Home theatre speaker help

JDS78

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Guys, new to the site and looking for a little help:

I am currently looking to add some speakers to my new home theatre setup. My budget is a little over 4k US for speakers. I have already purchesed a new Denon 4000 AVR (got a good deal on it)

My room is about 13.5 feet by 19 feet. My main usage will be Movie and sport watching, some music. Im not overally concerened with 5.1 as I have probably convinced myself Left, Right and Center are most important.

I have kind of been looking at the B&W CM9 with matching center. A couple of questions.

1. Is this to much speaker for this size of room
2. Better options
3. Agree on the setup vs 5.1

anything else anyone would want to add is greatly appreciated.
 
Do you intend to go to 5.1 in the future or stick with a 3.0 system? $4k is a good budget for the speakers and consistent with getting a complimentary 5.1 speaker set that would match your receiver nicely.
Now the front 3 speakers are important as they take around 80% of the total sound output so if you had to cut corners on these to afford a 5.1 set then this would not be a great idea. However, a sub does add a fair amount of atmosphere to movies and even some of the largest floorstanders will not produce the same level of bass as a reasonable sub. Also by taking the heavy load from the other speakers and giving it to the sub you can clear up the mid range and hence improve overall sound quality of your system. The rear speakers then give you the surround effect and immersive sound hence although they only take a small amount of the total sound they are still important for that movie effect.
Hence if you getting the front 3 now and then getting the rest a little later then that should be OK but your budget should allow you to get a full 5.1 system without compromising on sound quality from your receiver.
Your room is not massive but not small either. Speakers in general do not like being put in the corner of a room and in general this is worse with floorstanders where you can get a very boomy bass. The centre will also not sound its best in or on a cabinet and should either be wall mounted or on its own speaker stand. You can have the best speakers in the world with the best amps but if you put them in lousy positions you will still have a lousy sound.
Speakers that often get recommended for Denon receivers include Monitor Audion, Mission and Morduant Short. But could also look at Kef, Focal or JBL as other good candidates.
 
PSM - Thanks for the thoughts. I do intent to go to 5.1 and maybe start off that way if it works out. Curious, do you feel B&W Speakers are not a good fit for the Dennon reciever? Im not against the others but living in Oklahoma City, I find very few options for Home theatre. Most everyone carries B&W for a premium brand. I have seen a few locals places with Kef but nothing on the others.

Also, do you have an opinion on which of these are best for movie/sports viewing vs music listening as my main foucs will be on the movie/sports viewing
 
B&W are a good brand so no need to worry there but they may not be the best speaker for your personal preferences in sound. This is why you should try to listen to a few different options so that you can pick the best for you. B&W should also work well with a Denon receiver.
Kef are also a well respected speaker make with lots of very happy owners although on a personal level I have never been that impressed with them and find something like Focal better for the money. This is my personal preference and hence someone else may think Kef is better than Focal. This is why going for a demo is important. This is a mainly UK based forum hence there will be speakers available to you that may not be available here. Also prices will be different since some of the brands mentioned will have to be imported into the states which may mean a more local brand is going to be better value for money for you than say B&W.
 
I think it depends on which wall the system is on. If on the narrow wall then perhaps some larger speakers, but if the system is on the broad wall playing into the narrow space, then perhaps smaller speakers are in order.

You can start with a 3.0 system and floorstanding speakers will have very good bass. However, if this is a primarily movie system, then eventually you will want a Subwoofer to get the best out of movie tracks. That might depend on where you live though. If you live in an apartment, then the bass might be too intense for your neighbors, but if you live in a house or a very solidly constructed apartment, then that will not be a problem.

As to the rear/side surround speakers, they area generally smaller and not that expensive. Add them or don't add them as you wish, though they do add to the immersive effect of the movie track. To some extent it depends on the available space and the limitation of mounting the speakers.

Steve/bluewizard
 

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