"soundbar" ???????.... i thought there is no swearing here .....my blood pressure just went up to terminal level.....OMG56 !!!! this is personal now !!! LOL !!!
confused and don't know what to do
We would like to buy a nice audio system and also have this double as a surround sound but listening to music is the priority. We have listened to many speakers but have settled on the B&W 804's. Now the challenge is to select a receiver and all the other accompaniments we require. We have a little challenge in that our home is a condo and the outside wall is all glass. The space is combined kitchen, living room, and dining room all open with hardwood floors and hard tile on the walls of the kitchen and a lot of granite counter tops. It seems that every where we go, the recommendations are different depending on what the store is selling and of course, the sales people would like us to buy the most expensive. What would give great sound without going crazy. We are thinking about 2 tribe sub woofers and space is limited and an in wall center B&W speaker but we don't know what we are doing and don't want to throw our money away. Help! Too many choices and we don't have enough knowledge. Thank you so much.
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I built a similar system a couple of years ago and love it. I had the general system design down and worked with the local Hifi store to get pricing and changed a few things...working with a local dealer, I found that the discounts were so good I was able to move up to Revel tower speakers for the price of the ML Bookshelves I was planning on. I have since moved and changed the speakers/configuration slightly...but the system is still the same and works flawlessly for my mix of movies and music Here is my setup for music/movies. Marantz SR6012 Marantz PM8006 Marantz MM7055 Speakers: I did not have the budget for Revel; however, the dealer was able to get very aggressive on price and I couldn’t be happier. The subs are the only thing I would do different, but he was able to do $800@ on those so, they are great for that price. Would do SVS PB3000 for the little bit more if I had to do it over again. But the B10 is no slouch...just can’t hold its own against other $1500 subs. LR- Revel F36 C - Revel C25 SB/SR - Revel M10 Height - Revel C540 Sub - Revel B10 The SR6012 is the processor and I use the built in Amplifier for my 4 overhead Atmos Speakers. The MM7055 powers the Center and Rear Channels off the preamp output of the SR6012. Then my fronts are driven by the PM8006 in HT Bypass. Subs are only connected to the SR6012 and not used for stereo music (unless is crazy bass heavy and I play it through the SR6012). My TT, CD, Streamer are all of only connected to the PM8006. The same setup can be made with many other manufacturers. If I were to go up a level, the Parasound HINT 6 and Revel F208 or F226Be would be an amazing setup. You can add the surround processor of your choice as long as it has preamp outputs. I would definitely audition the Revel if you have a local dealer. Not going to say that their are for everyone, but a VERY hard speaker to find flaws with. And I am running their lower end line of speakers. Parasound allows bypass of the subwoofer as well which is very nice since you can use the sub with both music and movies. For this setup, the main thing to look for in an integrated amp for your 2 channel listening is the HT Bypass. This makes your stereo integrated act just like a power amplifier when using the surround receiver. It “bypasses” the preamp section...including volume control...on the integrated and allows your room correction/bass management apply ONLY when using the surround. With Atmos out now, I am a big fan of using a surround receiver with preouts. This lets me use the built in amplifier for my height channels only. Really with my speakers and small room, the MM7055 is overkill...but I already have it...😂 I am really surprised how rare this setup seems to be. I had a hard time explaining my ideas to a lot of people. It seems like people are either “stereo purists” in one camp or “everyone else” in the other. It just seems logical that most people would want one large setup to enjoy both surround and stereo. Good luck and hope you enjoy what you decide on! |
I’ve done this, it’s hard to get right, and imaging requirements are different for Video and Music. first, forget which brand/models of equipment and clarify a lot, then go shopping: A. WHAT and WHERE a1. what equipment, future changes, future additions. AV and Music is a longer list for sure. a2. access, operational heights, remote control beams, access to power and cables now and in the future, relocation’s. After a few months, you may realize ’we should have put this there’ ... a3. most people want minimalist, not clarifying 1 and 2, resulting in a few or many less than ideal compromises. B. CENTER CHANNEL, b1. Center Channel is VERY important, did I say VERY important. b2. Center Channel LOCATION. Best is directly below the image, to keep the source of dialog and most of the sound originating from the image. Many people compromise the center, don’t do it. b3. Center Channel ’SOUND’. You can adjust the volume of any center, but, you want the ’sound’ of the center to properly blend with your mains, so pick your mains and center together, solving both location and look. b4. Center Channel LOOK. The opposite of Children, they are to be ’HEARD BUT NOT SEEN’. I always recommend the TV have a black frame, so that any black bars in any aspect ratio are not ’framed’ by another color; framing black bars is what makes them so apparent and undesireable and leads to the horrible stretching of images. So, black center channel? Match color directly below the tv? You need to think this thru when seeing what is offered by various brands. C. WIDE CENTER IMAGE. c1. VIDEO, Center Speaker ON. you want a wide center image, lets say for 3 people wide on a sofa. With the . Perfect in the middle, darn good off center, this effects dispersion choice of the Mains. c2. MUSIC: Center Speaker OFF. Normally not as wide, but, you will also be listening to music in that location, perhaps together, Perfect in the middle, darn good off center, this definitely effects dispersion choice of the Mains. My solution, many years ago, was DBX Soundfield 100, designed specifically for wide center image. I don’t know who makes what these days. https://www.google.com/search?q=dbx+soundfield&rlz=1C1SQJL_enUS881US881&sxsrf=ACYBGNSGzU-U28ZflNViXJy6X4W5kDD4DQ:1580128617839&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=j_TtQ2SC3R3aKM%253A%252CjVjpjMyjCYeg8M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kTh5zjZZUFVmeuCD-28vz0F_qCHvQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_0tzn5aPnAhWjZDUKHVf1B0EQ9QEwBHoECAoQCg#imgrc=j_TtQ2SC3R3aKM: D. FLEXIBILITY d1. TOE IN. IF you cannot find current mains that produces a wide center by design, you can get the same wide center image from any stereo pair: toe them in directly facing the center spot. Move left, you are closer to the left, but the right is facing you more directly, the same principle as the DBX. It works. d2. RELOCATION. You can remain flexible, IF you can easily adjust the position of your mains. Adjust just toe in, or, one location for Video, another location for Music. My mains are very heavy, on 3 concealed wheels, easy to adjust toe in only; and/or distance from walls as needed. 3 wheels find level without wobble, and divide the weight by 3 not 4, more lbs/sq. inch. E. STEREO DIRECTIONAL BASS, from MAINS NOT SUBS. e1. Best is to get enough bass out of your mains and skip subs. Not only for full range listening, both Video and Music, also to eliminate complicated controls of subs, especially if using separate amps for Video surround sound and a 2 channel amp for music. F. REAR CHANNEL SPEAKERS. f1. IMO, are the least critical, the exception being how to get wires to them. Most people run them too loud. Except designated effects, heliocopters coming in .... Generally you should not be aware of them, until you turn them off, then the image ’crashes’ to the front. f2. Cable makes false surround, often 2 channel sounds better. I cannot count the times the sound improved when I changed the AV receiver to 2 Channel. It happily ’crashes’ to the front, as originally recorded/balanced/imaged. |
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