Looking for speaker suggestions for 18 x 11 room (1 Viewer)

[CrayZT415]

Sort of new to the forum, though I have been reading a lot and I've posted once before when I was looking for a wireless home theater (told it was way out of my budget ... glad to get that out of the way early).

My budget has increased from 1K to 2K (which would be used for the receiver and all speakers) and after learning that HTiB is basically a sin (also found out on this forum), I'm now in the "piece the system together" phase of my home theater searching. I've also convinced my wife to ditch the wireless idea. I'm a definite noob with home theater stuff, so I'm hoping someone here can point me in the right direction when it comes to a speaker set that will suit a decent sized living room (18 x 11, where our seating position is about 15 feet from the TV).

Receiver
I've narrowed down my receiver choice to the Onkyo TX-NR626, though I only plan on going 5.1 to start (wife ain't digging 4 speakers in the rear of the room). Unless I hear otherwise, I'm fairly set on that part.

Speakers
I'm starting to realize that I need to buy my speakers separate from one another as the 6-piece systems I've come across seem to be tailor made for smaller rooms? Maybe I'm wrong. I keep hearing about the budget-friendly Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater system but digging deeper it doesn't sound like it'll handle a bigger room for the high volume I prefer to listen to my entertainment at. And I can afford more if it requires it.

When it comes to the size of the surround speakers, I prefer mid-size to small only because I'll be mounting the rear ones on the back wall and the front ones will sit on top of a cabinet/entertainment center, possibly on a shelf (the entertainment center is going to be built with this in mind). I keep hearing that it's best to stick with the same brand when working with the center channel and the surround speakers to not have odd changes in sound when moving from one side to another. Is this true?

Subwoofer
Unless I go 6-piece speaker set, I've narrowed the sub down to one of the following
- BIC America F12 12" 475 watt front-firing sub
- BIC PL200
However, again, it comes down to whether or not I need to get a 6 piece set rather than buy everything separately, given the $2,000 budget.

Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated. My wife is on my rear about getting this stuff bought and I'm getting fairly exhausted in trying to piece it all together. So at this point, I'm really looking to have someone hold my hand in getting the right set of speakers. Thanks in advance.

 

[schan1269]

I, personally, would head straight to the KEF T series(the T sub is "cool", but costs too much).To make the wife happy...The grills on the T are removable. She can then run to Jo-Ann fabrics and pick "whatever pretty pattern she wants" as speaker grill fabric(as long as the fabric is sound permeable).You could even silkscreen vacation pictures as speaker grills.

 

[Jason Charlton]

I keep hearing that it's best to stick with the same brand when working with the center channel and the surround speakers to not have odd changes in sound when moving from one side to another. Is this true?

That's not quite right. You definitely want to stick with the same series speakers for the front three - those are the ones where it's critical they all have the same sound characteristics.

Surround speakers are much less critical, because sounds rarely pan slowly from front to rear. If your space dictates satellite speakers for surrounds, not a big deal, really - you can still use bookshelves or larger for the fronts. Since you mention playing at loud volumes, I would suggest sticking with no smaller than bookshelves for your fronts. Satellites simply won't cut it, IMO, for that room size and listening tendencies.

As you've probably learned, "matching" the subwoofer to the rest of the speakers is pretty much not an issue - just make sure that the frequency response overlaps your fronts so you don't "miss out" on any part of the soundfield. You will get a much better performing system buying a separate subwoofer. Either of those Bics are a solid choice.

 

[Sam Posten]

If you do decide to go for a small system I recommend taking a look at the KEF E series:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/327946-kef-e-305-51-surround-sound-review/

If you go for full size speakers the Paradigm Monitor series are really hard to beat for bang for the buck. My first 'real' 5.1 set was purchased a month or so after DVD hit the market and they sound as good today as they did when I bought em.
http://www.paradigm.com/products-current/collection=classic

 

[Type A]

I concur with Jason and would avoid small satellites. I disagree with Sam. Even with a decent sub on-walls will sound very thin in the mid bass and likely shouty at the higher volumes youre seeking. The wife will get used to bookshelf speakers. Just give her time and explain that, short of towers, book shelves were the only right choice to achieve the performance youre looking for. Listen to them first as they are a little forward for my taste but I would consider used market Klipsch bookshelf, very loud and very efficient.

 

[schan1269]

Apparently you've not heard KEF T nor Def Tech Mythos.

 

[Sam Posten]

Type A:
The speakers I linked to are bookshelfs, not in walls. Not sure if you are referring to something I or other sam said =)

As noted in my review I had the same biases and reservations you do, but in real world use the speakers accounted for themselves admirably. There is obviously going to be a delta between a $1k set of bookshelfs and $$$ full range floor standers, that goes with the territory. Horses for courses (and budgets).

 

[CrayZT415]

Surround speakers are much less critical, because sounds rarely pan slowly from front to rear. If your space dictates satellite speakers for surrounds, not a big deal, really - you can still use bookshelves or larger for the fronts. Since you mention playing at loud volumes, I would suggest sticking with no smaller than bookshelves for your fronts. Satellites simply won't cut it, IMO, for that room size and listening tendencies.

Any suggestions for bookshelves in the front that are same series (bookshelves + center channel)?

 

[schan1269]

KEF PolkJBL ZuParadigmPSBDaliAxiomARXLeonLegendPinnacleDec TechMordaunt ShortHTDSVSDCM

 

[schan1269]

TotemEnergyKlipschB&WHsuM&K

 

[Jason Charlton]

Any suggestions for bookshelves in the front that are same series (bookshelves + center channel)?

It's been a long time since I've shopped for speakers, but I have always been partial to PSB. I have a pair of the Image 6T towers for my mains and a C5 center channel.

The Image series also offer bookshelves - the B6 and the matching center C4. Those easily fall into your budget and would be solid performers. The same series also includes a compact bookshelf for surrounds (the B4). You won't find them at any big box retailer - you'd need to look around your area for a local dealer to try and find some to listen to.

Sam Poston's suggestion of the Paradigm Monitors is also a solid recommendation - Paradigm and PSB are very similar speakers. I recall Paradigm feeling a bit more "in your face" while PSB is slightly more "laid back", but that's just how I remember it.

Just about any speaker manufacturer will have matching components for putting together a 5.1 system. Find a few that fit into your budget and let your ears decide.

 

[schan1269]

I keep mentioning DCM hoping somebody buys some. Sure they no longer have any Eberbach(???) Influence...But they aren't dead...yet.

 

[Type A]

Type A: The speakers I linked to are bookshelfs, not in walls. Not sure if you are referring to something I or other sam said =) As noted in my review I had the same biases and reservations you do, but in real world use the speakers accounted for themselves admirably. There is obviously going to be a delta between a $1k set of bookshelfs and $$$ full range floor standers, that goes with the territory. Horses for courses (and budgets).

No sorry, I was referring to the other Sam

 

[CrayZT415]

Thanks for all the help. Here's my potential set up. I have a 2K budget and I was able to fit this under it. Anything stick out on here as a bad idea?

Receiver: Onkyo TX-NR626
Bookshelf: Polk Audio TSx 220B
Center: Polk Audio TSx 250C
Satellites: Polk Audio TL3
Sub: BIC America F12

 

[Type A]

Since you are building the entertainment center I would build to accommodate a vertically-oriented 220 for the center channel and go with 220s for "Satellites" too (though this is less important). The same identical speaker for all channels is always preferred. It improves not only movie performance but also music performance when using something like "all channel stereo."Heres an interesting read on why a 220 is of particular importance for the center channel:http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=89614

 

[schan1269]

Another option. Find the Polk, in-ceiling center with the dame tweeter. Buy that, build a box yourself.Coaxial (which some manufacturers do OED) solves the problem.