How to complete my setup properly?

[winterbell]

This is my first surround setup, I have not even watched a movie in surround or tried atmos outside the cinema so bear with me if Im way off on judgement when it comes to choosing components.

This is what I have this far that is on the way:

Marantz Cinema 50 AV reciever
Q acoustics 5040 floorstanding speakers (L+R)
KEF ls50 side/rear speakers.

Room size: 4x5m2 (25 sqm), Roof flat and height 2.5-3m, mostly hard surfaces, open doorway to hallway. I will be sitting within 0-2m from the surrounds and 4-5 meters from the front stage speakers.
Usage: 80% movies in Dolby Atmos, 20% music


Questions:
Is the q acoustics 5090 center a requirement in this setup to complete 5.0 and ensure front stage timbre matching?

Is kef q150 mounted high on the wall behind me good for back/atmos height speaker to complete the 7.0 / 5.0.2 ?

Is a sub neccessary and can I cheap out on it and get a used sub under 100 dollars?

Appreciate any input

 

[staticV3]

Is the q acoustics 5090 center a requirement in this setup to complete 5.0 and ensure front stage timbre matching?

No.
The Cinema 50 can be upgraded to Dirac Live, which will match the timbre of all your speakers regardless of the brand.

Is kef q150 mounted high on the wall behind me good for back/atmos height speaker to complete the 7.0 / 5.0.2 ?

For Atmos surround setups, number of channels trumps individual channel quality.

Since the Cinema 50 supports 7.1.4 Atmos, I would make full use of that with Monoprice's M518HT set, which frequently goes on sale for $380.

Keep your q acoustics LCR, then use the THX Satellites as surrounds.

As these aren't very efficient, you may want to offload LCR amplification to an Aiyima A07/A07 Max or Fosi V3/ZA3 so that the AVR's entire power budget can go to the surround and height speakers.

Is a sub neccessary and can I cheap out on it and get a used sub under 100 dollars?

A sub is necessary.

I'd start off with the THX 8" sub included in the M518HT set (likely too small, but better than nothing), then add more subs down the line.

Monoprice has some amazing value subs like the 12in 150-watt and the SW-12/SW-15.

 

[winterbell]

Thanks for the advice, this is a good suggestion and one I have considered before, along with Klipsch reference 5.1 pack but there are some issues with this approach that makes me still not completely convinced.

Going from 4.0 to 7.1.4 for 380 dollars is amazing. I agree, but even if the speakers are EQ-able to to the point of being able to match my other speakers, I just do not see how they can seamlessly integrate into a system that is run by speakers 5-10 times their price. Especially the center channel. So even if it’s a fix for right now, it might not be a good investment long term.

Cinema 50 comes with Dirac, but this upgrade is 250$. So adding that to the available price of the monolith set right now or this on sale (and also klipsch Reference pack) + amplifier is still total 600-1000 USD. I am based in EU, so availability is a problem.

So lets consider the other option:
I can purchase the 5090 center, which will timber match the 5040s for sure out the box - it’s 400$ on salr. That puts us at 5.0.

Then I can add Q150s to the setup that are only 150$ per speaker on sale. This will put me at a 5.1.2 for 700$ and potentially down the line 5.1.4 full atmos setup for 1000$ + cost of amplifier & sub.

I would think q150 and ls50 have similar enough sound signatures that it will blend with the back part of the soundstage at least, not so sure about the front though so maybe best to start with only the back height channels.

So, instead of paying 250$ for Dirac live I can try to EQ it myself with the included audessey multi EQ XT32, and only slightly change the signature sound of each of the speakers enough that the switching point between front stage to the rest of the soundstage is unnoticeable - and leave us at a 5.0.2 for total 700$, hopefully.

That is why I was asking for a cheap sub, since I’m guessing bass is just bass at a certain crossover? I have neighbors that live quite close so I want to be able to control the bass or turn it off, that is why I didn’t go for the SVS ultras even if they might have been a better fit. I thought the subs were just limited by distortion. Or does the quality of the sub make a big difference?