Amp & Speaker advice required for new installation

MJ1071

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Hi All,

I would be grateful if you can provide some assistance on the following. I am now coming to the completion of a double garage conversion for a dedicated cinema room. I have already purchased a Benq W2700 projector and am now looking at speakers and amp. The room will be used for a mixture of movies and music. Room size 16"6 x 16

Currently the setup I am looking at is KEF Q950 floor standers, KEF Q650 Centre channel, KEF Q350 rears, KEF Kube 12 subwoofer and KEF Q50a Atmos speakers powered with a Denon AVR X4500H.

The above is setting me back £3,400. Are you able advise if this is the best setup I can obtain with the given funding? I am also debating if I should add an additional KEF Kube 12 subwoofer? Any thoughts and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 
Out of the speakers, I'd say that they are fine, however the woofers can be bettered by choosing something like a pair of SVS SB1000 if you want two or if even a single single woofer (something like the SVS SB3000) will be a massive upgrade and both options will save you a few pounds on a pair Kef Kube 12b woofers.

You could also drop the rear speakers down to the Kef Q150 if you desired as they should be fine as rear speakers
 
Welcome to the Forum.

Speakers are a good choice and I agree with @ShanePJ that in that space you could easily drop the surrounds to Q150s. Have you seen the size of the Q950s? They are huge and they will like to be brought out into the room to get the best out of them. I tempted to tell you to go for the R5s and R2C with Q150s as surrounds and the Q50a for Atmos, especially with the Denon driving them. I think the smaller R Serie speakers will suit the room better.
 
R5 and the R2C will break my bank - I can consider the R3 with the R2C and Q150 and opt for the SVS SB1000 and go for two of them or a single SVS SB3000 if you think that will be a better performer?
 
I'm not the best to ask about subs, I've been trying to sneak a bigger one past the wife for years to no avail. If you're going for a dual sub set up for movies then the big Q950s are somewhat redundant as they would still be crossed at 80hz. For music and in the wrong position given a full range stereo signal then they can sound a little bloated.

The R3s are a class act and quite honestly the mids and highs will more than likely be a lot crisper than the Q950s in that department. If you look at the pricing of the R3s to the Q950s there's not much in it. They will be adequate for your room size, I have R300s in a room with a bigger volume than what you are proposing albeit in an L shape and they fill it it easily although they are being driven by a Rega stereo amp with 105 watts available to them. The Rega is running in HT by-pass with a Denon X6500.

Likewise the R2C will be a very good performer, dialogue will be well directed and clarity is very good. Unfortunately the R Serie doesn't have a smaller standmount like the old R100s but for surround duties the Q150s will more than fit the bill.

You shouldn't make any decisions until you have the opportunity to audition both, but personally having listened to a Q950 I would still stick with my R300s.
 
thank you for your advice it is really appreciated - I will audition the R3 with the R2C and Q150 setup once the lockdown is lifted thank you again for your direction
 

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