Infinity Reference Ideas

A

Astray

Enthusiast
Hello everyone,

I've slowly been collecting a 7.2.4 speaker system (I might have to use 5.2.4 but that's another story) and I now need some help with what I should be purchasing to complete everything. Currently I have the 7 speakers with the RS263 x2 (Used $540 for pair) , RS162 x4 ($150 per pair), and RC263 ($150) so now I'm looking what to do for the atmos speakers and what I should do concerning the subwoofers.

Starting with the subwoofers, there is the R12 which I believe will be going on sale for similar pricing come black friday and the R10 has been on sale multiple times already. I think the R12 is my best option but I haven't found any valuable reviews concerning them except for what's on the harman website. I purchased the rest of the Infinity Reference line because I have heard nothing but great things concerning the standing, center, and bookshelf speakers with them being described as serious audiophile speakers with a fairly neutral sound even at list price that rivals Revel speakers, but they do lack the bass response for a proper home theater sound. Anyways, I'm wondering what would be my best move for subwoofer because I don't think a subwoofer from another line would be able to affect the rest of the speakers' sound because they don't really operate on the same frequency much. Am I wrong in this thinking and what would be a good non-matching subwoofer to buy instead of the R12s or R10s?

As for the atmos speakers, I've read that ceiling mounted speakers are superior to those upward angled speakers you put on tower or bookshelf speakers. My problem comes in the R162 being fairly large and probably not realistic for doing a ceiling mount well. There are the R152s which are smaller and might be a good solution to make sure the speakers match tonally and what not, but if there's atmos attachment that would fit my speakers I'd be down to try that as well. I cannot do in ceiling speakers unfortunately as I rent and that would be way too much work to do without proper access to the ceiling from a ceiling (two story apartment). Maybe there's something that can be done with the RS152 (?) as well since they do have mounting holes that I could use, but I'm not sure how I would do it. I've got a 8 ft ceiling that I'm dealing with. Can I just mount some bookshelf speakers very high on the wall for Atmos or do they need to be mounted to the ceiling? Mounting the R152s up high on the wall would be the most preferable if it'll work, but I could probably swing mounting them to some joists in the ceiling or something if needed too. If there's a good upward firing speaker I could put on top of my towers and bookshelves then that would be fine as well, but I'll eventually want to go to dedicated speakers when I'm able to properly build a home theater room.

What are ya'll's thoughts here?
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
If you really must have Atmos, you might as well use the up-firing speakers since ceiling speakers are not in the cards for you. If possible, look at something like the SVS Elevation speakers. They are geared for that kind of thing but without needing to cut holes in your walls.

As for the Infinity Reference subwoofer, its probably not bad. It will not likely dig as deep as many of these manufacture direct subs, but I doubt its bad. However, I would only buy something like that on a discount. If you can get one with a big markdown, go for it. I would look at getting two of them for your system, and even more if it can be afforded. At its MSRP however, I might be looking at other offerings.
 
A

Astray

Enthusiast
If you really must have Atmos, you might as well use the up-firing speakers since ceiling speakers are not in the cards for you. If possible, look at something like the SVS Elevation speakers. They are geared for that kind of thing but without needing to cut holes in your walls.
In ceiling are probably not in the cards though I'm not scared of the drywall work (running the wires in the ceiling is that part I'm most scared of), but ceiling mounted is very possible if it's the best way of doing this. Main concern would be the fairly short ceiling though.

As for the Infinity Reference subwoofer, its probably not bad. It will not likely dig as deep as many of these manufacture direct subs, but I doubt its bad. However, I would only buy something like that on a discount. If you can get one with a big markdown, go for it. I would look at getting two of them for your system, and even more if it can be afforded. At its MSRP however, I might be looking at other offerings.
Absolutely, I've picked all of the other speakers at 60% with a stacking 30% coupon. It would end up being around $150 for each R12 sub and like $130 for each R10 sub if I go that route. I've heard bigger is always better for subs though, is that correct?
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Bigger is usually better in subwoofers, all other things being equal. At $150 each, those Infinity subs look like a steal. I would jump on a pair of those if I were you.
 
D

Drunkpenguin

Audioholic Chief
I've never tried the bounce method, but everything Ive read indicates the results are mediocre at best. I'd save your money and enjoy 7.1.
 
A

Astray

Enthusiast
Okay so the subwoofer plan is made because pricing. There's too much giving up on the atmos speakers though. Are none of the ideas I gave viable at all? I felt like the R152s were a good idea. No dea if the RS152 could work either. Is mounting high on a wall and angling not good enough for atmos? I could probably mount the speakers to the ceiling but in ceiling would be difficult. Wires are gonna be exposed for 7.2 anyways.
 
D

Drunkpenguin

Audioholic Chief
I suppose speakers mounted on the side walls at ceiling level would work somewhat. It wouldnt be ideal, but would still give you an over head sound. I think this would work better on really tall ceilings tho. The problem is atmos was designed to give you sounds directly above you. The mix is going to expect them to be there and you might get some odd panning issues if the atmos were on top of the surrounds instead of above.
 
A

Astray

Enthusiast
Okay so I'll need to get actual ceiling speakers then. How powerful do these things need to be? The R162s I have are absolutely overkill for the side and rear as it is (they're 17 lbs). Will the R152s (they're about 13 lbs) be overkill for ceiling speakers? I'll figure out a way to mount them, even if it's just hanging them in the ceiling.
 
JerryLove

JerryLove

Audioholic Samurai
If you really must have Atmos, you might as well use the up-firing speakers since ceiling speakers are not in the cards for you. If possible, look at something like the SVS Elevation speakers. They are geared for that kind of thing but without needing to cut holes in your walls.
I remain rather convinced that this is snake oil.

Sound emits from a driver in 360-degrees except where baffled. Placing a speaker "up facing" seems the worst of all possible worlds. Some first-order sound will bounce to you off walls and a ceiling, and thus be colored. Much of that will be off-axis (it's not like only the on-axis sound will bounce). Other frequencies will not be baffled and you'll get off-axis sound first, followed by the same colored sound mentioned a moment ago.
 
A

Astray

Enthusiast
Since this thread got revived earlier than expect, I wanted to let you know that I picked 2 pairs of the R152 bookshelf speakers that I'm going to find a way to place into my ceiling for a proper atmos setup. I'll be back with the measurements and pictures of the room once I'm finished with the semester.
 
K

kevindd992002

Audiophyte
Did you ever get to mount the R152's in the ceiling?

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