Tower recommendations for new theater room - Budget: $3,500

AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Hi @AcuDefTechGuy, thanks for your note. The sound is lacking because the sound stage my ProCinemas, which I have loved for seven years, creates is small and doesn't produce nearly the dynamic range that I hear in a theater.
Do you listen to the SAME VOLUME in your room as they play in theaters? :D

Next time use a SPL meter app on your phone and see how loud it is in theaters. Then compare it to how loud it is at home. :D
 
sunPin

sunPin

Audioholic Intern
Do you listen to the SAME VOLUME in your room as they play in theaters? :D

Next time use a SPL meter app on your phone and see how loud it is in theaters. Then compare it to how loud it is at home. :D
@AcuDefTechGuy If SPL was all that mattered to get theater sound, then I could buy a Philips HTIB and crank it.

Also, I'm puzzled by your apparent position that ProCinema 1000s can produce theater quality sound under any circumstance. As a "DefTech Guy", you should know that DefTech makes many more much more expensive speakers than the ProCinema that are designed to sound better than these small ProCinema satellites. That means that DefTech itself doesn't think ProCinemas are the best it can make. If that is true, then why would I want to stick with them if I want to upgrade?
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Budget is $3,500 for LCR, $1,500 for surrounds
Anyway, I may be a little bit bias, but if I were going to recommend my speaker system I would recommend this:

1. R SX-8300 x 2 Front L/R. These are 50" tall, almost 17" deep, and almost 11" wide. They are HUGE.
2. RBH SX-661C x 1 Center
3. RBH SX-61 x 2 Surround L/R

Each SX-8300 tower has built in subwoofers, equivalent to one RBH SX-1010 subwoofer. Thus, a pair of SX-8300 is equivalent to two SX-1010 subwoofers.

I believe that for your 12x15 room, this is all the bass and movie soundtrack dynamics you will ever need.
 
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3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Those Def Techs are too small to get any serious amount of volume through it. You also don't have to go the pro speaker route to gain a huge improvement over sound. Replacing the sub will give you better bass dynamics but it won't help you in gaining speaker dynamics because you have already off loaded the bass from them with your current sub. There is no question in my mind that you need to replace the front 3 speakers and the sub.

Audition as many speakers as you can. If you have a PSB dealer nearby, check them out. They are very dynamic and throw a nice soundstage.
 
3db

3db

Audioholic Slumlord
Bad spelling??? What are you? A grammar teacher? :rolleyes:
 
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rojo

rojo

Audioholic Samurai
Ok I'm sold on Reaction coaxials and upgrading the sub.

Question of ported vs. sealed sub: I thought that sealed provided more controlled bass, but Reaction's ported sub is actually more expensive than its sealed one.

Why is that?
I don't think anyone has answered this, so I will.

IMHO, the myth that sealed subs offer more control than ported subs is perpetuated by comparison of sealed vs. improperly tuned ported. Ported subs tuned to a frequency below the driver's resonant frequency don't sound as good as those tuned to Fs. Some manufacturers tune this way to make the subs more impressive-looking on paper. From what I've read about Reaction Audio, I don't think Jeremy is one of them.

The true advantage to sealed is, given enough power and enough Xmax, you potentially get better subsonic extension due to a shallower low-end roll-off combined with room gain and creative EQ. However, watt-for-watt, vented subs offer several dB more output than their sealed counterparts. This extra output comes with a trade-off of steeper roll-off and potentially damaging excursion below the tuning frequency without a suitable subsonic filter or some other limiter. After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

But these generalizations are all quite vague. There's no real cookie-cutter assessment that can be applied to all sealed subs, or all vented subs. Rest assured, the Reaction Audio subs you chose are excellent, and you should be pleased with the results.
 
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