9.2 Home Theater Speaker Recommendations

srm51555

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Hello all,

I'm attempting to help my father in law find some speakers for his home theater. I have plenty of 2 channel DIY experience but when it come to the home theater stuff I really don't have a clue so I figured I'd go to the forum experts.

He already has a Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A3070 9.2 receiver and ceiling speakers so we were hoping there would be a 7.2 solution he could purchase. The room is 16 feet wide by 27 feet deep. It has a little room behind the screen as well. At the entrance of the room the floor to ceiling height is around 8 feet and when standing by the screen it's about 9-10 feet because the floor sinks into the ground.

Given the size of the room the speaker budget is around $4k.

Thanks,
Scott
 
With the Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A3070 9.2 receiver, the extra channels of amplification are primarily aimed at Dolby Atmos users. Does your father-in-law have any interest in that format? If so, he could perhaps use his already installed ceiling speakers, for Atmos effects speakers.

As far as speaker brands? Whew? That's like you picking out a female, for a friends blind date. Not a smart thing to do. Tough to know everyone's tastes. Regardless, if I were personally looking at speakers for an Atmos system, I'd look at Goldenear Tech speakers. They offer matched speakers in every style; towers, bookshelf, wall mounted, and ceiling. Great speakers, that you could mix and match for a system. Goldenear was an early adopter for Atmos too, and their systems perform well in that regard. The SuperSat series could be used, and all wall mounted, for a low-key system, that would blend into a room. Add a Goldenear sub, and you're done!

Oh yea, the Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A3070 9.2 receiver is a nice starting point. I use the earlier RX-A3030 9.2 AVR, and love it.

Good luck.
 
From reading your post, it seems he as an acoustically transparent screen. If so, I'd highly recommend forgoing the center channel form factor all together and going with a matched set of 3x front speakers in something like the KEF LS50 or ELAC Unifi series. That'll avoid the weird dispersion issues with the horizontal MTM arrangement common to most center channels and give you a very cohesive front image. You could fill out the surrounds with identical speakers or grab something designed for dedicated surround use from the same lineup/manufacturer. :)
 
Thank you all for the fast replies
With the Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A3070 9.2 receiver, the extra channels of amplification are primarily aimed at Dolby Atmos users. Does your father-in-law have any interest in that format? If so, he could perhaps use his already installed ceiling speakers, for Atmos effects speakers.
As far as speaker brands? Whew? That's like you picking out a female, for a friends blind date. Not a smart thing to do. Tough to know everyone's tastes. Regardless, if I were personally looking at speakers for an Atmos system, I'd look at Goldenear Tech speakers. They offer matched speakers in every style; towers, bookshelf, wall mounted, and ceiling. Great speakers, that you could mix and match for a system. Goldenear was an early adopter for Atmos too, and their systems perform well in that regard. The SuperSat series could be used, and all wall mounted, for a low-key system, that would blend into a room. Add a Goldenear sub, and you're done!
Oh yea, the Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A3070 9.2 receiver is a nice starting point. I use the earlier RX-A3030 9.2 AVR, and love it.
Good luck.
He does. he was hoping to use the existing speakers to add the Atmos feature, I haven't checked but hopefully they have the same or similar efficiency. It is really hard to pick speaker over the net as well. I'm batting around 50-50 in that realm. The Goldenear Tech SuperSats do look pretty nice and really affordable.

Very nice AVR. Dedicated HT room?
Thanks! Yeah, being a JBL guy I was hoping to get him into something similar to what member JuniorJBL has but that was way more time and effort any of us had.

From reading your post, it seems he as an acoustically transparent screen. If so, I'd highly recommend forgoing the center channel form factor all together and going with a matched set of 3x front speakers in something like the KEF LS50 or ELAC Unifi series. That'll avoid the weird dispersion issues with the horizontal MTM arrangement common to most center channels and give you a very cohesive front image. You could fill out the surrounds with identical speakers or grab something designed for dedicated surround use from the same lineup/manufacturer. :)
We don't have any screen solution picked out yet but this is really good to know about the center channel. This is the small details about HT I don't really know.
 
The low profile/wide center channel format was developed to fit people's entertainment centers, not for optimal sound performance. Manufacturers so some neat things to get around the problematic physics of the arrangement but there's only so much you can do. If you don't have a need for that form factor because you're not putting the center into an entertainment cabinet or needing to slip it onto a table or shelf below/above the edge of a wall mounted flat screen, it's best to act a if the form factor was never invented.
 
I have the Avantage 3070 as well. I'm using a custom 5.1 presently, but will expand that later. I'm using Vintage ADS L1230's for the fronts, and a Custom Center/Surrounds from ADS L810's. I'm not mentioning these to encourage you to go in this direction only to say that this receiver is an absolute beast. When you do find some speakers, would be cool if you post your thoughts as a follow up.
 
The low profile/wide center channel format was developed to fit people's entertainment centers, not for optimal sound performance. Manufacturers so some neat things to get around the problematic physics of the arrangement but there's only so much you can do. If you don't have a need for that form factor because you're not putting the center into an entertainment cabinet or needing to slip it onto a table or shelf below/above the edge of a wall mounted flat screen, it's best to act a if the form factor was never invented.

Exactly. Horizontal centers cause lobing and comb filtering issues. Some aren't too bad, when they use a vertical tweeter/midrange alignment. But otherwise, 3 identical front speakers are best. Which is why I really want to get a single AR9 speaker that's on eBay. It would match well to my AR90's, as a center. Just don't want to spend the cash!
 
Yamaha rates the amp around 150 watts 2 channels driven. So its any ones guess as to How much power is available with all channels operating. Another Asian product ripping off us dumb Americans. I didn't like Yamaha when we sold it in the 70-80-90-00 and 2010's. I don't like Yamaha now. But, anyway, you want the most efficient speakers of quality you can afford. I would choose Klipsch, either pre-owned or not. I prefer M&K but it would set you back, way back. But then they have supplied the monitor speakers for Movie studios that produce movies we all want to see. They have won many awards for the technical quality and for participating in companies winning Academy Awards for sound. Its a shame its no longer an American company
 
Sound and Vision magazine reviewed the RX-A3060, which uses amps (basically) the same as the RX-A3070, and my RX-A3030. S&V tested the AVR into 2, 5, and 7 channels:

"Test Bench:

Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 159.0 watts
1% distortion at 186.4 watts

Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1% distortion at 228.7 watts and 1% distortion at 294.3 watts.

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 102.3 watts
1% distortion at 127.1 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 52.2 watts
1% distortion at 53.6 watts"

Personally, I love all my Yamaha's. Clean and open sounding to me. Very reliable too. Strong enough to drive my various AR's, which aren't an easy load. Listening (and watching) Doctor Strange as I type this, and I don't feel cheated in any way. I'll keep my 3030 until it dies. My only nit-pick, it can't do Atmos. I can live with that.
 
Sound and Vision magazine reviewed the RX-A3060, which uses amps (basically) the same as the RX-A3070, and my RX-A3030. S&V tested the AVR into 2, 5, and 7 channels:

"Test Bench:

Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 159.0 watts
1% distortion at 186.4 watts

Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1% distortion at 228.7 watts and 1% distortion at 294.3 watts.

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 102.3 watts
1% distortion at 127.1 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 52.2 watts
1% distortion at 53.6 watts"

Personally, I love all my Yamaha's. Clean and open sounding to me. Very reliable too. Strong enough to drive my various AR's, which aren't an easy load. Listening (and watching) Doctor Strange as I type this, and I don't feel cheated in any way. I'll keep my 3030 until it dies. My only nit-pick, it can't do Atmos. I can live with that.

Me too StimpyWan. I've had three AV's The 2092, 2700 and now the 3070. Appreciate your stats post, found that interesting.
 
Me too StimpyWan. I've had three AV's The 2092, 2700 and now the 3070. Appreciate your stats post, found that interesting.

Thanks!

I started with a RX-V990 and a DDP-1. Next, a DSP-A3090, then a RX-V3000, and now my RX-A3030. All sound great, and all still work fine.
 
You operate all your channels and the power drop s 66% at 1% distortion and your happy with that!. My amp is rated at 200 watts all channels simultaneously with less than .005 % distortion and will put out 250 watts all channels operating at .005%. It's 10 years old and its worth more today than what I paid for it. OH I admit it cost a bunch more and is made in America. I liked it so much I bought a second one pre-owned that cost more than the first new. I just upgraded my processor and may again some day while still enjoying the same amplifiers. If you ever get a chance, invest companies like Bryston, Mcintosh, etc you won't be disappointed.

With having the test results I strongly recommend you go with Klipsch speakers because you need their high efficiency. Where other folks would need 500 watts per channel to meet the capabilities of your system with 50 watts driving Klipsch most efficient HT speakers.
 
You operate all your channels and the power drop s 66% at 1% distortion and your happy with that!. My amp is rated at 200 watts all channels simultaneously with less than .005 % distortion and will put out 250 watts all channels operating at .005%. It's 10 years old and its worth more today than what I paid for it. OH I admit it cost a bunch more and is made in America. I liked it so much I bought a second one pre-owned that cost more than the first new. I just upgraded my processor and may again some day while still enjoying the same amplifiers. If you ever get a chance, invest companies like Bryston, Mcintosh, etc you won't be disappointed.

Music and HT content are not a sine wave driven into a dummy load. The effective power available during dynamic content is likely higher because not every channel will be running full bore at the same time. Given average speaker sensitivities, it's unlikely any of us are using anywhere near 250 wpc in our homes, ever, so much of this is academic. While I agree that separates are better and I'm a sucker for a big stack of gear and big meters myself, not everyone has the budget or space for that. Receivers serve a purpose and work well for most people that buy them. Obviously spending scads of money on Bryston or McIntosh separates is going to get you gobs more power.

In any case, OP came here to ask about speaker choices for his FIL, so let's get back to that topic. We could discuss the relative merits of American and Japanese gear til we're blue in the face and we'd still walk away with some members loving the former, others the latter, and still more of us choosing to enjoy both without prejudice based on country of origin, and none of it would help the OP get any closer to helping out his family member. ;)
 
I don't listen full bandwidth multichannel, so I doubt that the wattage output is as limited as the S&V testing shows. Plus, those numbers probably reflect Yamaha's current limiting kicking in, in order to protect the receiver. That's usually not triggered under normal operating conditions. Also, I don't think I listen loud enough to drive distortion levels to 1% or higher. So, a moot point.

As to Bryston, I've used their 4B amps, on a daily basis, and never liked them. Too sterile. A very dry top end, with no air. And this was from comparing amps in the studio where I worked.

McIntosh I've used, and used to sell in the shop I worked at. Those I do like. The same shop, that was a McIntosh dealer, sold Yamaha too. Yamaha was the only brand of receiver the owner stocked. Everything else was separates.
 
Yamaha rates the amp around 150 watts 2 channels driven. So its any ones guess as to How much power is available with all channels operating.

I noticed this and I initially was disappointed but after thinking about it, the content playing through the speakers would be over 80hz, so the power needed for the lower frequencies required would come through the sub. If it is ok with my father in law I'd like to take full pictures and give a short review of the install and impressions.

Sound and Vision magazine reviewed the RX-A3060, which uses amps (basically) the same as the RX-A3070, and my RX-A3030. S&V tested the AVR into 2, 5, and 7 channels:

"Test Bench:

Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 159.0 watts
1% distortion at 186.4 watts

Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1% distortion at 228.7 watts and 1% distortion at 294.3 watts.

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 102.3 watts
1% distortion at 127.1 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 52.2 watts
1% distortion at 53.6 watts"

Personally, I love all my Yamaha's. Clean and open sounding to me. Very reliable too. Strong enough to drive my various AR's, which aren't an easy load. Listening (and watching) Doctor Strange as I type this, and I don't feel cheated in any way. I'll keep my 3030 until it dies. My only nit-pick, it can't do Atmos. I can live with that.

Thanks for posting this. Very informative.
 
McIntosh I've used, and used to sell in the shop I worked at. Those I do like. The same shop, that was a McIntosh dealer, sold Yamaha too. Yamaha was the only brand of receiver the owner stocked. Everything else was separates.

I thought father in law made a good choice with the Yamaha. I personally run a Crown or McIntosh in my 2 channel stuff but would have went to Yamaha way for HT as well. This process is getting pretty fun, I wish I liked movies, I would built a HT setup myself.
 
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I noticed this and I initially was disappointed but after thinking about it, the content playing through the speakers would be over 80hz, so the power needed for the lower frequencies required would come through the sub. If it is ok with my father in law I'd like to take full pictures and give a short review of the install and impressions.

Don't be disappointed. AVR testing of most brands show a marked drop off in power, as more channels are brought into play. Not uncommon. But, as I mentioned earlier, these tests are performed full bandwidth, into all the channels under test. So, all channels are being driven full range, with equal power. That is not typical under normal home theater playback conditions. Usually, at home, most power is directed to the center, then L/R mains, and the least amount to surrounds. Probably (almost) never full power, full bandwidth. So, peak wattage will be much higher than the S&V tests show.

One other thing, Yamaha is pretty aggressive with current limiting, to protect the receiver, during loud passages. So, the S&V tests most likely reflect those numbers too. And because of the current limiting protection Yamaha uses, always select the 8 Ohm switch setting on the rear of the AVR. This provides higher wattage and current. The 4 Ohm setting turns on current limiting, and should be avoided.

Thanks for posting this. Very informative.

You're most welcome. And I for one, look forward to HT updates, as you and your father-in-law progress with the system. Fun stuff.
 
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I though father in law made a good choice with the Yamaha. I personally run a Crown or McIntosh in my 2 channel stuff but would have went to Yamaha way for HT as well. This process is getting pretty fun, I wish I liked movies, I would built a HT setup myself.

Would very much appreciate you updating with pics, and YES ... it's Ton's O' Fun. I could not be happier with my Yamaha, and maybe one day I'll amp this system .... I'm still paying for a retirement one day which is coming more sooner then later. That said,

Klipsch's are always a nice choice but audition them somewhere first (always good advice in any case). Recommend you take a music CD/Thumb Drive with something you and your Father in Law are very familiar with, along with a DVD of a movie your familiar with in the genre your mostly going to watch in addition to an Action Adventure. It sounds like you probably already know this but mentioning it for posterity for the next guy who happens to lite on this thread. M & K's have a great reputation. Note, they are not the most hansom speaker out there, but they'll get the job done. They are a bit warmer then Klipsch (IMO), which matches my personal taste. Bowers & Wilkins does a fine job, and they match the Center Speaker as well.
 
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