Im looking for the Cinematic Experience (inexpensive)

[theshadow1234]

I need to upgrade to a more cinematic sound.. Currently i have a 7.1 setup with an Onkyo TX-805 pushing the center, sub, and 2 fronts behind my theatre stage. I have 4 sat. polk Speakers behind the seating area. The other Speakers (- the sub) are also Polk. Lately i've been very unhappy with the sound being driven through the speakers. They sound more like TV speakers with a hallow, plain boring sound. I need Crisper clearer with a little boom sound coming from the fronts, center, rear and the Sub. If i need to cut back to a 5.1 speaker setup then i can accept that. Whatevr it takes to upgrade my current setup.

My budget is less than a $1000.00 and the room size is 15x15.

What do you guys recommend?

[vega2K]

Originally Posted by theshadow1234

I need to upgrade to a more cinematic sound.. Currently i have a 7.1 setup with an Onkyo TX-805 pushing the center, sub, and 2 fronts behind my theatre stage. I have 4 sat. polk Speakers behind the seating area. The other Speakers (- the sub) are also Polk. Lately i've been very unhappy with the sound being driven through the speakers. They sound more like TV speakers with a hallow, plain boring sound. I need Crisper clearer with a little boom sound coming from the fronts, center, rear and the Sub. If i need to cut back to a 5.1 speaker setup then i can accept that. Whatevr it takes to upgrade my current setup.

My budget is less than a $1000.00 and the room size is 15x15.

What do you guys recommend?

If you want to improve the cinematic sound, one thing for sure is upgrade your subwoofer! As far as sound, IMO, it is by far the most important component to get you that movie theater feel. I would start with that. Decent subs can be had for below the $200 range - go to the Sub threads and consider the Accoustic Audio line in that price range. Good luck.

[Steve]

Vega2K is right that a subwoofer upgrade would make a HUGE difference. I'll also throw in that if you want to upgrade speakers first, I would take that $1000 and focus only on the front three. Once you find mains and a center that give you what you want, then start looking for new surrounds.

[Zman2k2]

You could also consider getting a separate amplifier as well. Most AVR's when running all channels, don't put out the power that they advertise. A sep. amp would give you the power and headroom to get those speakers singing.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Zman2k2

You could also consider getting a separate amplifier as well. Most AVR's when running all channels, don't put out the power that they advertise. A sep. amp would give you the power and headroom to get those speakers singing.

Ordinarily I would agree, but the Onkyo 805 was known for being a beast power-wise.

[dewd]

Just looked at your gallery. Nice setup!!!

I have a few suggestions to improve the sound from your current system.

First, lose the 7.1. You don't have the room behind you to pull it off. Second, properly locate the side surrounds. They should be to the left and right of the listening area facing towards the listener. The should be mounted a few feet above your ears.

Have you calibrated your speakers? The 805 has an excellent auto EQ called Audyssey.

Try making your current setup sound better before you invest in new speakers. If you are still not happy, by all means, upgrade. But with a $1000 budget I would either focus on the sub or the front 3, not the whole package.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by dewd

Just looked at your gallery. Nice setup!!!

I have a few suggestions to improve the sound from your current system.

First, lose the 7.1. You don't have the room behind you to pull it off. Second, properly locate the side surrounds. They should be to the left and right of the listening area facing towards the listener. The should be mounted a few feet above your ears.

Have you calibrated your speakers? The 805 has an excellent auto EQ called Audyssey.

Try making your current setup sound better before you invest in new speakers. If you are still not happy, by all means, upgrade. But with a $1000 budget I would either focus on the sub or the front 3, not the whole package.

After looking at your setup I have to agree with the above suggestions.

[emoxley]

A cinematic experience would be a downgrade for me. I haven't been to a theater yet, that sounds better than my setup at home, unless it would be the Imax. I'm using an 805 to drive Polk LSi speakers across the front. Those three are 4 ohm speakers. The other four speakers (7.1 setup) are a mix of 8 ohm speakers. It sounds great, to me and others, that have come over. Get the front three speakers right, and the others aren't as critical. In April, mine will sound even better. I'm planning on getting an SVS sub. It will probably sound as good as the Imax then.

You can get some LSi speakers across the front, and keep what you have for the rest of the system, except maybe get a new sub, and you should be good to go. Lsi speakers are gonna cost more than the budget you mentioned though.

You could go with a whole new speaker system for the money you mentioned, which includes an outstanding subwoofer, and be sitting pretty good too. See the ones I'm talking about here: http://www.svsound.com/products-sys-sbs_black.cfm By the time you pay the shipping, you'll be over budget a little. For a really good home theater experience, you're gonna have to spend a little money. Afterall, speakers and sub are the most important part of a home theater. They are the actual sound of it. But, once you have it, it'll be good for many years to come.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[callas01]

For $1k I would say get a new front 3 and the sub.


PSB Image T55 from saturdayaudio is on sale for just over $550 and the C60 $300 would be a nice match to that. then look at the eD A2-300 $350

Its a little over your budget, but it would be a fantastic setup.

[DangeRuss]

Originally Posted by theshadow1234

I need to upgrade to a more cinematic sound.. Currently i have a 7.1 setup with an Onkyo TX-805 pushing the center, sub, and 2 fronts behind my theatre stage. I have 4 sat. polk Speakers behind the seating area. The other Speakers (- the sub) are also Polk. Lately i've been very unhappy with the sound being driven through the speakers. They sound more like TV speakers with a hallow, plain boring sound. I need Crisper clearer with a little boom sound coming from the fronts, center, rear and the Sub. If i need to cut back to a 5.1 speaker setup then i can accept that. Whatevr it takes to upgrade my current setup.

My budget is less than a $1000.00 and the room size is 15x15.

What do you guys recommend?

What are the models of Polk speakers currently in use? Although I do agree that the lower frequencies do alot towards giving that cinema sound. The highs and midrange shouldn't be ignored, they are critical for the soundstage imaging. Maybe adding some acoustic panels to your walls would help as well. I'm in the process of getting a sub for my main theater ,but I'll be spending north of $500 ( SVS PC12-NSD). Being that our rooms are of similar size,I would go with Towers and some bookselfs for your rears ( as budget permits).

Good luck with your upgrade

[JBL4645]

Nice comfy room nice colour nice sofas nice it needs JBL!

Well JBL professional if, you want true cinematic sound performance all-around. For room of that size the slim-line JBL 3678 as used in the smaller digital screens Empire Leicester Square, London.

The specifications would be more than equal satisfaction for the fronts.

http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/Genera...x?PId=72&MId=1

JBL 8320 surrounds should be small enough to be placed around the room

http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/Genera...?PId=279&MId=1

If you what to have lower lows with higher impact the JBL 8340 will be more than satisfactory, heard this in action in Empire screen 1 There just a bit bigger and will provided smooth uniformly response.

http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/Genera...?PId=200&MId=1

Sub bass JBL 4645C comes highly recommended these pack an insane punch of impact kick slam and depth and one should be more than enough in the room.

http://www.jblpro.com/catalog/Genera...?PId=206&MId=1

But I doubt you’d have enough as this would cost more than $1 grand.

[theshadow1234]

Those JBLS 3678 are expensive but i bet they sound killer. . Close to $1500.00 a pop. That means i would have to get 2 of these for my fronts and total $3000.00!!! I wonder if i can get something close to that kind of sound but less expensive. Those Polk Lsi's maybe the way to go but to fancy and a little expensive. The speakers that im looking for will hide behind a stage so looks is not what i'm looking for. BTW, anyone heard of Tweak City Audio's Pro-10's? I heard these may get alot of attention soon. I agree with the 7.1 removal. I raelly dont need all those speakers back there so moving to 5.1 speaker setup would probably be the best way to go. Currently I have a polk RM202 center speaker (very Small for such a big stage) with Polk RM101 surrounds sats, a Velodyne VX-10 sub (Which rattles occasionally) and 2 Front Polk Monitor 50s. Are these good speakers and are the frequencies within theatre sound? I think all of these fall within 8ohms impedance. Will my onkyo 805 receiver be able to handle 4ohm speakers all around or would i need to upgrade my receiver?

I haven't really spent time using the Audeseyy setup but maybe i'll mess with it when i get home later today.

Thanks for the help!

[Zman2k2]

Honestly, I don't think you're going to get cinema sound unless you upgrade your speakers. Those Polks you're running for the front are too small for such a large room. You can consider Paradigm Cinema 110 L/R series speakers, if they must be hidden behind the curtains of your room.

Personally, I would go with a larger tower/center front stage, to give you better imaging and sound quality. To keep it under $1000 consider going with Elemental Designs A6-6T6 Towers and center. All black speakers would blend well, and they do sound great. Calling eD would probably get you a deal as well, instead of buying them off the web. They do offer package deals when buying multiple items.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by Zman2k2

Honestly, I don't think you're going to get cinema sound unless you upgrade your speakers. Those Polks you're running for the front are too small for such a large room. You can consider Paradigm Cinema 110 L/R series speakers, if they must be hidden behind the curtains of your room.

Personally, I would go with a larger tower/center front stage, to give you better imaging and sound quality. To keep it under $1000 consider going with Elemental Designs A6-6T6 Towers and center. All black speakers would blend well, and they do sound great. Calling eD would probably get you a deal as well, instead of buying them off the web. They do offer package deals when buying multiple items.

+1. If you go with an eD package, you can get the A6-6T6-MTM (center), A6-6T6-P (LR towers), and the popular A2-300 sub for $888 shipped! That of course includes the 15% discount eD offers for buying multiple items, as the regular price for that package is $1045. Awesome deal and well worth it.

A6-6T6-MTM
A6-6T6-P
A2-300 12" Sub

Just something to consider, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better value for less than your budget.

[Zman2k2]

I was actually thinking the big A6-6T6 center. For use in a cinema like the OP has, it would probably provide the best center channel experience. But your option would work nicely as well.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by Zman2k2

I was actually thinking the big A6-6T6 center. For use in a cinema like the OP has, it would probably provide the best center channel experience. But your option would work nicely as well.

The big center would work as well! I was just trying to keep him at or below his $1,000 budget.

[JBL4645]

Originally Posted by theshadow1234

Those JBLS 3678 are expensive but i bet they sound killer. . Close to $1500.00 a pop. That means i would have to get 2 of these for my fronts and total $3000.00!!! I wonder if i can get something close to that kind of sound but less expensive. Those Polk Lsi's maybe the way to go but to fancy and a little expensive. The speakers that im looking for will hide behind a stage so looks is not what i'm looking for. BTW, anyone heard of Tweak City Audio's Pro-10's? I heard these may get alot of attention soon. I agree with the 7.1 removal. I raelly dont need all those speakers back there so moving to 5.1 speaker setup would probably be the best way to go. Currently I have a polk RM202 center speaker (very Small for such a big stage) with Polk RM101 surrounds sats, a Velodyne VX-10 sub (Which rattles occasionally) and 2 Front Polk Monitor 50s. Are these good speakers and are the frequencies within theatre sound? I think all of these fall within 8ohms impedance. Will my onkyo 805 receiver be able to handle 4ohm speakers all around or would i need to upgrade my receiver?

I haven't really spent time using the Audeseyy setup but maybe i'll mess with it when i get home later today.

Thanks for the help!

You can try. Haven’t you tried sorting out the issue that you’re currently faced with? I mean maybe you overlooked something and it’s not the loudspeakers fault, but yours?

Also you don’t want “boom” boom is like coloured smeared sound that masks other low frequencies and you need to hear/feel them all, and only as good as the mix remember if there is no 20Hz content then that’s the way it was mixed.

Also any pictures of the front lift the screen up and lets see what the situation is behind the screen?

Also you need a few basic tools and SPL db meter will only show you sound pressure level nothing more and it’s not even close to accurate unless your aware of the systems frequency response you need an (RTA) Real Time Analyzer to see the state of the frequency response.

So I’d save a bit for simple Behringer DEQ2496 and ECM8000 microphone to see what is happening with the loudspeakers.

[dewd]

Originally Posted by JBL4645

So I’d save a bit for simple Behringer DEQ2496 and ECM8000 microphone to see what is happening with the loudspeakers.

Running Audyssey is a great first step. Done properly, it will give you excellent results (better than spending money on an external solution, IMO). Plus the learning curve is lower.

[JBL4645]

Originally Posted by dewd

Running Audyssey is a great first step. Done properly, it will give you excellent results (better than spending money on an external solution, IMO). Plus the learning curve is lower.

But I have read so many threads where people are grumbling about “it has reduced the bass” If I had such a device I will analyze and see what the situation is before applying it, and afterwards to see if, its done what its designed to do.

Does the Audyssey on all AVR support a video outlet for viewing the frequency response on a video monitor?

[callas01]

Shadow,

I would have to contend that the 2 best systems suggested would be either of these below.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/index.php?cPath=2_42
eD A6-6T6 Tower $500
eD A6-6T6 Center $400
eD A2-300 Sub $350

minus 15% total = $1063

OR
http://saturdayaudio.com/
PSB Image T55 $569
PSB Image C60 $279
eD A2-300 Sub $350

Total $1198

And Lastly I hasn't been mentioned but the Monitor Audio speakers are fantastic speaker that should be looked into also
http://saturdayaudio.com/
Monitor Audio Silver series
RS6 Towers $799
RS LCR $449

Total $1248

I haven't heard the eD speakers but the reviews have been good from end users.

The PSB are fantastic speakers. I heard these once and was really thrilled by the Neutral warmth, but explosive top end.

Monitor Audio speakers are very dynamic, and have great bass and detail throught the mid-range and upper highs. Quite honestly one the best speakers I have heard. For HT these would rock. I know you can't add a sub with this setup, but it is a very good system. Then just save up and add another sub.