Hello all,
I am finally ready (and able) to upgrade my current home theater, which consists of:
Denon AVR-1712 receiver
2 Infinity P363 tower speakers as the L/R
1 Infinity PC251 as the center channel
2 Infinity P150 bookshelf speakers as the rear surrounds
1 HSU VTF-3 MK3 for the subwoofer
Sony Blu Ray player (don't use it much any more)
Apple TV 4K for our streaming device
It is worth noting that currently I am running a 3.1 setup as we do not have the ability to run wires to the surrounds in our current house (rental home).
My listening is approximately 80% movie and TV, and the rest is music. We use the system for all TV/movie watching because our TV speakers are terrible. As for music a majority of it is digital (such as iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, etc), but we do have a few CDs that we listen to sometimes as well. The current setup has served its purpose well, but is now going on 10 years old. One of our primary complaints is that the center channel is muddy and difficult to clearly hear dialogue. I have turned the center up individually to try and compensate, but we still are not happy with dialogue reproduction.
For the purpose of this upgrade I am focused on the L/R main speakers and the center channel. I would like to eventually add an additional sub and purchase surrounds, but that does not have to be completed right now. At the end of this year I am planning to get a newer Denon AVR that will support dual subs. We move around every 2 years, so setting up a good 7.1/7.2 system will be challenging. For now I am focused on getting a really good 3.1 setup, with the addition of a sub and two surrounds (5.2) later this year or next year.
I have been reading quite a few threads and it seems like the following brands come up as popular:
Ascend Acoustics - CMT 340 seems popular, but the Sierra line might be a better target? The horizon center seems well-liked.
Chane - The A series towers and center are priced well, but without experience I don't know if they are truly an upgrade. The L series is very appealing, especially if available in B-stock to save money.
SVS - The prime towers/center would be my target, but open to other ideas. SVS is risk free with their returns policy.
Emotiva - C2 center seems highly recommended, not sure about matching towers or bookshelves.
Power Sound Audio - Maybe noticeably higher than my budget, but I don't mind piecing together items if needed over time.
I am open to any other brands/models too. Also, I would definitely consider a set of bookshelf speakers instead of towers if that is a better route.
My budget is roughly $1,800, but there is some room to go up a bit if justified. I am a value shopper, in that I don't mind adjusting the budget a bit to obtain notably better quality gear. However, I am not to the level where only the best of everything will do. Basically I just want a good system that is a worthwhile upgrade, and will last another 8-10 years. I want to make sure that I am actually getting an upgrade in gear for the money spent. It seems not worthwhile to spend $1500 on speakers if they are mostly the same performance (lateral move), but if I can save a bit more and spend $2500 to truly get an upgrade then I prefer that route.
I would appreciate any recommendations for L/R main and center speakers. I would also like your thoughts on subwoofer(s) to keep in mind for next year.
Thanks for your time,
Pete