Speaker Spend Estimator Tool (Beta)

[Bruce53]

Is there a link to the tool itself?

 

[XEagleDriver]

Here is the link to the spreadsheet on Google Drive.
For access please PM an email address and I will add you to the permissions list.
- Trying to maintain some semblance of version control.
XEagleDriver

 

[kiipii]

Thanks, fun little tool to show/play with relative importance. The challenge I see is how good the Emotiva C2+ is at $400 vs. centers up to around $1k (or even the Infinity that goes on sale for $150), but I can't think of a good way to account for this in the weighting. And if there's an asterisk or something, there are probably other other speakers that punch above their weight class as well.

Maybe to make it more useful as a tool for general guidance (aimed at people just getting started/lack familiarity with excel) add a color gradient to the first sheet to show relative importance so if you save in one area it's easier to see where to be reallocate? Conditional formatting across each row would do this easily but then conflicts with the low sub indicator.

And coincidentally, my setup matches pretty well at MSRP with the center saving (C2+ owner) pushed towards subs and LR in a 5.1.4. Atmos and surrounds were almost spot on.

 

[XEagleDriver]

Thanks, fun little tool to show/play with relative importance. The challenge I see is how good the Emotiva C2+ is at $400 vs. centers up to around $1k (or even the Infinity that goes on sale for $150), but I can't think of a good way to account for this in the weighting. And if there's an asterisk or something, there are probably other other speakers that punch above their weight class as well.

Maybe to make it more useful as a tool for general guidance (aimed at people just getting started/lack familiarity with excel) add a color gradient to the first sheet to show relative importance so if you save in one area it's easier to see where to be reallocate? Conditional formatting across each row would do this easily but then conflicts with the low sub indicator.

And coincidentally, my setup matches pretty well at MSRP with the center saving (C2+ owner) pushed towards subs and LR in a 5.1.4. Atmos and surrounds were almost spot on.

KiiPii,
In response to your suggestion, I added a row above Speaker Type displaying the Importance Percentages to address your suggestion.
- It responds to the Primary HT checkbox, so will display different percentages for MC Music vs Movie HT systems as selected by the user.

Thought about using conditional formatting, but did not want to give up the Low Sub Budget Warning and thought too many colors/shades/gradients might be more confusing than helpful.

Let me know if you think displaying the Importance Percentages meets the intent of your suggestion.

Cheers,
XEagleDriver

 

[johnpottercondong]

It is not a issue for someone who is old. But its an issue for new generation.

 

[themashtun]

MAJOR REVISION: NOW INCLUDES MINIMUM SUB BUDGETS, WITH WARNING HIGHLIGHTS BASED ON ROOM VOLUME CATEGORIES. ALSO SPEND FACTORS BETTER ALIGNED WITH IMPORTANCE PERCENTAGES.

PROBLEM STATEMENT:
The forum fields many questions along the lines of;
"What speakers should I buy for a $X,XXX budget to build a 5.x.x (or 7.x.x) system."
- In many cases, our advice begins with allocating the specified budget to optimize the desired configuration.

PROPOSED SOLUTION:
To help us more consistently answer the above question across different budgets and configurations, I offer a
Speaker Spend Estimator Tool for your review and comment.
Here is the link to the spreadsheet on Google Drive.
- For access, PM an email address and I will add you to the permissions list.

REQUEST:
1) Review the Speaker Spending Estimator Tool result examples (screenshots) for Small, Medium and Large rooms across three budgets ( $1k, $2k and $4k ) for two system types (Music centric and HT centric) shown in paragraph A) below.
2) Provide feedback on the revised Spend Factors and Sub Minimums by Room Size shown below in B) below.
Cheers,
XEagleDriver

A) EXAMPLES: Since I can not post a Google Sheet program to the Forum, I am providing six program results screenshots using three room sizes (Small, Medium and Large) across three Total Speaker Budgets ($1,000, $2,000, and $4,000) for two system types (Music centric and Movie (HT) centric).
- Low sub budget Warning Highlights are provided when the Room Size derived minimum sub budget is not met (light red highlights for music systems and orange highlights for Movie (HT) systems.

Of course, the exact calculated values are meant to be used as a general benchmark for speaker type purchase and not as an exact value.
- For example, in the $1k, Small Room, Music system table shown immediately below, under the 3.1.0 configuration, the guidance is not to buy a $333 subwoofer, but rather to indicate a sub around the $325 price point is appropriate for purchasing a 3.1.0 configuration with a $1k total speaker budget for a music centric system. To continue this example, the results also indicate the FL/FR budget would be around $400 and the Center budget around $270.

1) Music system, SMALL Room, $1K Total Speaker Budget
View attachment 49763
NOTE: For a SMALL room the low music sub minimum (e.g. $200) does not cause any warning highlights.

2) HT system, SMALL Room, $1K Total Speaker Budget
View attachment 49764
NOTE: For a Small room the higher HT sub minimum of $500 causes warning highlights above a 2.1.0 configuration on a $1k total speaker budget.

3) Music system, MEDIUM Room, $1K Total Speaker Budget
View attachment 49765
NOTE: For a Medium room even the modest Music sub minimum of $400 causes warning highlights above 2.1.0 configuration on a $1K total speaker budget.

4) Music system, MEDIUM Room, $2K Total Speaker Budget
View attachment 49766
NOTE: For a Medium room the increase to a $2K Total Budget clears any warning highlights for a Music system due to the modest $400 sub minimum.

5) HT system, MEDIUM Room, $2K Total Speaker Budget
View attachment 49767
NOTE: For a MEDIUM room the HT sub minimum increase to $1000 causes warning highlights above a 2.1.0 configuration for a $2k total speaker budget.

6) Music system, MEDIUM Room, $4K Total Speaker Budget - NOT SHOWN DUE TO NO ISSUES
7) HT system, MEDIUM Room, $4K Total Speaker Budget - NOT SHOWNS DUE TO NO ISSUES
8) Music system, LARGE Room, $4K Total Speaker Budget - NOT SHOWNS DUE TO NO ISSUES

9) HT system, LARGE Room, $4K Total Speaker Budget
View attachment 49768
NOTE: For a LARGE room, even with a healthy $4k budget, the increased HT sub minimum of $2000 causes warning highlights above a 2.1.0 configuration.


B) METHODOLOGY:
Assigned each speaker type (FL/FR, Sub, Center, Surround L/R and Atmos) a Spend Factor value based on my own experience, years of forum reading and participation, and member feedback to this thread.

For each speaker configuration (up to 7.1.4) used the ratio of "Spend Factor / Type" to "Configuration Total Spend Factor" (now set to a max total of 6.0 for 5.1.4 or 7.1.4) to allocate the set budget according to the Importance Percentages.
NOTE: Importance Percentages are substantially different for Music centric and Movie (HT) centric systems, shown separately below.

Spend Factors for Multi-Channel Music (MC Music) centric systems:
View attachment 49761
(Updated this graphic as of 15 AUG 2021, 7PM EST)
NOTE: Please pay particular attention to MC Music and Home Theater Sub budget minimums at bottom of screenshot. This is new and ripe for constructive feedback.

Spend Factors for Movie (HT) centric systems:
View attachment 49762
(Added this graphic on 15 AUG 2021, 7PM EST)
NOTE: Based on member feedback, strong emphasis on higher budgets for Sub(s) and Center, achieved by decreasing budgets for FL/FR and SL/SR speakers.

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