L

Lazasar

Junior Audioholic
I am going to be remodeling my basement and putting in a speakeasy/home theater. I am interested in opinions as to what equipment and speakers people recommend. Room is 20 ft deep and 17ft wide. I will have the TV mounted on a short wall. I am envisioning a 83" OLED TV. I have fallen in love with the B&W 702 Signature speakers so those will be my front right and left speakers and a matching center channel. One problem I am seeing is that my Couch will be located about 8.5 ft from my screen. So, my rear surrounds will be mounted in the back wall which would put them at 11.5 feet from my seating position. Is that OK? I have more money than sense so I am open to getting very nice equipment, but at the same time I don't want to spend money for the sake of spending money, I just want an awesome listening experience. I also want to enjoy awesome music as well as watching movies. Any help or advice would be most appreciated.
 
}Fear_Inoculum{

}Fear_Inoculum{

Senior Audioholic
Welcome to the forums.

How much room are you dedicating for the speakeasy part of the build? Does the room open up to other parts of the basement? How high is the ceiling?

If I had a room that size, I'd definitely be going with 2 rows of seating, and a 4K projector with a 110" + screen. But that's just me.
 
L

Lazasar

Junior Audioholic
Thanks for the response. The ceiling is 7,'9". The speakeasy will be at the back of the room with a secret door to an adjacent room. My thought was to put a bar up against the back of the theater seating area so that I could have four more seats available for movies or sporting events. So, the couch will be the back of the Theater area which leaves the rest for the speakeasy. I do not want to crowd it more than that. There will be no separation between the two so I need to incorporate speakeasy into the theater area while still dealing with sound absorption and dispersion. I am not using theater seating, rather I am going to have a custom couch with ottomans. Given the height of the ceiling and that this is a multipurpose room, I opted for a TV vs projection.
 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
I'd put in a 7.2 system and have your surrounds behind the couch to the sides and have the rears mounted off the Bar. That it should sound fairly decent for Home Theater and you could put it into All Stereo Mode when you just want to party. ;)
 
L

Lazasar

Junior Audioholic
Your thoughts on an Anthem Receiver, MRX 1140?
 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
As I'm not a an Anthem owner (Sorry just 2 Denons & 2 Sonys HT Receivers currently. I know I'm an Audioholic. I'm dealing with it.) I went looking for the Anthem site for info on their MRX 1140 Receiver. At the top of the page this banner appeared (I edited off the email address)

"During the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 we have reduced both staff and hours of operation. Because of this, all calls may not be answered. For all technical support related inquires we encourage you to email. Please expect a slightly longer response time than usual. Thank you for your understanding during this time."

Surprised to see this but I guess it's not crazy in these Covid times. A little scary they'd have to post this as it would scare off prospective buyers looking to see what support is going to be like after purchase.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble, back to your question. My first take is wow, why would you want a receiver capable of supporting 15.2 channels (11 amplifier channels)? How many channels are you going to need? (Atmos?) Please describe your vison for your speakeasy/home theater. A layout drawing or sketch would assist.

At this price there are a few competitors out there to consider, and I'd be concerned with Anthem's proprietary ARC (Athem Room Correction - not to be confused with HDMI ARC) versus something more mainstream (Audyssey, DIRAC Live, etc, ?) and supported in the community. It's manufactured in Vietnam. I have read ARC does work quite well, as it has a calibrated mic, and software that runs on a Windows PC or a MAC. The specs are great on the MRX 1140 but it is a "boutique" manufacturer and market feedback is somewhat limited.

Hopefully another member / owner of an Anthem MRX 1140 will chime in here.
 
L

Lazasar

Junior Audioholic
The Anthem was the one recommended by the company putting in the system. I am OK with separates or another receiver, I just want to make sure it is quality and has the power to drive my speakers. I am certainly open to suggestions.
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
As I stated in another post, I recently visited my dealer as I did just pick up the AVM70. While I was there, i went into their Home Theater Room and listed to a bunch of ATMOS demos. The room was a focal Utopia setup 13.2. I was impressed by the sound I asked what amps he was using to drive it. Room size was almost the same size as yours. To my surprise he was driving all speakers except for the two rears with the 1140. I seriously was considering changing out to the 1140 and selling my amps, it sounded that good. if you live in IL I would go there LOL to demo

Anthem has been around for a long time, formerly Sonic Frontiers. I have owned the AVM30 and AVM50 and recently sold my AV8802A Marantz and used the proceeds to help fund the AVM70. I think their line was solid until they first started to get into the AVR market, as those had a higher defect rate according to my dealer. Will all the new tech packed in these amps, Anthem has definitely had their bugs, but those are resolved and they are adding more functionality to ARC Genesis.

I would also look at the Denon 8500HA as well. Note that the Anthem 1140 does not have HDMI 2.1 4k 120 / 8k that will be released later in a $500 HDMI board upgrade. I have heard that they will be releasing newer models with the upgrade already installed sometime in the April may timeframe.
 
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G

Golfx

Full Audioholic
As I stated in another post, I recently visited my dealer as I did just pick up the AVM70. While I was there, i went into their Home Theater Room and listed to a bunch of ATMOS demos. The room was a focal Utopia setup 13.2. I was impressed by the sound I asked what amps he was using to drive it. Room size was almost the same size as yours. To my surprise he was driving all speakers except for the two rears with the 1140. I seriously was considering changing out to the 1140 and selling my amps, it sounded that good. if you live in IL I would go there LOL to demo

Anthem has been around for a long time, formerly Sonic Frontiers. I have owned the AVM30 and AVM50 and recently sold my AV8802A Marantz and used the proceeds to help fund the AVM70. I think their line was solid until they first started to get into the AVR market, as those had a higher defect rate according to my dealer. Will all the new tech packed in these amps, Anthem has definitely had their bugs, but those are resolved and they are adding more functionality to ARC Genesis.

I would also look at the Denon 8500HA as well. Note that the Anthem 1140 does not have HDMI 2.1 4k 120 / 8k that will be released later in a $500 HDMI board upgrade. I have heard that they will be releasing newer models with the upgrade already installed sometime in the April may timeframe.
I like Cos’s post. I too would recommend the Denon 8500HA. It’s predecessor measured quite well over at Audio Science Review. They also seem relatively error free.

Regarding the Anthem line why don’t you visit AVS forums owner’s thread for the AVM70/90 and start reading from the beginning. It has had more than its share of bugs, and I do not believe their new ARC setup has been very successful.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
I like Cos’s post. I too would recommend the Denon 8500HA. It’s predecessor measured quite well over at Audio Science Review. They also seem relatively error free.

Regarding the Anthem line why don’t you visit AVS forums owner’s thread for the AVM70/90 and start reading from the beginning. It has had more than its share of bugs, and I do not believe their new ARC setup has been very successful.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
If you start from the beginning you will find lots of bugs, ARC was not ready and if you go through, you will find most of the bugs have gone, its a very useful web interface and ARC is taking shape quite nicely. I am currently playing around with it, and so I have not come across any issues.
 
G

Golfx

Full Audioholic
Yes it has improved. But to me it just seemed so avoidable. Like no one person or committee with foresight was in charge.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
L

Lazasar

Junior Audioholic
I very much appreciate all the feedback. Now I am on to the subwoofers. I have decided to go with the all B&W speakers. 702 signature for my front right and left speakers, HTM71 S2 center, CWM7.5 S2 for side surrounds and rear surround, CCM7.5 S2 for the Atmos and now I need to figure out what to use for the dual subs. Local vendor recommended the JL E112. I am not disturbed by the price, but don't want to spend money just to spend money. Any thoughts on subs that would fit into this system?
 
Cos

Cos

Audioholic Samurai
I very much appreciate all the feedback. Now I am on to the subwoofers. I have decided to go with the all B&W speakers. 702 signature for my front right and left speakers, HTM71 S2 center, CWM7.5 S2 for side surrounds and rear surround, CCM7.5 S2 for the Atmos and now I need to figure out what to use for the dual subs. Local vendor recommended the JL E112. I am not disturbed by the price, but don't want to spend money just to spend money. Any thoughts on subs that would fit into this system?
I own a JL audio Sub, was debating on 2. Having had it for a little over a year it's been in for service 2 times. I would not get JL audio subs. Their performance is not in question, there is just so many as good or better options for less money.

There are much better "bass heads" on this site than me, but I would look at options from HSU, Rythmik Audio, SVS and many others.
 
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Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
What pair of subs would you recommend?
Assuming 8 ft ceilings, your 20x17 room will be 2720 cu. ft. That places it in the medium size category (large is over 3000 cu ft). Audioholics has an Excel chart for sub recommendations:
https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/arendal-1961-1s-1v/Audioholics+Bassaholic+compilation-11-11-21.xlsx
Possible options: HSU VTF series (1, 2 or 15), SVS PB200Pro or larger, Paradigm Defiance X12 or X15, Monoprice THX Ultra (12" and up), Arendal 1961 1V or 1723 2V. Not sure which Rythmik, maybe the FVX12, or a Starke Sound SW12 or SW15. There are quite a few good options these days. These all perform fairly well so it could come down to size and styling and features. Some, like the SVS Pro series and Arendals have digital controls with 3 band EQ so that you can fine tune the sub to your room. Paradigm Defiance has ARC room correction. SVS sells a wireless adapter if you can't get wires to a sub location, and Paradigm has a wireless option as well. Technically the SVS PB1000Pro would be enough, but you're getting some higher end gear so I would step it up a notch.
 
-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
Great job Eppie, but as he was looking for dual subs, how about two SVS PB1000Pro?
 
L

Lazasar

Junior Audioholic
I will look at your suggestions. I am getting a little concerned about the JL's simply because of the quality control issues I am reading about.
 
Eppie

Eppie

Audioholic Ninja
Great job Eppie, but as he was looking for dual subs, how about two SVS PB1000Pro?
Check the end of my post. ;) I said that the PB1000 Pro would be enough in that space, but given the speakers and amps/AVRs the op is looking at, I figured he would want something above their cheapest offering. The 2000 should offer a little more headroom. They are both 12" drivers so if the op wanted to save a little money the 1000 should do ok.
 
L

Lazasar

Junior Audioholic
I am grateful for all the advice. Trust me, I am hearing you and doing my research. I will let you know where I fall.
Checking out the SVS PB 16 Ultra and SVS PB 16 Ultra Dual Ported. Wondering if there is an upside to having one of each in a home theater and music listening setting. The ported for the infrasonic and the sealed unit for the quick response.... or would this just be a mess?
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
I am grateful for all the advice. Trust me, I am hearing you and doing my research. I will let you know where I fall.
Checking out the SVS PB 16 Ultra and SVS PB 16 Ultra Dual Ported. Wondering if there is an upside to having one of each in a home theater and music listening setting. The ported for the infrasonic and the sealed unit for the quick response.... or would this just be a mess?
I think there’s a typo here and that you actually mean sb16 and pb16.
In short, yes this would be a mess, and more so the “faster sealed” thing is a wives tale. Both 16 ultra versions perform basically the same except the ported version offers much more low end performance. By that I mean below about 35ish hz.
Imo if your considering anything in the price range of the ultras, you’d be better served with subs from Rythmik, PSA, monolith, arendal and JTR. Would not buy JL, although I have experience with their drivers in the car audio realm. Their HT subs are nice but still sealed.
Mixing sealed and ported is difficult, and the idea of running one for a certain frequency range, and another for a different range isn’t really a thing and makes for more problems than solutions. It’s theory vs reality and you can buy subs that plumb the depths AND give great musical playback. If you really want to stay with SVS, the 3000 series(not the useless 3k micro) is the best value in their stable. A pair of pb3k’s would be amazing in that sized room. I only wish they offered the 3000 in cylinder form.

BTW. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the secret door speakeasy idea. That is awesome.
 

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