Speakers for a less-than-ideal room
Thanks so much for the speedy reply. I was in the middle of editing my post to make it actually legible and didn't even know I had one haha Do you have a recommendation for an amp to pair with them? If I stick with a 2.1 channel setup then I can just avoid purchasing the upgraded AVR. Also would not having a center be detrimental to the sound when being used in home theater scenarios? |
Center channels are essential for proper home theater. It centers the image perfectly no matter the seating position and two channel audio has a real problem, with a perfectly centered image. The reasons are many and probably beyond this thread. Some people here don’t understanding theater audio and have some interesting but ill informed opinions on the subject. There is nothing that I am aware of that is a perfect speaker for a bad room, but looking at your setup, you need a speaker without a rear port, as a bare start. Acoustic panels for the front wall are inexpensive and can help a lot. What is your budget? We need a starting point. $30K omnidirectionals may be perfect for you, but way outside your budget. I do expect, based on your picture, that small book-shelf speakers on stands placed a practical distance from the front wall with 2 or more subs (not 1) will be close to what you want. We may able to work with what you have already. I would be inclined to keep the Dali's, learn how to build acoustic panels for behind the speakers, and invest in more subs. |
Thank you for the reply The main post has a budget set at ~$2500 specifically for front channel speakers. I’ll be building a system around the speaker since my current equipment will need updating anyway. Most of the speakers I was focused on are front or bottom ported, aside from the Monitor and the Dali. I believe Dali states their speakers are fine being placed near-wall, though. |
One of the many beautiful things about Tekton, they are all highly efficient and so can be driven well by just about any amp with more than a handful of watts. This makes it real easy as all you need is 20-50 watts. Mine for example fill my large room with more clean sound than most audiophiles consider safe. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 That's a 50wpb tube integrated, just the thing for you if you can find one in your budget. Which just became a whole lot easier since by going stereo you also eliminated having to buy a whole lot more speakers and amps. The center channel, if you watch movies from where you listen to music you already have rock solid imaging and there is no need for a center channel. The whole premise of HT is to replicate the cinematic experience. But the cinematic experience has all these speakers because people are sitting all over the place. They need a center channel so people way off in a corner on a side still hear dialog coming from the screen. You only need a center channel if you sit way off in a corner off to one side. Otherwise, waste of money. Look at my system. It wasn't always like this. Way back in the beginnin I tried and tried and tried to get it to sound good with all the HT surrounds and everything. Put a lot of time and effort into it. Not a complete waste of time and money, I did learn one thing: it is a complete waste of time and money. So learn from my experience and don't waste your time and money. Also a BIG benefit of going stereo, it frees up funds for a DBA. Distributed Bass Array. Basically, four subs. Subs are the one thing where more really is better. More subs. Not more bass, just more subs. Do a search. You cannot get DBA quality bass from one or two, you need four. Avoiding multi-channel makes it so much easier to afford 4 good subs! Do a search, read the comments, you will see. Totally the way to go. |
Rear port of not, you will always get reinforcement from the front wall, and almost no acoustic panel will fix that. The acoustic panel helps reduce higher frequency reflections that screw with imaging. You main couch is a long way from the speakers. I would prefer speakers farther apart and then add some reflection control on the side wall(s). You need the center channel for that couch on the right wall. Speakers don't fix bad rooms, but some can mask them. Omni-directional can work well. Speakers with a narrow emission pattern can work well. It is a far better investment to treat the room. If you DIY it is inexpensive. The other trick is multiple small subwoofers. You may not get the super deep bass of one large expensive sub, but you will have much better bass for everyone. |
keep your Dali speakers . They may be used in the future as surround speakers. ( front and center speakers should be the same brands ) Anthem MRX 540 would be a nice choice . ARC for your room. https://www.anthemav.com/products-current/type=av-receiver/model=mrx-540/page=overview add a center . Stick with Dali brands . some acoustic pannels : absorbor-diffusor along the way , you will complete your system. if you can buy used gears , it is fine the main idea with the Anthem , is the room correction : ARC The Atmos and DTS X movies will have a good sound even if you do not have height speakers. |
Unfortunately, anyone can post on the internet, regardless of their knowledge or common sense. I can find thousands of articles, some even including experiments, stating, with authority, that the earth is flat. Look at any concert venue or space designed for the enjoyment of music and you’ll see hard, reflective sidewalls, not absorption. Music-lovers will visit a particular venue because the rooms acoustics will add to the sound of the orchestra or band. Reflections from the room provide a positive addition to the performance and shouldn’t be regarded as the enemy and removed with treatment. This statement shows the author should stick to sales and not wax poetically about acoustics. Creating music is not the same as recreating music. That point should be obvious. Also obvious should be that modern music venues have significant amounts of absorption and reflection, one should assume intelligently placed. Reflections can enhance the enjoyment, but uncontrolled reflections do not. |
@ausaudio I agree with you. I think sometimes , some overdo with absortion pannels. I shoud have been more specific (by referring to the article ) about the need for room correction (Anthem ARC ) in OP room, and some ( not too many ) acoustic pannels . With more emphasis on absorbor-diffusor instead of absorbor only pannels. |
