Advice Please - Need New 5.1 Speakers for Classical Blu-Rays

[KevAVA]

Hello. I am looking to replace a bad sounding sony blu-ray player/amp + Sony surround (5.1) speaker set with new speakers (5.1) and a separate receiver.

The system will be mainly (90%) used to play Classical/Opera BluRay discs and am looking for a system with a bright and crisp sound.

After reading various threads in this forum, I was thinking about getting a reference speaker set and was considering the Energy RC-Micro 5.1, however in my taste they dont look that great. ie. aesthetics are important for this room. Are there any other speaker sets you would suggest that are wall mountable?

My budget for the speakers is about $800 , and about $350 for a denon receiver. I will be getting rid of the bluRay player/amp and getting a simple (slimmer) bluRay player instead.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hello. I am looking to replace a bad sounding sony blu-ray player/amp + Sony surround (5.1) speaker set with new speakers (5.1) and a separate receiver.

The system will be mainly (90%) used to play Classical/Opera BluRay discs and am looking for a system with a bright and crisp sound.

After reading various threads in this forum, I was thinking about getting a reference speaker set and was considering the Energy RC-Micro 5.1, however in my taste they dont look that great. ie. aesthetics are important for this room. Are there any other speaker sets you would suggest that are wall mountable?

My budget for the speakers is about $800 , and about $350 for a denon receiver. I will be getting rid of the bluRay player/amp and getting a simple (slimmer) bluRay player instead.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This is absolutely the toughest territory for any speaker system.

I just love opera on Blue Ray.

However opera on any speaker system in your budget will be an excruciating experience in my view.

For opera a speaker system must be able to reproduce the human voice with correct balance between chest and head voice, especially the center, which is often the downfall of very expensive systems even.

The speaker system and amps must have huge dynamic range and power reserve. Impeccable performance through out the range is required, with a very robust bass response, that must not bloom.

Your budget for this application needs another zero at least to the right of the the other zeros.

All this demands speakers of above average physical size.

 

[Alex2507]

Are there any other speaker sets you would suggest that are wall mountable?

Although TLS is correct there are some 'sound' choices ... get it? ... that can be made in your budget.

Behringer 2030P/2031P
Infinity Primus 153/163 (same as 150/160 and 152/162 for search purposes)
Some Yamaha bookshelves got good reviews (others can help with model number)
Dayton BR-1 DIY kit from Parts Express maybe w/ a Dennis Murphy mod

The sub needs a separate budget.

There are a variety of mounts that can be used with these speakers but speaker stands would sound better IMO.
Having said that I have wall mounted the Behringer, Infinity and Dayton offerings.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[bikemig]

2.0 system

Another possibility is to go with a pair of floorstanding speakers for $800 and add a sub later. I listen a lot to classical and some opera as well and use a 2.1 set-up. The sub is good for movies but I don't use it for music. The PSB Image T-5 come in a little over your budget but I can recommend them for classical and the audio is very good as well for dialogue. You could also check out accessories4less; they have good prices on open box KEF floorstanders some of which are in (or very close to) your $800 price range. NHT sells a good looking 5.1 system for $800 if you prefer to stick with surround.

 

[zieglj01]

I agree about limitations. And, if you can raise the budget a little - check this out.

Just to get started, and to be a big step up - look at the Boston E60. They will
surprise you, and do sound real good.
http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Acoustics-E60-Performance-Cherry/dp/B001H9O1CG
And the Epik sub
http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/legend.html

For towers - then the Focal
http://www.spearitsound.com/focal/focal_716v.asp

 

[GranteedEV]

TLS Guy isn't exaggerating with what he's saying if you want a system truly capable of Opera.

Consider the following:

Three of these mains
Two of the Breeze surrounds

And plenty of robust, high current, linear, reserve amplification as well. An Emotiva XPA-3 mated to a Marantz SR5004.

Start with justtwo of the mains ($1600) and just the receiver ($350) for now, and add the additional parts slowly over time until it's a proper 5.0 setup.

 

[KevAVA]

I am very happy to have joined this forum! Thank you all for your great advice, a lot of really nice speakers mentioned!

Many of you have suggested going the 2.0/2.1 route, at least to begin with, and I fully agree with this wise option. However, unfortunately with the way this particular room is set up it would be very hard to have any floorstanding speakers (even on stands). In my living room I have a better setup with 2 floor standing JMlab's with focal drivers

The room in question is a smaller office, approx 15ft x 9ft, and space is an issue, which is why i need smaller speakers to mount on the walls, with the exception of the sub of course. I would love to put something like those Behringer 2030p's on the wall but they are rather large and would be a bit more involved to mount on the wall hehe.

Does anyone have any opinion on the KEF KHT-5005.2 system?
I am also still considering the NHT 5.1 system (but seems hard to find in stores?)
And of course the Energy RC-Micro's, or similar.

 

[zieglj01]

The room in question is a smaller office, approx 15ft x 9ft, and space is an issue, which is why i need smaller speakers to mount on the walls, with the exception of the sub of course. I would love to put something like those Behringer 2030p's on the wall but they are rather large and would be a bit more involved to mount on the wall hehe.

I still reccomend the Boston E60, which can be wall mounted. However,
if you have a flat panel in your room - then look at the Monitor Audio
Radius 225 speakers, they can be wall or shelf mounted. They are good.
http://www.saturdayaudio.com/picturepages/radius_closeout.htm#r225