Looking to back into Av Home Theater. Need Help

[sgt1255]

Hello,

I have been looking on this site for a week or so and finally registered because I need expert advise. Years ago I had a AV home theater, Denon Receiver with a pair of B&W 605 ( I think) bookshelf, B&W Series 600 Center Channel, and a pair of Paragon surround speakers. This was back in the late '90's to early 2000's. I moved into another house and did not have the size to really set up the HT again and had some other priorities. About 2 years ago, I started to back into it but really wanted a easy set up so I got into the Sonos Ecosystem, I have a beam, Sonos 5, and 2 Sonos1 SL , Which I totally love but I just bought a new Sony A80J 65 inch TV with the beam connected to it know; I was thinking on getting a Arc for my Sony to replace my Bose Series 700 (my sons wants to buy). Then I started looking around and now I am dying to get back into the AV HT.

My criteria's for the system I want are kind of different, I guess and this is why I need help. Let me explain; I do two thing in my house, if I am not watching TV/Movies, I am streaming music either through AirPlay2, WiFi, or Bluetooth or visa versa. so the following is what I want or looking at.

AV Power Source: This is the trick part. Since I don't really listen to radio anymore, except in my car, I don't really need a Am/FM receiver. I just want something that I can stream my music through. I don't need all of the CD/Turn Table outputs because I don't own and won't use. I want the amp to have eARC, AirPlay2, Bluetooth, WiFi capability. Basically an Amp to stream music and watch TV/Movies. I still have my Denon receiver but it so old that it doesn't have anything I am looking for now. If Sonos make their Amp as a three channel instead of a two channel, it would be perfect for me. I haven't heard how Sonos fathom center speaker works or sounds.

Speakers: As of Now, just looking at 2 front and a center speaker, might upgrade to surround later. As I said before, I have older B&W speakers that I haven't used in years so I don't know there condition. Of course I am looking at another set of B&W 600 series but i am not hearing good reviews on them these days and I think they might be a little bigger for my space (Will explain later). I am looking for small speakers with clear crisp sound but not overpowering. I like a good bass but not thumping (but I love the sound of a double bass kicking in hard and metal music) but the mids and highs are more important. I mainly listem to classic rock, hard rock, and metal with a splash of county. Movies are action and war mostly. My possible options are:
Martin Logan Motion 4i as my front and the 6i center. Pro-Small size, great reviews (haven't heard them yet personally), and looks. CON- Glossy back exterior.
Monitor Audio Bronze 50 or 100 and the C150 center. PRO-Size, great reviews and they come in white which is very appealing to me because it match my furniture in the TV room which the TV sits on and all of my Sonos speakers are in white too.
if you can think of other options that fit in, please advise. I know there are 100's of good speakers out there. Not looking for a sub, as of now, because I just have the room for one. So the three speakers will have to do the trick with the help of the Amp.

TV Room. This room is small. I it about 6 ft away from the TV on a couch. I would say the room is no more then maybe 12x12. My TV sits on a AV counter that has an electric fireplace under where the TV sits and on each side I have a cabinet that's about 6 1/2 ft tall where I keep my Blu-rays in. On either side of the fire place I have AV racks to place the Amp, and other components. Only components I have is a 4k player, XBox, Apple TV, and my satellite box. I was think on placing the front speaker on either side of the TV, which I have a little over 10' between the YTV and the Cabinets.

If you made it through this long thread, more power to you and it show your dedication to help. Thanks for any input you can supply. One last request, any recommendation as to where to buy would help to. I am locally in San Diego, CA, if any member are in this area.

Thanks for reading.

Ken

 

[Leemix]

Since no one has replied yet ill give it a go but it will be general and not specific product.

From you description it looks like you need an AVR if you want a center channel. If you want to go just stereo that is also a great option and you might use Sonos for that if you like that system. “Phantom center’ is just a fancy way of saying stereo up front without a center. There is nothing special about that and it can work great just like for music if things are set up right.

Small bookshelf speakers may be practical but you wont get much bass at all, just how physics work, it might be enough for you but just saying. Bigger bookshelves will play deeper and often not actually take up much more actual space.

A picture of your front setup could be helpful to see what space is available.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Eppie]

If you think you may add surround speakers later then you're likely best off getting a regular surround receiver. The radio and extra inputs (phono, etc) are standard fair. Drop those features and you'll be looking at 2 or 3 channel amps. You could go separate pre-amp and amps but that ups the price considerably. A decent AVR from Denon / Marantz or Yamaha will do fine with ability to expand. Think of how many speakers you may end up with (adding Dolby ATMOS later?) and get enough channels. 7.1.4 for example would be 3 fronts + 4 surrounds, 1 subwoofer channel and 4 effects channels.

Those speaker choices are ok. There are recent reviews on the Audioholics web site for speakers in the $600 and $700 range. If you have a budget in mind that would help to make recommendations. If the speakers will be right next to the TV then you can just run 2 fronts (phantom centre). To prevent the centre speaker from interfering with the left and right speakers you want them further apart with the L+R closer to the outer walls in a 12x12 room.

Don't discount the use of a good subwoofer, especially with bookshelf speakers. I added a subwoofer to $1600 bookshelves and the improvement in both music and movies was immediately noticeable. I was told by many here to get a good sub and do not regret the purchase. For smaller rooms the SVS PB-1000 Pro is around US$600 and you can go up from there, but if budget is tight there are subs by Dayton for half that which will work ok for a room that size.

 

[sgt1255]

Here is my Tv Room so you all know the space I am working with. As you can see, I am not working with that much space.

Ken

 

[Danzilla31]

As already said bookshelves a good mid tier avr and a good sealed subwoofer for a room of that size would be great. You can start in layers too.get the avr 2 speakers of the best you can afford and the best sub you can afford run a phantom center for a 2.1 system then slowly just add in as you go along so your budget isn't hit as much.

Next buy the best center channel you can then add in the surrounds

 

[Danzilla31]

The nice thing is in that room size and listening distance is you can get affordable bookshelves a nice sub and not have to drive them very hard so just a good mid tier avr should work. No amps required

 

[sgt1255]

The nice thing is in that room size and listening distance is you can get affordable bookshelves a nice sub and not have to drive them very hard so just a good mid tier avr should work. No amps required

I am kind of leaning toward the Onkyo TX-NR5100. Is that a good receiver and still leaning towards the MA Bronze 50 to start with. With those speakers I can add the Bronze AMS Atmos later with center and sub too. It seems very versatile with my room size.

Ken

 

[Teetertotter?]

I am kind of leaning toward the Onkyo TX-NR5100. Is that a good receiver and still leaning towards the MA Bronze 50 to start with. With those speakers I can add the Bronze AMS Atmos later with center and sub too. It seems very versatile with my room size.
Ken

I would say your choice above would be just great. For DD movies and for music, you might want to add a subwoofer: Yamaha VXS10S (White) 10" commercial surface mount subwoofer at Crutchfield. You can mount it on a wall, ceiling, or floor and has all the brackets for mounting purposes. Amazon.com: Jamo Studio Series S 808 Subwoofer (White): Home Audio & Theater

A center channel will be most appreciated for movie dialog.

My personal AVR preferences would be Denon or Yamaha. Good luck with your set-up!

 

[Eppie]

I am kind of leaning toward the Onkyo TX-NR5100. Is that a good receiver and still leaning towards the MA Bronze 50 to start with. With those speakers I can add the Bronze AMS Atmos later with center and sub too. It seems very versatile with my room size.

Ken

Onkyo has had some financial difficulty in the last year which is partly why people lean towards Denon, Marantz and Yamaha these days. That is a nice AVR though.

I have not heard the Bronze 50 but Monitor Audio is well regarded and those speakers made it onto the list of best in that price range in an Audioholics review. The centre will help with movie dialogue but think about placement. You may end up mounting the TV on the wall to fit the centre underneath, or mount the centre on the wall above the current TV location. Either is acceptable. Using just L+R is a good place to start and you can decide afterwards if the centre will be of any benefit. With the bookshelves I would consider a subwoofer ahead of the centre.

 

[Danzilla31]

Onkyo has had some financial difficulty in the last year which is partly why people lean towards Denon, Marantz and Yamaha these days. That is a nice AVR though.

I have not heard the Bronze 50 but Monitor Audio is well regarded and those speakers made it onto the list of best in that price range in an Audioholics review. The centre will help with movie dialogue but think about placement. You may end up mounting the TV on the wall to fit the centre underneath, or mount the centre on the wall above the current TV location. Either is acceptable. Using just L+R is a good place to start and you can decide afterwards if the centre will be of any benefit. With the bookshelves I would consider a subwoofer ahead of the centre.

Agreed I really enjoy onkyo but until we know how there going to hold up over this restructuring I'd have to recommend a brand that's stable right now and highly likely to be around

 

[sgt1255]

I know Yamaha and Denon have great reputations, but does SOny A/V receivers have a good or bad reputations. I have a Sony TV and 4K player and I don't know if it good or bad to keep all components within same manufacture. The other Receivers I have researched are:
Yamaha RX-V483BL
Yamaha RX V6A
Pioneer VSX523
SOny STR DN10820

Ken

 

[Danzilla31]

I know Yamaha and Denon have great reputations, but does SOny A/V receivers have a good or bad reputations. I have a Sony TV and 4K player and I don't know if it good or bad to keep all components within same manufacture. The other Receivers I have researched are:
Yamaha RX-V483BL
Yamaha RX V6A
Pioneer VSX523
SOny STR DN10820

Ken

No it's okay to mix the components you can pick whichever reciever looks best for you

 

[lovinthehd]

I know Yamaha and Denon have great reputations, but does SOny A/V receivers have a good or bad reputations. I have a Sony TV and 4K player and I don't know if it good or bad to keep all components within same manufacture. The other Receivers I have researched are:
Yamaha RX-V483BL
Yamaha RX V6A
Pioneer VSX523
SOny STR DN10820

Ken

Don't forget Marantz too (sister company of Denon under the Sound United umbrella), altho Denon generally is better priced here in the US. I'd love to see Onkyo come out of their problems but we'll see. I think Sony often gets overlooked as far as I've seen has been generally a reliable brand....may not have the latest/greatest feature set or room eq program, tho. I have an older lower end Sony avr (pre-hdmi) that's been a solid performer.