Executive Summary: Help me build a sub-$2K 5.1 speaker set for TV and movies with great dialog clarity and spread in a really weird room with tough space constraints, plus one weird pricing factor.
The long version:
I’ve spent the last week in the home-theater-speaker rabbit hole, including this forum and associated YouTube videos. I’m trying to upgrade my existing, tiny, very old 5.1 system (Energy Take Classic 5.1–anyone remember that?)
I have a fancy new setup (Sony A95K TV and a Pioneer VSX-LX305 receiver) and the old 5.1 speakers are the final thing that needs to be upgraded.
My main goal is better clarity (particularly for dialog) for more people in more positions, preferably without breaking the bank. (Budget is flexible, but expensive speakers may be wasted on my room. More on that in a bit.)
My main constraint is my room: very difficult to get speakers into good positions; seating is spread around a wide area (20-60 degrees, depending on how many seats are filled); limited space in the TV cabinet for a center speaker (shelf height: 9.25 inches max if I remove everything, and I’d like to be able to leave at least the blu-ray player); no place at all for tower speakers, tricky for even some bigger bookshelf speakers; even less space for surrounds. (On-wall, in-wall, and in-ceiling are not options, nor is rearranging the room, moving to a new room, or a new house. Spouse Acceptance Factor applies strongly.)
Given that, I’ve been looking for a center with great spread and sound quality as the centerpiece (hah) of this system. This is for TV and movies, not music, so the center is arguably the most important speaker. (I would love it if it sounds good for music too, of course!)
I somehow went all week before finding the “Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA” post, so I’ve already watched and read about many speakers that might be usable as centers. And if it was just about choosing one of those, I’d probably be OK on my own.
But I have read that it’s important to match the left and right speakers with center so things don’t sound too weird as they pan between L-C-R. For that reason, and because it seems like most "purpose-built" centers suck, I’ve been looking at using three bookshelf speakers instead of two bookshelf speakers and a center.
(And of course, KEF, a brand with good spread due to its coaxial design, also seems to make the most massive speaker cabinets that often can’t fit in my TV cabinet shelves—or even in my room on on stands without sticking out in a spouse-displeasing fashion.)
I’m trying to keep this under $2K for everything—well under, if I can. Given my weird room and space limits, super-expensive speakers are surely wasted here.
I’m leaning towards a 12-inch SVS non-ported sub for space reasons alone. (My current 8-inch ported sub has more than enough low-end for my family, so I assume a 12-inch sealed SVS will be fine.) My surrounds will surely be some dinky satellite speakers. So I feel like this is really an L-C-R problem, at its heart.
Now the final twist, just to make this even harder: I have the opportunity to get 50% OFF a single order (with multiple items) from…Polk. (Polk! Of course it’s not KEF or Elac or SVS…)
So, what would you do? Three KEF 150s plus some dinky surrounds and an SVS SB-1000? Elac UC52 center plus 50% off a pair of Polk R200s for L/R, or will that be too "mismatched"? An all-Polk system for 50% off, even though the Polk centers have bad spread? Something else?
Thanks ins advance for your opinions and advice!
Suggestions so far:
The long version:
I’ve spent the last week in the home-theater-speaker rabbit hole, including this forum and associated YouTube videos. I’m trying to upgrade my existing, tiny, very old 5.1 system (Energy Take Classic 5.1–anyone remember that?)
I have a fancy new setup (Sony A95K TV and a Pioneer VSX-LX305 receiver) and the old 5.1 speakers are the final thing that needs to be upgraded.
My main goal is better clarity (particularly for dialog) for more people in more positions, preferably without breaking the bank. (Budget is flexible, but expensive speakers may be wasted on my room. More on that in a bit.)
My main constraint is my room: very difficult to get speakers into good positions; seating is spread around a wide area (20-60 degrees, depending on how many seats are filled); limited space in the TV cabinet for a center speaker (shelf height: 9.25 inches max if I remove everything, and I’d like to be able to leave at least the blu-ray player); no place at all for tower speakers, tricky for even some bigger bookshelf speakers; even less space for surrounds. (On-wall, in-wall, and in-ceiling are not options, nor is rearranging the room, moving to a new room, or a new house. Spouse Acceptance Factor applies strongly.)
Given that, I’ve been looking for a center with great spread and sound quality as the centerpiece (hah) of this system. This is for TV and movies, not music, so the center is arguably the most important speaker. (I would love it if it sounds good for music too, of course!)
I somehow went all week before finding the “Passive Speaker Recommendations for USA” post, so I’ve already watched and read about many speakers that might be usable as centers. And if it was just about choosing one of those, I’d probably be OK on my own.
But I have read that it’s important to match the left and right speakers with center so things don’t sound too weird as they pan between L-C-R. For that reason, and because it seems like most "purpose-built" centers suck, I’ve been looking at using three bookshelf speakers instead of two bookshelf speakers and a center.
(And of course, KEF, a brand with good spread due to its coaxial design, also seems to make the most massive speaker cabinets that often can’t fit in my TV cabinet shelves—or even in my room on on stands without sticking out in a spouse-displeasing fashion.)
I’m trying to keep this under $2K for everything—well under, if I can. Given my weird room and space limits, super-expensive speakers are surely wasted here.
I’m leaning towards a 12-inch SVS non-ported sub for space reasons alone. (My current 8-inch ported sub has more than enough low-end for my family, so I assume a 12-inch sealed SVS will be fine.) My surrounds will surely be some dinky satellite speakers. So I feel like this is really an L-C-R problem, at its heart.
Now the final twist, just to make this even harder: I have the opportunity to get 50% OFF a single order (with multiple items) from…Polk. (Polk! Of course it’s not KEF or Elac or SVS…)
So, what would you do? Three KEF 150s plus some dinky surrounds and an SVS SB-1000? Elac UC52 center plus 50% off a pair of Polk R200s for L/R, or will that be too "mismatched"? An all-Polk system for 50% off, even though the Polk centers have bad spread? Something else?
Thanks ins advance for your opinions and advice!
Suggestions so far:
| Center | L/R | Surround | Sub | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elac UC52 | Elac UB52 | ??? ($300 budget as stand-in) | ??? (SVS SB-1000 as stand-in) | ~$2,000 |
| Elac UB52 | Elac UB52 | ??? ($300 budget as stand-in) | ??? (SVS SB-1000 as stand-in) | ~$2,000 (if I can find a single used UB52) |
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oh and make sure your avr is in a cool well ventilated place cos these are insensitive speakers.
