What should I do to upgrade?

[Eppie]

For speakers, if you are replacing the 3 front, that's around $2,200 for the mains and $1,300 for the center. It's going to come down to personal preference. Klipsch may be efficient due to the horns, but not my personal favorite. If you prefer Klipsch, just say so and we can look at options. In that price range I would look at Polk, KEF and JBL to start. Maybe Martin Logan and Paradigm as well.

• Polk has the excellent Audio Reserve R700 reviewed by Audioholics here. Well reviewed on many sites and very good value for the money. $1,100 per speaker on Crutchfield (handy for comparing prices). R400 center is $650, so below your budget. You need to move up to the Legend series to get a 3-way center but the L400 is $1,800.
• The JBL HDI-3800 has been reviewed by Audioholics here and I have auditioned the smaller HDI-3600 and really liked it. Normally $2,090 per speaker for the 3600 but JBL often come on sale at big discounts. For example, the gloss black is $2,090 but the satin grey oak is currently $999 per speaker on Crutchfield. That is a real bargain. They have a couple of open box models available as well.
  The trick then is to find the matching center. The gloss black HDI-4500 is expensive, but the satin walnut model is only $999 right now. Might take some patience or more searching to find 3 matching speakers on sale.
• KEF is often recommended for home theater as they do really well with dialogue due to their concentric mid/tweeter. R series is probably outside of your budget but the Q11 Meta is $1,100 per speaker. The Q6 Meta center is $800 but you could also consider stepping the center up to the R2 Meta for $1,400. That would be a good front 3.
• For Martin Logan, the Motion F2 or F20 would be in your price range but I would audution those first if you can.
• Paradigm Premier 800F is an older model but was often recommended in that price range ($1,200 per speaker). It's still a good speaker but overshadowed by newer offerings. The 500C is a proper 3-way at $850 but the 600C is too big for your space.
• If you want a truly neutral speaker with little colouration, I'll throw in the Philharmonic BMR Monitor, which is a large bookshelf speaker. I've heard these first hand and they're great. They perform well above their price point. They make an excellent center speaker as well. You could use the HT Center, or some people get 3 of the Monitors and rotate the tweeter 90° on one and lay it flat to use as a center.
  The designer, Dennis Murphy, often frequents these forums and is very knowledgable. Built and sold in batches so it's recommened to pre-order. They are beautifully finished as well but you won't find a demo pair in a store, they are internet direct. Some owners, though, have been willing to audition if they are in your area. You could ask on AVS forum.

See if there are any stores in your area where you can demo these. Personal preference plays a big part unless you feel you can rely on measurements and reviews. If there are any other brands that you have access to, feel free to ask about them.

 

[gnorthern]

For speakers, if you are replacing the 3 front, that's around $2,200 for the mains and $1,300 for the center. It's going to come down to personal preference. Klipsch may be efficient due to the horns, but not my personal favorite. If you prefer Klipsch, just say so and we can look at options. In that price range I would look at Polk, KEF and JBL to start. Maybe Martin Logan and Paradigm as well.

• Polk has the excellent Audio Reserve R700 reviewed by Audioholics here. Well reviewed on many sites and very good value for the money. $1,100 per speaker on Crutchfield (handy for comparing prices). R400 center is $650, so below your budget. You need to move up to the Legend series to get a 3-way center but the L400 is $1,800.
• The JBL HDI-3800 has been reviewed by Audioholics here and I have auditioned the smaller HDI-3600 and really liked it. Normally $2,090 per speaker for the 3600 but JBL often come on sale at big discounts. For example, the gloss black is $2,090 but the satin grey oak is currently $999 per speaker on Crutchfield. That is a real bargain. They have a couple of open box models available as well.
  The trick then is to find the matching center. The gloss black HDI-4500 is expensive, but the satin walnut model is only $999 right now. Might take some patience or more searching to find 3 matching speakers on sale.
• KEF is often recommended for home theater as they do really well with dialogue due to their concentric mid/tweeter. R series is probably outside of your budget but the Q11 Meta is $1,100 per speaker. The Q6 Meta center is $800 but you could also consider stepping the center up to the R2 Meta for $1,400. That would be a good front 3.
• For Martin Logan, the Motion F2 or F20 would be in your price range but I would audution those first if you can.
• Paradigm Premier 800F is an older model but was often recommended in that price range ($1,200 per speaker). It's still a good speaker but overshadowed by newer offerings. The 500C is a proper 3-way at $850 but the 600C is too big for your space.
• If you want a truly neutral speaker with little colouration, I'll throw in the Philharmonic BMR Monitor, which is a large bookshelf speaker. I've heard these first hand and they're great. They perform well above their price point. They make an excellent center speaker as well. You could use the HT Center, or some people get 3 of the Monitors and rotate the tweeter 90° on one and lay it flat to use as a center.
  The designer, Dennis Murphy, often frequents these forums and is very knowledgable. Built and sold in batches so it's recommened to pre-order. They are beautifully finished as well but you won't find a demo pair in a store, they are internet direct. Some owners, though, have been willing to audition if they are in your area. You could ask on AVS forum.

See if there are any stores in your area where you can demo these. Personal preference plays a big part unless you feel you can rely on measurements and reviews. If there are any other brands that you have access to, feel free to ask about them.

I am amazed at how many audio stores have gone out of business since Covid. I have a choice of Paradigm, Klipsch, Bower and Wilkens (BW), and an internet mostly site Aperion Audio. I listened to the 700C, and a BW. Aperion had some incredible speakers, out of my price range.

The 700C had much more definition than my Klipsch. Weak in the bass but I have an outrageous subwoofer which maybe can make up for that. I ignored the BWs due to price and made plans to see the 800F tomorrow at another store. I thought the 800Fs would be my choice, but I just found a used pair of the exact same BWs on sale. A matching center channel speaker puts me $200 over budget. I am concerned that my receiver is not up to speed for them and posted a separately for that issue.

 

[gnorthern]

A closer look tells me the real culprit of your audio issues may be the glass windows surrounding your system.

100% agree that is a factor. One factor I think that is why the Klipsch highs are not clear. Just looking there are window coverings that may help that did not exist 13 years ago when I was designing the floorplan of the house.

 

[gnorthern]

Thanks for posting the photos. I think you are headed in the right direction. Members here in general try and dissuade the use of upfiring ATMOS speakers as the proximity to the main speakers tends to cause interference. The X15 is an excellent sub so no qualms there. I'll assume that the surrounds are slightly behind the two seats on the sides, or are they on the rear wall?

For ATMOS, yes, it would have been nice to pre-wire for two more ceiling speakers a little in front of your seats. I would stick with the two for now and if you get a chance to install two more in-ceiling that would be the way to go if ATMOS is important to you.

The proper approach is to concentrate on the bed layer first (fronts and surrounds). Windows and doorways are always constraining factors which has led to your main speakers being closer together than what would be recommended for that size of room. You want to have enough separation between the speakers to avoid interference between them. Some members will recommend that you forgo the center speaker because the mains are so close together. Using 2 in the front creates a "phantom" center channel and depending on the seating distance that can work quite well. You can experiment with your existing speakers by simply disabling the center speaker in your AVR setup menu.

Having said that, my speakers are also a little close together but I like having a center speaker to anchor the dialogue to the TV. My seating is spread further out, so it helps with the seats that are off to the side. The best centers use a 3-way design as that reduces comb filtering, which causes interference when you move off of the center axis. A good 3-way center can cost almost as much as the main pair though, which makes upgrading all 3 a bigger challenge.

Hardwood floors and windows make the room more lively but you already have an area rug, which is good, plus the soft furniture and window treatments help. A simple test is to clap your hands and listen for how long it takes the echo to decay. If it drops off quickly, then the room likely has enough soft elements to absorb the sound energy. Adding treatments can be a tricky business though.

I've rambled on here, so I'll talk about speakers in another post.

I tried the phantom speaker before getting the center channel. The center channel made dialogue clearer.

Good idea about clapping the hands. I'm trying that tomorrow.

Yes, the main surrounds are slightly behind where I sit, though I have two ceiling speakers way in the back.

 

[Wardog555]

Are you prepared to comply with this at least? I would at least review the speaker placement as the first option.
Be sure to achieve 30 degrees for the front left and right. Do not go under 25 at all.