Question Need to upgrade after 15 years - 2k budget

OldSkoO1

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I've had a Sony HTAS5 for about 15 years and admit I have no clue about tech these days. I just want to upgrade and I want compatibility with all the latest and possibly future compatibility. I also want ATMOS too.

My room is a dinning room turned into a sitting room that I have my good TV in. Its small, the seating area with the TV is just 9ft by 9ft. The total room is 9ft by 12ft but the seating area is like a box as shown here:

IMG_16Jan2021at154303.jpg


I've seen this : Denon AVC-X3700H Amplifier with Monitor Audio Bronze 200 AV Speaker Pack

Denon x3700h
MA 200 with ATMOS

Would this work ok in this small room? Or should I look elsewhere or anything I should know about.

I would like to put the surround speakers on the wall, you can see in my image, the small Sony speakers are on the wall but they are tiny compared the ones I will buy.

I still need to figure out if these new speakers will work positioned as you can see, i.e. close to side wall etc. I will need new cable too.

Should I put the surrounds at ear height (similar as shown above) or go higher when paired with ATMOS? And do the ATMOS go onto of the floor standing speakers at the front?

Thanks
 
If you have a £2k budget, I would personally go for quality smaller speakers than larger speakers. Small bookshelves would work. The Monitor Audio Silver range would be better quality. Silver 50, Silver c150 centre, bronze atmos modules and bronze surrounds would be within budget.

Also consider the Mission QX range. the new LX mk 2 range, Wharfedale Diamond 12 range and Fyne Audio F300 range, all within budget.



 
I've had a Sony HTAS5 for about 15 years and admit I have no clue about tech these days. I just want to upgrade and I want compatibility with all the latest and possibly future compatibility. I also want ATMOS too.

My room is a dinning room turned into a sitting room that I have my good TV in. Its small, the seating area with the TV is just 9ft by 9ft. The total room is 9ft by 12ft but the seating area is like a box as shown here:

IMG_16Jan2021at154303.jpg


I've seen this : Denon AVC-X3700H Amplifier with Monitor Audio Bronze 200 AV Speaker Pack

Denon x3700h
MA 200 with ATMOS

Would this work ok in this small room? Or should I look elsewhere or anything I should know about.

I would like to put the surround speakers on the wall, you can see in my image, the small Sony speakers are on the wall but they are tiny compared the ones I will buy.

I still need to figure out if these new speakers will work positioned as you can see, i.e. close to side wall etc. I will need new cable too.

Should I put the surrounds at ear height (similar as shown above) or go higher when paired with ATMOS? And do the ATMOS go onto of the floor standing speakers at the front?

Thanks

The FX speakers wall mounted need little space around 1feet minium to next wall so it´s bit tricky. If you can move/remove those pictures on rear wall then perhaps.. And around seated ear height for the surround speakers. Not ideal as you sit so close but nothing much you can do about it, pushing couch forward is likely not option.

Bronze 200 are very slim and can work in smaller space (still not optimal) as you aren´t driving them full range either, but you could also save by going with the 50 model and pick some cheap stands around 50£/pair. Then put the saved money in to better subwoofer so you get much more enjoyable movie system. You can buy any bundle package without subwoofer, i would ask how much they drop away. If you can approx 500£ you get something better than any of these package woofers offer. But that would mean buying atmos speakers later as that 2k£ budget is eaten fast.

Do you meet these requirements for the atmos upfiring? At least you are sitting close to them so they should work fine and yes they go on top of your main l/r speakers.

For optimal performance, the ceiling should be flat (not angled or vaulted), with a height between 7.5 and 14 feet (2.3 to 4.3 meters), and made of an acoustically reflective material (drywall, plaster, hardwood, or another rigid, non---sound-absorbing material).

The bundle deals include all cables, bit more expensive ones than typically which is special but yeah further saving..
 
Thanks guys

I'll check out the mission speakers now. I'm going to measure the distance but I think I do have 1foot at least from the side wall, the photo compresses the perspective a little.

My ceiling is also and meets the criteria. Just simple plaster ceiling and flat.

Is the 3700h with either the MA or Mission speakers a significant upgrade for me, could I get anything much better still for slightly more outlay? I like the fact that Peter Tyson deal bundles the amp for not much more.
 
There are alternatives from the likes of Q Acoustics 3000i and Concept ranges and Fyne Audio f300 range (also sold at PT) but unfortunately they dont do matching atmos modules. You could use small speakers or small bookshelves if wall mounting up high (above the front left and right) is feasible.

Q Acoustics are deep and need space. From my experience Monitor Audio aren't as sensitive to being close to a wall. I used to have a pair of Mission LX (mark 1) and they weren't boomy close to a wall.
 
Is the 3700h with either the MA or Mission speakers a significant upgrade for me, could I get anything much better still for slightly more outlay? I like the fact that Peter Tyson deal bundles the amp for not much more.
If you don't need the extra channels, the 2700 would be adequate sound quality, allowing you more budget for speakers and sub many members are satisfied with the 2X00 series. However the 3700 should be better sound quality.

The old Mission LX (mark 1) worked well with alsorts of amp and not fussy. Whichever amp/ speakers you go for im sure they'll be an upgrade.
 
Thanks guys

I'll check out the mission speakers now. I'm going to measure the distance but I think I do have 1foot at least from the side wall, the photo compresses the perspective a little.

My ceiling is also and meets the criteria. Just simple plaster ceiling and flat.

Is the 3700h with either the MA or Mission speakers a significant upgrade for me, could I get anything much better still for slightly more outlay? I like the fact that Peter Tyson deal bundles the amp for not much more.

If you go with regular bookshelfs as surround sides they are going to be shouting your ears few cm away, so ideally the FX (bipole) or the Mission QX (bulkier?) wall mounted. If you place the surround speakers high up then it´s battling with Atmos as both effects come from high, not ideal.

X3700H offers one of the best features/performance/channel count/processing for the price. If you have more money to spend then pick better quality front three speakers like mentioned earlier. So LCR from higher range and surrounds from lower, example Silver & Bronze for MAs. Or just use the extra money to better sub which is going to push the whole system another level if you watch lot of action/scifi/horror with decent volume! The package subs are extension limited and the bass quality not there with the specialized manufacturers. Normally 500£ is the minium/start up level for quality stuff with woofers. BK Electronics offers good pricing via internet direct business model, but not the latest design/ long warranty etc.
 
'I just want to upgrade and I want compatibility with all the latest and possibly future compatibility' - don't we all :)

Atmos - ideally you keep some separation between the Overhead and Surround channels so the Surround speakers tend to end up lower on the wall than they would be in a non-Immersive setup.

'a significant upgrade for me' - that gets tricky to quantify. You could make a decent upgrade to your current Amp/Speaker system with your indicated budget and stick with 5.1 or, as you are discussing, consider 5.1.2 but that means spreading the budget over more channels.

Less can often be more and consider how much of what you watch will benefit from the overhead channels vs. making a more obvious upgrade the the Front LCR (where 90% of what you listen to happens).

Joe
 
thanks again all

I did investigate changing the front L and R to silver 200's and I got a price for this swap. It was an extra £450 and I'm sure most if not all of you on here would have gone for that.

On balance, I stuck with the Bundle. Denon X3700H and MA Bronze 5.1 200 + Gen 6 FX + Atmos etc.

I stuck with this because reading the reviews of the latest bronze package, the vast majority of editorial and user reviews were glowing and I ended up with specification procrastination.

I got to the point where I realised, whether I swapped out for the silver front's or not, I'd be happy and that it Is going to be a huge upgrade for me. I will probably not critic the setup too much. I'll be happy in the knowledge that its 80% bad ass. If that makes sense!

Remember my baseline and everyday experience with 5.1 is a Sony all in one from 2007 ish that cost £800 back then. Surely the only way is up.
 
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