Help with 3.0 speaker “surround system” in a large open-concept living area

Yalo Vinaka

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I’m looking for advice on putting together a simple media system (3.0 speaker configuration) connected to TV. We mostly watch TV/movies and are confined to a 3.0 configuration due to space constraints (no surround speakers possible and not even a subwoofer can be included due to too much clutter) so loads of surround channels on large AV receivers will be useless.


Would this Marantz SR5015 AV receiver be robust enough to power these speakers well?


Marantz SR5015 7.2-Channel 8K A/V Receiver

  • Power output: 100w per channel @ 8-ohms
  • The back panel says you can use 4-16 ohms speakers
  • ONE Zone 2 connection
Primary speakers: GoldenEar Triton Two+ Towers
  • Recommended amplification: 20 - 500 watt/channel
  • Is this something of CONCERN? The speakers say “Nominal 4Ω (Compatible with 8Ω)”
  • I like these because they have a powered subwoofer in each tower
  • I have looked at Definitive Technology but don’t think the built-in speaker directions (i.e. bi-polar and up-firing) will be of any use in our large area and also GoldenEar seems to receive more positive reviews
Center speaker: GoldenEar SuperCenter XL Speaker
  • Seems best option because it matches the main speakers
 
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A setup consisting of just 3 speakers isn't technically one that will facilitate you with surround sound.


All you need is a 2 channel receiver. There's no real reason to bother with an additional centre speaker either, especially not if the room is small and the screen isn't large. A pair of stereo speakers can quite readilly portray what would ordinarilly be output by a centre speaker and localise it centre stage.


You'd be wasting your money if spending it on a multivhannel AVR. Maybe look at a 2 channel AV receiver as opposed to a multichannel mode?

 
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As dante01 says, if you don't have surround speakers, you get a lot more bang for your buck if you stick to stereo. The centre speaker brings nothing to the party - the Triton Two+ will be just fine on their own.

BTW, one way to get surround sound in a room that is adverse to surround speakers is to get in-wall (or on-wall) or ceiling speakers. With GoldenEar, this would be the Invisa series. I use on-ceiling speakers to address a similar issue in a 42m2 room.
 
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A setup consisting of just 3 speakers isn't technically one that will facilitate you with surround sound.


All you need is a 2 channel receiver. There's no real reason to bother with an additional centre speaker either, especially not if the room is small and the screen isn't large. A pair of stereo speakers can quite readilly portray what would ordinarilly be output by a centre speaker and localise it centre stage.


You'd be wasting your money if spending it on a multivhannel AVR. Maybe look at a 2 channel AV receiver as opposed to a multichannel mode?

Thank you for these ideas.

A couple of concerns: this is a large area. The listening area is living room that opens to kitchen 20' x 38' and most of the space is an open ceiling to second floor balcony and loft. The speakers will be about 7-8 feet apart with a large TV (not sure what size yet).

So I was thinking the centre speaker would help with dialog - but with your feedback, I will look to consider getting a TV that will have a sound bar attached to use for regular TV viewing and then have the sound go to a receiver for movies when larger sound is really nice. And have a much higher quality hifi system for quality music listening. BUT...

Is there such a thing as a hifi system that has a Zone2 output?

One of the reasons I've been looking at AV receivers is because they seem to all have a Zone2 for second sets of speakers powered by their own amps one set of six speakers in the kitchen and then also an outside patio area.
 
As dante01 says, if you don't have surround speakers, you get a lot more bang for your buck if you stick to stereo. The centre speaker brings nothing to the party - the Triton Two+ will be just fine on their own.

BTW, one way to get surround sound in a room that is adverse to surround speakers is to get in-wall (or on-wall) or ceiling speakers. With GoldenEar, this would be the Invisa series. I use on-ceiling speakers to address a similar issue in a 42m2 room.
Thank you!

I've responded to dante01 with a few more details of our constraints. As much as I would love to have surround speakers, our ceiling is open to the second floor so that's not an option - and one wall of the listening area is patio doors so no chance to put speakers on that side, and the other side is the main entrance and stairs to second floor, so no chance to put speakers on the wall that side. :)
 
Thank you for these ideas.

A couple of concerns: this is a large area. The listening area is living room that opens to kitchen 20' x 38' and most of the space is an open ceiling to second floor balcony and loft. The speakers will be about 7-8 feet apart with a large TV (not sure what size yet).

So I was thinking the centre speaker would help with dialog - but with your feedback, I will look to consider getting a TV that will have a sound bar attached to use for regular TV viewing and then have the sound go to a receiver for movies when larger sound is really nice. And have a much higher quality hifi system for quality music listening. BUT...

Is there such a thing as a hifi system that has a Zone2 output?

One of the reasons I've been looking at AV receivers is because they seem to all have a Zone2 for second sets of speakers powered by their own amps one set of six speakers in the kitchen and then also an outside patio area.


Depends upon what you mean and want from an additional zone? Some stereo integrated amps include A and B speaker terminals allowing you to connect 2 pairs of stereo speakers or you can simply emply an external speaker switch to facilitate adding additional speakers.
 
A couple of concerns: this is a large area. The listening area is living room that opens to kitchen 20' x 38' and most of the space is an open ceiling to second floor balcony and loft. The speakers will be about 7-8 feet apart with a large TV (not sure what size yet).

So I was thinking the centre speaker would help with dialog - but with your feedback, I will look to consider getting a TV that will have a sound bar attached to use for regular TV viewing and then have the sound go to a receiver for movies when larger sound is really nice. And have a much higher quality hifi system for quality music listening.
You only get assistance with the dialogue from a centre speaker when the stereo imaging from the L&R speakers is shot. If your speakers are roughly equidistant from the TV, you gain nothing from a centre speaker. And if you do need the centre speaker to image properly, then you aren't going to get quality music listening from the same seating.

I would also suggest that there is never a reason to compromise on TV sound, no matter how lousy the program. A soundbar will not match your hifi speakers's quality. Since 1983 we have only ever used the hifi for TV sound.

---

You can't mount speakers on the underside of the second floor balcony to point forward? Here's one of mine, on the ceiling above a door, also from below showing the mount;
IMG_0989 (2).jpg
IMG_0990 (2).jpg
 
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Avr will have multiple hdmi inputs, bass management, room correction, digital inputs hdmi, coaxial, optical, speaker delay adjustment,DD/DTS and hd decoding and downmix to the system you are planning.

Personally in a TV system even if you are planning stereo I'd use a AVR. You may decide to add the remaining speakers later.

I have a Yamaha avr in pc system and for a long while I just had stereo, but having hdmi inputs allowes me to connect consoles,.digital inputs allowed two pc and squeezebox. Bass management helped with subwoofer and filtering out bass from the standmounts etc
 
You only get assistance with the dialogue from a centre speaker when the stereo imaging from the L&R speakers is shot. If your speakers are roughly equidistant from the TV, you gain nothing from a centre speaker. And if you do need the centre speaker to image properly, then you aren't going to get quality music listening from the same seating.

I would also suggest that there is never a reason to compromise on TV sound, no matter how lousy the program. A soundbar will not match your hifi speakers's quality. Since 1983 we have only ever used the hifi for TV sound.

---

You can't mount speakers on the underside of the second floor balcony to point forward? Here's one of mine, on the ceiling above a door, also from below showing the mount;
View attachment 1626954View attachment 1626955
Thank you for the suggestions. I've never actually had a centre speaker until just recently after purchasing one used and we're enjoying the sound of having the centre speaker. However, I may have never had the regular setup done properly.

Sony STR-DN1010 A/V receiver
"Mains" = Totem Dreamcatcher Speakers (100 Watt bookshelf speakers size of shoebox)
Center = Definitive Technology C1 200 Watt (larger than both my "mains")

I had this 2.0 system (no centre before) in a townhouse and we're moving to a larger home with a large room, the reason for this post. I could never get the two front speakers to play TV audio satisfactorily so have been leaning towards getting a centre for that reason...

Super creative on your ceiling mounted speaker - my wife would NEVER EVER let me do that!!! :)
 
Depends upon what you mean and want from an additional zone? Some stereo integrated amps include A and B speaker terminals allowing you to connect 2 pairs of stereo speakers or you can simply emply an external speaker switch to facilitate adding additional speakers.
Thank you dante01 - the additional zone is a set of six speakers in our kitchen and dining room that we're currently thinking will be separately powered by their own amp. In the future we are intending on adding additional speaker system for the patio area, so potentially a third Zone...

I had four speakers connected to a splitter and ran them off my current receiver's Speaker B setting but after some time of being played (never too loudly) the receiver got quite hot, so I'm not intending on trying to run six speakers off a split Speaker B output?
 
Avr will have multiple hdmi inputs, bass management, room correction, digital inputs hdmi, coaxial, optical, speaker delay adjustment,DD/DTS and hd decoding and downmix to the system you are planning.

Personally in a TV system even if you are planning stereo I'd use a AVR. You may decide to add the remaining speakers later.

I have a Yamaha avr in pc system and for a long while I just had stereo, but having hdmi inputs allowes me to connect consoles,.digital inputs allowed two pc and squeezebox. Bass management helped with subwoofer and filtering out bass from the standmounts etc
Thank you rccarguy2!

I currently have a very basic/simple AVR system (described a couple posts above) and have always had some version of this - never knew how/why a more dedicated 2-channel system would ever suffice because I never knew anything about hifi audiophile quality music listening. :) And, of course more speakers are better, right!?! I previously (over a decade ago) had a second-hand sub and several hand-me-down speakers wired across my room when I was a bachelor, but for some reason never got a centre speaker.

I think your reasoning is going to win the day for me too: it's been in the back of my mind that an AVR will allow me to easily connect Zone speakers that I could control fairly simply as well as expand to additional speakers if I do get an option (wife permitting, ha ha) to ceiling mount some speakers and/or get a centre speaker I can do that...
 
Take a look at Multi Zone Amplifiers - Commercial Zone Amplifiers - Audio Installations. Otherwise, Russound, Sonance, Niles. Or of course Sonos, who have a different approach. There are also Denon's HEOS or Yamaha's MusicCast.

For quality sound throughout the home, if cost isn't a limiting factor: Whole Home | Linn International.
Thank you for these links! I believe we are going to be using Sonance to power six speakers in our kitchen and dining room so my though for Zone output is thinking of an RCA output to connect the amp to. In the future we are hoping to expand to an additional Sonance outdoor system for our patio if we expand outside.

Checked the Linn site - wow looks like amazing equipment - sure would like to expand that way! If only cost wasn't a limiting factor...
 
You only get assistance with the dialogue from a centre speaker when the stereo imaging from the L&R speakers is shot. If your speakers are roughly equidistant from the TV, you gain nothing from a centre speaker. And if you do need the centre speaker to image properly, then you aren't going to get quality music listening from the same seating.

I would also suggest that there is never a reason to compromise on TV sound, no matter how lousy the program. A soundbar will not match your hifi speakers's quality. Since 1983 we have only ever used the hifi for TV sound.

---

You can't mount speakers on the underside of the second floor balcony to point forward? Here's one of mine, on the ceiling above a door, also from below showing the mount;
View attachment 1626954View attachment 1626955
@Mark.Yudkin

When I started this post, I Thought I was just asking if I was likely to be getting a system that worked, now I’ve got more to think about…

While I have no doubt that a HiFi system will produce better stereo output than one utilizing an AVR. Do you know if an AVR system utilizing a external amp to power the front speakers through the AVR “pre-out” RCA would be a practical and noticeable improvement to utilizing just the AVR alone?

Would I get noticeable sound quality improvements (assuming I‘m not blasting the sound and approaching speaker or amp limits)?

I’m pondering the possibility of an AVR with a power amp for the front two speakers and then get The functionality of the Zone outputs and multiple HDMI and other connections to other stuff that the AVR has that 2-channel units lack.
 
@Mark.Yudkin

When I started this post, I Thought I was just asking if I was likely to be getting a system that worked, now I’ve got more to think about…

While I have no doubt that a HiFi system will produce better stereo output than one utilizing an AVR. Do you know if an AVR system utilizing a external amp to power the front speakers through the AVR “pre-out” RCA would be a practical and noticeable improvement to utilizing just the AVR alone?

Would I get noticeable sound quality improvements (assuming I‘m not blasting the sound and approaching speaker or amp limits)?

I’m pondering the possibility of an AVR with a power amp for the front two speakers and then get The functionality of the Zone outputs and multiple HDMI and other connections to other stuff that the AVR has that 2-channel units lack.

A AV pre amp, with class a monoblocs, triamping all your speakers, with a dac, and stereo analogue amp, and Linn aktiv speakers with line level crossover, with seperate independent power supplies for each device, with dedicated mains spur, and isolated battery powered buffer circuit, audio and video system calibrated, profession audio treatment is even better than a avr!
 
A AV pre amp, with class a monoblocs, triamping all your speakers, with a dac, and stereo analogue amp, and Linn aktiv speakers with line level crossover, with seperate independent power supplies for each device, with dedicated mains spur, and isolated battery powered buffer circuit, audio and video system calibrated, profession audio treatment is even better than a avr!
With all that equipment, I’d hope there was an improvement! :)

My concern is getting quality speakers that a standard AVR proclaiming 110W per channel is underpowered and being disappointed with the output…
 
Only flagship avr will output 110w per channel, all channels driven, 20hz-20khz, with 0.05% the (FTC testing)

With two speakers connected a avr will have plenty of power, but as you increase the number of speakers driven by that avr, power will go downml

Therr is debate that all channels driven isn't important as that doesn't happen. Still if I'm spending a lot of money on a quality Poweramp I want FTC testing. Some poweramps are pretty lousy I think the marantz and Yamaha ones are pretty bad.

A good stereo amp will typically be better with more output devices (MOSFET) bigger psu, more smoothing capatitance, mirrored layout, independent PSU wiring and capacitors per channel. The avr won't have that.
 
For example the ATI 6007 amplifier has 420,000uf capacitance (dedicated 60,000uf per channel) it has has two whopping great power supplies each around 1.6kW and requires two iec inputs and youd want dedicated spur also.


The Yamaha 5200 Poweramp has 27,000 total and that is shared between all channels. And a ~600w PSU.


Granted the ATI is several times more expensive bu.
 
Do you know if an AVR system utilizing a external amp to power the front speakers through the AVR “pre-out” RCA would be a practical and noticeable improvement to utilizing just the AVR alone? ...
My concern is getting quality speakers that a standard AVR proclaiming 110W per channel is underpowered and being disappointed with the output…
Your said your room was some 70m2 and two stories high. That's a lot of volume to fill and it needs speakers capable of producing adequate levels and power amplification capable of supporting those levels.

The Triton Two+ doesn't quote its maximum SPL, but indicates an efficiency of 91dB (that's @1m and (probably) 1W) and power handling up to 500W, plus a separately powered woofer (like my ML Spires). So it's probably adequate. Take a look at Full Guide To Loudspeaker Sensitivity & Efficiency Ratings | My New Microphone for explanatory background on what this all means.

There's a nice little calculator at SPL Calculator. You can plug in your values, especially the room details, and get SPLs at the listening position back.

I would doubt that a Marantz SR5015 (100W, 2 channels driven) would be adequate in your environment (and your Sony SRT-DB1010 is rather less powerful). An AVR with preouts will allow you to address the power requirements. I went for separate power amplification having 135W, 7 channels driven - and my room is only 42m2 and 2.4m high, but of course ESLs are a horror to drive (0.7Ω minimum impedance).

Since cost is a factor and surround speakers are not feasible, I would continue to recommend a purely stereo setup, where for the same outlay you get performance instead of channels. An AVR does seem a strange way to get two zones, and it doesn't really give you the comfort of a proper installation.

BTW, in the end we decided to address the question of music in the living room, (home) office and kitchen differently. We got separate systems plus streaming. I'm posting this from my home office, listening to Couperin, using a Yamaha CD-NT70D through a Technics SA-GX180 and a pair of KEF 104aBs I bought in 1980. In the meantime my wife is listening to a talk program on the radio in the kitchen.
 
The anthem Mrx preout are stable to 2v which is plenty .



Denon 700 range allow you switch off signal to the to internal amplifiers
 
Your said your room was some 70m2 and two stories high. That's a lot of volume to fill and it needs speakers capable of producing adequate levels and power amplification capable of supporting those levels.

The Triton Two+ doesn't quote its maximum SPL, but indicates an efficiency of 91dB (that's @1m and (probably) 1W) and power handling up to 500W, plus a separately powered woofer (like my ML Spires). So it's probably adequate. Take a look at Full Guide To Loudspeaker Sensitivity & Efficiency Ratings | My New Microphone for explanatory background on what this all means.

There's a nice little calculator at SPL Calculator. You can plug in your values, especially the room details, and get SPLs at the listening position back.

I would doubt that a Marantz SR5015 (100W, 2 channels driven) would be adequate in your environment (and your Sony SRT-DB1010 is rather less powerful). An AVR with preouts will allow you to address the power requirements. I went for separate power amplification having 135W, 7 channels driven - and my room is only 42m2 and 2.4m high, but of course ESLs are a horror to drive (0.7Ω minimum impedance).

Since cost is a factor and surround speakers are not feasible, I would continue to recommend a purely stereo setup, where for the same outlay you get performance instead of channels. An AVR does seem a strange way to get two zones, and it doesn't really give you the comfort of a proper installation.

BTW, in the end we decided to address the question of music in the living room, (home) office and kitchen differently. We got separate systems plus streaming. I'm posting this from my home office, listening to Couperin, using a Yamaha CD-NT70D through a Technics SA-GX180 and a pair of KEF 104aBs I bought in 1980. In the meantime my wife is listening to a talk program on the radio in the kitchen.
@Mark.Yudkin Happy New Year

Took a couple days off for New Year - did some better listening to our current system and have come realization just the two channels is all we will need and going route of dedicated two-channel stereo system more logical.

So been looking at systems that have A/B speakers to incorporate our kitchen and dining room speakers into the primary system when desired. We won’t ever need separate sound in the kitchen fighting with the sound from the living room. Figure a simple speaker splitter switch will work for those (perhaps also with a volume control to ensure thowe speakers can be adjusted separately from main pair).

Been looking at systems that should be super easy for everyone to use.

First thought is the Cambridge Audio EVO 150 which has speakers A/B and can connect to everything else we may want.

Second thought is the NAD M10 V2 except it doesn’t have speaker A/B so a bit perplexed as to getting kitchen and dining room speakers going - perhaps a BluOS driver and amp/splitter would be easiest.

Third and perhaps the one we will wait for: NAD C399 coming soon (or so they say) which has more output than we would need, plus the Speaker A/B and connects to everything…

So many options out there - and they’re updating everything all the time!
 
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Your said your room was some 70m2 and two stories high. That's a lot of volume to fill and it needs speakers capable of producing adequate levels and power amplification capable of supporting those levels.

The Triton Two+ doesn't quote its maximum SPL, but indicates an efficiency of 91dB (that's @1m and (probably) 1W) and power handling up to 500W, plus a separately powered woofer (like my ML Spires). So it's probably adequate. Take a look at Full Guide To Loudspeaker Sensitivity & Efficiency Ratings | My New Microphone for explanatory background on what this all means.

There's a nice little calculator at SPL Calculator. You can plug in your values, especially the room details, and get SPLs at the listening position back.

I would doubt that a Marantz SR5015 (100W, 2 channels driven) would be adequate in your environment (and your Sony SRT-DB1010 is rather less powerful). An AVR with preouts will allow you to address the power requirements. I went for separate power amplification having 135W, 7 channels driven - and my room is only 42m2 and 2.4m high, but of course ESLs are a horror to drive (0.7Ω minimum impedance).

Since cost is a factor and surround speakers are not feasible, I would continue to recommend a purely stereo setup, where for the same outlay you get performance instead of channels. An AVR does seem a strange way to get two zones, and it doesn't really give you the comfort of a proper installation.

BTW, in the end we decided to address the question of music in the living room, (home) office and kitchen differently. We got separate systems plus streaming. I'm posting this from my home office, listening to Couperin, using a Yamaha CD-NT70D through a Technics SA-GX180 and a pair of KEF 104aBs I bought in 1980. In the meantime my wife is listening to a talk program on the radio in the kitchen.
@Mark.Yudkin - thanks also for those links. I went Through some of the details and it is easy for those of us not familiar with the terminology to quickly get convoluted and confused!

I didn’t notice a measurement that discussed room dimensions in a specific calculation, but did find the SPL calculator interesting to play with and now I see it mentioned in speaker specifications I have a better understanding.

I’m now also looking at other speaker options because the idea of GoldenEar was the subwoofer in each speaker but in reality I would rather have a much better mid-to-top end sound than booming base…
 
I’m now also looking at other speaker options because the idea of GoldenEar was the subwoofer in each speaker but in reality I would rather have a much better mid-to-top end sound than booming base…
A decent speaker shouldn't have booming bass.

When dealing with A/B speaker switches, the issue is when you want to play A and B rather than A or B. First off you need to consider the total impedance. Here's a calculator where you can plug in the individual speakers' impedances. You need to ensure that the final impedance doesn't drop below the amplifier's abilities. Then you need to consider that different speakers have different sensitivity, so end up playing at different levels. A switch with volume control is a good workaround, but has its drawbacks if it's just resistor based. The easiest solution for addressing both requirements is an impedance matching speaker selector with volume control. They aren't exactly cheap, but something like the Russound SDB-2.1 or Russound SDB-4.1 should work well, and it's still cheaper than having multiple power amplifiers. Once you're using such a device, you don't need an A/B switch in the amplifier.

As I mentioned, we ended up with separate "systems". I used to have wires round the house (office, kitchen) driven from the central stereo. Fact was though that for the most part, we usually didn't want the same source playing everywhere, and went with the approach I mentioned. We do benefit from have a kitchen with its own door for the occasional conflict.

You may find it helpful to contact a company specializing in full home systems. They will come past and therefore see exactly what's involved and make suitable recommendations. They will also be able to assist with the installation, which in the case of a privately owned home (as opposed to rental) may well involve hidden wiring and the like.
 
A decent speaker shouldn't have booming bass.

When dealing with A/B speaker switches, the issue is when you want to play A and B rather than A or B. First off you need to consider the total impedance. Here's a calculator where you can plug in the individual speakers' impedances. You need to ensure that the final impedance doesn't drop below the amplifier's abilities. Then you need to consider that different speakers have different sensitivity, so end up playing at different levels. A switch with volume control is a good workaround, but has its drawbacks if it's just resistor based. The easiest solution for addressing both requirements is an impedance matching speaker selector with volume control. They aren't exactly cheap, but something like the Russound SDB-2.1 or Russound SDB-4.1 should work well, and it's still cheaper than having multiple power amplifiers. Once you're using such a device, you don't need an A/B switch in the amplifier.

As I mentioned, we ended up with separate "systems". I used to have wires round the house (office, kitchen) driven from the central stereo. Fact was though that for the most part, we usually didn't want the same source playing everywhere, and went with the approach I mentioned. We do benefit from have a kitchen with its own door for the occasional conflict.

You may find it helpful to contact a company specializing in full home systems. They will come past and therefore see exactly what's involved and make suitable recommendations. They will also be able to assist with the installation, which in the case of a privately owned home (as opposed to rental) may well involve hidden wiring and the like.
Thanks again for your feedback @Mark.Yudkin !!!

After reviewing our options and keeping in mind the pitfalls you raised here, I'm not going to be going the route of A/B speakers. It just seems too fraught with frustrations and potential overloads and/or volume problems. I don't want my future relationship with this system to be continually changing speaker assignments and worrying about volume inconsistencies from across the house!

The speaker wires for the kitchen/dining room speakers are terminating in the same area as the primary A/V system - there was no way to reserve an area for equipment in the kitchen directly that was acceptable to all members of the family. (i.e. wife wouldn't allow... smiles)

Since everything sound-related is going to be in one cabinet, to make the system as simple and as foolproof as possible for everyone to use, I'm thinking we will go the route of the NAD M10 V2 (100W per channel should be plenty? or maybe need a power amp?) and link speakers in the kitchen/dining room via a Bluesound NODE (those speakers would be powered by a simple amp). This is a bit more expensive, but since I had originally planned around $3k CAD for the receiver function we're not "too far" beyond budget. From my understanding of BluOS app these two units would share everything and provide easy access to volume and other controls through iPhone/iPad. What could be easier? :)


Now the fun begins: get somewhere and demo speakers for our main system!

I'll search the forums for ideas on speaker selection - my initial direction will be to look at towers because it doesn't seem bookshelf speakers (even on appropriate stands) will be sufficient for our large space. And we're still not likely to be getting a subwoofer - although I did find a "flattened" subwoofer (suggests it can be under cabinets) that caught my eye as an option: PSB CSIR SUB IN-ROOM SUBWOOFER which is 5 inches tall on it's side!

Looking at availability in our area, I've got a couple of tower speakers in mind in terms of size and look:

REVEL PERFORMA 3 F206 3-WAY FLOORSTANDING TOWER LOUDSPEAKER
TRIANGLE AUSTRALE EZ HIFI FLOOR STANDING SPEAKER


Thanks for all your help!
 
Perhaps you should post the speaker question on the "hi fi stereo speakers" forum?

Given the large space, you should look for speakers with a "high" sensitivity rating. I gave a link above that will help you determine SPL given distance, sensitivity and power. The Triangle you mentioned has a sensitivity of 92.5dB/W/m, the Rebel 88dB/W/m. For the same power and distance, the Triangle will yield 4.5dB more SPL. The GoldenEar is 91dB/W/m (3dB more than the Rebel).

Subwoofers can be well hidden, but unless you're into action films, having a subwoofer may not be critical.

Kitchens don't need lots of equipment, only the speakers need to be physically present, and they can be in-wall (or in-ceiling). The rest of the system can utilize your Wifi and be controlled by a smartphone. Perhaps you could take a look at what Sonos have to offer here (you said the Linn was over budget). The cabled solution with NAD + speakers will also work. As well as the NAD M10 you may wish to consider a NAD C399.

I always wonder when people say their wife won't allow it. I've had no problems finding solutions together with my wife. I do involve her at all stages and consider the aesthetics up front. Our main limiting factor is that we rent, so don't have a free hand for in-wall installations or cabling.
 
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