Living Room Speaker recommendations

[Greg H]

Hi All,

I've been researching speaker choices for my living room over the past 3 weeks and I would love to get some guidance from somebody more knowledgable than the usual area retail chains.

I have a living room with big windows overlooking my backyard patio/pool area, with a massive fireplace at the center of the room. It's an open area that goes straight into the kitchen area without any walls. This space is about 38 feet by 13 feet with the fireplace and kitchen on opposite sides of the 13 foot wall and the windows on the 38 feet wall. The ceilings are 9 foot tall.

I'm not kidding myself, I know the acoustics will never be that of a serious listening room--I do that type of listening on my M-Audio studio monitors up in my bedroom on the 2nd floor. I've been thinking a lot about a 5.1 system that I would use mostly for playing music for having parties with a 2nd zone of outdoor speakers in the pool area. I don't have room to put floor standing speakers in the living area so I was thinking good quality ceiling speakers in the big room with a pretty powerful sub woofer. I already have a Harman Kardon AVR2600 7.1/2 zone receiver that I'd like to use for now. After looking at a lot of speakers and hearing many of them I really kind of like the definitive technology Di6.5R for the ceiling speakers (which I heard) and I was thinking about possibly an Hsu sub woofer like a VTF-3 MK5 HP or VTF-15H MK2. I also really like the idea of the Di 8R speakers but I can't find any place local that I can listen to them.

I have no idea about a center channel but I know I probably could put it on the fireplace mantle and need to also get definitive technology to match the voice. I haven't thought about the outdoor speakers yet but I have until next summer to figure that part out. I just need to run the wire in the walls before I repaint the living room.

Does this seem like a reasonable approach? Do any of you have other speaker recommendations or advice on whether the Di 6.5R or Di 8R would be better for the ceiling speaker choice in this configuration? I can get them both for the same price but I was wondering if the 6.5 would actually sound better if I had a decent sub to cover the lower ranges.

Thanks for your help!

 

[shadyJ]

I would just get some regular speakers. The room acoustics might not be as bad for some good speakers as you might believe. Good speakers can deal with certain suboptimal acoustic situations. Going with ceiling speakers is like completely giving up on having good sound. Right now RBH is having a really good holiday sale, and it ends tomorrow. If it were me, I would jump right on some of those deals, especially the SX-T1 deal. The Hsu subs are solid. If it were me, I would get a couple of the Hsu 15" subs, and use them as speaker stands for some RBH SX-T1 speakers. I think that would make for a pretty outstanding sound system. Your friends would be very envious if they hear that.

 

[Greg H]

Thanks for the tip shadyJ. I am envious of those RBH speakers, but I was planning on putting the HSU subs under an end table or out of the way. Unfortunately I don't have room at the front of the room to put speakers--the furniture is high and large and would completely block the sound which is why I was thinking ceiling speakers with a solid center channel right above the fireplace to help the sound stage as long as the ceiling speakers didnt suck. Most of the ceiling speakers I listened to were garbage but the Di6.5's had really good mids and highs except they had almost nothing on the low end.

 

[shadyJ]

What about in-wall speakers? Even that would be worlds better than in-ceiling.

 

[Greg H]

In wall speakers might work in the front if I go up a bit higher than normal. Unfortunately because of where the fireplace is in the front of the room, i have to put the screen to the side of it where it would block speakers at ear level. Also that wall is on an exterior wall with insulation inside of it. I've attached a picture.

Do you have any suggestions for in-wall speakers? The Di6.5R's are capable of mounting in-wall and I think they also make a rectangular speaker that would also mount in-wall.

 

[shadyJ]

I don't see how in-walls would work in there when the display is in the corner- at least if you want the audio to be tied to the visual. Otherwise I would place the in-walls on either side of the fireplace. That ought to give you some OK stereo sound. As far as brands go, there are some good in-wall speakers, and they can be expensive, like the Kef THX in-walls or Klipsch THX in-walls. How much are you looking to spend?

 

[lovinthehd]

Thanks for the tip shadyJ. Unfortunately I don't have room at the front of the room to put speakers--the furniture is high and large and would completely block the sound which is why I was thinking ceiling speakers with a solid center channel right above the fireplace to help the sound stage as long as the ceiling speakers didnt suck. Most of the ceiling speakers I listened to were garbage but the Di6.5's had really good mids and highs except they had almost nothing on the low end.

You are thinking of putting speakers on the floor or something? Your furniture doesn't look particularly tall, standmount speakers or towers should be fine. Ceiling speakers for mains just aren't a good idea to me at all. Your subs may or may not work well just where they're conveniently placed, either. The tv in a corner wouldn't work well without it being centered either, and above the fireplace wouldn't be my favorite location. Living rooms can be tough

 

[Greg H]

After thinking about it a bit more I'm thinking I could fit bookshelf speakers, mounted to the wall with an arm mount. I'll measure but if thats the case that would open up more possibilities. Do you all have a good bookshelf recommendation that would pair well with a 12" or 15" sub? I need it to fill 4000 ft^3. If the brand of bookshelf also has matching center channel and rear ceiling speakers that would be ideal.

 

[yepimonfire]

After thinking about it a bit more I'm thinking I could fit bookshelf speakers, mounted to the wall with an arm mount. I'll measure but if thats the case that would open up more possibilities. Do you all have a good bookshelf recommendation that would pair well with a 12" or 15" sub? I need it to fill 4000 ft^3. If the brand of bookshelf also has matching center channel and rear ceiling speakers that would be ideal.

That’s a big space to fill. If possible I’d try to go with towers, or maybe Klipsch RP-160m if you insist on bookshelves.

What does the rear of the room look like? None of the possible placement options for the tv or center channel are good at all with the fireplace in the way. You really need to have everything centered and near ear level. Having a center channel above the fireplace would seriously distort the sound stage.


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[Greg H]

The rear of the room is completely opened up to the dining room / kitchen. About 2000ft^3 of the 4000ft^3 it is the living room, and the other 2000 is opened up to the dining room / kitchen.

I'm less concerned with the home theatre/movie aspect and more concerned with filling the area with good sounding music with deep bass for when I throw pool parties. I'm getting ready to paint the room and do drywall work on it and want to wire it up so i have a seamless outside/inside music experience on this main level. Hell, I even thought about putting a ceiling speaker in the bathroom.

 

[lovinthehd]

I was thinking about whether a surround setup is really what you want; to utilize all the speaker positions for parties you wouldn't likely use actual surround modes, more like the all-ch stereo mode. How much of this is to support the tv/video at all? Music listening in 2ch? How much do aesthetics/WAF count? How loud might you want to get during a party?

As to the volume in terms of subs, two 15"s could only be a good start for that much open space. I have a slightly larger volume from my slightly larger sized living room and open space adjacent, about 6500 cuft in total, and wasn't happy until I added some significantly large subs (3 x 18"s and a dual 15") spread around the room. I am a bassoholic, tho.

Your speakers wouldn't be so much about volume but distance between speaker and listener.

PS Nice looking room, got pics of the rest of the room?

 

[yepimonfire]

I was thinking about whether a surround setup is really what you want; to utilize all the speaker positions for parties you wouldn't likely use actual surround modes, more like the all-ch stereo mode. How much of this is to support the tv/video at all? Music listening in 2ch? How much do aesthetics/WAF count? How loud might you want to get during a party?

As to the volume in terms of subs, two 15"s could only be a good start for that much open space. I have a slightly larger volume from my slightly larger sized living room and open space adjacent, about 6500 cuft in total, and wasn't happy until I added some significantly large subs (3 x 18"s and a dual 15") spread around the room. I am a bassoholic, tho.

Your speakers wouldn't be so much about volume but distance between speaker and listener.

I would guess party = loud. Small bookshelves don’t do loud very well. In my house, if I’m trying to play music for multiple people throughout the house, I usually use dsu or stereo and just crank them to what amounts of 95dB at the sofa (that nobody is fortunately sitting at). I have about a 102dB @11’ limit before audible distortion sets in. The space of his room is double mine. The RP-160m is 3dB more efficient, and can probably tolerate more power before distorting, but it’s still asking a lot from a bookshelf in what appears to be a big house. I think dsu does a better job of spreading the sound out than multichannel stereo, at least in the room the setup is in. It gives a nice stable image for all listeners in the room. It really depends what the op is trying to do. I know he mentioned a zone 2 for the pool area. Are you trying to get the sound from the living room to be loud enough to cover the entire house?

What would probably work better in this case is large bookshelves in the living room, and y splitters in the zone two with dedicated amplification for other rooms.

Blowing speakers during parties is easier to do than one would believe. It’s one thing to sit in the sweet spot and get ample volume, it’s another to fill a big room or house. Klipsch 160m’s would likely handle the task, for anything else, you’d need bigger speakers, preferably towers.

I’m assuming the pool is outdoors? If so, I’d look into pro speakers, like a b215XL paired with a pro sub. Outside of the biggest speakers, getting decent volume outdoors from home audio speakers is a good way to let the magic smoke out.


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[lovinthehd]

Yeah for parties and loud music, out of reach of curious hands reach is a good thing for consideration, both the control gear as well as speakers. Was sort of thinking of distributed audio setup with pro style speakers, JBL or Mackie or .... many possibilities. Low aesthetics tho particularly those Behringers

 

[yepimonfire]

Yeah for parties and loud music, out of reach of curious hands reach is a good thing for consideration, both the control gear as well as speakers. Was sort of thinking of distributed audio setup with pro style speakers, JBL or Mackie or .... many possibilities. Low aesthetics tho particularly those Behringers

I prefer “commanding” aesthetics

Could also pick up some r 28f speakers for ~200 a pop on crutchfield for Black Friday right now. Those should easily work for outdoors parties. Anechoic sensitivity is 94dB 1w1m so at 20’ away that’s 98dB @ 100w, which is loud as f.... some guy gets crazy with the volume knob? No worries, replacement woofers and tweeters are cheap, but you’d have to try hard to blow it.


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[shadyJ]

After thinking about it a bit more I'm thinking I could fit bookshelf speakers, mounted to the wall with an arm mount. I'll measure but if thats the case that would open up more possibilities. Do you all have a good bookshelf recommendation that would pair well with a 12" or 15" sub? I need it to fill 4000 ft^3. If the brand of bookshelf also has matching center channel and rear ceiling speakers that would be ideal.

How loud do you play music at these parties? If you like it loud like live sound amplification loud, then, as mentioned above, conventional home audio speakers will not be up to the task. If this is just for background music, than home audio speakers will do the job. Since you are intent on getting the Hsu sub, you might look at their speakers too, which are quite good. They have a matching center and some in-walls that could be used as in-ceilings just as easily. Get one of their speaker/sub packages for a discount.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Personally I loathe the “tv above the fireplace” thing but in your room I might consider this.
https://www.mantelmount.com/products/mm540-enhanced-mount
And I’ve also been interested in these on walls by paradigm. https://www.paradigm.com/products-current/type=lcr/model=millenia-30/page=overview
https://www.paradigm.com/products-current/type=lcr
I think with a pair of HSU 15”s those might work good. I don’t get the feeling you’re looking at providing a concert experience so I don’t think “pro” speakers are necessary. For outdoor pool party speakers I might consider pro speakers but your neighbors might kill you lol. Maybe a pair of soffit mounted speakers or rock speakers with a couple underground subs(yes it’s a thing) could work.

 

[Greg H]

Thanks all for your input.

I went to a local store and listened to the Klipsch RP-160Ms yepimonfire recommended. While they output big sound, they have almost no sound on the low-to-medium end. Paired with a 12" sub it just sounded really goofy with no medium-low sound. Also the highs sounded a bit exaggerated for my tastes.

I also listened to Revel M16's which sounded a whole lot better. But from the specs they are only 86db sensitivity and as many have mentioned, would not fill the area with sound with the volume I desire, especially with the max wattage being only 120watts. I'll never get above 100dB at 15 feet away with those specs.

I also listened to floor standing speakers. I liked the def tech BP1040s they had there, and the guy there recommended I look into the 'new' def tech bookshelf speakers (I think he is referring to the D11's which he said he doesn't have yet). Also I was looking at the Def Tech Studio Monitor 65's and the specs look pretty good on paper for freq response and sensitivity, etc and I was wondering about getting 3 of those for LCR and pairing them with ceiling Di8R or Di6.5Rs for the rear channels along with a couple of 12" subs. Then I could find something else for outdoors. Would that work?

By the way the parties dont get super duper loud outside due to neighbors, etc. But it would be nice to have pretty good quality sound out there that can be turned up and you could hear the bass pretty well while across the other end of the pool.

 

[lovinthehd]

You could add stuff in the pool http://clarksynthesis.com/pool-and-spa-products/

Store demos aren't always great ways to judge speaker performance...let alone subs.

 

[yepimonfire]

You could add stuff in the pool http://clarksynthesis.com/pool-and-spa-products/

Store demos aren't always great ways to judge speaker performance...let alone subs.

More than likely the sub wasn’t properly level matched.


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[yepimonfire]

Thanks all for your input.

I went to a local store and listened to the Klipsch RP-160Ms yepimonfire recommended. While they output big sound, they have almost no sound on the low-to-medium end. Paired with a 12" sub it just sounded really goofy with no medium-low sound. Also the highs sounded a bit exaggerated for my tastes.

I also listened to Revel M16's which sounded a whole lot better. But from the specs they are only 86db sensitivity and as many have mentioned, would not fill the area with sound with the volume I desire, especially with the max wattage being only 120watts. I'll never get above 100dB at 15 feet away with those specs.

I also listened to floor standing speakers. I liked the def tech BP1040s they had there, and the guy there recommended I look into the 'new' def tech bookshelf speakers (I think he is referring to the D11's which he said he doesn't have yet). Also I was looking at the Def Tech Studio Monitor 65's and the specs look pretty good on paper for freq response and sensitivity, etc and I was wondering about getting 3 of those for LCR and pairing them with ceiling Di8R or Di6.5Rs for the rear channels along with a couple of 12" subs. Then I could find something else for outdoors. Would that work?

By the way the parties dont get super duper loud outside due to neighbors, etc. But it would be nice to have pretty good quality sound out there that can be turned up and you could hear the bass pretty well while across the other end of the pool.

Def techs specs are greatly exaggerated.


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