My very first Speaker / home cinema setup

[Donnyaudio]

Hi everyone,

I want to buy my first pair of speakers. I currently only have a JBL bar 3.1 but the sound quality is in my opinion EXTREMELY poor. I prefered to save the money and just keep my televisions build-in sound. I never really invested in a decent set of speakers because I share this house with family members, so investing in headphones seemed the better option since I could play music any time of the day. I also didn't accousticly treat my room.

For reference I own the following headphone: Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro, Philips fidelio X2, Senheiser HD650, Fostex TRX00, audeze LCD 2C ( hopefully modhouse argon MK3 soon too ).
I dont need the speakers to be as good as my favorite headphones ( audeze LCD2C and fostex ) but I don't want it to be a massive downgrade either.

The speakers will be placed in my "game & lounge room" which is just 20 square meters or 215 Square feet. All walls are made out of concrete and all windows can be "hidden" with curtains.

Since I have 0 knowledge about speakers I hope you guys can help me out with the basics and some recommendations.
I always read Hifi vs home theatre setups. However, isnt it possible to have BOTH a home theater setup and a hifi setup in 1?


I was thinking about Starting with 2 speakers ( klipsch rp600m ) and a decent AMP . Then I wonder if I could later add an AV receiver and 3 additional speakers ? For music Ill switch to 2.1 and for movies i'll switch to 5.1 . Is this system possible? And would this be easy ? Or would I've to unplug stuff first?

The sound signature I'm looking for is: Warm and lively. Details must be there, however I don't need the most analytical set of speakers. To really listen to the details i'll use my headphones. I just want a laid-back experience yet remaining resolution. Soundstage is pretty important for me since that's what's lacking with my current headphones. I basically want this speakerset to be complimentary to my headphones.

What is a good price to start with? I hope to keep it as budget friendly as possible, since I rather spend the big money on expending my headphone collection.
Right now I budgeted around 600 euro for the speakers + stand ( Klipsch RP600M 500 euro + 100 euro stands ). I've no idea what an amp would cost but would a Sony STRDH190 be enough? This would keep the price at just 700 euro which isn't bad at all.

Later on I could add an AV receiver ( Decent one is 600 ish euro's for dolby atmos if I'm not mistaken ?? ) , Klipsch 500c ( 320 euro ) , Pair of klipsch 500m ( 375 euro ) .

So first of all, will this system work? Will I be able to easily switch between 2.1 and 5.1 with this system? Any ways to save money? Is an amp neccessary or can I just better buy a decent AV receiver without an amp ? This will cost me a bit more at first but saves money in the short term.

I'm open to buy used as well.

 

[mazersteven]

klipsch rp600m
Warm

Klipsch and Warm do not mix. Klipsch IMO are Opposite

 

[Truthslayer]

Donny, their are just to many speakers out there to choose from. Best advice is take some time, go and audition some speakers, as many as possible. Every speaker has it's own sound. Just like the speaker, we all have our own preference on what we prefer or what we perceive to sound better.
Just take some time and it will pay off in the end. Nothing worse than taking someone's advice on a certain speaker only to find out you hate the sound of said speaker.

 

[mazersteven]

JMO if you want a Warmer sound. Look for speakers with a Silk Dome Tweeter

Don't know what. Brands you have available to you

 

[Donnyaudio]

Klipsch and Warm do not mix. Klipsch IMO are Opposite

Oh really? I listened to some sound demos on YouTube. I know I know it isnt the best but imo they sounded pretty warm. Maybe because of the headphones i used.

Donny, their are just to many speakers out there to choose from. Best advice is take some time, go and audition some speakers, as many as possible. Every speaker has it's own sound. Just like the speaker, we all have our own preference on what we prefer or what we perceive to sound better.
Just take some time and it will pay off in the end. Nothing worse than taking someone's advice on a certain speaker only to find out you hate the sound of said speaker.

True! I will go to an audio store and i am totally open for other options. Sadly all stores are closed here untill jan 17 due to corona. My main question is if it's possible to make a system where I can have both the benifits of a mid tier hifi and home theatre setup in 1? Because I mostly read only that people usually have seperate setups.

JMO if you want a Warmer sound. Look for speakers with a Silk Dome Tweeter

Don't know what. Brands you have available to you

Thanks I'll look into that. I think I've most mainstream brands avaible . I'm from europe

 

[lovinthehd]

You really can't tell anything from a youtube video for sound quality....way too many variables in the way/how/with what it was recorded. The whole thing of chasing things like warmth or whatever subjective impression some guy had at some point in time in particular conditions etc is fairly meaningless with some given piece of electronics; plus with a wide variety of gear I've not found this to be a "thing" whatsoever....far more about your speakers/room (and eve your mood perhaps). I'd concentrate on spending more on speakers/subs than the electronics in any case. In store demos can be not so useful as your room will be a big influence on how it performs for you (so a demo in your own room would tell you more typically). Good luck in your pursuit....take some time and look around.

 

[NINaudio]

IMO, I'd skip getting an amp and just go with a receiver right off the bat. It will do all your source switching for you and allow you to add additional speakers as time goes on.

It is 100% possible to have a setup that does both music and movies well. If a speaker is good, it is good. Doesn't matter whether it is reproducing sound from music or movies.

Are JBL and/or Infiniti speakers available to you? They have some generally well liked/regarded speakers that will fit in your price range.

 

[Donnyaudio]

Hey. Now that I read a bit more articles I think a receiver is the way to go. Because I first read stuff that receivers are too weak and you'd need extra amplification. But then again I'll try to find efficient speakers and I don't really need the best of the best you know. Since I still listen 80% of my music on my headphones .

Infiniti is sadly not avaible to me. Jbl is one of the biggest brands here. I currently own a jbl soundbar 3.1 but I really don't like the sound of it. Of course this doesn't mean their speakers are bad too so I'll take a look into those

 

[NINaudio]

Hey. Now that I read a bit more articles I think a receiver is the way to go. Because I first read stuff that receivers are too weak and you'd need extra amplification. But then again I'll try to find efficient speakers and I don't really need the best of the best you know. Since I still listen 80% of my music on my headphones .

Infiniti is sadly not avaible to me. Jbl is one of the biggest brands here. I currently own a jbl soundbar 3.1 but I really don't like the sound of it. Of course this doesn't mean their speakers are bad too so I'll take a look into those

Your room doesn't seem large enough that you would need to worry about extra amplification to get to reasonable listening levels. You can check out some spl calculators to see what the expected spl at the listening area would be.

With VERY few exceptions, soundbars are a compromise, and will suffer compared to regular speakers no matter who makes them.

The JBL studio line gets recommended a lot as an affordable, yet accurate speaker line. They frequently go on sale in the USA, not sure if they do in your area as well, but would be worth checking out if you like the looks of them. Monitor Audio also makes some great speakers (silver line bookshelves should be in your budget?) if they are available to you.

 

[mazersteven]

Monitor Audio also makes some great speakers (silver line bookshelves should be in your budget?) if they are available to you.

I thought of Monitor Audio yesterday when the OP was stating some of the headphones he listens to and his thoughts on the type of sound he wanted I don't know if they're available to him or what the price difference is in his area but he possibly could even get into a pair Monitor Audio Bronze 200 Towers

 

[Teetertotter?]

@Donnyaudio This might be of some help selecting speakers....Preference Ratings & Graphs (google.com)

 

[lovinthehd]

@Donnyaudio This might be of some help selecting speakers....Preference Ratings & Graphs (google.com)

That from ASR?

 

[Teetertotter?]

Yes, ASR. It will tell you if you click on "REVIEW" it will give you Amir's rating along with others comments. Use as a guide for bookshelf, with peoples actual usage and or comments. Agree or Disagree??

 

[Donnyaudio]

Thanks for all the help guys! Made some appointments to listen to different speakers. From what I've read the Triangle Borea br03 seems to fit my needs. A local store said I could try these at homes for 2 weeks and if I don't like them I can return them without any additional costs. I'll do that after I tried out a few other speakers.

I was wondering how much of a difference a good stand makes? B&W STAV24 got recommended, but those are like 170$ here, which is more than a third of the price of the speakers itsself. What is the difference between a speaker stand around 200$ versus a 50$ speaker stand?

 

[Teetertotter?]

@Donnyaudio If cosmetics is not an issue for the fronts, wood bar stools and cut down to height or not. Wood TV trays? Stools?

 

[Truthslayer]

Thanks for all the help guys! Made some appointments to listen to different speakers. From what I've read the Triangle Borea br03 seems to fit my needs. A local store said I could try these at homes for 2 weeks and if I don't like them I can return them without any additional costs. I'll do that after I tried out a few other speakers.

I was wondering how much of a difference a good stand makes? B&W STAV24 got recommended, but those are like 170$ here, which is more than a third of the price of the speakers itsself. What is the difference between a speaker stand around 200$ versus a 50$ speaker stand?

Difference is $150 (sorry door was wide open)

 

[Trebdp83]

I was waiting for that, good stuff.

 

[lovinthehd]

Yes, ASR. It will tell you if you click on "REVIEW" it will give you Amir's rating along with others comments. Use as a guide for bookshelf, with peoples actual usage and or comments. Agree or Disagree??

I think like a lot of of information, it's useful. Amir's rating with the panthers is kinda dumb IMO and his subjective comments, meh. I'm a member there and am a donor as well.....I was just seeing that they got the credit