Hi guys, I want to set up a home theater system in my home actually i want to buy a 5.0 (dali lektor 6 set) but then the place where i will set up changed and now i will put the sytem in a smaller room so what should I buy. 2.1 (with sub) or 2 tower and a center i could not decide. I will mostly use for films and also i will buy a reciver (x2000 denon) can you help me about the sutiable configuration i can reach dali, polk audio, q acoustics wharfedale and magnat products. The budget will be 1.200-1.300 $. Thank you in advance.
2.1 or 3.0 Home Cinema System (Help Needed)?
- Thread starter fsmdrphed
- Start date
bigboss
Moderator
Hi there.
How small and restricted is the room the set up is going in. You can still enjoy surround sound with small satelites in a small room. If you think the room can take a sub then why not surrounds. Surround can go either side of you or behind you and still give you the same effect.
If need be they could even go slightly infront of you but pointed towards slightly behind/past your ears with an extended delay and i'm sure you would still get surroundsound.
Otherwise. Yeah why not 3.1? As BB said
How small and restricted is the room the set up is going in. You can still enjoy surround sound with small satelites in a small room. If you think the room can take a sub then why not surrounds. Surround can go either side of you or behind you and still give you the same effect.
If need be they could even go slightly infront of you but pointed towards slightly behind/past your ears with an extended delay and i'm sure you would still get surroundsound.
Otherwise. Yeah why not 3.1? As BB said
Glacialpath said:
Thanks for the response, i think the budget is not enough to afford a sub, if it is possible which brand and combination do you recommend.
i believe also the sub should be in the system but with this budget it is not so possible to get a effective sub and 3 speakers. I am really very new to this subject so please forgive me can I set up a 3.1 with this budget and if yes which speaker set is for me thanks....
Others probably won't agree with me here, but you should have plenty of bass with a pair of floorstanders and a centre speaker, so I personally wouldn't bother with a sub for now.
From my experience, I found that my sub was only kicking in on occasions, so in the end I decided to not bother with it. I only have a pair of bookshelf speakers at the front, and I don't feel I'm lacking in bass, so a good pair of floorstanders should be absolutely fine.
When finances allow, add the sub later on if you feel you need the extra bass.
From my experience, I found that my sub was only kicking in on occasions, so in the end I decided to not bother with it. I only have a pair of bookshelf speakers at the front, and I don't feel I'm lacking in bass, so a good pair of floorstanders should be absolutely fine.
When finances allow, add the sub later on if you feel you need the extra bass.
BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW said:
I thought the same way as you do. What do you think about the configuration of Dali Zensor 5 or Lektor 6 with its center speaker is suitable for the moment
fsmdrphed said:
I wouldn't want to push you towards a speaker set up that I haven't heard, and I haven't heard either of those sets of floorstanders. I do have the Zensor 3s, and I like them a great deal, so I would expect the Zensor 5 to be a very good speaker, but I can't say for certain.
What I will do is recommend that you go to a decent hi-fi retailer (Richer Sounds, Sevenoaks, or a good local dealer), tell them what you want, what you want to achieve, and how much you have got to spend, and ask them if you can audition some speaker/receiver combinations.
A surround set up can always be added to. If between $1200-$1300 is your budget then you have to think how high up the chain you want to go when it comes to the quality of your fronts to ditermin the budget fot the rest. For that money you could easily get a 5.1 speaker package and a pretty goo one as you don't need the AVR.
I would go to your local dealer, tell them your budget and ask to demo some 5.1 one packages from say all speakers are small satellites + sub, to bookshelf fronts (L,C,R) with small rears +sub, to all bookshelf and a sub to a pair of floor standers with matching canter and bookshelf rears or small rears + sub.
Of course you need to factor in cable too whcih as you know should be quite thick gage.
As you may know the .1 is a dedicated low frequency effect channel in the movie soundtrack. I you don't have a sub you won't hear it correctly evenin if your fronts can reach quite low. With a big LFE moment to soundtrack may appear to dip because there is not enough bandwidth for it to be heard properly.
However as I mentioned. Surround setups can be added too.
Start with your 3.0 The fronts and center must be the same brand for best effect. Then when budget pemits get yourself some nice little/large surrounds then add the sub at a later date.
Only having 3.0 or even 3.1 you are still pushing the audio in the rear channels though the fronts. They don't just not play. THis is downmix. and if you also don't have a sub. some of what was meant for the sub will come through the fronts too or just not be heard at all.
Granted a sub is not in use 100% of the time. If it is then your set up is wrong. If even less so then I would imagine the set up is also wrong. It's not just explosions that get mixed into the LFE channel. Even atmospherics can be added in. the Sub woofer is there to ad Weight to the soundtrack. Without one you won't get the full effect intended of the sound mix.
All up to you of course. Sorry but I'm not right for suggesting brands throug I have heard a lot. Its personal choice at the end of the day. I currently use Mordaunt-Short fronts L,C,R and JVC satellites for my surround and surround back channels. I'de like to have Monitor Audio. Dali's are new to me and I haven't really heard any. Lots of other like them so I guess they are good.
Hope that helps.
GP
I would go to your local dealer, tell them your budget and ask to demo some 5.1 one packages from say all speakers are small satellites + sub, to bookshelf fronts (L,C,R) with small rears +sub, to all bookshelf and a sub to a pair of floor standers with matching canter and bookshelf rears or small rears + sub.
Of course you need to factor in cable too whcih as you know should be quite thick gage.
As you may know the .1 is a dedicated low frequency effect channel in the movie soundtrack. I you don't have a sub you won't hear it correctly evenin if your fronts can reach quite low. With a big LFE moment to soundtrack may appear to dip because there is not enough bandwidth for it to be heard properly.
However as I mentioned. Surround setups can be added too.
Start with your 3.0 The fronts and center must be the same brand for best effect. Then when budget pemits get yourself some nice little/large surrounds then add the sub at a later date.
Only having 3.0 or even 3.1 you are still pushing the audio in the rear channels though the fronts. They don't just not play. THis is downmix. and if you also don't have a sub. some of what was meant for the sub will come through the fronts too or just not be heard at all.
Granted a sub is not in use 100% of the time. If it is then your set up is wrong. If even less so then I would imagine the set up is also wrong. It's not just explosions that get mixed into the LFE channel. Even atmospherics can be added in. the Sub woofer is there to ad Weight to the soundtrack. Without one you won't get the full effect intended of the sound mix.
All up to you of course. Sorry but I'm not right for suggesting brands throug I have heard a lot. Its personal choice at the end of the day. I currently use Mordaunt-Short fronts L,C,R and JVC satellites for my surround and surround back channels. I'de like to have Monitor Audio. Dali's are new to me and I haven't really heard any. Lots of other like them so I guess they are good.
Hope that helps.
GP
bigboss
Moderator
steve_1979
Well-known member
Thank you so much for your detailed answer i will start with fronts and the center then i will add surround and the bassGlacialpath said:
Unless you are the only one watching, I find that the centre speaker is the most important. It ties the speech to the centre of the TV. Off axis viewing is unnatural without it.
The sub also is extremely important.
Personally, depending on your budget I would go for smaller (and presumably cheaper) front speakers and include the sub.
You mention the Lektor 6 5.1 system. That uses Lektor 6 for fronts. I would swap to Lektor 2s, a Lektor LCR and a decent sub. You "could" go for the Dali sub, but you'll get better value from BK or SVS.
Then you set the fronts to "small" on the AV amp (something I prefer to do myself even with floorstanders - I was running a 3.1 system with Ikon 6 fronts, Ikon vokal 2 centre and sub and always preferred to let the sub do the grunt work).
IMO, unless you have serious money for huge front speakers then they can't keep up with the low bass in films. I found the Ikon 6s were fine with most (not all) music in this regard, but struggled with proper AV. Setting them to small and letting my sub do the work was much better.
However, saying all that, you may want to get the best you can now and save for later...in which case, go for the 3.0 with the floorstanders.
But there is nothing in an AV system quite so satisfying as when a sequence with proper, deep, rumbling bass starts to shake the room and you feel it in your guts!
(You will not get that from a pair of £600 floorstanders)
The sub also is extremely important.
Personally, depending on your budget I would go for smaller (and presumably cheaper) front speakers and include the sub.
You mention the Lektor 6 5.1 system. That uses Lektor 6 for fronts. I would swap to Lektor 2s, a Lektor LCR and a decent sub. You "could" go for the Dali sub, but you'll get better value from BK or SVS.
Then you set the fronts to "small" on the AV amp (something I prefer to do myself even with floorstanders - I was running a 3.1 system with Ikon 6 fronts, Ikon vokal 2 centre and sub and always preferred to let the sub do the grunt work).
IMO, unless you have serious money for huge front speakers then they can't keep up with the low bass in films. I found the Ikon 6s were fine with most (not all) music in this regard, but struggled with proper AV. Setting them to small and letting my sub do the work was much better.
However, saying all that, you may want to get the best you can now and save for later...in which case, go for the 3.0 with the floorstanders.
But there is nothing in an AV system quite so satisfying as when a sequence with proper, deep, rumbling bass starts to shake the room and you feel it in your guts!(You will not get that from a pair of £600 floorstanders)
jonathanRD
Well-known member
fsmdrphed - you've had some very good advice so far.
When I started my home cinema system, I went for a 3.0 first - I decided on the 'quality/level' of system and brand/model and knew that I could not afford it all straight away so accepted that it would take me at least a year to complete the set up. I went from 3.0 to 5.0 to 5.1, getting the BK sub last as it was the most expensive. The point about choosing the 'level' you want is that although it takes you longer to complete the setup. you are much less likely to want to quickly upgrade, than if you went for a cheaper/lower quality system.
Also in your smaller room, have you considered speaker placement - some thought might be needed to determine whether floorstanders or standmounts might suit better. As others have already said, a pair of standmounts (set as small) with matching centre, will work nicely with a sub.
When I started my home cinema system, I went for a 3.0 first - I decided on the 'quality/level' of system and brand/model and knew that I could not afford it all straight away so accepted that it would take me at least a year to complete the set up. I went from 3.0 to 5.0 to 5.1, getting the BK sub last as it was the most expensive. The point about choosing the 'level' you want is that although it takes you longer to complete the setup. you are much less likely to want to quickly upgrade, than if you went for a cheaper/lower quality system.
Also in your smaller room, have you considered speaker placement - some thought might be needed to determine whether floorstanders or standmounts might suit better. As others have already said, a pair of standmounts (set as small) with matching centre, will work nicely with a sub.
I think i might be a little late to the party hear but why not go the hole hog great deals can be had. I take it your from the states as your/we're talking dollars (apologize if not).
This site has great deals on whole packs within budget.
here is just one of there hand pickerd bundle which include cable as well!!!! they have hundreds to suite everyone buget.
http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-cinema/home-cinema-bundles/yamaha-rx-v377-w-q2000i-5-1.html
and as you where after the dail zensor pack here is one with a pioneer amp (pioneer is what would be looking at to go with dail, they go together really well) its a fare bit over budget if your talking dollars
http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-cinema/home-cinema-bundles/pioneer-vsx-924-w-dali-zensor-1.html
To be honest to really notice any difference in sound quality over these you will have to be speanding around 2k if not a little more (as this is down from £1200 and 1600) there are cheaper packs but i dont know if they ship abroad or not. But do your reseach and you will be suprised what you find.
And if you really want to go cheap (my wifes dad has this and it sounds awsome for the money) you can get the pioneer one box amp and speaker solution for £199 it has everything you need to get going in the box.
http://www.richersounds.com//common/productpictures/311242.jpg
Then you can save and add better speakers when you have the money though the 2 packs from exceptional av are awsome.
In my experiance a good sub sat system can sound just as good as full sized speakers allowing you to keep most of your room as the speakers are small. let the subwoofer do what it supposed to do BASSSSSS!. The amp will love you for it you will be able to play loader with out clipping and distortion as the amp hasn't got to contend with those low bits.
the above is my 2 cents and hopfully will help you find some good deals.
This site has great deals on whole packs within budget.
here is just one of there hand pickerd bundle which include cable as well!!!! they have hundreds to suite everyone buget.
http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-cinema/home-cinema-bundles/yamaha-rx-v377-w-q2000i-5-1.html
and as you where after the dail zensor pack here is one with a pioneer amp (pioneer is what would be looking at to go with dail, they go together really well) its a fare bit over budget if your talking dollars
http://exceptional-av.co.uk/home-cinema/home-cinema-bundles/pioneer-vsx-924-w-dali-zensor-1.html
To be honest to really notice any difference in sound quality over these you will have to be speanding around 2k if not a little more (as this is down from £1200 and 1600) there are cheaper packs but i dont know if they ship abroad or not. But do your reseach and you will be suprised what you find.
And if you really want to go cheap (my wifes dad has this and it sounds awsome for the money) you can get the pioneer one box amp and speaker solution for £199 it has everything you need to get going in the box.
http://www.richersounds.com//common/productpictures/311242.jpg
Then you can save and add better speakers when you have the money though the 2 packs from exceptional av are awsome.
In my experiance a good sub sat system can sound just as good as full sized speakers allowing you to keep most of your room as the speakers are small. let the subwoofer do what it supposed to do BASSSSSS!. The amp will love you for it you will be able to play loader with out clipping and distortion as the amp hasn't got to contend with those low bits.
the above is my 2 cents and hopfully will help you find some good deals.
When I bought my NAD Receiver I used with 2 Kef floorstanders with a matching centre and was delighted when watching dvds usuing my Denon dvd player. 2 years later I bought two more Kefs floorstanders and got a barain at Richer Sounds. I gave this system to my son for his 21st and tried my B&W ASW 610 sub with the Kefs and it sounded much better than the Kef sub that I did not buy. The 5.0 Kef system sounds very good even without a sub.
Best wishes
Chris
Best wishes
Chris
bigboss
Moderator
fr0g said:Unless you are the only one watching, I find that the centre speaker is the most important. It ties the speech to the centre of the TV. Off axis viewing is unnatural without it.?
The sub also is extremely important. Personally, depending on your budget I would go for smaller (and presumably cheaper) front speakers and include the sub.
You mention the Lektor 6 5.1 system. That uses Lektor 6 for fronts. I would swap to Lektor 2s, a Lektor LCR and a decent sub. You "could" go for the Dali sub, but you'll get better value from BK or SVS.
Then you set the fronts to "small" on the AV amp (something I prefer to do myself even with floorstanders - I was running a 3.1 system with Ikon 6 fronts, Ikon vokal 2 centre and sub and always preferred to let the sub do the grunt work).
IMO, unless you have serious money for huge front speakers then they can't keep up with the low bass in films. I found the Ikon 6s were fine with most (not all) music in this regard, but struggled with proper AV. Setting them to small and letting my sub do the work was much better.
However, saying all that, you may want to get the best you can now and save for later...in which case, go for the 3.0 with the floorstanders.
(You will not get that from a pair of £600 floorstanders)
?
+1.
steve_1979
Well-known member
fr0g said:
This is a good point. Depending on the layout of the room and where people sit a centre speaker can be very important to pin the dialogue to the screen. If people sit too far off to one side a center speaker will be a big improvement over 2.1. However if you're not sitting off to one side and/or the stereo speakers are pretty close to the screen a centre channel might not be needed.
steve_1979
Well-known member
steve_1979
Well-known member
It occured to me today that the HS7 speakers can be bought individually and it would be possible afford three HS7 speakers and a HS8S subwoofer for your budget. Just add a second hand AVR with 'pre-outs' such as a Yamaha RX-V667 and you will have an exellent 3.1 system.
At the end with your valuable comments and recommendations i decided to buy the following system.
zensor 3 or zensor 1 for the front, zensor vocal for the center and fazon sub 1 as a subwoofer with denon x2000
what do you think about configuration and avr selection
zensor 3 or zensor 1 for the front, zensor vocal for the center and fazon sub 1 as a subwoofer with denon x2000
what do you think about configuration and avr selection
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram