Question 5.1 speaker set up

[pschweig]

Hi

I am thinking about setting up a new 5.1 surround system in my lounge.

Currently I am thinking of the Denon AVR-X2700H and the Wharfedale DX2 speaker package because they seem quite small but decent quality. Would these speakers match the AVR in terms of power output and quality? I wouldn’t want to buy an AVR that is wildly better than the speakers or vice versa.

Here is a rough layout of my lounge. The proposed positions of the new speakers are in red. The front left and right speakers would be sitting on shelves with the TV and centre speaker attached to the chimney breast. Our sofa is right against the wall so the surround speakers will be level with our seating position. I have read that is ok for a 5.1 system. How high up the wall should they ideally go?

I will also be playing music via Bluetooth or files stored on a htpc and I have read that some 5.1 systems don’t do a great job of playing music. Would this system play music to a decent standard? We aren’t high end audiophiles by any stretch so I imagine it will be fine.


thanks for your help

 

[jizzlejimbo]

I have the DX2 kit with a 1600 AVR. I wish I spent more for better front speakers, they're fine as satellites but think when driven hard they distort a lot. Don't get me wrong they're not bad, I just wish they had more oomph in the front soundstage.

I'm thinking of replacing the front 3 channels for something else then using the L and R for atmos height channels.

 

[jizzlejimbo]

Your setup is very similar to mine. I'd probably put the sub closer to the TV so it reduces location of LFE, basically will make sure you can't isolate where the sub us coming from.

My rear speakers are quite close to my head on the sofa but the audyssey did a great job, I did tweak them down manually a touch further.

 

[Ormy]

Placement of speakers and sub has a huge impact on the sound. My advice is to experiment as much as possible with the position of the front left and right speakers (in your case, moving them a bit further apart might help) and the position of the sub (as many positions as you can, all over, wherever is practical).

Having the surround speaker so close to the seating position is not ideal but should be fine. Personally I'd have the surround speakers as high as possible but that is more of personal preference thing.

Your setup will be just grand for music. It's the all-in-one 5.1 systems like these that struggle with music.

 

[gibbsy]

The Denon is a very good receiver for film and TV. It is somewhat let down by the mediocre stereo music performance and if music is important perhaps you should also look at other makes, certainly Yamaha and Marantz. Any receiver, including some higher tier Denons, are poor at music and will perform poorly when compared to a stereo amp of the same cost.

 

[Gasp3621]

I have the DX2 kit with a 1600 AVR. I wish I spent more for better front speakers, they're fine as satellites but think when driven hard they distort a lot. Don't get me wrong they're not bad, I just wish they had more oomph in the front soundstage.

I'm thinking of replacing the front 3 channels for something else then using the L and R for atmos height channels.

If you go to Denon menu what you have selected for speaker crossovers (front l/r, center, surround l/r)? Bumping them up slightly may help, although i don`t know how loud you listen. Center channel should be on same level to mains - higher on free air at least, but i assume the av-cabinets middle wood can´t be modified to fit the receiver there with enough ventilation on top. If you swap speakers get speaker stands for mains, move the small sub to front corner and try to place the new center channel at the top front edge of the av-cabinet! Wharfedale 11.2 and 11CS should be noticeable upgrade if sticking with Wharfedale, but as you probably know best to go listen first.

 

[jizzlejimbo]

This is how audyssey set my levels and crossovers.

 

[Gasp3621]

This is how audyssey set my levels and crossovers.

Well the mains aren`t set too low which i feared so clearly if they distort at high volume you should be looking something more capable. Small sealed cabs with 3" drivers can only do so much. The center channel did have rear port and dual drivers, although i would still set it 100-120hz. Shame you have to keep it inside the cab. If you want more grunt for the sub just lower the Subwoofer level figure from -9db to -6db for example or few db lower if that isn´t enough. That is assuming you haven`t touched the knobs after Audussey run!

 

[Gasp3621]

Hi

I am thinking about setting up a new 5.1 surround system in my lounge.

Currently I am thinking of the Denon AVR-X2700H and the Wharfedale DX2 speaker package because they seem quite small but decent quality. Would these speakers match the AVR in terms of power output and quality? I wouldn’t want to buy an AVR that is wildly better than the speakers or vice versa.

Here is a rough layout of my lounge. The proposed positions of the new speakers are in red. The front left and right speakers would be sitting on shelves with the TV and centre speaker attached to the chimney breast. Our sofa is right against the wall so the surround speakers will be level with our seating position. I have read that is ok for a 5.1 system. How high up the wall should they ideally go?

I will also be playing music via Bluetooth or files stored on a htpc and I have read that some 5.1 systems don’t do a great job of playing music. Would this system play music to a decent standard? We aren’t high end audiophiles by any stretch so I imagine it will be fine.

View attachment 1355967
thanks for your help

Are you going to buy the new gaming consoles (PS5, Xbox) or need support for HDR10+?
If the answer is no then you could consider the earlier models Denon X1600H and X2600H while saving good amount. I think the sweet spot would be X2600H cause Peter Tyson offers 6year warranty for it (3y for X1600H), should be back in stock tomorrow!

X1600H + DX2 bundle = 680£ with free speaker wire and subwoofer cable.

X2600H + DX2 = 788£ calculated together, but i assume the price will drop some if you ask bundle deal with the updated Denon price.

X2700H + DX2 = 958£ calculated together. You would gain the HDR 10+ support and Hdmi 2.1 8K 1 input/ 2 outputs which isn`t much if thinking future proofing. Big jump in price cause of few new features so think twice.

I would have the surround speakers quite high cause they are so close to listener which is never ideal. The usual recommendation is 2feet from seated ear height, but some prefer even higher and aimed down. Or old school trick having them upside down against wall shooting upwards so the effects would bounce from wall and ceiling making them less localizable. Maybe then both at each side of couch ends on top of some Ikea wall shelve higher up. I haven`t seen many pictures of these, but what has been said it really works better than speakers aimed to listener close by.

 

[pschweig]

Good advice - thanks for all the replies. I've only just seen them as I'm not getting email notifications for some reason