First time HT setup. Need some suggestions and comments.

[Surya]

So this is my first time setting up Home Theater. I've already posted in the forum about getting a 5.1 but I realized my apartment and living room is very small to squeeze in all the components. So that narrowed my choices to either a sound bar or a 3.1 system. I thought instead of getting a sound bar and replacing it later I'll start with a 3.1 and expand it later. Any suggestions and comments about this?

With respect to a good 3.1 setup. This is what I am planning for
Receiver - Denon X3400H
SubWoofer - Klipsch R10SW
Center Speaker - Klipsch R25C
Front Speakers - R15M pair bookshelf speakers as Front speakers

Please let me know what is your suggestions on this combination.

 

[lovinthehd]

No real need for a second thread....and are you in California or Canada?

Soundbars usually don't cooperate being used as components, think the 3.1 idea is better. I still don't recommend the sub from Klipsch @yepimonfire has some experience with those or similar Klipsch speakers, but bigger question is do you really like the sound of those speakers, discount or no?

Just what is the budget? Might want to include some info on your room layout (or pics).

 

[shadyJ]

That should make for a fine system. That sub isn't the best, but you are in an apartment, and a real bruiser is likely to get you evicted.

 

[Surya]

Thank you for your comments. I am in the California area. My budget is $1200-$1300. The reason I am going with Klipsch is because I have a good discount with them and Onkyo(At least 50%) through my friend for Sub woofers and Speakers. This sub is one of the better ones that I could find in Klipsch and Onkyo. So my plan was to get Receiver(for $800) and the Sub woofers and Speakers from Klipsch (for $400 after discount). If you have any other better sub woofer that you can recommend for $200 ( or $400 if they are in Klipsch or Onkyo) that would be really welcome.

Regarding the layout, I have my TV wall mounted at a viewing distance of 11ft. It is a 13ft by 15ft room with one side kind of open. I have mounted the TV about the Fireplace in the area that is denoted by blue. I have a couch opposite to it.

 

[lovinthehd]

Spending $800 for an Onkyo avr and $400-500 on speakers/sub? That's kinda backwards, and I wouldn't recommend Onkyo either. I thought I gave you suggestions for subs, but if you're locked into one seller it will depend on what he sells for both avrs and speakers.

That's a fairly large space for a sub (sub frequencies work off volume of space open to them, rather than the directivity of speakers which more relate to your distance from the speaker), but as shadyj points out, you're in an apartment and high output from a sub could be a problem for you/your neighbors (or is it solid concrete construction or something that wouldn't share with neighbors easily?).

 

[Surya]

"Spending $800 for an Onkyo avr and $400-500 on speakers/sub?" Its a Denon AVR. I have only $400-$500 because of the discount. Otherwise I have to buy a receiver in a lesser change and put the money on subwoofers and speakers.

 

[lovinthehd]

"Spending $800 for an Onkyo avr and $400-500 on speakers/sub?" Its a Denon AVR. I have only $400-$500 because of the discount. Otherwise I have to buy a receiver in a lesser change and put the money on subwoofers and speakers.

In the post above you mentioned Onkyo, so didn't know if you changed your mind or if this is the only other brand choice of avr or ? What is your net on the Denon 3400 or is it hard to tell due to the bundling? Just that generally you spend the bulk of your budget on speakers, not the electronics...

 

[Kai]

Were it me I'd spend $400 on the AVR and the balance on a good 3.1 with the majority on the fronts/center...in an apartment a sub may not be worth the money for the low output you may have to deal with...you can always add a sub later.
Go listen to some speakers of different brands before making a purchase...regardless of the deal, if it doesn't make your ears smile the price is still too much...
Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[sholling]

Fry's has been featuring Denon's AVR-X3400 for $500-600 every few weeks (with a personalized email coupon-code) regularly over the last 6-8 weeks. I paid less than $800 for my AVR-X4400H with a coupon. Sign up for their mailing list and watch for a "famous maker" receiver. It's model year change time and it's time to save money.

KLipsch are not everyone's taste because some find the highs a bit piercing and fatiguing with extended listening - while others love that sound. Listen to them before buying them Either way they are much better than Onkyo speakers.

 

[Surya]

In the post above you mentioned Onkyo, so didn't know if you changed your mind or if this is the only other brand choice of avr or ? What is your net on the Denon 3400 or is it hard to tell due to the bundling? Just that generally you spend the bulk of your budget on speakers, not the electronics...

I am sorry if I had confused you. It was a Denon X3400H.

And Thank you for everyone's input. I will reduce my budget on AVR Receiver and the sub woofer and put it in my Center and Front speakers. I'll update here once I've figured out the combination.

 

[sholling]

It was a Denon X3400H.

A great choice if you can get a deal!

 

[Foxrox]

IMO, you should only be looking at an X3400H if you need it or plan to use the extra channels and/or power in the future. If you’re going with 3.1, and potentially expanding to 5.1, AND you’re using Klipsch speakers (high sensitivity), an X1400H is more than enough receiver for you. It has most of the same features and can be had for a lot less money. As others have said, the greatest part of your budget should be the speakers!

 

[Surya]

First of all thank you everyone for your comments. I feel everyone is right about spending more on the speakers than the receiver. So finally this is what I am planning to go with.

Denon X1400H Receiver - $300( Currently dealing with a Craigslist guy for a new one ) or $499 ( if I am not able to get it from him).

I went and heard a couple of other brands from Frys and Best Buy. I still kind of like the sound and more importantly my Wife likes the build of the speakers. So I am getting

R-8SW Sub + 2 X R260F Front speakers + R450C ( After discount all of this comes to $760 ). So the total would come to $1060 ( or $1200 ). I would be building on this later if I move to a bigger place. Does this sound reasonable?

I had another question as well. I have very small space for rear speakers. Does it spoil the sound if I add some small knockoff rear speakers for $75-$100(For the pair). Can you suggest any for that? I may or may not go for this but I just would like to keep my option open. Thank you.

 

[Foxrox]

Alright, hold on... Please clarify which speaker model you’re talking about for the fronts. “R260F” is not a current Klipsch model. Even so, it seems you’ve moved from bookshelf speakers to floor-standing towers. That’s a little different ballgame. They require more power to reach their full potential. Also, those are much more capable with bass and would make the puny 8” subwoofer kinda pointless. Do you know if you want bookshelf speakers or towers? It makes a difference to the rest of your gear.

 

[Surya]

Alright, hold on... Please clarify which speaker model you’re talking about for the fronts. “R260F” is not a current Klipsch model. Even so, it seems you’ve moved from bookshelf speakers to floor-standing towers. That’s a little different ballgame. They require more power to reach their full potential. Also, those are much more capable with bass and would make the puny 8” subwoofer kinda pointless. Do you know if you want bookshelf speakers or towers? It makes a difference to the rest of your gear.

Sorry please correct me if I have gone wrong anywhere. I meant the RP-260F floor-standing towers.
http://www.klipsch.com/products/reference-premiere-floorstanding-speakers?model=rp-260f

My reason to go from the bookshelf speakers to the towers is because I thought the towers are better as front speakers than the bookshelf speakers. I am really unaware of the things that could go different because of this change. Please let me know the differences.

"Do you know if you want bookshelf speakers or towers?"
Honestly. No. I had a belief that the towers are better than the bookshelf speakers as front speakers.

 

[shadyJ]

KLipsch are not everyone's taste because some find the highs a bit piercing and fatiguing with extended listening - while others love that sound. Listen to them before buying them Either way they are much better than Onkyo speakers.

Supposedly the latest generations of the Klipsch Reference speakers have tamed the treble significantly.

 

[Foxrox]

Well I’d say towers can be better than bookshelves in some applications, but that doesn’t mean they always are. If you’re using a subwoofer, you’re most likely going to waste a lot of the capabilities of the towers because you won’t even be sending the low frequencies to them. Towers and bookshelves from the same product-lines usually have the exact same components. Towers just have more/bigger drivers and bigger cabinets which means more bass and more power requirements. They also cost a lot more. There are several threads on this forum discussing the merits of towers and bookshelves. I recommend reading through some before making your decision.

In your position, I would buy a pair of RP-160Ms for the front, a pair of RP-150Ms for the surrounds (assuming you have room for these), and RP-250C for the center. With your discount, that should come out under $700. The X1400H will drive all these just fine. Then spend whatever else you can on a sub. If you must get Klipsch, at least get a 12” sub, but the options linked below would produce better results:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JZTQIJ4/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1521742844&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=dayton+subwoofer&dpPl=1&dpID=41DPvxNIP-L&ref=plSrch

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-1mk3.html

https://rslspeakers.com/products/rsl-speedwoofer-10s/

Just don’t get the 8” subwoofer. IMHO, that would be a waste of money. It would be better to skip the sub or the surrounds and expand later when more funds are available.

 

[Surya]

Awesome and thank you very much. I did some reading about the R12SW and other subs. Looks like no one is suggesting that sub that much. I also read about other recommendations from the thread. After that the list comes down to

Denon X-1400 - $300 ( I got this from Craigslist ) - Receiver
Dayton SUB 1500 - $200 - Sub
RP160M Pair - Front speakers -- $650 for the below three
RP450C - Center
RP150M Pair - Rear speakers

How does this look?

My another two questions are

1) If I get the rear speakers later, would that make a big difference to the setup? I am thinking may be I can get 2 of RP-250S later as surrounds.

2) I could probably fit the RP-150M in the room, but do you suggest any smaller rear speakers under $200?
Or would that be too much difference in the surround sound?

 

[Foxrox]

RP-250S is a dipole design. I’ve never had them and don’t know much about them, so I can’t be much help there.

Yes you can get the surrounds later. It will make a big difference because it will then be surround sound, which is much more immersive than having a front sound stage only.

The main thing in choosing your surrounds is to get them from the same product line as the other speakers so they are timbre matched. All the Reference Premier speakers will have the same tweeters and horns, so they will mesh well together. Other speakers may not integrate well. In that regard, the RP-250S is a good choice. I just can’t tell you if the dipoles are a good idea or not.

Other Klipsch speakers with similar designs might also work, but I couldn’t give a definitive answer on that either. There is a member on this forum who is very experienced with Klipsch speakers, but he hasn’t weighed in here yet.

 

[lovinthehd]

@Foxrox how do you figure larger speakers are harder to drive? They're usually of higher sensitivity so easier to drive, although lower impedance could make them harder to drive. You don't necessarily waste a tower by having a sub either, although in the case of the R260F getting an 8" sub wouldn't likely extend the capabilities of the R260F much, although it could benefit from separate placement of the sub vs speakers.

Rather than Craigslist without warranty, a refurb Denon 1400 for $330 from accessories4less with a 1 year warranty (which may be supplemented by buying an extended warranty, some credit cards can extend it by a year, too) might be a better option.

I wouldn't go with dipoles for surrounds myself, been there done that, prefer normal bookshelf speakers which then are more useful in other ways down the line....