Newbie looking for suggestions 3.1 + AVR 5k

[caitlyn.kelly]

Ok so I am relatively new to all this, however, I have been trying to educate myself as much as possible. I am looking to put together a 3.1 setup for my living room.
Budget of 5000 USD for the complete setup - I don't have anything to begin with. This will be primarily used for 51% movies/cable TV and 49% music. I mostly stream movies from Netflix, HBO, Disney etc. basically streaming services and have a ton of digital copies that I stream via Plex.
Music wise I mostly listen to Blues, R&B, Classic Rock, Alternative, Pop. In that order.

Currently do not have the luxury of sparing out a room for this setup, hence, this will be in the living room which is relatively large (3500+ cu. ft.) and backs to the kitchen which is also big (2200+ cu. ft.). At least for now there's no provision for surround, to circumvent that I may put in-ceiling, however, not in the near future.Unfortunately it's all hard reflective surfaces all around - glass, wood, walls. With the exception of a 10x10 rug and a sectional couch. As far as pictures go, I still haven’t moved into the place yet.

From my personal research and help from other forums I have narrowed to the following choices. Since I am new and not hung up on any of the choice - feel free to suggest. Also, if there are ways I can save money and achieve similar sound that would be ideal. Will be listening and viewing from about 13-16 feet - I know it's far from ideal but I have a wife whom I don't want to piss too much. Finally, feel free to suggest if there are other ways to save money i.e. wait for Black Friday sales or any other times of the year where certain manufacturers/3rd parties might be offering discounts, or if there are used / refub websites.

Sub - VTF-15H MK2, Monolith 15, I was also looking into Rythmik however, that would push the budget. I am open to doing 2 subs as well e.g. PB - 2000 Pro x 2
Speakers - R3 with R2c or Wharfedale Evo 4.4 with 4.C or Emotiva T2+ with C2+
AVR - Denon X3700H

 

[sweetchaos]

Welcome to ASR

Let's take a look at what you mentioned:
AVR: X3700H US$1300
LR: Kef R3 US$2000/pair
Center: Kef R2C US$1200
So far, $4500
That only leaves you with US$500 for subwoofer, which is clearly not enough for your room.

Did you see my 'subwoofer comparison' thread?
Based on what you said, your room size is 3500+2200=5700ft^3, which is classified as an "Extreme"-rated room, so you need a sub that can meet that output. Ideally, you'll need two "Extreme"-rated subs, which according to my spreadsheet is $1000/ea. But in reality, you could get away with two "Large"-rated subs, since you get about 3db more output by adding a 2nd sub above 30hz, and ~6db more output below 30hz. While a single Large sub doesnt have enough output for a Extreme room, having a second identical sub will add more output, and could (if the #s are right) make both of the subs capable of output for your Extreme room.
So with that in mind, you could save money (by not going with Extreme subs) by going with either:
-dual PB-1000 Pro (rated for Large rooms) for $1200/pair
-dual Monoprice Monolith 10" (rated for Large rooms) for $1000/pair.
Those will be at minimum, meaning you can choose higher output subs. I’m giving you an idea on how much you’ll need to spend at the minimum.
So if you're going with SVS PB-1000 Pro's, your budget would go over by $700, for a total of $5700.
If you're going with Monoprice Monolith 10", your budget would go over by $500, for a total of $5500.
I would consider increasing your budget, if you want this setup.

We don't have spinorama for Wharfedale Evo 4.4 with 4.C or Emotiva T2+ with C2+, so I can't make a recommendation for those. Community feedback will need to be considered.

 

[caitlyn.kelly]

Welcome to ASR

Let's take a look at what you mentioned:
AVR: X3700H US$1300
LR: Kef R3 US$2000/pair
Center: Kef R2C US$1200
So far, $4500
That only leaves you with US$500 for subwoofer, which is clearly not enough for your room.

Did you see my 'subwoofer comparison' thread?
Based on what you said, your room size is 3500+2200=5700ft^3, which is classified as an "Extreme"-rated room, so you need a sub that can meet that output. Ideally, you'll need two "Extreme"-rated subs, which according to my spreadsheet is $1000/ea. But in reality, you could get away with two "Large"-rated subs, since you get about 3db more output by adding a 2nd sub above 30hz, and ~6db more output below 30hz. While a single Large sub doesnt have enough output for a Extreme room, having a second identical sub will add more output, and could (if the #s are right) make both of the subs capable of output for your Extreme room.
So with that in mind, you could save money (by not going with Extreme subs) by going with either:
-dual PB-1000 Pro (rated for Large rooms) for $1200/pair
-dual Monoprice Monolith 10" (rated for Large rooms) for $1000/pair.
Those will be at minimum, meaning you can choose higher output subs. I’m giving you an idea on how much you’ll need to spend at the minimum.
So if you're going with SVS PB-1000 Pro's, your budget would go over by $700, for a total of $5700.
If you're going with Monoprice Monolith 10", your budget would go over by $500, for a total of $5500.
I would consider increasing your budget, if you want this setup.

We don't have spinorama for Wharfedale Evo 4.4 with 4.C or Emotiva T2+ with C2+, so I can't make a recommendation for those. Community feedback will need to be considered.

This is an awesome advice.

How about this setup:
PB-2000 Pro for a pair a pair will be $1700
Denon x1600H for $600
KEF R3 with R2C for $3200

In this case I am 500 over from what I initially planned for, however, I do get better woofers and a doable AVR. Would this AVR be able to pull off the same quality?

Just for context my ears are fairly untrained and I have little experience dealing with HiFi systems. Would you have recommendations on cheaper combinations with roughly the same quality and better use for my money.

Thank you very much

 

[abdo123]

I would wait for bug-less HDMI 2.1 AVRs to get released.