new 2.1 setup thoughts?

[Noobz]

Starting to think about upgrading - would love to get some input on the, potentially blasphemous choice of going from 5.1 to a 2.1 system.

Current setup (obvi a bit dated)
42 inch samung plasma
Infinity alpha 50 towers, 37c center, book shelf, Infinity PS-10
Denon 2805

Big, bulk, black, not so sexy (made sense at one point where I lived in a house and had a separate HT room)

Living situation now - large-ish, by San Francisco standard, apartment which I intend on staying in for a while (but knowing that I have moved from Seattle, to LA, to DC, to Boston since 04 for work)

TV - already ordered a Samsung 55' 8000
Speakers - leaning toward the aperion verus forte tower speakers, 10 D sub
Keeping the denon, add a OPPO BDP-83 (using the PS3 for Blu Ray now)

And thats it.

Crazy talk?

Mount the TV on the wall, be done with the rest of the installation

What am a missing (besides 3 speakers)?

Looking for a hassle free, less obtrusive setup (but no way in hell ill step down to baby cube or htb setup)

 

[shadyJ]

Looks good to me. I would say get a better sub, but then you do live in an apartment, and even the sub you intend to get might be a bit much for your neighbors. If you ever get back into a house, I would step the subwoofer up to something from Hsu, SVS, Rythmik, etc. In fact, if it were me, in an apartment I would skip the sub and go for the Verus Grande instead of the Forte speakers. No sense in paying for the sub when you can barely use it.

 

[bikdav]

By All Means Do It.

I'd say go for it. I've read about and personally witnessed a good number of households that only had "only" 2.0 or 2.1 setups. The main thing to do [from my standpoint] is to make certain that your main speakers have some size to them _ which is the very thing that you are already doing.

 

[agarwalro]

Hi! Welcome to the forum.

Regarding the most important aspect of this change, 5.1 to 2.1, I recently did just the same with the intent of refocusing on 2 channel audio. I only removed the center and surround speakers, moved the rest to a more open space and took my time setting things up right. It was a revelation and made me realize that my properly set up open room 2.1 system blew my well set up (with room treatments) and properly configured, albeit, cramped 5.1 setup when it came to imaging and sound stage. In fact, I was getting a very good pseudo surround due to reflections from the side and back walls and was rediscovering material I had rediscovered when I got the 5.1 setup. I could not been more happy to have made the change.

I feel towers in your situation will be overkill. (I bought the M60's based on the general guideline that towers are better than bookshelf speakers. But, when I took my M60's to the open space room and they sounded more appropriate for the use than in the dedicated, smaller HT room. For the first time I understood the what people meant by, "tower speakers need room to sound good".) So my feedback would be, get bookshelf speakers (save money or get better reviewed speakers for same price). Of course, if you can swing it financially, it would be best if you can get multiple speakers and try them all.

I second the recommendation to look into getting a different sub.

Also, what does the Oppo add that the PS3 already does not do? I have been using my PS3 for all disc (including BD) duty and find no reason to add a dedicated BD Player. This is especially true since you are not going to have a surround sound setup, which would have benefited from the HD tracks.

 

[timoteo]

Instead of getting towers in a lower line get bookshelves in the higher line. You will probably spend the same but get much better mids/highs! Then pass on getting a brand matched sub. Go with an I.D brand such as HSU,SVS or Rythmik. By getting a "true" performance sub it will blend better with the mains & crossing over between 60hz-100hz you wont be asking too much from the bookshelves.
What i personally love about HSU is their VTF (Variable Tuning Frequency) feature that allows you to decide between sealed or ported modes. Giving you MUCH more flexability for room placement & listening tastes. Just amazing subwoofer...i can vouch for them i own 2.
There are good options out there, do some homework (like your doing now!) & you'll make a good choice for you!!!!
Enjoy & have fun!!

 

[bikdav]

True

That's a very good point about towers "needing room to sound good"_ as I've discovered occasionally. Some towers are indeed like that depending on what room they are being put in. But, I have a feeling that those Infinity Alpha 50s will be a good fit for Noobz room. They don't need a really big room to sound good.

 

[Noobz]

Hrm.

Option 1 - 2.0
- 2 medium quality bigger towers - e.g. a pair of Verus Grand Tower Speaker(open to other suggestions in the $8-900 range) - or something else that hits sub 50 Hz
- No Sub
- Concerns speaker placement(preference to keep them against wall - not optimal), room size (presently 18x18)

Option 2 2.1
- 2 higher quality bookshelf - e.g. a pair of PSB Imagine B
- Sub set with a high-ish crossover(60-80) to let the bookshelfs focus on the mids / high. While I'll appreciate the suggestion of the HSU, SVS etc. I think the dimensions are, well, beefy (VTF-2 MK 3 is 22 x 15 x 23). Suggestions for a 8-10 inch, moderately good looking sub with a cabinet say, under 15x15x15?

Seems like smaller towers, with a small sub, would not be the way to go?

Thanks!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Infinity alpha 50 towers, 37c center, book shelf, Infinity PS-10

What is wrong with your current Infinity speaker system?

Do they sound defective?

DenPureSound had some old Infinity speakers, and they were actually defective - the tweeter or midrange drivers did not even work. So, of course, they sounded terrible.

But if your Infinity speakers are in great working condition, there is a great possibility that buying new speakers will not improve the sound quality at all, unless you plan on spending at least $5,000/pr.

Living in an apartment means you probably should not use a great powerful subwoofer, so the old Infinity sub may be adequate for now.

 

[ski2xblack]

Hrm.

Option 1 - 2.0
- 2 medium quality bigger towers - e.g. a pair of Verus Grand Tower Speaker(open to other suggestions in the $8-900 range) - or something else that hits sub 50 Hz
- No Sub
- Concerns speaker placement(preference to keep them against wall - not optimal), room size (presently 18x18)

Ever consider used Klipsch heritage? Something like a Cornwall, Chorus, or forte would work well; they practically require near wall placement, they dig well below 50hz, and they're sensitive enough to fill that 18'x18' room with BIG sound. (For perspective, I have ~$600 total in my old forte ll, which, thanks to some minor refinishing, look showroom new, and that also includes Crites replacement crossovers and driver upgrades. For $600 and a little elbow grease, they're unbelievable.)

 

[timoteo]

I would have to disagree with the idea to get towers & no sub. Though they may go down to 30-40hz they just dont do it like a decent sub. Plus the fact that most of the time, the lower frequencies need to come from a different location than where the towers are in order to sound right. Even atlower volumes, a sub will IMHO always sound cleaner. Ive lived in apts & even with a MartinLogan Grotto i was able to adjust levels so as not to bother other tenants.

Then we get into letting the sub handle the power draining low frequencies there by freeing up power in the avr to concentrate on the mids/highs. I have experienced more than once a decent bookshelf/sub setup that sounded much fuller & dynamic than there tower counterparts.

I have towers & if i had the money i spent on them back & had to do it all over, id jump up a level to bookshelves. Just my 2 cents!!

 

[ralphm773]

Ever consider used Klipsch heritage? Something like a Cornwall, Chorus, or forte would work well; they practically require near wall placement, they dig well below 50hz, and they're sensitive enough to fill that 18'x18' room with BIG sound. (For perspective, I have ~$600 total in my old forte ll, which, thanks to some minor refinishing, look showroom new, and that also includes Crites replacement crossovers and driver upgrades. For $600 and a little elbow grease, they're unbelievable.)

or JBL L-112 vintage speakers forget about a sub all together! JM2c

 

[bikdav]

Oh. I didn't know about the room size. 18 X 18 is indeed tower speaker territory. In fact, I don't think that 'bookshelf' speakers would be appropriate for that room. Go big on the subwoofer if you decide to add one [12 or 15 inch subwoofer].

 

[Noobz]

Sooo. I've decide what I am going to do. And it is way less scientific / thoughtful than perhaps it should be. Def Tech Mythos Ones + Emotiva X-Ref 10. Why? Tested Paradigm Studio 20 - nice, but underwhelmed. Checked out another 5-6 bookshelfs... meh. Was at a friends house who had the Mythos randomly. Liked. Another friend had the Emotiva Ultra 12. Liked. Looked like the x-ref 10 had similar, if not better specs. C'est la vie