5.1 speakers for a 18' x 20' room

[arnaldinhoalves]

Hello guys,

I'm matching my home theater system, and you guys have already help me to choose my receiver (Denon 1910) and my subwoofer (VTF2-MK3).

Now, I want to have your opinion about the speakers. I have 4 options in mind

1) NHT:
- Front : TWO Bookshelf or Absolute Zero Bookshelf
- Rear: Absolute Zero
- Center: TWOC Center

2) SVSOUND:
- Front: SCS-02M
- Center: SCS-02
- Surround: SSS-02

3)HSU:
- Front and Rear: HB-1 MK2
- Center: HC-1 MK2

4)Klipsch:
-Front: RB-51
-Center: RC-52
-Surround: RS-42

If you have any other suggestion in this price range I'll be grateful to hear your ideas.

Thank you very much for all your help

 

[shadyJ]

I would go with the Hsu or Klipsch speakers. Their higher sensitivity will help you get more out of your receiver. The NHT's and SVS speakers have to be pushed harder for the same amount of loudness. If the SVS/NHT speakers are going to be placed near the listening position, maybe they will do alright. Both the Klipsch and Hsu speaker are rear ported, so they can't be placed directly against a wall, they need a little room in the rear for the ports to breath. The NHT and SVS speakers don't have that disadvantage, they can be mounted right on the wall, I even think they have key holes in them, or some kind of key hole hanger. Hsu has a clearance sale right now on the espresso speakers, that is a good deal and would look very nice. Klipsch can often be had for less than the MSRP, no matter what the sticker says, so try to do some haggling from where ever you get those from, if you decide on those. The Klipsch RC 64 and RC 62 are supposed to be good center speakers, according to Klipsch owners, I haven't heard anything about the RC 52, but I would guess it would do well. If you can though, consider upgrading to the beefier 6" series centers, it might be a good idea given the weight placed on the center in movie soundtracks nowadays. The Hsu center is terrific also, in fact I made my entire front stage out of them, using them as LCR's. I love this setup!

 

[arnaldinhoalves]

Do you think my Denon 1910 could work well with a klipsch XF-48? Because they have a super price at vanns, right now, for them. What yu guys think about that possibility?
And could I match the xf-48 with an RC 52?

 

[shadyJ]

First of all, I don't think those towers will match with your center really well, although I do think it will be closer in sound than non-Klipsch speakers. I would guess it isn't a horrible mismatch, it's probably passable. Also, for whatever reason, the Klipsch Icon series gets bashed a lot by Klipsch afficionados. You can read about that in Klipsch forums and threads all over the place. However, I don't know if it is because they truly do not sound very good, or because their design deviates a bit from Klipsch tradition. Honestly, I suspect it is mostly due to the latter. A lot of these guys own stuff like Klipschorns and Heresy's, speakers that are the size of cabinet dressers, and are sometimes powered by 15 watt tube amps. I'm guessing they are going to have a problem with a slim, self-amplified, aluminum speaker bearing the name 'Klipsch'.

Also, like I said above, note that the XF48 speakers you are talking about are self-amplified speakers, so they won't be using the amplifier section of your receiver. Make sure your receiver has the right pre-outs. If you already have the receiver, you might get something to take better advantage of it. Plus, that price at Vann's is per speaker, not per pair. If I were looking at tower speakers in that price range though, there are other ones I would look at, to be honest.

 

[arnaldinhoalves]

Ok... thank you very much for your help. But I think I'll stick with the xf-48 becausI think it's a good oportunity for me to have a high-end spaker with a good price. So, what do you think I should get for center and surround speakers?
Once again, thank you very much for your help.

 

[AzN_plyR]

Ok... thank you very much for your help. But I think I'll stick with the xf-48 becausI think it's a good oportunity for me to have a high-end spaker with a good price. So, what do you think I should get for center and surround speakers?
Once again, thank you very much for your help.

You know you're paying more for the compact size than the sound quality right? Vanns says the msrp on those are $1250 but I doubt they sound anything near $1250. I see they are $399, but I hope you're not buying them just because they are $1250 msrp.

Secondly, the Denon AVR-1910 do not have pre-outs. I know, I own one.

 

[shadyJ]

You know you're paying more for the compact size than the sound quality right? Vanns says the msrp on those are $1250 but I doubt they sound anything near $1250. I see they are $399, but I hope you're not buying them just because they are $1250 msrp.

Secondly, the Denon AVR-1910 do not have pre-outs. I know, I own one.

This is true, you just have the wrong receiver for those speakers. No pre-outs and an amp you won't be using. What you want to get is a pre-processor. Emotiva supposedly have a very good one, but there are a lot of good brands out there. For the same price as those slim Klipsch towers, you could get a EMP e55ti, and that would be a much better performer, plus it would actually use the receiver you have.