HT? Just stay with a high efficiency THX loud speaker system, follow the online setup parameter suggestions, and use audyssey or some DSP room calibration to help balance it out. Find the speaker system that fits in your budget, allowing the rest for filling in remainder of components. Go good pre/pro with room correction, and you can budget for 5.1 channel amp with power needed to driver your speakers. Cover reflection points on wall/ceiling points (use absorption up front, diffusion/absorption alternating to sides, and diffusion in back of room), bass traps in corners, and use even number seating (1/3,1/5,1/7 room dimension seating locations from side to side and back to front -and 1/6,1/10,1/14 corresponding loud speaker locations for monopoles, and dipoles to direct sides of rows) risers for back rows.
If your really at $20000 range, I'd suggest looking at Klipsch Thx, M&K POWERED THX speaker system, or like Macintosh THX system for more audiophile refined sounding qualities in an THX system. You're after high efficiency, focused verticle dispersion speakers designs, multiple mid/woof driver configured, even horns or multiple tweeter configs. Better power handling, more solid reinforcement of sound signal, less distortion (all things equal) and so on. Powered /active speakers also offer better power handling, higher efficiency, better dynamics and impact typically, yada yada.
There's a million combinations of speakers and equipment. I'd suggest looking at what all the professional AV magazine reviews use as their reference systems, and compare. They know what works, and are into this stuff. Take a page out of their book and follow their lead, yeah? |
I disagree. I've had some of the most expensive high end audio gear and loud speakers imaginable in my systems, and played, installed, and tinkered with most all of it.
Here's a little snipped of the review of the Monitor Audio PL-200's:
"At very high levels, the PL200s couldn't match the sense of dynamic ease that characterizes the Avantgarde Uno Nanos, but the same thing might be said of just about any speaker of similar size and driver complement. "
Boys and girls, THIS IS TYPICAL OF MOST STANDARD "HI-END AUDIO" HOME AUDIO LOUDSPEAKER OFFERINGS, attempting dedicated home theater system duties!!!"
Yes, if large scale dynamics, effortless power and presence, and focused, solid imaging, coherent, acoustically forgiving designed loud speaker designs are not in your consideration (GO TO ANY IMAX THEATER AND TELL ME THE SYSTEM DOESN'T STOMP YOUR GUTS OUT AND SMACK YOU IN THE CHEST WITH DYNAMICS!!), than you you can mostly go get just about any "hi-fi" audio speaker, and stick em in your system! FOR MOVIES -especially - you can be sure you'll not get ANTHING much more special, from one choice to the next, that's ANYTHING MUCH MORE SPECIAL than what you can get from any other similar loudspeaker design! You don't think so?! YOU JUST READ FROM THE SAME REVIEWER WHAT THE SPEAKER DOES AND DOESN'T DO!
Let me tell you what they DON'T DO...ANY OF THE ABOVE NECESSARITY EFFECTIVE TRAITS THAT A GOOD HOME THEATER LOUDSPEAKER IN AN ALL OUT HT SYSTEM SHOULD OFFER! - that's what!
So if delicate, micro scale, 'LAID BACK" , to open sounding, and average HT dynamics, coherence, and presence for THX system duties is your cup of tea, then by all means. you can easily go with some OVER EXPENSIVE home audio music loudspeaker, and stick em in an dedicated home theater system!
I say, why waste your money, when you can do all the necessary HT soundtrack playback(movie recordings aren't Dianna Krall and high rez super audio cd master 2 ch recordings, btw) with absolute effectiveness WITH A TRIED AND TRUE INDUSTRY RECOMMENDED THX SPEAKER SYSTEM for your EXTENSIVELY DIFFICULT ACCOUSTICALLY UNFRIENDLY DEDICATED THEATER ROOM SETUP, which likely doesn't work so effectively with standard music speakers in the first place?!!!
If you're going to go the Thiel, Wilson, B&W, esoteric music kit choices for your DEDICATED home theater setup (not music, btw, as was not described here as an application), then simply save your money, and buy most any highly rated Class B or A Stereophile monitor on the used market, add a subwoofer, hook it all up with your choice of processor and used multi-channel Class A or B Stereophile recommended amplifier and Oppo player, and be done with it!
I assure you, ALL THE HIGH END AV AND EVEN STEREO MAGAZINE PROFESSIONAL REVIEWERS are using more dedicated HT type home theater loud speakers for their "dedicated" HT systems!
Not what's being recommended previously.
You're choice. But it's all been done before
Yawwwwwn.
The Klipsch THX system still is WAY more effective, "CLEAR ENOUGH", detailed "enough", and super coherent, dynamic (for a passive speaker system), MORE than potent and hard hitting enough, and solid enough of an imager (no you don't need super super deep imaging from an ht loudspeaker, YOU NEED PRESSENCE! -even slightly upfront soundstaging would be preferred over laid back audiophile!) to be a better choice for most applications of this type!
Yep, to many years of tinkering with esoteric audio gear to know what to recommend, what works, and what doesn't.
I guarantee NO ONE with what I recommended will be disappointed (except the 2 channel tube/analog only guys listening to "jazz at the Pawn Shop" on a loop, will think ill of said recommended THX's formula! - 1000's of hours of tried and true home theater select gear, btw!)
The used listing for speakers is full of choices that offer nothing so special, soundwise, if you're main goal is an effective, all out home theater speaker system.
Just sayin... |
Here's how all this works..
First, Vast majority of consumers systems, regardless of expenditure, have chity performing systems, that are no where near the capability of what they COULD have ended up with if they did it right in the first place! Truely, Home theater in a box, Bose, and similar would have done them just as good. ..cause they haven't a clue, and likelyl neither does their "professional" installer!
NO, THX is not just a certification! Can you get a great HT system that's NOT THX? Sure! Problem is 99% of all audio enthusiests and consumers alike don't know what they're actually doing, and the acoustics are already likely a huge obstacle to great performance to begin with! Thus THX is an easier integration, comparatively, that has a much better fundamental chance, all room setups acoustical challenges, and likely issues that will come into play during setup aside, if it's not broken, don't fix it!
Worked in 6 high end audio video stores over the past 2 decades, and sold/did it all. ..Did all the custom, was an avid audio/vidoephile, went to CES EVERY year, including "The Show", Cedia maybe once (custom is a bit dry and boring..so I sourced it out when I sold systems), read about every document I could find on room acoustics, and played, installed, and built most every type you can imagine, and implemented them. Oh, and along the way, tinkered with modified AV gear, custom loud speaker implementations, took classes for calibration, theory, integration, acoustics, yada yada.
So here some of you people are... giving other people advice to simply go down and listen to find out what you like! YEEEAH! As if this was going to be an indicator as to how that same equipment that they heard, in some other room that's TOTALLY different than their own- btw, was going to perform after THEY set it all up in their own home setting!! WWWROOONG!
This is why you can't simply read a magazine recommended review, list, or someone's biased opinion (as a zealous green-horn audio enthusiast, who just got his first job around gear working for Best Buy /Magnolia, and still doesn't know what they're talking about, no matter how excited they are about all this stuff they think they know!)
NO ..you can't go to CES, and listen to a "Monitor Audio" ht setup, and expect that the industry is suddenly going to stand up with high praise and accolades, showting "THIS IS IT! ..THIS IS THE SINGLE BEST HOME THEATER EXPERIENCE WE'VE ALL BEEN SEARCHING FOR!!! AAAAA AAAAA AAHHHAAAAAAA!!!!
No it's not going to happen, and those same speakers you might have just liked with some pop music playing suddently don't sound so good in your 8 foot ceiling, poor acoustically laid out living room, vs what you just heard in a large high ceiling carefully laid out and acoustically friendly arrangement, which you heard at some esoteric high end audio salon, BEING DRIVEN BY $50K WORTH OF PREAMPS, AMPS , CABLES, POWER CONDITIONING, CD TRANSPORT, ETC!!!!
It's all relative.
All I'm saying is that when I hear people getting on the bandwagon of some loud speaker design that they heard demo'd somewhere, and they suddenly get visions of the heavens opening up, and God coming down to bless your loudspeakers as the "end-all-be-all" of home theater nirvana, I JUST HAVE TO LAUGH! BBBAAAHAAHHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Yep, the reality is that people don't know, cause they really don't want to know!
Fall into the trap of simply going out and buying a pair of loudspeakers you listened to (NOT s complete system that's engineered for YOUR SPACE, in YOUR HOME, with YOUR SYSTEM), which you auditioned in some foreign audio shop, with variables you have no idea what you're dealing with, and you get what you deserve!!! All I'm sayin.
Bottom line, if you don't want to go some professional's advice, I recommend HIGHLY that those inquiring here, looking for a system to fit your needs (SYSTEM! - operative word here), simply go through all the av magazine reviewers, and look at what they're using for their dedicated HT systems! In fact, why not just email em and ask em what they use, and what they recommend/suggest you use as well?!!!
HEY! now there's a wise idea!!! Cause face it, otherwise you get every single enthusiests and 2 channel tube/analog audiophile who' uses nothing but a tube amp hooked directly to an OPPO DVD player as their "reference" AV system's, opinion on what's right for you!!
See it all for decades, and you can't reinvent the wheel!
Follow the experts, cause they are in the KNOW!
Probably the best advice I can give for someone putting together their own HT system as a project/hobby, who's trying to figure out the "pieces".
A wise man once said,"..the crowd is ALWAYS wrong!" |
"Depth?"..are you kidding me?! Um, depth isn't how cinema recordings are mixed. I got news for ya'll! Try to uses some intentionally "deep" imaging loud speakers for movie duties, and you'll have a soundstage that's way to laid back and uninvolving for accurately reproducing the movie experience! At the best Imax and THX movie cinemas, I guarantee you, the presentation is not holographic, with super deep imaging, and sound staging. In fact, it's up front and immediate, with lots of presence. Soundstage depth is not part of the equation at the theater.
Movie/music loudspeakers need to be either near neutral or a bit forward in their presentation, if they're to have any chance of being effective as movie loudspeakers.
Once did a 5.1 channel Thiel 2.3/Krell HT system set up in my home briefly. was the most boring HT system I remember having! (granted, it was very clear with great detail).
Do yourselves a favor...USE THE KIND OF GEAR THE PROFESSIONAL AV REVIEWERS USE IN THEIR SYSTEM! - no brainer |
Yeeeeaaaah,..I think we should just go around to all the local movie theaters and try to convince these companies that own them to throw out all their otherwise ineffective and crappy horn loudspeaker systems, and switch over to using Magnapans, B&W 801's, and Thiels instead! ..YEAH, NO! WWHAT A CRAPPY MOVIE EXPERIENCE THAT WOULD BE!!!
Im in the business since '96, fer now 17 years, and have worked in more AV stores, hi-end salons, and done more custom than most ever will (sold most every kind of ultra hi-end and midfi gear known to man, too, at one point)...and I'm here to tell you that your super deep holographic audiophile grade consumer loudspeakers and amp combo's WILL NOT REPLACE AN EFFECTIVELY WELL ENGINEERED HOME THEATER SYSTEM SETUP, FOR BEING EFFECTIVE AT REPRODUCING MOVIES!!!..period (But don't take my word for it...just take note of what all the highly regarded AV magazine reviewers use in their reference HT movies systems, and you'll quickly see speakers and electronics that ARE NOT super ESSOTERIC, DELICATE sounding, ULTIMATE AIR, SUPER HOLOGRAPHIC, AND UBER-WIDE SOUNDSTAGING AUDIOPHILE 2 CHANEL GEAR AND LOUDSPEAKRS, IN THEIR MULTICH HT SYSTEMS!!! - you do the math).
Again, THX spent decades and millions of dollars in R&D, perfecting what kind of equipment and setup would best reproduce the cinematic experience, and in the home. So who you gunna believe? Someone who's simply listened to different gear, or an industry that's won major awards, Oscars, and accolaids for it's accomplishments?
No brainer really.
btw, "A GOOD SPEAKER IS NOT A GOOD SPEAKER!"..just because someone else happens to think that it's a good speaker, for their limited application, taste or experience. |
Salmoni, what did you end up using? Did you go wiht Bo-Blow's recommendations of some way WAY over-priced Revel's for
"attempting" to filling a large room with potent high quality (touchble??? lol!!) Home Theater Sound? Or did you take my advice and end up with super dynamics, super high efficiency loud speakers, which helped integrate well with difficult room acoustics issues?
Do tell us what you ultimately did for gear choices? |
