Neumann KH 120 + Rythmik FM8 or ?

[FrantzM]

Good Day to you !

Mods: this could be folded in the Neuman KH 120A for Living Room thread, I believed however to be different so ...

EE who loves high performing, cost effective items, Music and Movies Lover. I am satisfied with my current system; I am conscious of its limitations and flaws. I am been thinking about upgrading. Back in the days I threw money at things with results that varied from merely OK to bad. ASR has made to me a frugal but satisfied audiophile.

The system I have in mind will use an AVR for a dual purpose 2-Ch for music/ MCH 5.2.1 with Atmos for HT. I want to keep a Denon as the control center. I like what Audyssey DEQ does, especially when fine-tuned with MultEQ-X app. And I like movies a lot...

I want to do the following to keep the budget under control (<$6000) and reap the maximum benefits.
The main (LCR) speakers would be
Neumann KH 120A + Rythmik FM8 as base/woofers.
Cost for each : $1750. (KH 120 A $750 + Rythmik FM8, $985)
I would move 2 of my JBL 308 to surround and the JBL 305 to Atmos ceiling speakers.
I have presently 2 Parts Express Sub 1500, I could/may add another subwoofer, say an HSU or Monoprice at around $750. There is no urgent need for that. The subs are DSP/EQ/controlled by a miniDSP 2x4 and presented to the AVR/Control Center as one subwoofer.
The KH 120A would cover 250 Hz to 20,000 Hz and the FM 8 from 50 to 250 Hz. The combination in my mind, if well set-up, borders end-game performance from 50 to 20,000 Hz. The subwoofer system would cover 20 to 50 Hz.

I know this to be a complicated system, I also don’t think there are many $1750.00 speakers that could compete with this combination. I am more comfortable with this franken speaker system than going KH150 for 1500, each… or JBL 708 at $2100…
Room is: 5 x 3.2 x 2.8 meters (L x W x H). Concrete, dedicated room. Treatable, but I haven’t felt the need to go beyond attenuating first, ceiling and floor reflections.

Crazy to think about this? Or can I just move in a different direction with passives, say a trio of Revel F208? Used? Or 3 x BMR Philharmonic? Less complexity for sure, call it a day ,? Can a Denon 3700 or 3800 drive these active with ease? I prefer actives BTW. Can you people help?

Peace.

 

[FrantzM]

Kind of what this would look like... Total height of about 31 inches which places the tweeter, between 26 to 28 inches from the floor...

Peace.

 

[Sokel]

Kind of what this would like... Total height of about 31 inches which places the tweeter, between 26 to 28 inches from the floor...
View attachment 249905

Peace.

He can always put a nice base in between isolating the satelite that can adjust tilt too.Can't be too rare.

 

[jhaider]

Some thoughts from someone who is no stranger to overcomplicated speaker setups:

1) Those subs just do not look good under KH 120. I would not do on those grounds alone. Maybe if they offer a grey finish it would not be so jarring.

2) You're missing a necessary component above: DSP controller with minimum 3-in/6-out for your frankenspeakers. You'll need them to set highpass/lowpass, delays, and EQ. Gains also, though I guess you could do that by fiddling with knobs on the back of each box too if you don't like yourself very much.

3) Do you have listening area measurements for where you'd want to place the Frankenspeakers? Nothing's going to mess up your plan more than a giant upper bass sickout on speakers placed for imaging.

4) Consider the time costs of optimizing the Frankenspeaker. Do you want to spend time fiddling, or listening? Both are hobbies, so that's preference.

For a $6k in a system with basically good speakers and multiple subwoofers I would first look to an AVR/P with Dirac Live Bass Control. HTP-1 with it's really good loudness compensation isn't available right now (sadly) but isn't there a new immersive version of Dolby Volume on the Samsung group ones? I thought DV was at least as good as Audyssey DEQ. Or if you want to stick with your electronics, more capable pre-integrated speakers such as the Revels and 708P you mention.

 

[WillBrink]

Kind of what this would like... Total height of about 31 inches which places the tweeter, between 26 to 28 inches from the floor...
View attachment 249905

Peace.

My current set up, with foam padding between them, height of the ATC's is identical to the stands they were on.

 

[WillBrink]

Some thoughts from someone who is no stranger to overcomplicated speaker setups:

1) Those subs just do not look good under KH 120. I would not do on those grounds alone. Maybe if they offer a grey finish it would not be so jarring.

2) You're missing a necessary component above: DSP controller with minimum 3-in/6-out for your frankenspeakers. You'll need them to set highpass/lowpass, delays, and EQ. Gains also, though I guess you could do that by fiddling with knobs on the back of each box too if you don't like yourself very much.

3) Do you have listening area measurements for where you'd want to place the Frankenspeakers? Nothing's going to mess up your plan more than a giant upper bass sickout on speakers placed for imaging.

4) Consider the time costs of optimizing the Frankenspeaker. Do you want to spend time fiddling, or listening? Both are hobbies, so that's preference.

For a $6k in a system with basically good speakers and multiple subwoofers I would first look to an AVR/P with Dirac Live Bass Control. HTP-1 with it's really good loudness compensation isn't available right now (sadly) but isn't there a new immersive version of Dolby Volume on the Samsung group ones? I thought DV was at least as good as Audyssey DEQ. Or if you want to stick with your electronics, more capable pre-integrated speakers such as the Revels and 708P you mention.

I did something similar, and can't imagine doing it without some form of DSP/EQ. The Anthem ARC Genesis works well for dummies like myself at least.