Using the Denon X8500H AVR, describe your dream speaker setup, cost not a consideration

GadgetAngel

GadgetAngel

Audiophyte
If you could afford any speakers to go in a 19 feet by 13 feet with 8 feet ceiling using the Denon X8500H AVR so you could play Dolby Atmos or Auro 3D or DTS:X, how would you setup your dream speaker system? What speakers would you use to achieve the best surround sound using 2 powered subs??
 
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GadgetAngel

GadgetAngel

Audiophyte
I am going to buy the Denon X8500H and want some advice on what equipment to buy with it to achieve the ability to get Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersion surround sound in my 19 foot by 13 foot by 8 feet high room that already has a Sony XBR-65A9F Master Series OLED 4K HDR TV. Any suggestions on which brands of speakers to buy will be appreciated. My husband and I are both retired Electrical Engineers and want a High End Audio system in this room to match the 4K TV we have purchased
 
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Leemix

Audioholic General
It would probably be a good idea to listen in a few stores on different speakers in the pricier range to find out what you and your husband likes. Dont buy too soon before you have had time to listen to different things and talked a bit, maybe write on the forum which you liked/didnt like and get some extra feedback that way. Salesppl dont know everything so take everything they say with a grain of salt and double check, they may not like the same things you do. The same goes for us on the forums also but here you will usually get from many different sources.


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PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
If you could afford any speakers to go in a 19 feet by 13 feet with 8 feet ceiling using the Denon X8500H AVR so you could play Dolby Atmos or Auro 3D or DTS:X, how would you setup your dream speaker system? What speakers would you use to achieve the best surround sound using 2 powered subs??
For possible layouts, you can just follow the diagrams on the owner's manual page 33 through 41 that illustrated basically all viable combinations. My HT room is a little smaller than yours, being only 12X19X8 so I find 7.1.4 is the best I can do. With the AVR-X8500H, you should be able to choose a configuration that makes it easy to switch between Auro3D and Atmos.

Page 12 shows a layout that supports both Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos, based on only 5.1, just as an example.

1557400525552.png
 
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PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
I am going to buy the Denon X8500H and want some advice on what equipment to buy with it to achieve the ability to get Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersion surround sound in my 19 foot by 13 foot by 8 feet high room that already has a Sony XBR-65A9F Master Series OLED 4K HDR TV. Any suggestions on which brands of speakers to buy will be appreciated. My husband and I are both retired Electrical Engineers and want a High End Audio system in this room to match the 4K TV we have purchased
For speaker choices, keep in mind if you are using the AVR to power all 13 speakers, you should choose speakers that have impedance rated 8 ohms nominal, and don't dip below 6 ohms in the mid range. Dips in the low range below 80 Hz are fine if you are going to use powered subwoofers. Sensitivity is also a key factor to consider, especially if you enjoy sound pressure level comparable to that in a cinema. Other than that, if you prefer speakers that are designed to sound neutral/accurate, go with speakers that measured well by reputable reviews such as Stereophile's and Soundstagenetwork's. You will see that the mid to higher end products from Revel, KEF, Monitor Audio, Focal and a few others typically have good measurements.

https://www.stereophile.com/category/floor-loudspeaker-reviews
https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=18

To figure out if your AVR and speaker combination have enough power+headroom for your HT setup, you can use the online calculators such as the one linked below:

https://myhometheater.homestead.com/splcalculator.html
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Welcome to the forum.

First, kudos to you for being the "audiophile" of the family! :D

I have 2 brothers who are electrical engineers. Both of them care about owning OLED TVs. But neither one of them care about a great audio system. They both bought some "soundbars". :eek:

Second, kudos to you for wanting to buy such a big and complex AVR for "beginners"! :D

I always picture "beginners" starting out with some small AVR, not a X8500 AVR. :D

Big speaker brands are like RBH, Revel, KEF, B&W, Focal, Dynaudio. Of these, the B&W speakers probably have the least accurate speaker measurements. The other 5 brands tend to have accurate speaker measurements. However, B&W might have the among the highest resell value. :D

For a 19x13 room, you probably want 4 ceiling or height speakers plus 5-7 floor speakers.

The Denon X8500 can power up to 13 speakers (like 7 floor + 6 ceiling/height speakers).

The question is, what is your total budget for the speakers and subwoofers and for how many speakers?

Typically, most of us would spend most of the budget on speakers and subwoofers and spend less on the AVR.
 
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Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
I am going to buy the Denon X8500H and want some advice on what equipment to buy with it to achieve the ability to get Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersion surround sound in my 19 foot by 13 foot by 8 feet high room that already has a Sony XBR-65A9F Master Series OLED 4K HDR TV. Any suggestions on which brands of speakers to buy will be appreciated. My husband and I are both retired Electrical Engineers and want a High End Audio system in this room to match the 4K TV we have purchased
Welcome to Audioholics!

I would also like to suggest since you have a good budget taking advantage of a lot of ID companies generous free trial and return policy. It's critical to test out how speakers sound in your room. What you hear in the store may change once you get them home based on how your room affects the sound

Sometimes you get lucky and they sound better right off the bat at home then even in the store! Lol.

Also try to look for high end audio stores in your area even a little bit of a drive can be worth it.

Bjorn's is the only high end store in my town San Antonio Texas. They are so great with customer service over a Best Buy etc. They have a generous return policy like ID companies 30 days no questions asked

I've built a great reputation with them over time my sales rep scores me huge deals all the time on gear I like. Something you can't always get with ID companies since there trying to max profit lines going without a brick and mortar they don't always like too wheel and deal. Doesn't mean they won't just not as likely I've found

An example I walked into Bjorn's with cash and told them I wanted 2 SVS PB 4000's what kind off deal can we work out?

It was a lottof fun haggling and they gave me a great deal on those 2 subs.

They gave me the same courtesy when I bought 3 Klipsch RP8000f's towers for my front stage very happy with the deal we worked out

Sounds like since your looking for more high end gear your budget is going to give you a lot of flexibility.

Whether it's the Klipsch RP line or the RF7!!!'s and there ultra thx lineup for in ceiling for heights RBH, Aperion audio, SVS, HSU, Philharmonic, man the list could go on and on and on and on for all the juicy options out there for audio

With the internet companies this is a great time to be a buyer for home audio there is so much competition and options out there

Please send us pictures to go with your room dimensions when you can so we can look at your layout and make suggestions on what we might do or buy if we had that room

Welcome to the forum and great grab with that new Denon flagship!

Have fun learning about all stuff audio were going to have fun helping you!
 
Phase 2

Phase 2

Audioholic Chief
I am going to buy the Denon X8500H and want some advice on what equipment to buy with it to achieve the ability to get Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersion surround sound in my 19 foot by 13 foot by 8 feet high room that already has a Sony XBR-65A9F Master Series OLED 4K HDR TV. Any suggestions on which brands of speakers to buy will be appreciated. My husband and I are both retired Electrical Engineers and want a High End Audio system in this room to match the 4K TV we have purchased
Get the best LCR speakers you can afford. Around 2 to 3K will get you a nice set. Me, I like tower speakers, check out RBH, Salk, umm maybe Cantons, or Martin Logan's. Add in a nice 12" sub or two. Bigger the better on Subs. If this is you and your husband's first setup than starting out with the AVR you picked is a very good one. Match it with a upper end speakers will do that AVR a lot of Justice. Get ready to spend upwards around 5 to 6k or more on good speakers. You'll get years of enjoyment on your investment.
 
2

2channel lover

Audioholic Field Marshall
I am going to buy the Denon X8500H and want some advice on what equipment to buy with it to achieve the ability to get Auro 3D and Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersion surround sound in my 19 foot by 13 foot by 8 feet high room that already has a Sony XBR-65A9F Master Series OLED 4K HDR TV. Any suggestions on which brands of speakers to buy will be appreciated. My husband and I are both retired Electrical Engineers and want a High End Audio system in this room to match the 4K TV we have purchased
Congrats on retirement and welcome to the Holics!

On your system...you're kinda building it backwards, I would focus on the speakers 1st, but no real harm done your x8500 will drive most speakers well.

OEM speakers...for me there are 2 that I really liked

Revel F208...these are wonderful floorstanders that will have no problem filling your space with high quality sound. They make a matching center channel C208...this pkg for the front 3 speakers would be in the $6500 to $7k range.

Monitor Audio Gold 300...another great pair of floorstanders. Price for the front 3 will be slightly more than the Revels.

B&W 803 D3...ordinarily I wouldn't mentioned these, but you said money was no object which is dangerous in this trade :), but these are not ultra expensive, just too expensive for me...a little warmer sounding through the midrange than maybe the most accurate of speakers, but they have ramped up the diamond tweeters....these will set you back about $20-$22k for the front 3 depending on which center channel you get.

If you're okay with custom speakers.

Salk Song 3A...a terrific set of drivers in this speaker...the midrange and tweeter perform way above the price range. If accuracy and detail are critical I would go with these above all others I have mentioned...direct sell company, so no middle man, $6k would be about right for these.

These speakers don't have the bass performance of the Revel F208 or the B&W 803, but if you plan on having subs these speakers will perform as well as speakers costing twice this price.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
If price is no object, I'm probably getting Meridian DSP8000.2 speakers all across the front with a acoustically transparent screen. Then I would pair them with their matching surrounds and architectural speakers.

Add in a few top notch subwoofers and call it done.

About $250,000 or so in speakers should sound quite nice.
 
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Truckdude1

Audiophyte
I'm new here so don't be tough on me but I just bought a denon 8500h and am confused on how to set my audio cause I have 9,4 8 but it seems like if I want wide to work I have to only run 4 atmos. I have 6 svs elevations and 2 svs satalites for top center and Vog. But if I want wide I have to cut off my 6 high speakers and center and vog. I also have a new emotiva dxr gen 7ch and a new yamaha mx 5000 11 channel. If I can use those to help. I thought there was a way to use 13.2. I want to run all the speakers and just switch real quick 6 highs or 9 w/wide and high center and vog. This came up while watching yr u tube on the 8500. U guys were talking mixing up mixes with game of thrones
 
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snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
I'm new here so don't be tough on me but I just bought a denon 8500h and am confused on how to set my audio cause I have 9,4 8 but it seems like if I want wide to work I have to only run 4 atmos. I have 6 svs elevations and 2 svs satalites for top center and Vog. But if I want wide I have to cut off my 6 high speakers and center and vog. I also have a new emotiva dxr gen 7ch and a new yamaha mx 5000 11 channel. If I can use those to help. I thought there was a way to use 13.2. I want to run all the speakers and just switch real quick 6 highs or 9 w/wide and high center and vog. This came up while watching yr u tube on the 8500. U guys were talking mixing up mixes with game of thrones
This sounds like what member @VonMagnum was describing in the Atmos/DTSX thread. I know he uses more than one processor.
 
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Truckdude1

Audiophyte
Sorry spell chk. I have the 8500 , emotiva dxr gen 3 7 channel and yamaha mx 5200 11 channel and a 6400h I replaced with the 8500.. I have svs for 8 high ch and polk rti 9s, 4x7s,4x3s csia6 and 2 sets of fxi6 dipole. And tsi500s for wide thanks
 
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liquid360

Junior Audioholic
My room is almost exactly the same dimensions. Installing it now.... here’s my equipment list:

McIntosh MI254 (dig amp)
McIntosh MC303 (SA Amp)
McIntosh MPC500 (conditioner)
Marantz AV8805 (processor)
JL Fathom 13.5 (3000w)
B&W CCM7.5 (X2)
B&W CWM7.4 (X2)
B&W 804D2 (X2)
B&W HTM2D3 (center)
Sony VPL-VW695ES
Screen:
Screen Innovations Zero Edge Pro
Fixed-frame projector screen with ultra-thin frame and LED backlight, Black Diamond dark gray material (100")



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Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Hoo boy, be careful with money no object suggestions. These ugly speakers sell for 'bout $5 mil.

1212hart.promo_.jpg


Yup. 5 million dollars with the gold cabinets. "Aural Pleasure" from Hart Audio.
 
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