Many years back I followed AV technology and went through way too much gear, as young kids came my interest waned.
Hoping for someone more up to speed on the latest tech could catch me up to speed a little.
Have a system wired for 5.1 ; speakers have not changed in many years but still work well and a great sub with tons of power.
I changed (up / down graded) my AVR receiver a year or two back so I could use for streaming and have more HDMI ports.
I now have a Denon AVR-x3500H
Previously had a higher powered but much older Denon model so now have still enough power to meet my current needs but newer tech and more options than previously.
Main question is I am curious if there is any way I could add 2 more speakers to my system for more immersive surround and take advantage of 7.1 soundtracks. I don't own a Blu Ray player so not sure how rare 7.1 streaming sound is?
Anyway, the amp has inputs/power for more speakers but I (my wife) really does not want me to run any more wires.
It is not a dedicated HT room and the current speaker wire was all run when the house was built so is nice and clean looking.
On the sides of the room I only have room for something small, like a bookshelf speaker or smaller wall mountable.
Do they make wireless solutions for what I am trying to do?
Usage is primary movies / TV shows with occasional Music.
Very high ceiling room (2 story room) so ceiling mounts are not an option.
Am I missing out on much only having 5.1?
The speakers I have are old but still enjoy their ability to be not localized in terms of where the sound is coming from so have always found the system to be very immersive.
Current speakers are:
2 Mirage 1295is bi-polar towers in the front (they have powered subs built in but I only use them in the small speaker setting)
2 Mirage OM-10 omni-polar towers in the rear ; slightly to the left and right sides but behind the listener position
1 Mirage center channel (don't recall the model but was one of their better/best ones back in the day)
1 Sub ; SVS PB13 Ultra which was upgraded to the same 1200 watt amp in the PB-4000 model
All 5 speakers set to Small and crossover set at 80 for the Sub / LFE channel.
Not looking to replace or upgrade anything at this time, but have for years wanted the 2 extra speakers for sound effects.
Ideally any new speakers would be smaller in size than the rest of mine and I would use as rear surrounds for effects but place then on the sides? Does that even work?
The listening position is at the back of the room (room has a half wall that opens up to the kitchen so really no space for further back placed rears)
Thanks for your time!
Well….
After having been through numerous iterations and having multiple systems in my own home. Imo you won’t benefit from placing rear surrounds in your room, especially if they aren’t actually behind you. For one, a well done 5ch system can be very immersive and the rears aren’t game changing. And two, placing them on the sides won’t allow them to image from where they’re supposed to. If you really want to up your game, add speakers in/on the ceiling for 5.1.2 Atmos. 5.1.2 is more immersive than 7.1. Looks like the ceiling might be an issue there. How tall is it?
For wireless, I believe there are options, but the placement at the sides would make it moot.
Is placement optimized now? As in surrounds at 110° and about 6’ off the floor?
Seems like unless your current placement and settings need help, and no speaker upgrades in the works, you’re probably as good as you’ll get.
