New Home - 5.1 - Any Advice Appreciated! ~ 5000

[Defiantx]

Hello everyone. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible.

I’ve been browsing these forums for quite some time now, but I recently decided to create and account and dive into the journey to a home theater for my new home. I’ve attached a layout of the area I have to work with for your reference. It may not be exactly to scale, but it should give you a little idea.

I’ve been looking at speakers for quite some time now, and I am finally ready to pull the trigger. I’d like to go with a 5.1 system. However, the nature of the room I have to work with has left me with questions. So here we go. Below are some quick facts before I get into the questions.

• I love to watch movies (mostly action)
  
  
• I love to listen to music (mostly acoustic and rock)
  
  
• I love to watch TV (mostly sports)
  
  
• If I had to guess it would be 70/30 with the nod to movies/TV over music
  
  
• I’d like to keep it under $5000 for the whole system
  
  
• In store demos aren’t very well represented in my area (just Best Buy).
  
  
  

1. I feel as though my room may be on the small side when comparing to others. How much do you guys feel room size comes into play when looking at floor standing speakers vs bookshelf?
   
   
2. Is there any rule of thumb for sealed vs ported subs? Downfire vs front? I would like to start with one sub placed in the corner area of the layout.
   
   
3. Any recommendations on arrangements based on the layout?
   

Some brands I’ve been looking at are Ascend Sierra 2, Martin Logan Motion 40 and PSB Imagine X2T. I’ve only had a chance to demo the Martin Logan 40s in store, and I really liked them. I’m really wanting to demo the sierra 2 with sierra 2 center.

I’ve been looking also at the new Denon recievers, and the price drops with the previous models. Atmos is intriguing. I haven’t made the jump to 4K. Still using a Panasonic Plasma. Any throughts? The price drop on the 4100K seems interesting. I’m still learning to know what would be overkill, but I’d like something future proof as well, but I don’t want to get way more AVR than I’ll ever need.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I’m trying to get as much information as I can as I get closer to purchase. Please feel free to share any recommendations or experiences. I definitely plan to try and listen to as many as possible.J

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

My new house will have a living room that is 21' x 28' x 15' ceiling, wide open to the foyer & dinning room (another 26' x 18' x 15' ceiling), breakfast room (18' x 18'), and kitchen (19'x19').

If I am able to sell my Linkwitz Orion 3.2.1 towers, I would replace them with a pair of RBH SX-8300 towers. I would not be using any separate subwoofers since each SX-8300 tower has three 8" subwoofers (equivalent to one RBH SX-1010 subwoofer) and a pair of SX-8300 has the equivalent bass of two SX-1010 subwoofers.

So my under $5K system recommendation:
1. Denon X4100 ($800 Amazon)
2. RBH SX-8300 x 2 main towers (w/ built in subwoofers)
3. RBH SX-661C x 1 center
4. RBH SX-61 x 2 surround
5. Crown XLS 1500 350W/4 ohm x 2Ch ($179 Amazon) to actively bi-amp the SX-8300 built-in subwoofers

The RBH system has an MSRP of $7,100. But as with all B&M brands (Revel, KEF, B&W, Focal, Monitor Audio, etc.) huge deals can be had.

Alternate system:
1. Denon X4100
2. RBH SX-6300 x 2 main towers
3. RBH SX-661C x 1 center
4. RBH SX-61 x 2 surround bookshelf
5. RBH SX-1212P x 1 powered subwoofer (comes with External RBH subwoofer amp)

This RBH system has an MSRP of $7,150. Again deals can be had like all other B&M brands.

I am sure others will give you other great recommendations. Many choices for sure.

 

[shadyJ]

Hello everyone. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to provide as much information as possible.

I’ve been browsing these forums for quite some time now, but I recently decided to create and account and dive into the journey to a home theater for my new home. I’ve attached a layout of the area I have to work with for your reference. It may not be exactly to scale, but it should give you a little idea.

I’ve been looking at speakers for quite some time now, and I am finally ready to pull the trigger. I’d like to go with a 5.1 system. However, the nature of the room I have to work with has left me with questions. So here we go. Below are some quick facts before I get into the questions.

• I love to watch movies (mostly action)
  
  
• I love to listen to music (mostly acoustic and rock)
  
  
• I love to watch TV (mostly sports)
  
  
• If I had to guess it would be 70/30 with the nod to movies/TV over music
  
  
• I’d like to keep it under $5000 for the whole system
  
  
• In store demos aren’t very well represented in my area (just Best Buy).
  
  

1. I feel as though my room may be on the small side when comparing to others. How much do you guys feel room size comes into play when looking at floor standing speakers vs bookshelf?
   
   
2. Is there any rule of thumb for sealed vs ported subs? Downfire vs front? I would like to start with one sub placed in the corner area of the layout.
   
   
3. Any recommendations on arrangements based on the layout?

Some brands I’ve been looking at are Ascend Sierra 2, Martin Logan Motion 40 and PSB Imagine X2T. I’ve only had a chance to demo the Martin Logan 40s in store, and I really liked them. I’m really wanting to demo the sierra 2 with sierra 2 center.

I’ve been looking also at the new Denon recievers, and the price drops with the previous models. Atmos is intriguing. I haven’t made the jump to 4K. Still using a Panasonic Plasma. Any throughts? The price drop on the 4100K seems interesting. I’m still learning to know what would be overkill, but I’d like something future proof as well, but I don’t want to get way more AVR than I’ll ever need.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I’m trying to get as much information as I can as I get closer to purchase. Please feel free to share any recommendations or experiences. I definitely plan to try and listen to as many as possible.J

Your room isn't that small, but I would go for bookshelf speakers. You won't need tower speakers, they won't do you any more good than bookshelf speakers if you are using a sub. The Sierra 2s look really good, I don't think you can go wrong with them. I would also be looking at Wharfedale Jades, outstanding speakers.

I would go with a ported sub in that size space, I would be looking at the ported 15" subs from Hsu, Rythmik, or Reaction Audio. The orientation of the driver doesn't make a difference here, down-firing, front-firing, it's all good.

With a 5 channel system, Atmos won't do you any good, I wouldn't worry about Atmos.

With your listening position against the wall, you might rethink having surround speakers altogether. It is awkward to set them up in such an arrangement in a manner where the speakers don't draw attention to themselves.

As for receivers, the brands I would stick with are Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, and Pioneer. The AVR-4100 would be a great receiver.

 

[Defiantx]

Thanks very much for the advice guys!!! I'll take a look through the recommendations, and I will see if I have any additional questions.

Listening position is about 2 foot or so from the wall. Would bipole help with surrounds or should I not really consider them at all? Thanks!!

As far as subwoofer, should I be looking towards 600w or 400w for the room?

 

[shadyJ]

Thanks very much for the advice guys!!! I'll take a look through the recommendations, and I will see if I have any additional questions.

Listening position is about 2 foot or so from the wall. Would bipole help with surrounds or should I not really consider them at all? Thanks!!

As far as subwoofer, should I be looking towards 600w or 400w for the room?

wattage doesn't make a difference, end performance is what counts. I wouldn't pay much attention to wattage. Bipole surround might work in your situation, but I would only give them a try without getting married to the idea. If it proves to be a distraction rather than immersive, return the bipoles.