Need help with adding home cinema!

[St@rg@zer]

Hello all,
I have a Marantz PM700N, Marantz CD6007, ProJect T1 turntable and B&W 607 S2 Anniversary speakers. Firstly I love this set up as it sounds great in my small conservatory and I do like HEOS (Although I use Amazon Music Unlimited for streaming due to the 300 song playlist limit for HEOS). Sound is lovely and I am super happy with it. But, I have decided to add home cinema as I love movies and stereo just does not cut it (playing HI Sense TV, Sky, Netflix etc through speakers.)
As space is limited I looking at Marantz NR1510 with Cambridge Minx 22 speakers (X5() or x3 + x2 B&W's depending on thread feedback. Now to the question - As the NR1510 has pretty much the same required connections as my PM7000N (Phono, CD, PS5 and HEOS) do I sell my PM and replace with the NR or is there a justification for keeping both?
a) If keep both can I connect both to the same pair of fronts (B&W) or get x5 Minx and have them under my B&W's (Almost ear level)
b) If NR only will the Minx be okay for centre and rears as I don't have room behind me for bookshelf speakers and keep B&W for fronts.

Rambling I know I just not sure how to ask in less words. Thank you for reading regardless!

 

[Messiah]

If you love the sound of the stereo set up I would not mess with it - at least not without demoing the NR1510 to see how it compares. (I have been down the route of compromising my hifi sound for surround and later regretted it).

For full surround it is better to keep all the speakers from the same range as this leads to much better tonal integration.

So baring this in mind, if possible, I would say run 2 independent systems and ultimately get the best of both worlds.

- If you swap to the receiver and just add 3 speakers to the B&W’s then the tonal integration will suffer.
- If you swap to the receiver and get rid of the B&W’s then the stereo performance may (will) suffer.

Just my thoughts. Ultimately demoing, if possible, would be best. 😊

(I would also bear in mind that IF you did decide to go down the full Atmos route at a later date, the NR1510 does not have enough amplification for the additional channels so you would need to add an extra power amp or replace the receiver).

 

[St@rg@zer]

If you love the sound of the stereo set up I would not mess with - at least not without demoing the NR1510 to see how it compares. (I have been down the route of compromising my hifi sound for surround and later regretted it).

For full surround it is better to keep all the speakers from the same range as this leads to much better tonal integration.

So baring this in mind, if possible, I would say run 2 independent systems and ultimately get the best of both worlds.

- If you swap to the receiver and just add 3 speakers to the B&W’s then the tonal integration will suffer.
- If you swap to the receiver and get rid of the B&W’s then the stereo performance may (will) suffer.

Just my thoughts. Ultimately demoing, if possible, would be best. 😊

(I would also bear in mind that IF you did decide to go down the full Atmos route at a later date, the NR1510 does not have enough amplification for the additional channels so you would need to add an extra power amp or replace the receiver).

Huge thanks my friend, did not consider tonal integration but this makes sense. The Minx are small enough to not dominate the room and the Marantz is smaller than your typical amp so fits with my small room limitations. For around £1000 + cables I can add to my system and have the best of both. Then add a REL T-Zero later and hope my wife believes me when I tell her its a side table! I think Atmos is a step too far and adding height speakers will make 9 in total!

 

[Minkey1]

Huge thanks my friend, did not consider tonal integration but this makes sense. The Minx are small enough to not dominate the room and the Marantz is smaller than your typical amp so fits with my small room limitations. For around £1000 + cables I can add to my system and have the best of both. Then add a REL T-Zero later and hope my wife believes me when I tell her its a side table! I think Atmos is a step too far and adding height speakers will make 9 in total!

I’m subject to similar space/distaff constraints and opted for 3 Minx 22’s and a 301 sub across the front, and 2 pairs of 11’s for the surrounds and rear surrounds, for a 7.1 set up.

Given the constraints I’m very happy aside from the centre. I’m beginning to think a dedicated centre speaker for dialogue, designed for the purpose, could produce better results.

But a box with standard pair of 4” drivers with a tweeter between means I’d need to rearrange the housing and aren’t sure about the tonal fit anyway. There’s just nothing between the Minx 22 and a 15cm high x 35 width box that I can find.

I just mention it. Very happy with the Cambridge Audio stuff otherwise.

 

[St@rg@zer]

I’m subject to similar space/distaff constraints and opted for 3 Minx 22’s and a 301 sub across the front, and 2 pairs of 11’s for the surrounds and rear surrounds, for a 7.1 set up.

Given the constraints I’m very happy aside from the centre. I’m beginning to think a dedicated centre speaker for dialogue, designed for the purpose, could produce better results.

But a box with standard pair of 4” drivers with a tweeter between means I’d need to rearrange the housing and aren’t sure about the tonal fit anyway. There’s just nothing between the Minx 22 and a 15cm high x 35 width box that I can find.

I just mention it. Very happy with the Cambridge Audio stuff otherwise.

Cheers Minkey, I appreciate the feedback. I think I will go to have a demo of the Minx (Richer Sounds MK have both speakers and amp). At 63 my ears are not great, too many Black Sabbath concerts as a teenager so dialogue in more important then the crescendo of explosions. No point having cinema sound if you can't hear what they are saying. What was wrong with the centre if I may ask, Am I assuming too low in the mix?. What amp are you using as I was going Marantz again as my PM700N is awesome....

 

[Minkey1]

Cheers Minkey, I appreciate the feedback. I think I will go to have a demo of the Minx (Richer Sounds MK have both speakers and amp). At 63 my ears are not great, too many Black Sabbath concerts as a teenager so dialogue in more important then the crescendo of explosions. No point having cinema sound if you can't hear what they are saying. What was wrong with the centre if I may ask, Am I assuming too low in the mix?. What amp are you using as I was going Marantz again as my PM700N is awesome....

I’m on the senior side too - and a decade earlier. Soul and all-nighters did it for me 🤦🏼‍♂️

My balance of needs is more 65% film, 35% music - although I enjoy streaming Apple Music from an Apple TV box. AVR is a Denon X1800, Cambridge Audio Minx sat/sub 7.1 set up, with sources an LG 55C3, the Apple puck, an EE Pro TV box, and a Panasonic UB820 4k player. So a mix of qualities and price points there, via some keen Black Friday type deals.

It’s about the best I can do quality/sound & pic wise, whilst keeping the wife onside.

It’s just recently I’ve started to feel the centre Minx 22 isn’t as clear with dialogue as I’d like. It’s at once harsh yet indistinct at the same time. Whether that’s my ears, the material, or the positioning on an enclosed shelf below the telly I don’t know. I think the 22/sub combo for those, like us, challenged on space and domestics can be a great solution. But the fact is the 22 isn’t a specific centre/dialogue speaker.

I’ve bitten the bullet today and ordered a Cambridge Audio SX70 center speaker, from an early BF deal from Cambridge Audio direct. By rejigging the shelving I can accommodate it. For its price point, reviews are good, including 1 from someone using it with satellite type L/R and surrounds. Obviously, it’s designed to be used with their bookshelf size SX range, but I’m hoping the balance will be OK. The Denon AVR amp, whilst budget, has provision for speaker tweaking and I have a THX calibration disc for testing the results, so 🙏🏻

If you can audition your choices with the sort of material you’d be watching that would be the way to go, but if possible, try alternatives in the centre. To my mind, L/R and surrounds are there for effects/ambience and it’s the dialogue which is crucial. But if they tell you a full sizer in the middle will kill the rest, don’t tell me 😂

Good luck.

 

[ultraminiature]

With limited space consider B&W Formation speakers Bar, Bass and Flex. Whilst not offering the stereo quality that Formation Duo do and unfortunately Formation Duo will not fit into a surround sound set up because of poor latency for video the Formation set up might be what you want.

A centre is very good for many movies because the music over powers the dialogue and I can tweak the centre or lower the surrounds to hear. Rarely do I get anything noticeable from the rears and iPlayer is only stereo with no surround! Is the space, costs and hassle worth it for surrounds, well only sometimes but it depends on your choice of sources.

Most surround sound systems can re-direct centre dialogue to the front speakers and bass around four or five speakers placement I am not convinced. My original surround system was using a 5 channel amplifier to 5 passive JR149 speakers and a B&W PV1 for sub using an external sound card to a PC. I replaced the power amp and speakers for floor standing active speakers (Meridian D600) and M60C). Using an HDMI to 8 channel splitter. Volume controlled by the computer.

Analogue active speakers remove the rack of separate amplifiers. There is a new wave of wireless streaming DSP active speakers to choose from that can offer everything in a pair or six speaker boxes.

I now use B&O Beolab speakers only because the electronics is newer and less likely to fail for the next 10 years than the 35 and 45 year old designs. For a modest budget Beolab 6000 using powerlink and an older sub woofer and 7.4 centre are easy to place and offer a different look.

 

[St@rg@zer]

I’m on the senior side too - and a decade earlier. Soul and all-nighters did it for me 🤦🏼‍♂️

My balance of needs is more 65% film, 35% music - although I enjoy streaming Apple Music from an Apple TV box. AVR is a Denon X1800, Cambridge Audio Minx sat/sub 7.1 set up, with sources an LG 55C3, the Apple puck, an EE Pro TV box, and a Panasonic UB820 4k player. So a mix of qualities and price points there, via some keen Black Friday type deals.

It’s about the best I can do quality/sound & pic wise, whilst keeping the wife onside.

It’s just recently I’ve started to feel the centre Minx 22 isn’t as clear with dialogue as I’d like. It’s at once harsh yet indistinct at the same time. Whether that’s my ears, the material, or the positioning on an enclosed shelf below the telly I don’t know. I think the 22/sub combo for those, like us, challenged on space and domestics can be a great solution. But the fact is the 22 isn’t a specific centre/dialogue speaker.

I’ve bitten the bullet today and ordered a Cambridge Audio SX70 center speaker, from an early BF deal from Cambridge Audio direct. By rejigging the shelving I can accommodate it. For its price point, reviews are good, including 1 from someone using it with satellite type L/R and surrounds. Obviously, it’s designed to be used with their bookshelf size SX range, but I’m hoping the balance will be OK. The Denon AVR amp, whilst budget, has provision for speaker tweaking and I have a THX calibration disc for testing the results, so 🙏🏻

If you can audition your choices with the sort of material you’d be watching that would be the way to go, but if possible, try alternatives in the centre. To my mind, L/R and surrounds are there for effects/ambience and it’s the dialogue which is crucial. But if they tell you a full sizer in the middle will kill the rest, don’t tell me 😂

Good luck.

Let me know if it fixes the issue as I am following your moves with a plan to duplicate as we have similar size, wife issues. I mean issues with room size and wife disapproval not issues with large wives!

 

[Minkey1]

Let me know if it fixes the issue as I am following your moves with a plan to duplicate as we have similar size, wife issues. I mean issues with room size and wife disapproval not issues with large wives!

😂

I got round the boss by nominating it for the Christmas present she’d been nattering me to decide on. But will test it first of course. It’s been despatched already and if Parcelforce are to be believed it’ll be here tomorrow.

Also arriving is a mixed case of 12 from Majestic I’ve been waiting for since last week so given I’ve had to go cold turkey last 2 nights it’ll be a close run thing which I go at first.

 

[Minkey1]

😂

I got round the boss by nominating it for the Christmas present she’d been nattering me to decide on. But will test it first of course. It’s been despatched already and if Parcelforce are to be believed it’ll be here tomorrow.

Also arriving is a mixed case of 12 from Majestic I’ve been waiting for since last week so given I’ve had to go cold turkey last 2 nights it’ll be a close run thing which I go at first.

These beauties arrived within 2mins of each other other and now I’m like a dog with 2 thingies.

Report in the wine, sorry, speaker, follows. Then it’s packed away for Santa. Will do all prep so it’s a 30 second swap on the day.

Kudos to Cambridge Audio. Ordered yesterday, delivered today. Outstanding 👏🏻

 

[Minkey1]

These beauties arrived within 2mins of each other other and now I’m like a dog with 2 thingies.

Report in the wine, sorry, speaker, follows. Then it’s packed away for Santa. Will do all prep so it’s a 30 second swap on the day.

Kudos to Cambridge Audio. Ordered yesterday, delivered today. Outstanding 👏🏻

Sorry. Resized the jpeg but it won’t upload.

 

[Minkey1]

Saved it to Files in iOS then it worked. Spoilt the joke tho

 

[St@rg@zer]

Saved it to Files in iOS then it worked. Spoilt the joke tho
View attachment 7869

Love of music + equipment + wine = Audiophile. Don't need to spend £5k on cable risers to have an moment that captures the soul....Let me know if it sounds okay my friend. I see the SX70 is only 14 inches long so it will fit where I need it to fit!!

 

[Minkey1]

Love of music + equipment + wine = Audiophile. Don't need to spend £5k on cable risers to have a moment that captures the soul....Let me know if it sounds okay my friend. I see the SX70 is only 14 inches long so it will fit where I need it to fit!!

Was waiting on Mr Amazon to deliver some rubber isolation pads so I could start stacking stuff and make room. Parcel was handed to resident at 2.08pm. Well. Not to this resident. I would have got it done and initially tested otherwise 🤦🏼‍♂️

Was thinking to use a dialogue rich film like Pulp Fiction, although even an initial test won’t get them run in. It’s yrs since I’ve had stuff which could reasonably be described as old school hi-fi, so haven’t had to think abt this stuff.

Should get an idea tho. I’m really hoping I haven’t ballsed up big time. If I can get the shelving sorted it’s just banana plugs out and swap permanently on Xmas Day.

In better news, I can report the LFE900 cab/shiraz blend went down a treat, as ever. So not a total loss on the day 🥳

https://www.majestic.co.uk/wines/lfe-900-single-vineyard-39344

Further and better details follow.

 

[Minkey1]

@St@rg@zer

The before….

You can see the space/domestic constraints.

 

[Minkey1]

…the after. The SX-70 looking like it grew there.

Have re-run speaker setup in the amp, and run the THX tests. I didn’t want to over stress the 22/12’s, so for now have left crossover as was. All adjusted via On Screen Display, so easy enough to tweak in the light of extended use.

Initial impressions are that the centre output sounds “bigger” (as I’d expect) slightly warmer, and clearer – to my old ears. It’s a keeper, and only £30 more than I’ve pd for a single 22.

I’m very pleased. And the wife has said that as Xmas stuff goes up next week, it can stay in situ. Result.

If you can audition fuller sized centres, and can accommodate one, I’d certainly have a listen.

Good luck 👍

 

[Minkey1]

 

[Minkey1]