First HT, 5.1.2 or 5.1.4? Looking for feedback on parts & sketches

[jon lord]

So I ordered the Q750, Q150(got a deal on them), XTZ 12.17 Edge sub & two pairs of XTZ S2 and have been listening to the KEF's now for few days and I'm enjoying them! Tested various types of music (so the below impressions are for music and not movies) and ran them with Rotel A12 and my XTZ 12 Spirit sub.

Q150: impressed me alot, like "I hurt my jaw" alot! The soundstage is crazy for this small of a package. Sounded clear and bright which I liked. Tho from a music perspective running them as fullrange it lacks something(I dont know how to describe it, perhaps punch or dynamics) but the sub helped to compensate somewhat. So overall I'm impressed and will be glad to have them as surround speakers with their wide dispersion.

Q750: Same as the Q150 but it seemed to fill in the missing gaps that I mentioned above. Will be keeping these and having them as fronts in my theater room.

Side note: Comparing the Q750 & Q150 just based on price/performance the Q150 wins by far. Im glad I got the Q750's for 1000£ but I dont think I would have bougth them for MSRP(seems to be 1700-1800€ currently at most places). So I guess the Q150 impressed me more than Q750's is what Im saying, not that the Q750s are bad or anything.

A random thought(perhaps silly): I wonder if the wide dispersion of all of the KEF speakers in a theater setup is counterproductive? Since every single source has wide dispersion every sound source "melts" together?

Thanks to Gasp3621 for getting me nudged over to KEF!

Next step is planning locations for Atmos & surround.​

Here is a rough sketch in 3D with everything in scale. Also a 360degree video showing the layout:


S2 atmos speakers in red which can be mounted in various configurations with different angles, perhaps like in my sketch which is on ceiling which angles towards the MLP (but not straight at it, is this an issue?) Since the S2 also is coaxial speaker perhaps this is not an issue?
Green shows the sound direction, obviously without dispersion.

S2: mounting options

Any feedback on the atmos/surround positions? Im confused by Dolby's guide: 5.1.4 Overhead Speaker Setup regarding the atmos speakers, are they supposed to be aimed straight down?


PS: I decided go with 4.8m lenght for the room to futureproof instead of the original 4.5m.

 

[gibbsy]

A random thought(perhaps silly): I wonder if the wide dispersion of all of the KEF speakers in a theater setup is counterproductive? Since every single source has wide dispersion every sound source "melts" together?

No. The audio will move seamlessly around the soundstage because that wide dispersion helps. I've been living with KEFs, old R Series, all round for the best part of ten years now.

 

[Gasp3621]

So I ordered the Q750, Q150(got a deal on them), XTZ 12.17 Edge sub & two pairs of XTZ S2 and have been listening to the KEF's now for few days and I'm enjoying them! Tested various types of music (so the below impressions are for music and not movies) and ran them with Rotel A12 and my XTZ 12 Spirit sub.

Q150: impressed me alot, like "I hurt my jaw" alot! The soundstage is crazy for this small of a package. Sounded clear and bright which I liked. Tho from a music perspective running them as fullrange it lacks something(I dont know how to describe it, perhaps punch or dynamics) but the sub helped to compensate somewhat. So overall I'm impressed and will be glad to have them as surround speakers with their wide dispersion.

Q750: Same as the Q150 but it seemed to fill in the missing gaps that I mentioned above. Will be keeping these and having them as fronts in my theater room.

Side note: Comparing the Q750 & Q150 just based on price/performance the Q150 wins by far. Im glad I got the Q750's for 1000£ but I dont think I would have bougth them for MSRP(seems to be 1700-1800€ currently at most places). So I guess the Q150 impressed me more than Q750's is what Im saying, not that the Q750s are bad or anything.

A random thought(perhaps silly): I wonder if the wide dispersion of all of the KEF speakers in a theater setup is counterproductive? Since every single source has wide dispersion every sound source "melts" together?

Thanks to Gasp3621 for getting me nudged over to KEF!

Next step is planning locations for Atmos & surround.​

Here is a rough sketch in 3D with everything in scale. Also a 360degree video showing the layout:


S2 atmos speakers in red which can be mounted in various configurations with different angles, perhaps like in my sketch which is on ceiling which angles towards the MLP (but not straight at it, is this an issue?) Since the S2 also is coaxial speaker perhaps this is not an issue?
Green shows the sound direction, obviously without dispersion.

View attachment 1672553
View attachment 1672554
View attachment 1672555

S2: mounting options
View attachment 1672560

Any feedback on the atmos/surround positions? Im confused by Dolby's guide: 5.1.4 Overhead Speaker Setup regarding the atmos speakers, are they supposed to be aimed straight down?


PS: I decided go with 4.8m lenght for the room to futureproof instead of the original 4.5m.

@kbfern can comment on the S2 XTZs as he owns them.

You going to order Q650c soon?

 

[kbfern]

Yes I have a pair of S2 Atmos speakers at the front and are used as up firing as they are placed on top of my XTZ Cinema M6 L&R (which have the same profile shape). They make a decent fist of creating an Atmos sound bubble but It is fair to say though that mounted on a ceiling or high on the wall with the drivers pointing down at the main listening position is even more successful.

Amazon product

 

[jon lord]

No. The audio will move seamlessly around the soundstage because that wide dispersion helps. I've been living with KEFs, old R Series, all round for the best part of ten years now.

Great to know!

@kbfern can comment on the S2 XTZs as he owns them.

You going to order Q650c soon?

Yes soon. within the upcoming month or two I will be done with the with the renovation downstairs with building the wall & painting etc so by then I should have the receiver & center as well.

Yes I have a pair of S2 Atmos speakers at the front and are used as up firing as they are placed on top of my XTZ Cinema M6 L&R (which have the same profile shape). They make a decent fist of creating an Atmos sound bubble but It is fair to say though that mounted on a ceiling or high on the wall with the drivers pointing down at the main listening position is even more successful.

Amazon product

Yeah mounted they should be awesome!


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I did some minor adjustements to the sketch and angled them inwards, so a toe in to aim the tweeter more at MLP. Is this on the right path for atmos / surrounds?

- Are the atmos speakers aimed enough at MLP? If mounted flat to the ceiling with the tweeter directly at MLP then the speaker almost needs to be above head and then there would be no separation.

- Are the surrounds positioned correctly for the ear level layer?

- Are the surrounds too high and will cause separation issues between surround/rear atmos?

All sketches & video: