shameless plea for speaker help (1 Viewer)

[sakino]

So I'm sure this sort of question has been asked before, but here it is again with my specific details. I'm looking for advice on which 5 speakers wnd which sub to get to go along with a yamaha rx - v 667 receiver My room is about 12 x 11 Id like to spend about 1500 on the 5 speakers and maybe around 500 on the sub. I live in the upstairs aprtment which has only wood floors and a small area rug, so if possible, id like to get a subwoofer that does a decent job for the small room its required in but isn't too too shaky of the below apartment (if its possible only of course) This system will be used for gaming and blu-ray, all wiried with hdmi. Lemm know what you guys would do in this senario with the alloted money! Thanks!

 

[Robert_J]

id like to get a subwoofer that does a decent job for the small room its required in but isn't too too shaky of the below apartment (if its possible only of course)

That is dependent on the construction of the building, what you are watching and how loud you turn it up. 2 of the 3 are your responsibility. What have you listened to already? Towers or bookshelf speakers? How are you mounting the surrounds? What is the largest sized sub you can live with?

 

[sakino]

I have jacks in the walls for all the speakers including the sub. Front and sub are closer to ground. Surrounds jacks are about 7' off the ground, I like towers for the front, and id like to have the surrounds up on the wall close to the jacks to help clear up some floor space. I haven't listened to much of anythin, I'm VERY new to this and wouldn't even know where to begin, I was hoping to narrow it down by seeing what much more knowledgable peoples choices would be and then going from there. I don't really know anything about subs actually apart from them helping to cover the low frequencies in sound, size I wouldn't know at all, very sorry Feel free to recomend what any of "You" personally would do with that size room, that receiver, and about 2k total monies for the 5.1 speakers and sub. Ill continue of course to try my best to help with any questions you have!

 

[Al.Anderson]

The honest answer to your question is that there is no needed "mating" to the v667 (it can handle any speaker, including 4 Ohm fronts according to the manual). So the path you should take is to listen to a bunch of speakers to get an idea of the sound you like best. However, since you wanted what we'd do, in a similar situation (room 13x12) I went with Axiom m22 and vp100 for the front and center speakers, and a Hsu STF-2 for a sub. I used some old mini-Advents for the rears. You could use more m22s, or go with the m2. I absolutely love my system. (BTW, you only need the STF-1; but if you want to ensure it will be adequate for a larger room, go with the STF-2.)

 

[sakino]

So as I looked at the m2's and m 22's I was confused as o how you pick from one or the other (for the rears). I was originally under the impression that front L/R speakers were supposed to be different then rears/surrounds, but you recommended the same for both. Any clarification avail by chance?

 

[Al.Anderson]

Well first off, I gave incomplete information. When I said you could use the m2 or m22s, I forgot that nearly everyone says that the QS4/QS8s are the way to go, so take a look at those. While there's nothing wrong with using the m2/m22 as surrounds, it is probably not the best option. I don't have the Axiom surrounds, so I can't confirm from personal experience. The rears are not supposed to be different; but rather they are allowed to be different because far less of the audio content is routed through those speakers. To put it another way, the surrounds (and rears in a 7.1 system) are less important. So if you wanted to save money, that's an ideal place to do it. HoweverIf you are planning to use the system for music in any significant degree, you may want to up the quality for that purpose. In general, the more you keep the speakers the same, the better. This is true even for the fronts, as many people say it's better to go with the same center as your FR/FL. The problem with that is unless you have a accoustically transparent screen, you are making layout compromises. But even though that's the ideal, it's sort of an audophile ideal, and you can ignore it and still have an excellent system. (But you do want to keep the front three within the same manufactorers line, so that the front stage is timbre matched.)

 

[sakino]

That was a great clarification, well done! Ill look into the other speakers as well!

 

[winniw]

For subwoofer isolation, you might want to check out the Auralex SubDude Subwoofer Isolation Riser for $50 at Amazon.


http://www.amazon.com/Auralex-Subwoofer-Isolation-15x15x2-inch-Charcoal/dp/B001140OZ0


I believe that there are other brands and types available besides this one, if you want to look further.

 

[sakino]

What a fantastic idea! I had no idea something like that existed, and its got nothing but positive reviews (apart from it costing too much).

 

[Robert_J]

Auralex SubDude Subwoofer Isolation Riser

I still don't get the reason to use one of these. 1. If you get a quality sub, the cabinet will not resonate therefore no physical vibrations will be transmitted to the floor. 2. If you have a front firing sub, you have decoupled it from the floor and it is sitting on foam. Hold a raw driver still while driving it with a 20hz sine wave and a few hundred watts. It's like holding a jack-hammer. Because you have decoupled the sub, it doesn't have a solid base and will rock back and forth. http://www.epiksubwoofers.com/legend.html The Epik legend attacks this "rocking" by using opposed drivers. They cancel out the physical forces on the cabinet.

 

[Robert_J]

size I wouldn't know at all

Can you live with something around this size?

 

[sakino]

Double post

 

[sakino]

I don't think that's quite big enough, I'm looking to shake the town, not just my block. Do you think the asiom m60 v3's as front left/right would be too much for my small room or receiver?

 

[David Willow]

Nothing is too much (it will all be adjusted to fit anyway), but over spending when you don't need to could be an issue. Having said that, I have M60's, a VP150, 4 QS8's, and a massive SVS PB12/Ultra 2 subwoofer in a room just slightly larger than yours. You will have a hard time fitting the M60's in your budget unless you forgo the sub for now. The M60's do produce decent bass and in your apartment that may be all you neighbors need. FWIW, I use Subdudes under my previously mentioned sub. They absolutely made a difference in my 60 year old house. The doors and windows no longer shake and the floor is not part of the sound any more. I would not recommend one as a way to keep sound from the neighbors however. They will do very little to stop the low frequency sound waves from going through the walls and floors.

 

[sakino]

Not getting the sub right away and opting for the better front speakers is the exact thought that was going through my head when I was looking at the m60's. And my house is 100 years old and perfectly ricketty, so ill prolly get the riser when I get a sub.

 

[Robert_J]

I don't think that's quite big enough, I'm looking to shake the town, not just my block. Do you think the asiom m60 v3's as front left/right would be too much for my small room or receiver?

David's sub is pretty darn big. Here's a thread of someone getting there same sub setup - http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=786627 . In your case, I wouldn't recommend anything that large. In fact in such an old house and with neighbors below, I'd recommend something along these lines: http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_138&products_id=892 http://www.lavasubs.com/8_inch/powered_home_subwoofer.html Neither one of those will dig down to the gut wrenching lows that I like. Gut wrenching lows are also the most difficult of the frequencies to contain in your room.