Living Room 5.1 Setup

NoviceHomeCinema

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Living Room 5.1 Setup

Long time lurker, require opinions about the below setup from forum members.

I am planning to setup a 5.1 system in my living room and add in a projector at sometime in the future and may be dolby atmos height speakers.

Current setup is Panasonic 42inch tv bought in 2013, no immediate plans to change it and a HTB20 soundbar with a sub woofer and it is sat on a corner table in the room.

Size of the room is 300cm x 370cm and ceiling is at 275cm, windows/door and radiators/dining room opening and only one side is the long wall.

I am planning to hang the tv on the longer wall and hang the Left and Right speakers bit far from the TV so that there is enough space for a 92" projector screen to drop down and the screen should not block the speakers and also leave enough space if I change to a larger tv in the future. Centre channel would be hung right under the TV and expect the projector screen should drop right above the centre speakers. It is a semi-detached property and this wall is the partition wall and plasterboard on top of the bricks. Need to think about how much would the neighbours hear from my system and this is going to limit the volume at which I use the system.

Surround Speakers will be hung on the back wall and the sofa is right against the wall, I understand this is not perfect setup for surrounds, I am happy to listen to any differing options.

As it is a living room, I can only get away with a slimline speakers system and it has to be wall mounted as I have kids and they can easily knock the speakers if on stand or on media unit and no in wall solutions, as BH will not approve it.

Main usage is watching movies/tv series at 80% time and 20% listening to music on youtube, no gaming needs. Media consumption is mainly via Fire TV Stick 4k, so I can set this up without a media unit in the living room and move the AVR to dining/or corner of the room where the tv currently sits.

Budget
Receiver: £500-700
Speakers: £800-1000 - Understand I may need to push bit higher due to wall hanging requirements.

Options considered so far:
Receiver: sony str-dh790, denon avr-x1700, denon avr-x2700, yamaha RXv4a, RXv6a
Speakers: KEF T205 & KEFT105 - I am not sure T205 would be too big for this room. I have considered MA Bronze FX surrounds but not sure whether they will go well with KEF T201 & 201C. Dali on-wall solution seems more costly than the KEF ones.
Other than the slim line options I have considered MA Bronze 50 5.1 systems and QAcoustics 3010i 5.1 systems.

Projector Options:
Projector Budget: £1000 for a short throw projector, can't afford UST's and no space for long throws.
Screen: £250 for electric screen
Not sure whether my living room space is enough to have a short throw projector and a drop down screen, as the viewing distance would be only 250-270cm, If the room is not big enough to have a projector setup I may choose to buy a 65" inch oled.

Thanks in advance.
 

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Options considered so far:
Receiver: sony str-dh790, denon avr-x1700, denon avr-x2700, yamaha RXv4a, RXv6a
Speakers: KEF T205 & KEFT105 - I am not sure T205 would be too big for this room. I have considered MA Bronze FX surrounds but not sure whether they will go well with KEF T201 & 201C. Dali on-wall solution seems more costly than the KEF ones.
Other than the slim line options I have considered MA Bronze 50 5.1 systems and QAcoustics 3010i 5.1 systems.
Either of the Denons before the Sony purely for better room EQ. Not listened to any of the new Yamahas but I would read through the owners' threads on here.

The KEF T Series, certainly the 205 would not be too big for your room. At around £1700 it's not a small investment for the 5.1 system but the sub in the package is not the best. Consider buying the speakers and the AV amp from the same dealer as it would be easier to secure a better deal.

To be honest none of the speakers you have mentioned would be a bad pick but the KEFs would the neater.

The FX speakers for surrounds would not be too much of an issue with the KEFs as front three. Although preferable to have the same manufacturer all around it a rule that's not written in stone and the room and seating position will more likely dictate where you can place the speakers.
 
Either of the Denons before the Sony purely for better room EQ. Not listened to any of the new Yamahas but I would read through the owners' threads on here.

The KEF T Series, certainly the 205 would not be too big for your room. At around £1700 it's not a small investment for the 5.1 system but the sub in the package is not the best. Consider buying the speakers and the AV amp from the same dealer as it would be easier to secure a better deal.

To be honest none of the speakers you have mentioned would be a bad pick but the KEFs would the neater.

The FX speakers for surrounds would not be too much of an issue with the KEFs as front three. Although preferable to have the same manufacturer all around it a rule that's not written in stone and the room and seating position will more likely dictate where you can place the speakers.
Thanks gibbsy for your comments.

I will drop the sony from the AVR list and I will go through Yamaha owner threads for the other two options. Take your point on the sub not good on the T205, I might do LCR using T301 & T301c and FX surrounds. Do you have any suggestions for the sub?

Thanks.
 
Thanks gibbsy for your comments.

I will drop the sony from the AVR list and I will go through Yamaha owner threads for the other two options. Take your point on the sub not good on the T205, I might do LCR using T301 & T301c and FX surrounds. Do you have any suggestions for the sub?

Thanks.
You'll not go far wrong with a sub from BK. I've not bought a sub for ten years, I have a small REL T5, so other will no doubt step in to help you.
 
You'll not go far wrong with a sub from BK. I've not bought a sub for ten years, I have a small REL T5, so other will no doubt step in to help you.
Thanks @gibbsy I will take a look at BK subs. Any comments on keeping FL & FR apart to have enough space for the projector screen to drop down? I did some measurements today and I think a 84inch screen will allow a comfortable viewing angle and that means FL & FR are separated by at least 195cm at minimum. Do the speakers needs to be separated any further to account for the fact that screen would be at least 25cm away from the wall but speakers will be only 3.5 cm from the wall.

Thanks.
 
You'll not go far wrong with a sub from BK. I've not bought a sub for ten years, I have a small REL T5, so other will no doubt step in to help you.
Also consider SVS, Arendal & Monolith for subs. These brands (like BK) will offer better performance than many of the subs you get in speaker packages.

There's no need to brand match the subs with the rest of your speakers. I personally use 2 SVS SB2000 Pro's in my setup. Great subs imo
 
. Do you have any suggestions for the sub?
Hi did you buy a new subwoofer? If not a Monoprice Monolith 10 THX would be a excellent option. £499 on the Monoprice UK online store but currently 22% off with their HAPPY22 new year discount code. Making it only £390 which is a amazing bargain at that price.
 
Thanks @Kingchin . I did see that yesterday on subwoofer forum and I was going to purchase that today, but HAPPY22 is no longer valid. I have not purchased anything so far.

I did bit more reading on slim line speakers and now moved away from KEF T Series and looking at the following options,

Option1: Monitor Audio Apex A40 X3 for LCR and MA Silver 6G FX Surrounds - 500*3 and 300 costing 1800 in total.

Option2: MK M70 X3 for LCR and M40T for surrounds - 500*3 and 729 costing total 2229. Not sure whether this setup can work with MA FX surrounds.

I have read the whole A40 owners thread & MK Sound speakers thread. M70 options does not have much review, but the A40 has lot of owners comments on AVF.

I am planning to use the Monolith 10 THX as a sub. My wife has no problems with the looks of the both options.

AVR - Options are Yamaha V6A, A4A or Denon x-3700H. I do not want to touch this setup for a while, hence preferring the Yamaha ones(as they are latest models) compared to Denon.

I have not listened to both the setups, will ring up this week to see if I can listen the above setup but not sure about MK setup.

@Gasp3621 , @Seriously Ltd and others, could you provide your comments.
 
Can I chip in on your deliberations about speakers, and in particular, your comments about concern over volume levels & neighbours.

That means you really want a system that wows you at lower listening levels - not something all speakers possess. So definitely check this when you go for a demo at any dealers.

I can heartily recommend the Monitor Audio Radius line. They’re compact, designed for wall mounting, and cheaper than MA Apex. I’ve owned both Apex & Radius combos and IMO, the Radius will perform better at lower to medium listening levels. The Radius tweeters are a little more snappy and dynamic, where the Apex are a little softer and rounded off, so you tend to have to turn the volume up a bit to appreciate their dynamics.

The Radius 90 x 4, a Radius 200 & a BK sub would be a cracking little system.

As far as rear speakers go, you have two options.
If you stuck with Radius 90 rear speakers, these are directional, so you would mount them on the rear wall a metre or two to the left and right of your listening position with the tweeters aiming at your listening position. Hope that makes sense.

If you went for dipoles like the Bronze FX, they would be mounted above your sofa, at approx ear height while standing, pretty much facing your front speakers.

I’ll include a pic of my own Silver FX to illustrate…

C73E87AF-C04A-4F93-90DB-754889DA6570.jpeg


This is the first time I’ve used dipoles and this works really well in a 5.1 set up. They give such a sense of scale and height that I feel no need at all for ceiling speakers. I never feel like they’re too localised: they provide a wide spacious soundstage.

In contrast, if I had directional speakers like the Radius 90, they would be mounted in each rear corner of the room, pointing at the seating area. I did have MA Apexes but I didn’t think they’d work so well in my case because my sofa went right into the corner, so I wanted more of a spread out wider sound.

I thought if I mounted the Apexes in the corner they would be too localised, especially if you were sat right underneath them. Directional speakers need to be a little distance away from the main listening position IMO. I did have that type of set up in my previous home because I didn’t have a corner sofa then, so the more directional speakers (Apex A10’s) worked fine.

Looking at your diagrams, like me, it seems that you might have a slightly off axis lopsided seating, so I do think dipoles would work better for you.
 
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Thanks @Kingchin . I did see that yesterday on subwoofer forum and I was going to purchase that today, but HAPPY22 is no longer valid. I have not purchased anything so far.

I did bit more reading on slim line speakers and now moved away from KEF T Series and looking at the following options,

Option1: Monitor Audio Apex A40 X3 for LCR and MA Silver 6G FX Surrounds - 500*3 and 300 costing 1800 in total.

Option2: MK M70 X3 for LCR and M40T for surrounds - 500*3 and 729 costing total 2229. Not sure whether this setup can work with MA FX surrounds.

I have read the whole A40 owners thread & MK Sound speakers thread. M70 options does not have much review, but the A40 has lot of owners comments on AVF.

I am planning to use the Monolith 10 THX as a sub. My wife has no problems with the looks of the both options.

AVR - Options are Yamaha V6A, A4A or Denon x-3700H. I do not want to touch this setup for a while, hence preferring the Yamaha ones(as they are latest models) compared to Denon.

I have not listened to both the setups, will ring up this week to see if I can listen the above setup but not sure about MK setup.

@Gasp3621 , @Seriously Ltd and others, could you provide your comments.

Contact Monoprice via email or call them and say you just missed the happy22 sale. Ask can they still sell it for you for that reduced price 399£? if you make the purchase right away. I`m fairly sure some member did this at some point. Won´t hurt to ask.

What is said for M&K MP7 should apply to M70 aswell as that model is new version of MP7, more refined here and there. I have read good stuff from M70s, not suprising though as M&K makes quality stuff. AV-Online, Cinehome UK and Seriously LTD from forum advertisers sells them, then there is few more if you google. Check if any of those would be local so you can book demo and listen. Forum advertisers might be able to do a package deal for AVF member.

Another vote for the Silver FX type speakers Roku showed as you got couch against wall. They are actually on heavy sale now (6G). Definitely option if you want the M&K speakers (LCR), but feel the surrounds cost too much at 799£ (M40T) vs. 299-339£ for Silver FX which were 500-550£ new and should be offer similar quality to M&K. Tonally different but how much it would matter (for effects) after you have run receivers setup matching speakers levels, applied some eq. This is topic where you going to get different answers. If it would be non compromise dedicated room then everything matching no doubt, but for most folks in lounge with kids shouting and wife screaming to turn volume down i`m not sure it would become issue (mixing brands) especially if you would choose high quality (build/performance) speakers to keep up with the LCR. Silver FXs will surely do that. It will be up to you and perhaps depending what kind of deal you can get for full M&K setup.

One strong option would be the Arendal 1961 Monitors, Centre and Surrounds which are fairly similar to M70, but slightly larger 5,5" drivers and 15cm (18,5cm surround) depth with sealed cabs. They would surely give tough time for M&K or any other brand at this size/price range.

As for the receiver forget the V6A. Concentrate on Yamaha RX-A4A if you feel 7.2 receiver will be enough for future. It can do 7.2 or 5.2.2 (one pair of atmos speakers) where as Denon X3700H will do 5.2.4/7.2.2 out of box and 7.2.4 with 2ch poweramp. Yamaha has all hdmi ports the new 2.1 8K where as Denon has one input of 8K and the rest support some of the 2.1 features. But Yamaha still haven´t got the update to get the 2.1 features working. Mainly these are for gamers as 8K tv`s are distant dream. I think most people would agree Denon has slightly better room correction with dual sub eq (individual) over Yamaha, but Yamaha will still sound good! While the model is new i would say it will sound very similar if not same as to A1080 which was reviewed by AVF. Yamaha shines usually on build quality and they give 5year warranty, with Denon you get 2years unless you buy it from Richer Sounds which gives 6year warranty. I have owned 3 Yamahas and never ever have they failed on me. You really can´t go wrong with either product. The Yamaha price is bit harder to swallow though, not sure is there any air.

Here is the review which should apply to A4A closely and notice the editor used M&K S150 speakers with it.


PS. If you book demo time ask them to use either X3700H or A4A which ever you are leaning toward. The room will be different, but at least one variable less if you get the amp you going to have at home.
 
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I can heartily recommend the Monitor Audio Radius line. They’re compact, designed for wall mounting, and cheaper than MA Apex. I’ve owned both Apex & Radius combos and IMO, the Radius will perform better at lower to medium listening levels. The Radius tweeters are a little more snappy and dynamic, where the Apex are a little softer and rounded off, so you tend to have to turn the volume up a bit to appreciate their dynamics.

The Radius 90 x 4, a Radius 200 & a BK sub would be a cracking little system.

Looking at your diagrams, like me, it seems that you might have a slightly off axis lopsided seating, so I do think dipoles would work better for you.
Thanks for the comments and the pic @Hoku. One thing I can't get it approved by wife is anything other than 10cm in depth, so radius range would not be an option. I agree with you on the surrounds, my sofa would be in the corner like yours hence I was leaning towards the MA FX.
 
Contact Monoprice via email or call them and say you just missed the happy22 sale. Ask can they still sell it for you for that reduced price 399£? if you make the purchase right away. I`m fairly sure some member did this at some point. Won´t hurt to ask.

What is said for M&K MP7 should apply to M70 aswell as that model is new version of MP7, more refined here and there. I have read good stuff from M70s, not suprising though as M&K makes quality stuff. AV-Online, Cinehome UK and Seriously LTD from forum advertisers sells them, then there is few more if you google. Check if any of those would be local so you can book demo and listen. Forum advertisers might be able to do a package deal for AVF member.

Another vote for the Silver FX type speakers Roku showed as you got couch against wall. They are actually on heavy sale now (6G). Definitely option if you want the M&K speakers (LCR), but feel the surrounds cost too much at 799£ (M40T) vs. 299-339£ for Silver FX which were 500-550£ new and should be offer similar quality to M&K. Tonally different but how much it would matter (for effects) after you have run receivers setup matching speakers levels, applied some eq. This is topic where you going to get different answers. If it would be non compromise dedicated room then everything matching no doubt, but for most folks in lounge with kids shouting and wife screaming to turn volume down i`m not sure it would become issue (mixing brands) especially if you would choose high quality (build/performance) speakers to keep up with the LCR. Silver FXs will surely do that. It will be up to you and perhaps depending what kind of deal you can get for full M&K setup.

As for the receiver forget the V6A. Concentrate on Yamaha RX-A4A if you feel 7.2 receiver will be enough for future. It can do 7.2 or 5.2.2 (one pair of atmos speakers) where as Denon X3700H will do 5.2.4/7.2.2 out of box and 7.2.4 with 2ch poweramp. Yamaha has all hdmi ports the new 2.1 8K where as Denon has one input of 8K and the rest support some of the 2.1 features. But Yamaha still haven´t got the update to get the 2.1 features working. Mainly these are for gamers as 8K tv`s are distant dream. I think most people would agree Denon has slightly better room correction with dual sub eq (individual) over Yamaha, but Yamaha will still sound good! While the model is new i would say it will sound very similar if not same as to A1080 which was reviewed by AVF. Yamaha shines usually on build quality and they give 5year warranty, with Denon you get 2years unless you buy it from Richer Sounds which gives 6year warranty. I have owned 3 Yamahas and never ever have they failed on me. You really can´t go wrong with either product. The Yamaha price is bit harder to swallow though, not sure is there any air.

Here is the review which should apply to A4A closely and notice the editor used M&K S150 speakers with it.
I will email them and check if they agree to sell at discounted price, otherwise I was going to look at SB1000 or BK ones.

I am going to contact the av forum advertisers and see what deal they can do on a MK package and based on that I may decide whether to get M40T or MA Silver FX.

Arendal looks nice but the depth of 15CM and 18.5CM on surrounds is not going to work for my lounge and can't get my wife to approve this.

On receiver, I moving towards RX-A4A, the max I may go is 5.2.1 setup but will start with a 5.1 system.

Thanks for the detailed comments and advice.
 
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Thanks for the comments and the pic @Hoku. One thing I can't get it approved by wife is anything other than 10cm in depth, so radius range would not be an option. I agree with you on the surrounds, my sofa would be in the corner like yours hence I was leaning towards the MA FX.
If they need to be that flat, maybe MA Soundframe speakers would work for the front three? I’ve not heard these though, so can’t really comment on their performance.
 
If they need to be that flat, maybe MA Soundframe speakers would work for the front three? I’ve not heard these though, so can’t really comment on their performance.
Thanks @Hoku I started this search from KEF T series and MA Soundframe 2 speakers, and the more I read about these speakers on the forum came to the conclusion that APEX A40 is much better that these two. I then stumbled upon MK M70 speakers, hence these two options(A40 and M70) at the moment.
 
@NoviceHomeCinema Just to throw another option in there....If you are open to used speakers - I'm selling my MP950/M40T - less than 2 years old for £2150 exc delivery. The remaining 8 year warranty would be transferred. Current package price would be circa £3,500 and meets your depth requirements.

MP950s are a step up from the M70 speaker.

Used them with Yamaha RXA 3070 and were fantastic.
 
@NoviceHomeCinema Just to throw another option in there....If you are open to used speakers - I'm selling my MP950/M40T - less than 2 years old for £2150 exc delivery. The remaining 8 year warranty would be transferred. Current package price would be circa £3,500 and meets your depth requirements.

MP950s are a step up from the M70 speaker.

Used them with Yamaha RXA 3070 and were fantastic.
You can directly link your ad as it is in our classifieds.
 
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Thread resurrection, purely in the (nosy 😂😉) interest of seeing what - if anything - you decided on @NoviceHomeCinema
 

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