HELP tv mounted in the corner with very little room for audio

[yankee85]

Any help would be appreciated. our tv placement is our best option in our living room. We had a Sonos Playbar and had a difficult time hearing dialogue. We we given a denon s660h. should I go with a passive sound bar and sub or should I buy a separate lcr set up if so suggestion would be great. We r in our mid 50 and really need to focus on hearing what the hell their saying when we watch tv/ movies. Ty in advance

 

[ryanosaur]

Not a lot of great options, necessarily. Many Soundbars are NOT known for creating great sound. (Though, to be fair, I have heard some success stories.)
If you have some speakers you can try out, you could simply put a L/R main speaker under the TV, using what is known as "Phantom Center" (simply not activating the center channel in the AVR) and all sound will be reproduced using those two speakers.
That will likely upgrade your audio quality, possibly significantly.

If you were trying to build out a full Home Theater experience, the advice would be significantly different and more expensive. However, for what it seems you are describing, I think trying to add two quality standmount/bookshelf style speakers could do the trick.

Perhaps you know somebody that could lend you a pair to "try out?"

 

[lovinthehd]

You sure the tv has to be in the corner? I'd not want my tv in the corner. If anything using the avr with better speakers than a soundbar generally offers I think would be the best route....but then you have speaker placement options where? Whole floor plan might make more sense to us than the one pic....

 

[yankee85]

Not a lot of great options, necessarily. Many Soundbars are NOT known for creating great sound. (Though, to be fair, I have heard some success stories.)
If you have some speakers you can try out, you could simply put a L/R main speaker under the TV, using what is known as "Phantom Center" (simply not activating the center channel in the AVR) and all sound will be reproduced using those two speakers.
That will likely upgrade your audio quality, possibly significantly.

If you were trying to build out a full Home Theater experience, the advice would be significantly different and more expensive. However, for what it seems you are describing, I think trying to add two quality standmount/bookshelf style speakers could do the trick.

Perhaps you know somebody that could lend you a pair to "try out?"

Thank you for your reply. I’m hoping for voice clarity I can alwayw buy a set of speakers and give your idea a shot if its not to my liking I can send em back

 

[yankee85]

You sure the tv has to be in the corner? I'd not want my tv in the corner. If anything using the avr with better speakers than a soundbar generally offers I think would be the best route....but then you have speaker placement options where? Whole floor plan might make more sense to us than the one pic....

 

[yankee85]

Am I sure? Yes I’m sure I have a fireplace to the left of the window and a picture window to the right.. The room is part of an open concept. I can’t take a good pic cause it keeps telling me the file is to big.

 

[ryanosaur]

Thank you for your reply. I’m hoping for voice clarity I can alwayw buy a set of speakers and give your idea a shot if its not to my liking I can send em back

While I agree with Lovin' in general, I get that you're not after a full redesign.

What would be your budget for a pair of Speakers?

Here are two that just come to mind very quickly... just spitballin' here.

A very easy solution could be ordering a pair of SVS Prime Bookshelves:

SVS Prime Bookshelf Speaker | Best Bookshelf Speakers Under $1000

Massive soundstage with deep bass and pinpoint accuracy for stereo and home theater. Best Bookshelf speakers under $500.

www.svsound.com

SVS has a 45 day in home trial and free return shipping. The Speakers are a little more expensive than some competitors, but you literally have almost zero risk.

Another company that has decent gear and would cost less could be NHT (Now Hear This), and their SuperOne model:

NHT Audio

NHT (Now Hear This), Llc. is an American loudspeaker company based in Benicia, California that specializes in acoustic suspension loudspeakers and patented in-ceiling speakers

www.nhthifi.com

Available on Amazon at a discount:

https://www.amazon.com/NHT-SuperOne-2-1-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B00LJX4HCY?th=1

There are a lot of options at various pricepoints... With dialog clarity being a must, though, I would urge that you consider not cutting corners too much so you can get something that will have a good response through the vocal range.

 

[yankee85]

While I agree with Lovin' in general, I get that you're not after a full redesign.

What would be your budget for a pair of Speakers?

Here are two that just come to mind very quickly... just spitballin' here.

A very easy solution could be ordering a pair of SVS Prime Bookshelves:

SVS Prime Bookshelf Speaker | Best Bookshelf Speakers Under $1000

Massive soundstage with deep bass and pinpoint accuracy for stereo and home theater. Best Bookshelf speakers under $500.

www.svsound.com

SVS has a 45 day in home trial and free return shipping. The Speakers are a little more expensive than some competitors, but you literally have almost zero risk.

Another company that has decent gear and would cost less could be NHT (Now Hear This), and their SuperOne model:

NHT Audio

NHT (Now Hear This), Llc. is an American loudspeaker company based in Benicia, California that specializes in acoustic suspension loudspeakers and patented in-ceiling speakers

www.nhthifi.com

Available on Amazon at a discount:

https://www.amazon.com/NHT-SuperOne-2-1-Bookshelf-Speaker/dp/B00LJX4HCY?th=1

There are a lot of options at various pricepoints... With dialog clarity being a must, though, I would urge that you consider not cutting corners too much so you can get something that will have a good response through the vocal range.

I’m thinking of a Martin Logan X3 with a sub and add surrounds at a later date

 

[ryanosaur]

That puts you back in the soundbar game, though...
Which is fine... it is your system and your $$$, after all.

Soundbars are still largely a lifestyle/convenience item. They are small by necessity and have to make a lot of compromises in design to deliver in a small family-friendly package.

I would argue that you could potentially beat the SQ of that X3 with two good Speakers and a Sub... Those NHTs through Amazon would be 300, plus this little guy from SVS:

PB-1000 Pro Subwoofer | SVS

Ported cabinet home audio subwoofer unleashes deep, room-shaking output with accuracy and refinement.

www.svsound.com

...will give you full range sound and i'd almost be willing to gamble... much better SoundQuality.

Just food for thought.

Cheers!

 

[lovinthehd]

Am I sure? Yes I’m sure I have a fireplace to the left of the window and a picture window to the right.. The room is part of an open concept. I can’t take a good pic cause it keeps telling me the file is to big.

You can use any pic you want, you just need to resize it to post it here due the file size limits. I use Windows' Paint program and resize to 30% or so.....

Yeah I get room limitations for placement, we all have compromises . However, where can you place speakers/sub? Placement is very important.

 

[yankee85]

You can use any pic you want, you just need to resize it to post it here due the file size limits. I use Windows' Paint program and resize to 30% or so.....

Yeah I get room limitations for placement, we all have compromises . However, where can you place speakers/sub? Placement is very important.

That’s why I think I’m gonna be stuck with a passive sound bar and a sub.

 

[lovinthehd]

That’s why I think I’m gonna be stuck with a passive sound bar and a sub.

Might consider raising the "center" level if possible with a passive soundbar (do they have actual multich inputs/channels? Never looked for one)

 

[yankee85]

Might consider raising the "center" level if possible with a passive soundbar (do they have actual multich inputs/channels? Never looked for one)

That’s what I was told that way we old farts can hear what the people are saying

 

[lovinthehd]

That’s what I was told that way we old farts can hear what the people are saying

I'm a bit older than you Proper setup goes a long ways, other than compromising due WAF or other things I don't need to deal with so it allows me to pay more attention to acoustics/setup but YMMV . Some soundtracks these days aren't particularly clear on dialog either, which doesn't help. If looking for a passive soundbar I'd tend to look for a proper 3 way design rather than a mw-t-mw setup. (mw-midwoofer, t-tweeter). The slimline nature of soundbars probably does not accommodate that, though. Still, a soundbar is better than tv speakers generally! Good luck!

 

[yankee85]

That’s what I was told that way we old farts can hear what the people are saying

I'm a bit older than you Proper setup goes a long ways, other than compromising due WAF or other things I don't need to deal with so it allows me to pay more attention to acoustics/setup but YMMV . Some soundtracks these days aren't particularly clear on dialog either, which doesn't help. If looking for a passive soundbar I'd tend to look for a proper 3 way design rather than a mw-t-mw setup. (mw-midwoofer, t-tweeter). The slimline nature of soundbars probably does not accommodate that, though. Still, a soundbar is better than tv speakers generally! Good luck!

Ty for your input

 

[lovinthehd]

View attachment 53130

Ty for your input

Them's some sweet woofers!

 

[yankee85]

View attachment 53130

Ty for your input

Them's some sweet woofers!

ty we love em to death

 

[lovinthehd]

ty we love em to death

Boxers, yes? Our dog when I was 3/5 years old was a boxer!

 

[yankee85]

Boxers, yes? Our dog when I was 3/5 years old was a boxer!

2 boxers are our other one is our sons and the bull dog is ours

 

[Golfx]

That puts you back in the soundbar game, though...
Which is fine... it is your system and your $$$, after all.

Soundbars are still largely a lifestyle/convenience item. They are small by necessity and have to make a lot of compromises in design to deliver in a small family-friendly package.

I would argue that you could potentially beat the SQ of that X3 with two good Speakers and a Sub... Those NHTs through Amazon would be 300, plus this little guy from SVS:

PB-1000 Pro Subwoofer | SVS

Ported cabinet home audio subwoofer unleashes deep, room-shaking output with accuracy and refinement.

www.svsound.com

...will give you full range sound and i'd almost be willing to gamble... much better SoundQuality.

Just food for thought.

Cheers!

I agree with Ryanosaur

Just for fun why don’t you call the SVS sales/tech advisors and throw yourself on their mercy. They have always treated me well and are very knowledgeable. I would think some smaller bookshelf speakers could really improve your sound. Maybe add a center too for dialogue. Sub later. Etc.


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