Best 5.1 setup

[theflyingwasp]

Hi ,I have decided to go with the yamaha aventage 2020 receiver but as for the speakers I don't know what set up to choose

1- monitor audio apex 5.1

2-monitor audio RX6 AV12 5.1

3- monitor audio RX8 front RX centre RX8 rear RXW12 5.1

will I get better surround sound from 2 rear RX8s or should I just stick to the RXFX that come with the RX6 AV12 5.1 package ,the room I have is 4x4m will the extra rx8s just be too powerful or are they just ment to be front speakers,will the RXFXs do a better job of surround sound.

also I don't have space for the extra rear speakers for 7.1 if I was to buy 2 more monitor audio speakers and place them in the middle of the room between the front and rear speakers would I benifet from the extra channels or is this just a waste of time and money??

would the yamaha aventage 1030 be enough for my needs above??

 

[Leeps]

Couple of questions Mr Wasp

What would you say is the percentage balance between music listening & tv/movie watching?

How far away from the rear wall can the RX6/8's be placed? They are rear ported (& front-ported) and could create problems with bass boom if used too close to the wall.

I think if I was placing a system in a room your size (not too different to mine), I'd be inclined to look at the Apex.

Maybe users of RX6/8's may be able to comment on how their experiences with speaker placement, how they prevented bass boom & what sized rooms they were using the systems in.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Hi there leeps it will only be for movies i only listen to music on sundays when im cleaning and i stopped watching tv about a year ago.the rx6 and 8s will only be about 10inchs from a stone wall.

 

[macdiddy]

Hi there.

In reply to your question, I think that you would get a better sound using a pair of RXFX speakers rather than a second pair of RX8's as in the size of room you have, two pairs of floor standers would sound overpowering with bass boom possible unless you can move the speakers further out into the room and away from the corners, The RX8's are a large speaker and need approx 1 to 1.5 foot space from a wall to perform at their best.

I personally use a full set of monitor audio BX series speakers in a room size of approx 6x4m, which include a pair of BX6, a BX centre, two pairs of BXFX's surrounds, two BXW10 subs and a pair of BX1's for extra height channel, using a Onkyo TX-NR818 to drive them and I have no problems getting enough volume to fill my room but more importantly it is good quality sound with no bass boom.

So to recap, I think you should go for either option 2 or 3 as I think either one would work best, option 1 is a small system and I don't think it would work well with the two receivers you mentioned.

In the end its up to you but I thought I would share some of my experience, hope it helps.

 

[macdiddy]

Hi there again.

sorry, I meant to say option 3 but without the extra pair of RX8's and using a pair of RXFX instead.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Thanks for the info.i thought 2 pair of RX8's were a bit much .

 

[Leeps]

I think the above comments illustrate how important demonstrations are because much of this is down to personal taste, but I would re-state that speaker positioning is crucial. Don't under-estimate the affect this can have on the overall sound.

Also, do bear in mind that large speakers and smaller speakers each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Smaller speakers in a sub/sat system are less affected by the bass as they use the sub for that, which means they are better placed to maintain speed, timing and dynamics. You may like to check out the Apex user thread on this forum. There are many happy users that report their experiences.

Incidentally, Yamaha and Monitor Audio are repeatedly praised for being good partners by users on this forum.

 

[mr malarky]

Hi Wasp,

I'd suggest the RX package rather than the apex if you have the room for the front mains. That's not a criticism of the apex package, just an opinion that if you have the space then full size speakers will do more justice to movies with a lot of music in the soundtrack.

As per other posts, RXFX will more than suffice for rears (floorstanders woukd be overkill). Given that it's mostly for movies I'd suggest the RX6's would be fine (again, the RX8's would probably be overkill).

if you can stretch to the higher-end yahama model then go for it, best to give the speakers the extra 20w per channel if you can.

Let us know what you decide and would be good to read a review once it's all up and working?

 

[Simon Pinkney]

Well I can highly recommend both the RX8's and also the Apex System. I currently have a 7.1 system using RX8's for the front left and right and Apex for the rest. The soundstage is awesome and I find after the system calibrates the speakers it all blends in beautifully. I considered the RX6's but got a great deal from Eric Wiley in Castleford on the RX8's in piano black. Movies are amazing. Sound effects are thrown around the room brilliantly and with some force when required. Musical elements of films also sound amazing. Crank up the volume and for a home cinema set up I don't think I can ask for much more. Equally at quieter levels these speakers perform great. With music the speakers are brilliant. The RX8's are awesome with stereo and go very loud with great clarity. The review on here says the base sounded a bit flabby or boomy but I don't think that at all. Base levels are very deep and high levels are crisp but to me everything blends in great. I am amazed at how they fill me room with sound it sometimes sounds like all my speakers are on. There not because I check . I also use an extended stereo setting which as suggested uses the RX8's and the Apex. Again, I can't fault them. I love these speakers.

 

[mr malarky]

I did find the bass a bit boomy initially on the RX8's, probably not helped because they're relatively close to the wall (about 8 inches), and had to use the supplied foam bungs to start with. That cleared up when I bi-amped them though, tightened up the lower end noticeably.

I went for the RX8's though because I use my set-up for music as well as movies; wasp is aiming for 90%+ movie use by the looks of it, so on balance I think he'd be fine with the RX6's and put that cash towards getting the higher spec yamaha to make sure they really do sing.

 

[mr malarky]

Forgot to say, thumbs up for extended stereo with music!

 

[ric71]

I would suggest the Apex. A great sub/sat system will have far fewer issues with the listening room and provide a more flexable approach to optimising the bass.

I would however recommend that you invest in a good sub and not the Apex AW12 sub as it's not the best value for money.

I ran ran the Apex for a while and found them to be superb and more than capable of partnering some high end amplification and subwoofery.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Thanks for the information and suggestions guys.what do you think of 2rx8s for the front right and left ,the RX centre and 2 A10s for the rear

i have no need for the extra watts on the 2020 receiver or the zone2/4 function,what am I paying extra money for over the 1030 yamaha aventage.

 

[Simon Pinkney]

That would sound good in my opinion but wouldn't it then be better to stick to RX for the surround backs as well? I know your mainly interested in movies so why not choose the RXFX for the back or sides. I think the Apex speakers are nicer looking system especially for the surround speakers. The A40 centre also looks nicer than the RX centre in my opinion. I like how my RX8 in piano gloss black look and they do match the Apex sats very well. Sorry I keep editing my message. I've just looked at your room size. 4x4 in my opinion is quite small for the RX8's. My living room is abount 10m long and the RX8's and Apex swamp that with sound! I'd go for the Apex 5.1 system. That will be more than loud enough I think! In fact I go as far as saying it would sound bloody amazing

 

[Simon Pinkney]

Also, if choosing the Apex then the Yamaha 1030 would be perfectly good enough. I have the Pioneer LX55. I hardly ever have it pumping out sound at levels its actually capable of although I have cranked it up very loud.... mainly when the wife and dog are out and yes it sounds great. Peronally, whilst its always nice to buy bigger more powerful amps, you probably wont need to.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Hi simon

yes the a40 is a nice looking centre speaker,I think deep down the apex is the best choice for me,I just really really like the look of the RX6 or RX8 in gloss black at either side of the tv .what I want seems like far to much power for the space I have :wall: I don't want to buy speakers that will end up distorting sound rather than giving me good quality just because I can afford them,I have no doubt the 5.1apex will sound awesome it's one of the biggest threads on here but like I said that high black gloss finish on a couple of floor standing speakers next to my tv was what I was after.

 

[Simon Pinkney]

I know what you mean. My RX8's look amazing either side of the TV and I love the look of the Apex for the surrounds. The RX8's are big speakers though. The depth alone is about 30cm, slightly more with the plinths and they stand tall too. But they look the business! Mine aren't placed too close to the wall but they're not as far away as some people are suggesting they need to be. I've never had the boomy bass mentioned but maybe thats partly down to how my amp calibrates the system. As an example given the difference in size of the RX8's compared to A40 centre A10's surrounds the volumes are set as L-3.0 C-5.0 R-2.5 SR-1.5 SBR +4.5 SBL +5.0 SL-1 SW-9.0. Personally I think that speaks volumes as to how good the Apex are given the marginal difference between calibrated volume settings. The only real difference and hence the +4 and +5 are for my SBL and SBR speakers as they are wall mounted at the rear of my living room which is quite long and much further away from the listening position than the rest are located. Not ideal but actually works very well.

The piano gloss finish costs quite a bit more than the wood finish but if you decide on RX6 /RX8's at the front then they match the Apex surrounds very well.

I was hell bent on getting the RX6's at one stage for the fronts L/R but when the dealer ordered them MA said there was a 4-5 week wait. I wasn't prepared to wait that long and ended up with the RX8's. I've never looked back. I actually ended up paying £35 more for RX8's in piano gloss black than what the RX6's were going to cost. The dealer cocked up on price and quoted me on a wood finish when I wanted gloss. They ended honouring the price they quoted though so i bit his hand off!

I still think a 4x4 size room would be better suited to the RX6's even if you can afford the RX8's. Neither would distort the sound unless your playing them at incredibly high volumes and then I sure it would be the sound from the amp that would distort before the actual speaker.

Anyway, I'd be interested to know what you decide and ultimately what you think!!

 

[theflyingwasp]

Thanks again for your time and information - yes you got a very good deal there

no matter what speakers I get they won't be blasted at high volumes ,it's more of wanting proper rear sound effects than anything else,even cheapy systems can give me that but I want my surround sound setup to be up to the standard of my tv and blu ray player,once this is sorted I don't plan to upgrade for years until this 4k farce is sorted.like I said in my last post just the look of the black gloss finish speakers next to the rest of my equipment .every single thing from my multi socket monster plug to my ipad mini is in black ,my rack is glass and chrome so it's going to look impressive when set up.

with an audio calibration a little bit down the line after I've run them in,I think I'm going to go with left and right rx8 black gloss ,rear rxfx and now to be honest I'm going to look at the reviews for the centre speakers.i may be making a mistake with the space I have but it would have been like buying the 65inch vt65 yes it's almost the exact same picture quality of the ZT and an extra 5inchs for less money but it would have niggled away at me not to have gone for the 60ZT to see what all the fuss was about.if I choose the right supplier and explain my space problem they may be willing to do a swap or exchange if I balls it all up.

 

[mr malarky]

If you're going for the RX8's then I'd urge you to get the RX Centre as well, it's very important to have the same driver units across the front three speakers (ideally in all five speakers, but matching across the front is especially important for a cohesive soundstage).

 

[RobinKidderminster]

+1 matching centre. Watch out for tweeter height. Think my 8's are similar to ma8's and I tip.the units forward a little to align the tweeter. I wonder if 6's may have been better in my 4x4..I'll never know!

 

[Leeps]

+1 for trying to ensure that the drivers match across all speakers. This is especially important when playing music in extended stereo. It really contributes to a harmonic effect that's quite mesmerising.

one final thought wasp. I do hope that you're just getting our thoughts as a guide and not actually making your final decision based on these and/or looks! I really would encourage you to demo before handing over the cash. Mr Malarky & my choices to partner Pioneer Av receivers with MA speakers rather than the generally more popular Yamaha / MA combo illustrate this. If we'd made our decisions based on the views of forum members we'd have different signatures on our posts.

i'm just saying that your own taste, if you actually heard these systems, might immediately discard one of these options, even if they might look smart. If you're like me I don't change my systems very often. They're expensive things that I'd keep for a long time, so I'd always put the sound balance in my listening room before anything else.

just don't want you to suffer "hi-fi regret"!!! (There's another thread on this topic with many forum members bemoaning past choices).

 

[Leeps]

Incidentally, going for the more powerful receiver doesn't mean you have to burst your ear drums before reaping any benefits. It's the quality of components and their ability to control the power that is there that's key. In Pioneer's case the top two models are also tuned by Air Studios, so it's not all about grunt & the number of unused interconnects on the back.

 

[Deleted member 2457]

+1 for trying to ensure that the drivers match across all speakers. This is especially important when playing music in extended stereo. It really contributes to a harmonic effect that's quite mesmerising.

one final thought wasp. I do hope that you're just getting our thoughts as a guide and not actually making your final decision based on these and/or looks! I really would encourage you to demo before handing over the cash. Mr Malarky & my choices to partner Pioneer Av receivers with MA speakers rather than the generally more popular Yamaha / MA combo illustrate this. If we'd made our decisions based on the views of forum members we'd have different signatures on our posts.

i'm just saying that your own taste, if you actually heard these systems, might immediately discard one of these options, even if they might look smart. If you're like me I don't change my systems very often. They're expensive things that I'd keep for a long time, so I'd always put the sound balance in my listening room before anything else.

just don't want you to suffer "hi-fi regret"!!! (There's another thread on this topic with many forum members bemoaning past choices).

Agreed. Pioneer all the way.

 

[Simon Pinkney]

Big thumbs up for the Pioneer amps too from me, I love mine with MA speakers but like above its best to listen to one if you can. What sounds good to me might sound awful to you. I had a Denon amp previously and whilst that was great at the time the Pioneer Amp is much better for me.

 

[theflyingwasp]

Are the pioneer lx87 and yamaha a3030 ment for your average home cinema user,or are these flagship receivers ment for massive rooms driving very powerful speakers ,

i went for the oppo 103 over the 105 because I didn't need the sabre dac's for music and I pushed my budget on the tv because I wanted the best available ,I can go bigger but not better on the tv front in my opinion BUT with the amps is it pointless having those too wether you can afford them or not.the size and weight of these amps with the multi zone function just screams this is too much for my needs??