Thoughts on a speaker choice for mixed TV and Audio that has to sit below ear level. Maybe Revel M16?

[jmmaher]

TV sits 32" off the floor and need to place speakers under it. Considering Revel M16 but concerned about placement. Have read most of the forum comments about speakers over the past year or two but still attempting to make a rational choice. Would consider other speakers but would like to keep speaker expense down to $1200 or so if possible. Pointing me in the right direction would certainly be appreciated. This is a fairly small room and is not my primary system. Room size is about 11x14.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

How about the Kef HTS 3001 SE. Not being produced currently but always on sale on Ebay. Small, center especially fits under TV. I use the center from the set to pair with my 4 LS 50's for surround. It does not disappoint.

 

[Jambarino]

Used KEF LS50 Meta's

 

[USER]

M16s are a great choice at a great price on sale but be careful with bass overload (boominess). Just make sure to angle whatever you get so that the tweeter is lined up with and pointing toward ear level as much as possible. That'll take care of any issues. You can simply put some silicon hemisphere bumpers on the front side.

 

[jmmaher]

The LS50's are a possibility to consider. Tilting up the M16's (or I assume most speakers would be a good idea. Any other suggestions that may work better?

I neglected to mention that the speakers will need to fairly close to the wall as well.

 

[Ellebob]

What is powering the speakers? Is this a stereo set up or surround? I aks because you said speakers plural so I don't know if you need 1 speaker for a center, a pair for fronts or just stereo. If for fronts what is the center speaker?

 

[Achim1812]

Maybe it is a situation like mine in our living room. We own a pair of Revel M16 (Concerta2?).
Superb speakers! I use these pads to point the tweeter in the "right" direction. Quite sure some people will have an issue with "timing"....not me. Of course it is a kind of compromise, but the Revels work.

 

[jmmaher]

This system is new and for my office/den. I plan to use two speakers only and use them for TV as well as for music. I have no amplification yet although I can temporarily use and old receiver to power them. I have little room as a result of built ins and cabinets, etc that is why the speakers need to be placed low and beneath the height of the TV. I have a home theatre in another room with a projector and a 5.1 system. This system is not meant to replace that one but for my personal use. I am looking for something good that will not break the bank.

The M16 seem to meet that need but I also looked at the more expensive JBL HDI-1600 but that would stretch my budget and seems to look similar to the results shown for the M16's.

I also researched the JBL 4305P powered speakers which can be had for $1500 "B" stock. While this would eliminate the need for amplification I can find very little in the way of reviews of this speaker.

Any additional thoughts on these would be appreciated as well.

 

[Steve Dallas]

For your use case, I would recommend KEF speakers due to their concentric design. The R3 is a great choice if you can accommodate the size, and the OG version is currently available on clearance discount. Otherwise, LS50 or Q350 are good choices.

KEF actually places the tweeter below ear height by design in their towers.

You can angle the speakers as mentioned to slot your ears into the even zone, but take a look at these vertical dispersion plots and see why KEF is much more forgiving:

 

[tw 2022]

Used KEF LS50 Meta's

if you can find them...but wide dispersion is a good thing...