Apartment Home Theatre Upgrades (1 Viewer)

[upsidedownjim]

Hoping to receive some advice on where to improve my home theatre that has been sporadically put together over 20 years or so (answer: everywhere ) :

2004 - purchased a JBL home theatre in box and had most of the speakers stolen in an apartment robbery 5 months later, left with the 2 rear surrounds and the centre channel.
2010 - given for free Athena Technologies - Audition Series Tower Speakers (Left and Right)
2012 - purchased BIC America Subwoofer (I think it's the F12 ~300 CDN at the time)
2013 - purchase Klipsch RC-500 Centre Channel
2014 - Sony STRDN850 Receiver (had a Denon AVR-88 before, iirc)
2021- LG CX 65" TV
2023 - Denon AVR-X4800H
2024 - Sony SSCSE Dolby atmos speakers (wanted to try out dolby atmos but I don't think I've heard much from these.

Overall, system has been adequate for apartment use where I don't want to crank the volume too often especially during the evening. I'd like to see (or hear) improvements in lower to middle audio level, improve clarity and consistency. I'm riding the volume control throughout the evening but that may be needed to lower explosions and such versus dialogue.

Since getting the Denon AVR-X4800H and using the Audyssey room calibration a couple of times I feel like the audio is less clear and dialogue for tv and movies is muffled. I'm not sure if that's a setup issue, my imagination, aging/cheap components, etc. Maybe the audio level is expected but depending on the source I have to crank the AVR audio to -20db to get decent sound.

Currently, I'm looking at potentially getting new tower speakers like the Bowers and Wilkins 603 S3 or Klipsch RP-8000F II. Starting to look into maybe getting an Amplifier. Not looking for top end to eek out every detail while breaking the bank but also don't want to go too cheap and deal with above issues for next 10-20 years. Maybe upgrade centre channel to Klipsch RP-504C II. Not set on Klipsch just the brand that is popping up while getting my feet wet. If there's a better product at a similar price happy to go with that vs. Klipsch or any brand.

Used for movies, tv, games, music in an apartment/condo living room. Maybe future proof for if/when I have a bigger space depending on cost now versus upgrading the future.

If I bought new front left and right, could my current fronts (Athenas) be used as rears until I purchase new rears?

Hopefully, that's not too much info but thought I'd give enough detail to get an idea of where things are at. Thanks for any help and advice!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I would probably bump up the center channel by a few decibels after using Audyssey, if the issue is dialog getting lost in midst of many fairly dynamic soundtrack.

In my case using Anthem prepro, I turn on their (somewhat) customizable Dynamic Audio setting for nighttime viewing (usually after 7:30pm) -- that's their own (customizable) version of dynamic compression (or what's sometimes called "dialog enhancer"). AFAIK, most brands do not offer customizable variation on that, so that's definitely a nice touch w/ Anthem.

Better gear, especially better speakers, might possibly help too... but try adjusting/tweaking those kinds of settings in your AVR first before considering speaker upgrades. IF you simply can't get satisfying enough results no matter what settings you try, then sure, might be time for speaker upgrades -- I'd recommend ELAC (at least for your front L/C/R channels) as great value choice that won't break the bank, not B&W... though B&W certainly has its fans, but they seem more expensive for similar results...

_Man_

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

IF you do consider ELAC, I'd recommend waiting for one of their frequently recurring sales (for somewhere around 20% off MSRP) on either Debut 2.0 or UniFi 2.0 line -- sales are kinda rare on their Reference lines.

Not sure if their sales apply to customers in Canada though -- check and see. Also consider buying directly from them -- that's what I did for great service and some extra savings (though the extra savings might not be their norm).

_Man_

 

[upsidedownjim]

IF you do consider ELAC, I'd recommend waiting for one of their frequently recurring sales (for somewhere around 20% off MSRP) on either Debut 2.0 or UniFi 2.0 line -- sales are kinda rare on their Reference lines.

Not sure if their sales apply to customers in Canada though -- check and see. Also consider buying directly from them -- that's what I did for great service and some extra savings (though the extra savings might not be their norm).

_Man_

Thanks for taking the time to reply and help out- much appreciated. I hadn't considered bumping up the centre channel dB - I'll try that. I'll spend some more time tweaking the setup before purchasing new speakers. I'm finding it incredibly difficult to even narrow down speaker options. Some people will say X is great then others will say X is terrible and you're stupid for evening thinking it is good (it is the internet after all). Usually, there's a general consensus on quality/value but for speakers it seems to not exist. I get that room acoustic, personal preference play a significant role. Maybe that is reason enough but I'd think there would be some buyer's guide.

ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 is about $1200 CDN or $855 USD looks to be regular price at Crutchfield.ca
ELAC Debut 2.0 is about $900 CDN or $641 USD

I will keep these in mind and keep an eye out.

Any idea if an amp would help - like the Emotiva A3?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Thanks for taking the time to reply and help out- much appreciated. I hadn't considered bumping up the centre channel dB - I'll try that. I'll spend some more time tweaking the setup before purchasing new speakers.

Another additional thing you could try is dial down the surrounds by a couple decibels on top of dialing up the center channel. Some people do prefer that as well.

I'm finding it incredibly difficult to even narrow down speaker options. Some people will say X is great then others will say X is terrible and you're stupid for evening thinking it is good (it is the internet after all). Usually, there's a general consensus on quality/value but for speakers it seems to not exist. I get that room acoustic, personal preference play a significant role. Maybe that is reason enough but I'd think there would be some buyer's guide.

ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 is about $1200 CDN or $855 USD looks to be regular price at Crutchfield.ca
ELAC Debut 2.0 is about $900 CDN or $641 USD

I will keep these in mind and keep an eye out.

Any idea if an amp would help - like the Emotiva A3?

Are you referring to the ELAC floorstanding models? Do note those prices are for 1 speaker -- you'll need 2 for a pair.

ELAC definitely charges less over here in USA -- for instance, the UniFi 2.0 floorstander is $700 each here... and can often be another ~20% less on sale.

IF you can go w/ the UniFi 2.0 line, that's what I'd recommend at least for the front LCR -- that center speaker uses concentric/coaxial tweeter+midrange for likely better results (outside the dead center sweet spot), especially for center speaker.

IF you don't usually push the volume, you might well be fine enough w/ your Denon AVR. Upgrade the speakers first and see. IF still not quite enough improvement, then maybe consider an external amp to drive the front LCR channels.

_Man_

 

[upsidedownjim]

Thanks again for the help! I'll definitely take the suggestions into consideration. It seems that we have fewer options in Canada without importing. I was looking at Emotiva amps and don't see any resellers in Canada so if I went that route I'd have to import or find equivalent brands in Canada.