Speakers

philgv8

Novice Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2020
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
26
Age
75
Location
Beccles, UK
I guess this is another 'what speakers shall I buy' thread, so apologies, but I am confused!

The background is I have an old set of Gale 5.1 on a Yamaha RXV-675. I recently moved into my Barn, with half timbered walls, a galleried ceiling, and carpeted floor. My lounge is roughly 6m by 6m, with my TV (65" Panasonic) in a corner around 4.5m from my seating position. TV sound is ok although dialogue is blurred, music is mediocre with the front speakers inadequate and sub-woofer all over the place. The system has been fine in a much smaller space, but no more.

Having looked at a new speaker package as this is the weakest link I want to keep the surrounds discrete but increase the physical size of the centre and fronts and am thinking of keeping four of my Gales and going for 7.1, and just replacing the 3.1 set at the front, thereby improving the surround sound whilst concentrating on dialogue and music from the front. Is my thinking logical here?

My budget is up to £1k, with Q Acoustics, Dali Spektor, Elac Debut and Klipsch on the shortlist. Favourites are Klipsch (seduced by the copper aesthetics - the wrong reason!) and Elac. Favoured supplier would be Richer Sounds, dependant on availability. Available space dictates book shelf speakers on low stands either side of the TV at low level, and a centre speaker over the TV. Sub-woofer at the front, but if too large might have to go on the rear wall? I also notice most speakers have bass units in the rear, presumably to reflect off the rear wall - I don't have a conventional rear wall so should I go for a front facing bass?

Any input gratefully received :thumbsup:
 
My lounge is roughly 6m by 6m, with my TV (65" Panasonic) in a corner around 4.5m from my seating position. TV sound is ok although dialogue is blurred, music is mediocre with the front speakers inadequate and sub-woofer all over the place. The system has been fine in a much smaller space, but no more.

The corner location for tv is not ideal as usually people won´t have the couch opposite to it and also squeezing the front three very close together. If there is option to swap the order of room then do that. Look the link below to see how it would look like if you could optimize the speaker placement. Oh and post some pictures here / floorplan if you can and tell us can you do some changes. You shouldn´t have couch against wall if you going to have 7.1 system, people prefer to push them about ~1meter behind listener. Preferably the surround sides wouldn´t be too close to listener either.

 
Thanks your reply.
The corner position is fixed due to the room layout, but the couch is directly in front of the TV and has around 2m behind it. I have already wired the four side / rear surround speakers during the build so the positioning is already ideal.
The question really revolves around upgrading the 3.1 speakers in front.
 
That´s nice to hear! Ideally it would look something like this with the surround backs further back.

ht-speaker-arrangement-corner-set-up-jpg.11607



You know it´s so hard to know which type of sound one likes. Q Acoustics is quite neutral and easy choice for many, but the same time it could be bit boring to others who fancy the extra spark from Dalis or Monitor Audio. Elac Debut 2.0 is quite new in UK, but coming from Andrew Jones they have got lot of praise. Very popular in US! It´s nice to see they also offer larger center channel. The Klipsch Reference range is cheaper one and not really on same level to few others if judging objective measurements. The better stuff with Klipsch starts with Reference Premiere (RP) range, but sadly the UK pricing is rather high making them less competetive. The difference is cheaper cabinet/build quality, audio crossover parts/design, aluminum tweeter vs. titanium on RP range which is smoother where as the R-range can be on harsh side to some people. So if you fancy Klipsch it would be RP-600M and RP-600C i would be looking then, but with your budget if you want new sub too.. But Elac Debut 6.2 and C6.2 would be 600£ total making them better deal and with front port design they would work slightly better if you have to keep them closer to walls. If you do blind buy use Amazon so you have return option, not sure about Richer Sounds.
 
Thanks for your thoughts.
After much debate I have just ordered the Elac Debut, C5.2 centre, B6.2 front and a S10.2 Sub. Richer Sounds are local to me and have a 2 year warranty on the Sub and 6 years on the speakers. Plus under budget at £767.
 
Thanks for your thoughts.
After much debate I have just ordered the Elac Debut, C5.2 centre, B6.2 front and a S10.2 Sub. Richer Sounds are local to me and have a 2 year warranty on the Sub and 6 years on the speakers. Plus under budget at £767.

Would the C6.2 been too large? If not, then swap it if you can still. Center channel is one of the most active speaker in your system and you should always pick the best available. I think it would have been perfect choice with 6.2 as it shares identical drivers, but if too large then C5.2 .

I think you would have got something better for the subwoofer as there is no need for matching, but that would have meant spending more and larger cabinet.
 
I considered the C6.2 but it is all a balance of gain versus cost. Given it is replacing a double 2" Gale that is 14 years old I am hopeful of a dramatic improvement without spending too much.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom