Beginner looking for recommendations on 3.0/3.1

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Daesonn

Enthusiast
Hey guys,

I was into car audio for a couple of years back in the day but I haven't spent much time in the home audio setting. I just got a LG 65-in OLED and would like to compliment it with some nice speakers. 50/50 (rock) music vs movies. My living room is 18x13 and is open to my small dining room which is about 10x10.

I have a fairly narrow space to work with, and therefore do not wish to consider rear or side speakers. I do not have a receiver/amplifier and was hoping to stay between $1,000 and $2,000 for everything. One reason I have come here instead of picking up something on craigslist or relying on other threads is because I need something with an appealing wood aesthetic to match my living room. I'm finding most of the recommendations are for things that come in piano black and I would prefer to avoid those finishes.

I have gotten absolutely lost in this realm given all the different manufacturers, and all of the speaker lines produced. I have almost bought a jamo or KLH setup because I have just gotten so tired of researching but I need some friendly people to back me up on my purchase before I feel comfortable. Thank you guys.
 
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Daesonn

Enthusiast
Here's a picture of my living room for reference in terms of the narrow space and the aesthetic I'm looking to match. Thanks again. Cheers

 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
Ascend Acoustics



Or one or two of these

 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Might look for receivers at accessories4less.com as well as some of the speaker offerings, perhaps Kef and Canton. Receivers will generally be black boxes, tho. Maybe for subs RSL, SVS or Hsu models....
 
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Daesonn

Enthusiast
Might look for receivers at accessories4less.com as well as some of the speaker offerings, perhaps Kef and Canton. Receivers will generally be black boxes, tho. Maybe for subs RSL, SVS or Hsu models....
Oh yes I don't expect the receiver to be aesthetic, as it will be in the cabinet behind glass.
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Towers or bookshelves? What kind of car audio were you into?

As for wood aesthetics that will fit within your budget, Kef Q550's or Q750's, and Paradigm Premier 700F's come to mind.
 
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Daesonn

Enthusiast
I kind of think towers will look more appealing. I was even wondering if it would be possible to find towers with big enough drivers that I could exclude a subwoofer.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
I kind of think towers will look more appealing. I was even wondering if it would be possible to find towers with big enough drivers that I could exclude a subwoofer.

Or these Bad Boys


Not wood but they come in Gloss White too

Or if you could find these in the Cherry

 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I kind of think towers will look more appealing. I was even wondering if it would be possible to find towers with big enough drivers that I could exclude a subwoofer.
The diameter of the woofer isn't necessarily indicating deep bass performance....
 
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Daesonn

Enthusiast
Towers or bookshelves? What kind of car audio were you into?

As for wood aesthetics that will fit within your budget, Kef Q550's or Q750's, and Paradigm Premier 700F's come to mind.
Btw at best I had a '94 Maxima with a/d/s components in the custom fabricated kick panels, with JBL 6.5 in the doors and an elemental designs SP 15 in the trunk powered by a couple of JBL amplifiers. That was almost 15 years ago in my car audio days.
 
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Daesonn

Enthusiast
The diameter of the woofer isn't necessarily indicating deep bass performance....
You may be right but from my experience smaller woofers generally do not get close enough to the 20hz range to cover the full spectrum which I was always taught was important. Maybe I'm wrong?
 
D

Daesonn

Enthusiast

Or these Bad Boys


Not wood but they come in Gloss White too

Or if you could find these in the Cherry

Thank you for your recommendations. May I ask, since these would be going side by side of my TV entertainment center and pretty much as flush as possible to the wall, is rear porting going to be an issue? I know it would be best to space them away from the wall and angle them, but my living room is just too narrow and has a lot of traffic going through it. I can't afford to move them away from the wall and have them get knocked over. Thanks
 
tmurnin

tmurnin

Full Audioholic
If you’re open to a sub (which are generally pretty much black cubes), then I don’t think you need towers and you have more versatility with bookshelves at the price point you’re considering. Dynaudio, KEF, Focal, Ascend, Aperion Audio all have nice finishes available. You can save some $ if you start with a 2.1 system now and add a center later if you decide you need one
 
NINaudio

NINaudio

Audioholic Samurai
Btw at best I had a '94 Maxima with a/d/s components in the custom fabricated kick panels, with JBL 6.5 in the doors and an elemental designs SP 15 in the trunk powered by a couple of JBL amplifiers. That was almost 15 years ago in my car audio days.
You're going to want a sub then. No tower is going to get close to that visceral bass you can get in a car with a 15" sub. I did some SQ competitions back in the day through IASCA, and even with an 18" at home I don't get that same type of slam I'd get in the car with a 12". Having said that, though, I'd recommend one of the Hsu 15" ported options for a sub. A pair of solid bookshelves and that sub will be your best bet for staying within the $2000 budget and getting something that you'd enjoy. You'd need to spend a lot more to get towers that dig to 20 Hz.
 
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Daesonn

Enthusiast
You're going to want a sub then. No tower is going to get close to that visceral bass you can get in a car with a 15" sub. I did some SQ competitions back in the day through IASCA, and even with an 18" at home I don't get that same type of slam I'd get in the car with a 12". Having said that, though, I'd recommend one of the Hsu 15" ported options for a sub. A pair of solid bookshelves and that sub will be your best bet for staying within the $2000 budget and getting something that you'd enjoy. You'd need to spend a lot more to get towers that dig to 20 Hz.
I'm not trying to go back to that level of sound by any means lol. Aesthetics and space maintenance are a much bigger concern today.
 
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Daesonn

Enthusiast
Are there any slimmer profile subwoofers you can recommend? I'm not looking for anything crazy.


It seems everything mentioned would be closer to a $2k setup. I'm interested to see what you guys may recommend for a 3.0/3.1 setup for closer to $1200-$1500 (including an amplifier)
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
Are there any slimmer profile subwoofers you can recommend? I'm not looking for anything crazy.


I'm interested to see what you guys may recommend for a 3.0/3.1 setup for closer to $1200-$1500 (including an amplifier)


 
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mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord

 

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