new theater setup

[little ed]

Looking to install klipsch speaker system in my den.
It will double for my movie room
I have looked into many setups, tech specs, etc and really need someone to review my setup and ask me question like " have you considered this" or " you may not need "X"", or "for your room size you really need more "X"".
I really don't have any immediate "real" friends that are audiophiles and I,m sure am not at that level - yet.

Room:
30 length x 15 width, x 8.6 ft height
Will have wall to wall carpet (no shown in pic)
Fireplace/stone on one wall
Position of TV is offset towards the fireplace (see pic and black plastic on wall)
Room will have a normal fabric couch, love seat, and maybe a leather chair, and a side table.
Couch to tv distance will be about 12feet (if couch is set off away from the window.
Also will have table underneath the tv to house the AVR and the tower speaker will be on side.
Window treatments will be cloth roman shades but no curtains.

Overall wants:
Excellent surround and movie sound effects.
More for watching movies/tv than for listening to music
Budget is around $2500 - 3000 (speakers/avr)
4K compatible (hdcp2.2, hdmi2.0)

Background:
I decide to go after a 5.1 system vs 7.1 and focus more on high quality surrounds versus lesser quality/price and another set of surrounds
Plus the 7.1 surround would be in the ceiling (which I think is not optimal firing down on listeners)
Choose not to go with in wall speakers, although I prefer the clean lines, I just never go convince my walls would produce optimal sound effects.
Pics show black plastic for position of the 70 inch TV (it's at about 45" off floor)(good for me)
Pics show black plastic on each side of window for the surrounds (they are about 81 inches off floor to the center of speaker)
Sub position is to left of tv half way to the wall (outside the front left speaker)

Here is what I have chosen:
RP 250F towers for L/R fronts
RP 440C center channel
RP 250S surrounds
R115SW
(TV is Visio 70 inch M series - 4K)
AVR: Onkyo TX NR838 at 0.08 thd, AccuEQ, this is a 7.1 avr (using the 7.1 part to send sound to outside speakers)

Spec on this is 130Watts ((into 8 ohms at 20hz-20khz, at 0.08%thd, driving 2 channels)

?Will this be enough power?
?Will I need separate amp for my 5.1 set up?

If you can provide me with your expert opinion that would be great.
lil ed - North Carolina

 

[slipperybidness]

Most importantly, scrap that Klipsch sub and look at Rythmik, SVS, HSU, or PSA instead.

There are new AVRs hitting the market now and over the next few months that will have hdcp2.2, hdmi2.0--Likely the Onkyo was about the only one on the market when you did your research.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Your living room/den layout and size is very similar to my own, except mine opens to kitchen.
Still it's big space and like slip mentioned - Get rid of Klipsch sub - they are terrible value and mediocre performance. HSU, Rythmic, Reaction Audio, SVS are the brands you should get your subs from (ok, even PSA on sale could be good value) - keep in mind - in your room size - expect to spend at least $700 to $1k on sub alone - and it would be worth it . Trust me

As for Klipsch speakers - have you had a chance to listen to them? Klipsch speakers can often cause listener's fatigues from their typically bright sound (aka cheap twitter)

I would instead recommend Ascend CMT-340SE speakers - bundled with matching stands they cost same as your selected front towers, but have excellent performance and great value.

Surrounds are not as important as LCR speakers, so almost anything will do

 

[agarwalro]

IMO, you don't have enough space behind the seating for proper placement of rear speakers. My recommendation would be to stick with 5.1 layout.

Spend more on speakers than AVR, close to a 75-25 split.

+1 on skipping the Klipsch sub.

 

[3db]

+1 on what agarwalro said..

Have you considered using speaker stands for your surround speakers? I'm wondering if 81" is a little to high for the surrounds.

 

[herbu]

If you can provide me with your expert opinion that would be great.
lil ed - North Carolina

Where in NC are you?

 

[Big Jake]

I see a few mentions of different sub brands besides Klipsch, and I get that. Have heard the SVS and like that very much. Weird heavy metal grill though.

But no mention of Velodyne. Are they over rated and over priced?

 

[slipperybidness]

But no mention of Velodyne. Are they over rated and over priced?

I think most of the Velo lineup is "meh".

When you get to the high performance subs, dang they are pricey!!!

I have an old 10" Velo. It was replaced by Rythmik F15HP for the HT duties. The old 10 velo now plays with my Philharmonitors in a 2nd rig (and it is nowhere near the quality of those speakers, but at least it gives me a little more extension).

 

[little ed]

Most importantly, scrap that Klipsch sub and look at Rythmik, SVS, HSU, or PSA instead.

There are new AVRs hitting the market now and over the next few months that will have hdcp2.2, hdmi2.0--Likely the Onkyo was about the only one on the market when you did your research.

Thanks. I knew I didn't want a klipsch sub as soon as your wrote it. Thanks for hitting me upside the head and getting me back on track. Got caught up in ordering a matching set and lost site of my goal. I had looked at the SVS and now like the PSA too. Thanks for the help.

 

[little ed]

+1 on what agarwalro said..

Have you considered using speaker stands for your surround speakers? I'm wondering if 81" is a little to high for the surrounds.

I basically put them 36 inches up from my ears at sitting position (I'm a little tall). Before permanently mounting to the wall I'll experiment a little to get the right "feel" . Thanks

 

[little ed]

Most importantly, scrap that Klipsch sub and look at Rythmik, SVS, HSU, or PSA instead.

There are new AVRs hitting the market now and over the next few months that will have hdcp2.2, hdmi2.0--Likely the Onkyo was about the only one on the market when you did your research.

Your right too about the limited AVR's avail with 4k. Think I can wait a little longer to see if some others come on line by fall that I may prefer over the Onkyo

 

[3db]

I basically put them 36 inches up from my ears at sitting position (I'm a little tall). Before permanently mounting to the wall I'll experiment a little to get the right "feel" . Thanks

If you are going to mount speakers on the wall, you have to pick speakers that are designed specifically to be wall mounted from a frequency response point of view, not just mounting hardware point of view. Such speakers are designed to use the wall to augment their frequency response. One can have disasterous effects by placing even a bookshelf speaker that is not designed for on wall use.

 

[Swerd]

Unless you've listened to those Klipcsh speakers and know that you prefer them, I'd advise against them. BSA already made a good suggestion, and I agree. Consider these as a set:
Ascend Acoustics CMT-340 SE speakers for front L & R
The matching CMT-340 SE C center speaker
Two CBM-170 speakers for rear channels

The CBM-170s are designed to be easily hung on walls. You can get stands for the CMT-340 SE that make them look like tower speakers. That seems like it would be good in your room. (Thanks for those photos.) All 5 speakers plus the 2 stands, as a package, go for $1342 (if I added it up right). In my opinion, those speakers will sound better than what you first mentioned.

Going with a 5 channel system in your room is the right choice. Also, enough people have already weighed in with good suggestions about a sub woofer.

Its been some time since I bought a TV and a Blu Ray disc player. At the time, whether or not an AVR could perform the video upscaling to the latest and greatest video resolution was not important, as long as your TV or disc player could do that. If that is still true today for 4k video, I wouldn't worry about getting that feature in an AVR. Concentrate on power and reputation for reliability and customer service. A Denon or Yamaha in the roughly 125 to 150 watt per channel range should work well.

 

[kiranbeginner]

I think I also can follow this thread bcoz I am also having almost the same doubts and queries.

 

[big O]

I just sold a set of klipsch reference speakers and went a different direction. I sold them to a klipsch guy who likes the horn tweeter sound. His main system uses forte ii speakers which he refers to as "sweet".

What I'm sayingiis, before you buy new, look into used fortes, corn walls etc. The heritage series is generally regarded to sound better than the newer stuff. Also, with the forte having a 12 woofer aND 15" radiator you may not even need separate subs.

Also,I recommend keeping the grill on,and not toeing the speakers in. The midrange can be painful if you toe in and listen without the grill.