First Time Home Theater Purchase Help

[banjo!]

To say it mildly, I'm overwhelmed. I never thought audio equipment would be so complicated. I'm wanting to use this system for 80% movies and 20% music. Currently, I'm only wanting to get speakers for left, right, and center. I want to use the same three speakers for left, right, and center. I don't have a receiver or subwoofer either. I would greatly appreciate any feedback, recommendations, and advice. Here are some of the ones I'm mostly interested in:

HSU CCB-8 Bookshelf

Genelec G One Active Speaker

Revel M105

RSL CG25

KEF Q350

ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2

LS50 Meta

KEF R3

Q Acoustics 3050 Floorstanding speakers

Neumann KH 120

 

[sweetchaos]

Speaker	Type	shape	Cost usd/each
HSU CCB-8 Bookshelf	passive	bookshelf	450
Genelec G One Active Speaker	active	bookshelf	350
Revel M105	passive	bookshelf	825
RSL CG25	passive	bookshelf	425
KEF Q350	passive	bookshelf	375
ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2	passive	bookshelf	200
LS50 Meta	passive	bookshelf	800
KEF R3	passive	bookshelf	850
Q Acoustics 3050 Floorstanding speakers	passive	tower	342
Neumann KH 120	active	bookshelf	730

you're mixing active, passive, bookshelves and towers....

so let's start with your budget of 1700 usd/pair...

PASSIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1700/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Kef R3 (Amir) (Erin)	6.5	35
#2	Polk R200*	6.3	42
#3	Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 (Amir)	5.8	43
Worthy	Revel M105 (Amir)	5.8	51
Worthy	Kef LS50 Meta (Amir)	5.7	43
Worthy	Revel M16 (Amir)	5.6	45
Worthy	Philharmonic BMR (Erin)	5.1	46

PASSIVE TOWERS:
Under US$1550/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Infinity R263*	6.0	32
#2	Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ (Erin)	5.8	32
#3	Revel F35 (Amir)	5.7	39
Worthy	Revel F36**

** No spinorama for Revel F36. I'm including it because we have multiple Revel tower speakers (F35, F226Be, F228Be, F206, F208, Ultima2 Studio2) spinorama already, so it's not a stretch to imagine these will be good.


ACTIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1500/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX	Amplifiers
#1	Neumann KH 120A*	6.7	42	80 & 50
#2	Genelec 8030C (Amir)	6.3	46	50 & 50
#3	Neumann KH 80 (Amir)	6.2	48	150 & 55
Worthy	Kali IN-5 (Erin) Kali IN-8v2 (Erin)	5.4 5.3	41 39	80 & 40 & 40 (Erin) 60 & 40 & 40 (Erin)
Worthy	Adam T5V (Amir)	4.3	48	50 & 20

These are your best options for your budget of 1700 usd/pair.

From these:
If you're going passive, I suggest either Kef R3 bookshelf, or Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ tower.
If you're going active, I suggest Neumann KH 120A or Genelec 8030C.

 

[Holmz]

Speaker	Type	shape	Cost usd/each
HSU CCB-8 Bookshelf	passive	bookshelf	450
Genelec G One Active Speaker	active	bookshelf	350
Revel M105	passive	bookshelf	825
RSL CG25	passive	bookshelf	425
KEF Q350	passive	bookshelf	375
ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2	passive	bookshelf	200
LS50 Meta	passive	bookshelf	800
KEF R3	passive	bookshelf	850
Q Acoustics 3050 Floorstanding speakers	passive	tower	342
Neumann KH 120	active	bookshelf	730

you're mixing active, passive, bookshelves and towers....

so let's start with your budget of 1700 usd/pair...

PASSIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1700/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Kef R3 (Amir) (Erin)	6.5	35
#2	Polk R200*	6.3	42
#3	Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 (Amir)	5.8	43
Worthy	Revel M105 (Amir)	5.8	51
Worthy	Kef LS50 Meta (Amir)	5.7	43
Worthy	Revel M16 (Amir)	5.6	45
Worthy	Philharmonic BMR (Erin)	5.1	46

PASSIVE TOWERS:
Under US$1550/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Infinity R263*	6.0	32
#2	Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ (Erin)	5.8	32
#3	Revel F35 (Amir)	5.7	39
Worthy	Revel F36**

** No spinorama for Revel F36. I'm including it because we have multiple Revel tower speakers (F35, F226Be, F228Be, F206, F208, Ultima2 Studio2) spinorama already, so it's not a stretch to imagine these will be good.


ACTIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1500/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX	Amplifiers
#1	Neumann KH 120A*	6.7	42	80 & 50
#2	Genelec 8030C (Amir)	6.3	46	50 & 50
#3	Neumann KH 80 (Amir)	6.2	48	150 & 55
Worthy	Kali IN-5 (Erin) Kali IN-8v2 (Erin)	5.4 5.3	41 39	80 & 40 & 40 (Erin) 60 & 40 & 40 (Erin)
Worthy	Adam T5V (Amir)	4.3	48	50 & 20

These are your best options for your budget of 1700 usd/pair.

From these:
If you're going passive, I suggest either Kef R3 bookshelf, or Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ tower.
If you're going active, I suggest Neumann KH 120A or Genelec 8030C.

I do not recall seeing ^a recommendation post^ that was so well laid out.

If the speakers are all active, then that opens up the possibility of using a preprocessor rather than a receiver.
Although a receiver with preouts is often cheaper than most processors (without the amps built in)… which seems perplexing.

Or the other way to think of it, is that active speakers allow one to run only the XLRs to the speakers, and not larger speaker wires.

 

[banjo!]

Speaker	Type	shape	Cost usd/each
HSU CCB-8 Bookshelf	passive	bookshelf	450
Genelec G One Active Speaker	active	bookshelf	350
Revel M105	passive	bookshelf	825
RSL CG25	passive	bookshelf	425
KEF Q350	passive	bookshelf	375
ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2	passive	bookshelf	200
LS50 Meta	passive	bookshelf	800
KEF R3	passive	bookshelf	850
Q Acoustics 3050 Floorstanding speakers	passive	tower	342
Neumann KH 120	active	bookshelf	730

you're mixing active, passive, bookshelves and towers....

so let's start with your budget of 1700 usd/pair...

PASSIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1700/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Kef R3 (Amir) (Erin)	6.5	35
#2	Polk R200*	6.3	42
#3	Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 (Amir)	5.8	43
Worthy	Revel M105 (Amir)	5.8	51
Worthy	Kef LS50 Meta (Amir)	5.7	43
Worthy	Revel M16 (Amir)	5.6	45
Worthy	Philharmonic BMR (Erin)	5.1	46

PASSIVE TOWERS:
Under US$1550/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Infinity R263*	6.0	32
#2	Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ (Erin)	5.8	32
#3	Revel F35 (Amir)	5.7	39
Worthy	Revel F36**

** No spinorama for Revel F36. I'm including it because we have multiple Revel tower speakers (F35, F226Be, F228Be, F206, F208, Ultima2 Studio2) spinorama already, so it's not a stretch to imagine these will be good.


ACTIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1500/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX	Amplifiers
#1	Neumann KH 120A*	6.7	42	80 & 50
#2	Genelec 8030C (Amir)	6.3	46	50 & 50
#3	Neumann KH 80 (Amir)	6.2	48	150 & 55
Worthy	Kali IN-5 (Erin) Kali IN-8v2 (Erin)	5.4 5.3	41 39	80 & 40 & 40 (Erin) 60 & 40 & 40 (Erin)
Worthy	Adam T5V (Amir)	4.3	48	50 & 20

These are your best options for your budget of 1700 usd/pair.

From these:
If you're going passive, I suggest either Kef R3 bookshelf, or Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ tower.
If you're going active, I suggest Neumann KH 120A or Genelec 8030C.

Speaker	Type	shape	Cost usd/each
HSU CCB-8 Bookshelf	passive	bookshelf	450
Genelec G One Active Speaker	active	bookshelf	350
Revel M105	passive	bookshelf	825
RSL CG25	passive	bookshelf	425
KEF Q350	passive	bookshelf	375
ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2	passive	bookshelf	200
LS50 Meta	passive	bookshelf	800
KEF R3	passive	bookshelf	850
Q Acoustics 3050 Floorstanding speakers	passive	tower	342
Neumann KH 120	active	bookshelf	730

you're mixing active, passive, bookshelves and towers....

so let's start with your budget of 1700 usd/pair...

PASSIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1700/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Kef R3 (Amir) (Erin)	6.5	35
#2	Polk R200*	6.3	42
#3	Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 (Amir)	5.8	43
Worthy	Revel M105 (Amir)	5.8	51
Worthy	Kef LS50 Meta (Amir)	5.7	43
Worthy	Revel M16 (Amir)	5.6	45
Worthy	Philharmonic BMR (Erin)	5.1	46

PASSIVE TOWERS:
Under US$1550/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Infinity R263*	6.0	32
#2	Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ (Erin)	5.8	32
#3	Revel F35 (Amir)	5.7	39
Worthy	Revel F36**

** No spinorama for Revel F36. I'm including it because we have multiple Revel tower speakers (F35, F226Be, F228Be, F206, F208, Ultima2 Studio2) spinorama already, so it's not a stretch to imagine these will be good.


ACTIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1500/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX	Amplifiers
#1	Neumann KH 120A*	6.7	42	80 & 50
#2	Genelec 8030C (Amir)	6.3	46	50 & 50
#3	Neumann KH 80 (Amir)	6.2	48	150 & 55
Worthy	Kali IN-5 (Erin) Kali IN-8v2 (Erin)	5.4 5.3	41 39	80 & 40 & 40 (Erin) 60 & 40 & 40 (Erin)
Worthy	Adam T5V (Amir)	4.3	48	50 & 20

These are your best options for your budget of 1700 usd/pair.

From these:
If you're going passive, I suggest either Kef R3 bookshelf, or Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ tower.
If you're going active, I suggest Neumann KH 120A or Genelec 8030C.

Wow. Thank you so much. That was incredibly helpful! I was trying to decide between tower and bookshelf speakers. That's why I included some of both. I have a few more questions. Do you want me to reply here or send a DM?

 

[sweetchaos]

I do not recall seeing ^a recommendation post^ that was so well laid out.

Thanksss. I stepped up my presentation skills on that one.

@banjo! You can post here. It gives the chance for others to respond.

 

[banjo!]

Thanksss. I stepped up my presentation skills on that one.

@banjo! You can post here. It gives the chance for others to r

Speaker	Type	shape	Cost usd/each
HSU CCB-8 Bookshelf	passive	bookshelf	450
Genelec G One Active Speaker	active	bookshelf	350
Revel M105	passive	bookshelf	825
RSL CG25	passive	bookshelf	425
KEF Q350	passive	bookshelf	375
ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2	passive	bookshelf	200
LS50 Meta	passive	bookshelf	800
KEF R3	passive	bookshelf	850
Q Acoustics 3050 Floorstanding speakers	passive	tower	342
Neumann KH 120	active	bookshelf	730

you're mixing active, passive, bookshelves and towers....

so let's start with your budget of 1700 usd/pair...

PASSIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1700/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Kef R3 (Amir) (Erin)	6.5	35
#2	Polk R200*	6.3	42
#3	Elac Debut Reference DBR-62 (Amir)	5.8	43
Worthy	Revel M105 (Amir)	5.8	51
Worthy	Kef LS50 Meta (Amir)	5.7	43
Worthy	Revel M16 (Amir)	5.6	45
Worthy	Philharmonic BMR (Erin)	5.1	46

PASSIVE TOWERS:
Under US$1550/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX
#1	Infinity R263*	6.0	32
#2	Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ (Erin)	5.8	32
#3	Revel F35 (Amir)	5.7	39
Worthy	Revel F36**

** No spinorama for Revel F36. I'm including it because we have multiple Revel tower speakers (F35, F226Be, F228Be, F206, F208, Ultima2 Studio2) spinorama already, so it's not a stretch to imagine these will be good.


ACTIVE BOOKSHELVES:
Under US$1500/pair:

	Recommendation	PS	LFX	Amplifiers
#1	Neumann KH 120A*	6.7	42	80 & 50
#2	Genelec 8030C (Amir)	6.3	46	50 & 50
#3	Neumann KH 80 (Amir)	6.2	48	150 & 55
Worthy	Kali IN-5 (Erin) Kali IN-8v2 (Erin)	5.4 5.3	41 39	80 & 40 & 40 (Erin) 60 & 40 & 40 (Erin)
Worthy	Adam T5V (Amir)	4.3	48	50 & 20

These are your best options for your budget of 1700 usd/pair.

From these:
If you're going passive, I suggest either Kef R3 bookshelf, or Emotiva Airmotiv T2+ tower.
If you're going active, I suggest Neumann KH 120A or Genelec 8030C.

Thanksss. I stepped up my presentation skills on that one.

@banjo! You can post here. It gives the chance for others to respond.

I'm leaning towards Genelec 8030c and Neumann KH 120A. For whichever I go with, would buying three work for right, left and center? Would the only other thing I need is a subwoofer for these to work?

 

[sweetchaos]

Yep, you'll need either a multichannel DAC (although I'm not familiar with all the options, so perhaps others can chime in) or an AVR, where you can hookup the studio monitors to the PRE-OUTs. Here's the photo from Denon X3700H.

If you give me a budget for a subwoofer, I can make a recommendation as well.

 

[banjo!]

Yep, you'll need either a multichannel DAC (although I'm not familiar with all the options, so perhaps others can chime in) or an AVR, where you can hookup the studio monitors to the PRE-OUTs. Here's the photo from Denon X3700H.

If you give me a budget for a subwoofer, I can make a recommendation as well.

For the Genelec 8030c and Neumann KH 120A, which would be better for movies? And as a center channel?

The subwoofer budget is up to $1500, preferably lower unless it would make it sound that much better.

 

[sweetchaos]

Forgot to ask, what’s your room dimension? With all doors, closets closed. WxDxH.

 

[banjo!]

Forgot to ask, what’s your room dimension? With all doors, closets closed. WxDxH.

The room where we watch movies is part of an "L" shape where the den is connected to the kitchen. So, where we watch has 3 walls. Hopefully that makes sense. The height is 8 ft. How would you want the other dimensions, just in the area our TV is in or everything?

 

[sweetchaos]

Not just your TV area, but the whole room, with all windows/closets/doors closed. Calculate the volume for me in ft^3 or m^3.

 

[banjo!]

Not just your TV area, but the whole room, with all windows/closets/doors closed. Calculate the volume for me in ft^3 or m^3.

25 feet width X 15 feet D X 8 feet height

 

[banjo!]

Not just your TV area, but the whole room, with all windows/closets/doors closed. Calculate the volume for me in ft^3 or m^3.

Seating would be 8 and 12 feet from speakers.

 

[Certainkindoffool]

I do not recall seeing ^a recommendation post^ that was so well laid out.

If the speakers are all active, then that opens up the possibility of using a preprocessor rather than a receiver.
Although a receiver with preouts is often cheaper than most processors (without the amps built in)… which seems perplexing.

Or the other way to think of it, is that active speakers allow one to run only the XLRs to the speakers, and not larger speaker wires.

FWIW - Speaker wire is usually less obtrusive than running xlr and power.

 

[Certainkindoffool]

For the Genelec 8030c and Neumann KH 120A, which would be better for movies? And as a center channel?

The subwoofer budget is up to $1500, preferably lower unless it would make it sound that much better.

I have some 8030c speakers and they are f'ing fantastic. However, if your going for 80% movies, you probably want something that can output greater spl.

 

[sweetchaos]

Thanks. Your room size is 3000ft^3, which is classified as 'medium' by Bassaholic ranking.
Which means if you buy a subwoofer that's rated for a 'small' sized room, and you try to hit reference levels (around -10db from reference level on your AVR, which is the loudest most people play in their home theater), then the subwoofer will run out of SPL before you can reach that level.
To help find 'medium' rated subs, I've created a 'subwoofer comparison' thread here.
You need to spend at least US$500/ea to hit this rating, which is okay, since your budget allows for it.

My thoughts:
1. At the minimum, you need 2 subwoofers to get good seat-to-seat consistency and to get rid of frequency nulls caused by room modes (or standing waves).
2. Also, since your goal is primarily movies, my recommendations will be only for ported (not sealed) subs, since they reach an octave lower than sealed subs, and will be immediately noticeable for movies.
3. For you room size, if I give a recommendation for a 'medium' size-rated subwoofer that means that subwoofer can hit reference level of playback, but with some degree of distortion. However, if you get more capable subwoofers (say one for 'large' room) and you hit reference level of playback, then the 'large'-rated subwoofer will have more headroom available, and will play with less distortion than a 'medium' sized subwoofer hitting the same levels would. Plus, a 'large'-rated subwoofer will hit lower octaves, so will be more beneficial for movies.

So I'm going to give you 2 recommendations, depending on what you want:
1. If you just want enough output for your room size, but without much headroom, then I recommend Two of SVS PB-1000 (rated for a 'medium' room) for $1000/pair.
2. If you want more headroom (aka SPL) in your subs, but you're willing to accept the larger size of the sub, and you want a subwoofer that can hit a lower octave in frequency, then I recommend Two of "Monolith by Monoprice 12in THX Ultra Certified 500-Watt Subwoofer Amplifier" (rated for a 'large' room) for $1400/pair.

 

[banjo!]

Thanks. Your room size is 3000ft^3, which is classified as 'medium' by Bassaholic ranking.
Which means if you buy a subwoofer that's rated for a 'small' sized room, and you try to hit reference levels (around -10db from reference level on your AVR, which is the loudest most people play in their home theater), then the subwoofer will run out of SPL before you can reach that level.
To help find 'medium' rated subs, I've created a 'subwoofer comparison' thread here.
You need to spend at least US$500/ea to hit this rating, which is okay, since your budget allows for it.

My thoughts:
1. At the minimum, you need 2 subwoofers to get good seat-to-seat consistency and to get rid of frequency nulls caused by room modes (or standing waves).
2. Also, since your goal is primarily movies, my recommendations will be only for ported (not sealed) subs, since they reach an octave lower than sealed subs, and will be immediately noticeable for movies.
3. For you room size, if I give a recommendation for a 'medium' size-rated subwoofer that means that subwoofer can hit reference level of playback, but with some degree of distortion. However, if you get more capable subwoofers (say one for 'large' room) and you hit reference level of playback, then the 'large'-rated subwoofer will have more headroom available, and will play with less distortion than a 'medium' sized subwoofer hitting the same levels would. Plus, a 'large'-rated subwoofer will hit lower octaves, so will be more beneficial for movies.

So I'm going to give you 2 recommendations, depending on what you want:
1. If you just want enough output for your room size, but without much headroom, then I recommend Two of SVS PB-1000 (rated for a 'medium' room) for $1000/pair.
2. If you want more headroom (aka SPL) in your subs, but you're willing to accept the larger size of the sub, and you want a subwoofer that can hit a lower octave in frequency, then I recommend Two of "Monolith by Monoprice 12in THX Ultra Certified 500-Watt Subwoofer Amplifier" (rated for a 'large' room) for $1400/pair.

Thanks for sending all of this too! Based on my size of room, do you think the Genelec and Neumann speakers would be too small in sound? My third option is the KEF R3. Do you think those would be better?

 

[Chromatischism]

I have some 8030c speakers and they are f'ing fantastic. However, if your going for 80% movies, you probably want something that can output greater spl.

I agree, the 8030c seem like an odd choice for a medium to large home theater. That speaker is designed for desktop audio production at short listening distances.

Is this intended to be a system using only powered speakers? If so your budget will probably expand a bit as quality powered speakers tend to be more expensive (JBL 705p and 708p) . Not to mention they need more and thicker cabling running around the room.

At $1500/pair I recommend Arendal 1723 S Bookshelf speakers. Run them from the AVR for now and see if you get the levels you desire. You can always add an amp later for more power.

If you are the sole listener, skip the center speaker and use the money elsewhere. If you plan on having movie nights, best is to add another of the same speaker situated vertically. If that's not possible, there is the 1723 Center.

You can always move up to their 8" line if you want to get really loud. And they have surround speakers to flesh out the system.

Then there is the Kali Audio IN-8v2 value play if you don't mind not having any finish, surround, or center speaker options.

And for the budget-conscious sub shopper who still wants/needs performance I always recommend the HSU VTF-15H MK2 or Monoprice Monolith 15". One for now will do well, but for the best experience, add a 2nd later, situated across the room, and EQ them together. The pair of 12's mentioned above would also work, albeit at a few dB less output.

 

[Holmz]

FWIW - Speaker wire is usually less obtrusive than running xlr and power.

It depends on whether the speaker wires have the fancy MIT boxes on them, and whether they sit on those wooden isolators jobs that hold them off of the floor…

 

[Webninja]

I went passive for my home theater, but active for all my stereo setups.

For home theater and active I just couldn’t figure a way to get power and XLR to each position. Well, in a clean, unobtrusive way.

Might also be a challenge to do ATMOS with actives. If you really only want a front three, and your receiver is near the TV, you can probably neatly wire everything.

I just got the Monolith 13 THX for my 2800ish cuft room, it’s overkill. I’ve never heard that much bass outside a car.