together

 

[mazersteven]

$329

https://www.costco.com/yamaha-tsr-700-7.1-channel-network-av-receiver.product.100686465.html

 

[graphage]

$329

https://www.costco.com/yamaha-tsr-700-7.1-channel-network-av-receiver.product.100686465.html

Thanks! I had been looking at the Denon AVR-S750H, which Costo also happens to have for $399. What do you think about the Denon compared to the Yamaha?

 

[mazersteven]

That's a coin toss between both those receivers. Maybe @PENG has more information.

 

[Sachb]

That RSL only goes down to 100 Hz while the sony will do 50 hz, if you were to listen to music in pure direct I'm afraid it won't have enough low end to produce for the music. Idk about the RSL, to me it looks like a copy of KEF. Seriously consider the sonys instead of the RSL 5.1 he has mentioned:

Amazon.com: Sony 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Multimedia Home Theater Speaker Bundle : Electronics

Amazon.com: Sony 5.1-Channel Surround Sound Multimedia Home Theater Speaker Bundle : Electronics

www.amazon.com

 

[Sachb]

Thanks! I had been looking at the Denon AVR-S750H, which Costo also happens to have for $399. What do you think about the Denon compared to the Yamaha?

The Yamaha TSR 700 has pre-outs for left & right speakers, has more watts/ channel RMS 100 watts vs Denon's 75 watts. Also supports 8K, it's a no brainer to get the Yamaha TSR700 over the Denon.

Also, Yamaha will sound better for music, please look at those 1-star reviews on Amazon for Denon 750H

 

[shadyJ]

If it were me, I would just go for a 2.1 system in this price range. I would consider a pair of KEF Q350s along with a Hsu VTF-2 mk5 and the best Yamaha AVR that you can afford with the money that is left in the budget. Go with quality over quantity.

 

[graphage]

Thanks everyone. I have some good news! I confirmed that I can focus more on the bookshelf size rather than satellite size. This should help add some quality to the system. Budget is still $1.5k for the 5.1 and receiver. I plan to keep working through all the suggestions during the next couple of evenings.

 

[graphage]

Hello everyone, I have read through all of your suggestions and thought I would provide an update and seek more guidance.

Recap:
Room is 15x18 with vaulted ceilings. Approx 2,700 cubic feet. TV is in the corner of short wall. Main listening position is on opposite short wall, about 15 feet away.
There is a kitchen to the side via a half wall.
95% movies
I'd like it to be loud and clear, but I don't want the neighbors to necessarily know it either, so I don't need it to be overkill.

Looking for:
5.1 system and receiver
Fronts need to be bookshelf or satellite
Subwoofer needs to be on the smaller side, so likely sealed to keep the size under 15" square
Budget 1500

Here is what I have narrowed it down to for the 5:
4x RSL CG3 with RSL CG23 for the Center

OR

5x Ascend HTM-200 SE

Subwoofer:
RSL Speedwoofer 10S
SVS SB1000
SVS SB2000 (a little more than I would like to spend, but not out of the question if the other 2 options are not adequate)
Is there another option that fits the under 15" size requirement?

Receiver:
Yamaha TSR-700 from Costco. I read a lot of reviews about it being glitchy, but people seem to really believe in it. It seemed some of the issues were around game systems, which I don't have.

I welcome your thoughts on which options to choose from here.

Thank you.

 

[mazersteven]

Here is what I have narrowed it down to for the 5:
4x RSL CG3 with RSL CG23 for the Center

OR

5x Ascend HTM-200 SE

Subwoofer:
RSL Speedwoofer 10S
SVS SB1000
SVS SB2000 (a little more than I would like to spend, but not out of the question if the other 2 options are not adequate)
Is there another option that fits the under 15" size requirement?

With your size room I suggest NOT doing a Sealed Sub. It's like Farting in the school gym, yes there's something there but it's really not going to fill the room.

Can you seem to have gone backwards with the Ascend Acoustics recommendation of the 170s.

 

[graphage]

It's a size issue. The Ascend 170's are quite a bit bulkier than the other options. Same w/ the Sub. If I were to get anything bigger there would be one spot in the room to put it, which may or may not be a good spot, whereas with 15" or less, there would be a few spots where it could be tucked away, thus allowing me to put it in a better sounding position.