I've never heard Jamo. Are these speakers generally better for my setup than the B&W? I noticed they are THX Select 2 certified. One concern I have, whether naive or not, is that they are bookshelf speakers. Aren't floor standing speakers generally better?
Also, on the pioneer receiver, is there a method for hooking up a 2nd subwoofer?
I'm building this room from scratch. I'll be tearing down the paneling, installing acoustic insulation, Quietrock drywall, and sound panels (on walls and ceiling) to absorb the sounds. My TV will be 60 or 65 inch Plasma. Will this affect the type of speaker to purchase? Needless to say, I don't have much concern for aesthetics. I'd much rather have a premium sound than a pretty looking speaker system.
Thank you so much for the help. I'm pretty new to home audio, so it's nice to have people here that have experience with this.
All good questions!
- Jamo is the largest speaker manufacturer in Europe. The older (early 2000's) Jamo THX systems are several times European Multi-Channel System of the year award winners. The D 500 & D 600 models are brand new updated versions of those systems. Slightly redesigned but more practically to be aesthetically more pleasing. I'm bummed that the new 15" THX Ultra subwoofer is not shipping yet, which should be soon. They've changed the date on me 3 times now so I'm not holding my breath or recommending them yet. But I have seen pricing for it & that would fit around your budget as well. It's model is D 600 SUB & it retails at $1800. I used quite a few of the last D6/7 THX model subs from Jamo and they were fantastic as well.
- Are towers better? Generally, for movie systems, NO, they are not better. At least, not for your room size. People who buy towers with a primary eye towards multichannel movie watching are
typically over buying unless they like them aesthetically or don't want bookshelves on stands or need something to stand on its own because they can't in-wall or wall mount. Why?
Explained simply..... Movie sound tracks are NOT mixed with the ideal intention of sending information to the main 5/6/7 speakers below 80hz. Meaning: 80hz is the lowest output you will need your mains to do. Everything lower should go to your subwoofers. This is why "full range" speakers are not needed for movie systems.... If the difficult low end of the "range" is sent to the subs, why pay for a tower that can go lower? You shouldn't! Now, if your room were way way bigger in terms of cubic volume than you would look for speakers with larger drivers that could hit 80hz cleanly without breaking up while still being loud. These could be "towers" or really large Monitors with bigger drivers, like Atlantic Technology's 8200e system. Or you could use something like the Jamo D 600 for a room sized in between. In your room, however, the D 500 is perfect.
Some systems, like Phase Technology's dARTS get incredibly loud but do so by using 5 1/4" & 6 1/2" drivers in their mains that are designed to work in conjunction with their high output subwoofers to deliver "full range" movie sound. Those systems are $15,000 to $30,000.
Other companies, DefTech comes to mind, put subwoofers in the bottom of their "towers" (which, IMO, is NOT the optimal thing to do. But that's another thread completely). Let's examine this type of "Tower" for a second.... If the bottom of the "Tower" is a sealed sub, then what is the top?......... A bookshelf/monitor! Those types of speakers are essentially bookshelf/monitors sitting on a sub, accept that you see only see one piece of equipment. Make sense?
In your case, a tower that goes down to say, for example, 40hz is useless. Those speakers will never see that lower information in your setup/listening preferences in your sized room because when you set up your receiver you're going to cross everything over from the mains to the sub at 80hz. And, on top of that, in your size room the Jamo system will NOT break up or distort at any real world volume level.
- As far as aesthetics are concerned.... why not have both? There are options out there that will let you do so. If the Jamo speakers I recommended do so for you.... great! If not.... keep searching! Jamo also makes a complimentary THX on-wall surround that is part of the D 500 system. The D 500 SUR retails at $699 and would NOT add to the cost of your system should you switch from the in-walls. These would be the optimal way to go. Since I didn't know the design concerns of the room, I went with in-walls. Either way will provide excellent results.
- Two subwoofers is easy. use a Y splitter out of the back of the receiver. The Phase Tech subs I recommended are wireless, but only one can be wireless per system. If you can, I would hardwire for two subs back to your receiver and then just use a Y splitter cable.
- The Jamos will lay out underneath your flat screen and will look really cool....
We've done this system a few times. It is no Joke & very well respected. I highly recommend it without reservation for your size room and budget.
There are other things to do as well, but you would have to spend more money and I could promise a different layout/look, but not really a night and day performance difference.
