New Home Cinema Speaker Setup

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Hi,

I am finally setting up my dedicated cinema room but really need help with the 5.1 speakers to go with my Onkyo 808 Amp. The room is 5m x 5m and I really want some heavy bass. The room will be used 90% movies, 10% music.

The speakers on my shortlist are either:

1) B&W 683 floor stander's, B&W DS3 Dipoles on the rear wall, B&W HTM 61 Centre or

2) Monitor Audio Siler RX 8 floor standers, MA RXFX dipoles on the rear wall, MA GSLCR centre

Could you offer advice on the suitability of either for this sized room.

In terms of Subwoofer's I am totally confused, but this is where I have got to:

1) Sunfire HRS 10

2) REL R-550

3) MJ Acoustics Reference 1, MKIII

4) BK Monolith DF+ (500w Amp)

Any advice please......

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure why you are mixing all your speakers. I have the RX6 pack with RSW12 subwoofer in a 8m x 5m livingroom and its great.

I would not mix a GSLCR with the new RX8's

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, i had been told by the dealer that the room size would be too big for the standard RX 6 pack. Leaving aside the mixing of the speakers then, any thoughts on the B&W683 v MA RX6 theatre packs?

Any thoughts on the subwoofers would be also be appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

I dont think you will have any problems with the RX6 pack in a 5x5

For subwoofer, its doesnt really matter, if I had the space I would buy the Monolith, but you cant try before you buy.

But due to distant selling regs, they have to refund your postage if you dont like it, but from other forums I have not seen one person complain, but mind you its 47kg and its the size of a coffee table

 

[grdunn123]

Like Canada, I think the RX6 pack would work really well in your room! Includes the MA sub too.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

kambo66:
Thanks, i had been told by the dealer that the room size would be too big for the standard RX 6 pack. Leaving aside the mixing of the speakers then, any thoughts on the B&W683 v MA RX6 theatre packs?

Any thoughts on the subwoofers would be also be appreciated.

Hi kambo66

I would recommend the Monitor Audio's with the 808. The complete Silver RX6 AV pacakage (or even better with the GRLCR) is sheer class and will be more then good enough with the amp and in your room.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, thanks for the feedback.

Visiting the dealerships has left me totally confused but I am feeling a little more at ease since this post. I have visited three 'professional' dealers and each one (to varying degrees) has tried to steer me away from the the MA Silver RX6 AV pacakge saying that it is more suited to hi-fi than movies as it does not have sufficient depth of bass for movies in a large room. 2 of the three dealers steered me towards the B&W 683 package and one steered me towards the KEF Q series.

In terms of the subwoofers, all three said they would not recommend any of the B&W or MA subwoofers as these are only sufficent for small rooms. The recommendations on Subs from each of the dealers is

1) Sunfire HRS 10

2) REL R 505

3) MJ Acoustics 1 MKIII

To say my head is spinning with confusion would be an understatement!!

 

[grdunn123]

MUSICRAFT:kambo66:
Thanks, i had been told by the dealer that the room size would be too big for the standard RX 6 pack. Leaving aside the mixing of the speakers then, any thoughts on the B&W683 v MA RX6 theatre packs?

Any thoughts on the subwoofers would be also be appreciated.

Hi kambo66

I would recommend the Monitor Audio's with the 808. The complete Silver RX6 AV pacakage (or even better with the GRLCR) is sheer class and will be more then good enough with the amp and in your room.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

I have the GSLCR with RS5's and RXFX rears and they work really well together! The centre is the star of the show though (as it should be!)

 

[Anonymous]

kambo66:

Hi, thanks for the feedback.

Visiting the dealerships has left me totally confused but I am feeling a little more at ease since this post. I have visited three 'professional' dealers and each one (to varying degrees) has tried to steer me away from the the MA Silver RX6 AV pacakge saying that it is more suited to hi-fi than movies as it does not have sufficient depth of bass for movies in a large room. 2 of the three dealers steered me towards the B&W 683 package and one steered me towards the KEF Q series.

In terms of the subwoofers, all three said they would not recommend any of the B&W or MA subwoofers as these are only sufficent for small rooms. The recommendations on Subs from each of the dealers is

1) Sunfire HRS 10

2) REL R 505

3) MJ Acoustics 1 MKIII

To say my head is spinning with confusion would be an understatement!!

Hi kambo66,

I'm a little surprised at the dealers' reluctance on the MA RX6 package. Did you have chance to demo any of the set-ups and gain any ideas from that? That is the bottom line really; what it sounds like to you. I assume that the dealers in question stocked the MA's and were not just offering shall we say less than impartial advice? I don't remember reading any WhatHifi reviews which said the RX6 package was'nt as suitable for movies. I mean, its an award winning surround sound speaker system for goodness sake!!

Hope you get your head straight. The demoing should be an enjoyable process not a trauma (unless my missus comes along

!).

Nick

 

[MUSICRAFT]

kambo66:
Hi, thanks for the feedback.

Visiting the dealerships has left me totally confused but I am feeling a little more at ease since this post. I have visited three 'professional' dealers and each one (to varying degrees) has tried to steer me away from the the MA Silver RX6 AV pacakge saying that it is more suited to hi-fi than movies as it does not have sufficient depth of bass for movies in a large room. 2 of the three dealers steered me towards the B&W 683 package and one steered me towards the KEF Q series.

In terms of the subwoofers, all three said they would not recommend any of the B&W or MA subwoofers as these are only sufficent for small rooms. The recommendations on Subs from each of the dealers is

1) Sunfire HRS 10

2) REL R 505

3) MJ Acoustics 1 MKIII

To say my head is spinning with confusion would be an understatement!!





Hi kambo66

Once in a while i'll demo Monitor Audio's Silver RX6 AV package using the truly stunning Chord Electronics Reference DSP8000 AV processor and SPM3005 five channel power.

The Silver RX AV package works admirably with the Chord Electronics amplification. The Silver RX's still manage to reveal a fair proportion of these amps superb qualities such as their fantastic resolution, blistering speed and massive power. Ultimately i feel if the Silver RX's can cope with the sheer onslaught of this quality of amplification then much of the rest components they are likely to be used with should be a walk in the park by comparison.

The Silver RX6 AV speakers are quality and a package you can consider with confidence. These speakers will work superbly with movie or music soundtracks.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, thanks,

I could only get a demo out of one of the shops and that was for the B&W 683's. Apologies if i have misled here, it's not that they said the MA's were not suitable for movies, it's just that they said the B&W's were better as they provided a deeper bass and that the MA's were more suited to HI-Fi than movies. The main issue seemed to be the size of the room (which as i understand from here is not really that big 5mx5m) and that is also why they seem to be pushing me towards one of the three other Subs as they felt the 'standard' sub would no tprovide a heavy bass in the romm size quoted.

 

[Frank Harvey]

kambo66:

Visiting the dealerships has left me totally confused but I am feeling a little more at ease since this post. I have visited three 'professional' dealers and each one (to varying degrees) has tried to steer me away from the the MA Silver RX6 AV pacakge saying that it is more suited to hi-fi than movies as it does not have sufficient depth of bass for movies in a large room. 2 of the three dealers steered me towards the B&W 683 package and one steered me towards the KEF Q series.

well the dealer saying they lack bass isn't very well up on AV speaker packages then, and obviously doesn't realise the RX series produces quite a strong bass - has he heard them?!

In terms of the subwoofers, all three said they would not recommend any of the B&W or MA subwoofers as these are only sufficent for small rooms. The recommendations on Subs from each of the dealers is

1) Sunfire HRS 10

2) REL R 505

3) MJ Acoustics 1 MKIII

To say my head is spinning with confusion would be an understatement!!

I'm not overly keen on the REL's myself, but the Sunfire is one to give a miss. They produce lots of bass for the size, but it's quite inarticulate, producing quite a 'one note' bass.it might be impressive at first, but it soon gets boring when you realise it's a o e trick pony.

 

[Frank Harvey]

grdunn123:I have the GSLCR with RS5's and RXFX rears and they work really well together! The centre is the star of the show though (as it should be!)
The GSLCR used to work well with the RS series - we sold numerous RS packages with this centre. But the tonal balance of the RS and GS is quite different to that of the RX, which is far more laid back. RS and GS shouldn't be mixed with RX. The only thing you can get away with is your situation - because rear speakers are a relatively small cabinet volume, they tend to come across as leaner, and hence, a little bright than larger front speakers, so can be used with RS and GS.

 

[grdunn123]

FrankHarveyHiFi:grdunn123:I have the GSLCR with RS5's and RXFX rears and they work really well together! The centre is the star of the show though (as it should be!)
The GSLCR used to work well with the RS series - we sold numerous RS packages with this centre. But the tonal balance of the RS and GS is quite different to that of the RX, which is far more laid back. RS and GS shouldn't be mixed with RX. The only thing you can get away with is your situation - because rear speakers are a relatively small cabinet volume, they tend to come across as leaner, and hence, a little bright than larger front speakers, so can be used with RS and GS.

Haven't had to use the X curve yet either!

 

[Frank Harvey]

And who mentioned brightness?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

One more post for the 5000 mark, David!!!!!!

 

[grdunn123]

FrankHarveyHiFi:And who mentioned brightness?

I could 'read' your thoughts David!

 

[Frank Harvey]

Woohoooooo!! 5,000 - party round my house, 10 mins. Bring a bottle (no empties!)

grdunn123:
FrankHarveyHiFi:And who mentioned brightness?

I could 'read' your thoughts David!

 

[bigboss]

kambo66: In terms of the subwoofers, all three said they would not recommend any of the B&W or MA subwoofers as these are only sufficent for small rooms.

I've got Monitor Audio AW12 subwoofer & it's awesome. My room is 3.6m X 6.3m.......not much smaller than yours (22.68 sq m vs 25 sq m). The AW12 is capable of performing superbly even in rooms double this size quite easily. Even the B&W PV1 subwoofer is excellent.

Demo them & check for yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks to all, so I am taking from this that the stanadrd silver RX 6 AV 12 system would be fine for my size room and that would provide sufficient thumping bass in movies. I shall try and book a demo from a different dealership!

 

[Anonymous]

Who are these dealers kambo? They sound like thet sould not work in the industry.

I only started my 5.1 thing in january, and it seems I know more than them.

But then again I do a lot of research before spending money, well that and Frank harvey telling me they will do me a deal... LOL

Maybe one to add in the bag if you are worried about bass.... The new Kef's ?

I think as well, but could be wrong that Frank Harvey as a gold subwoofer XD for 599

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Canada 16,

They are apparently well known and listed under the Home Cinema Choice top 20 suppliers, the other is a well known chain. On reflection, I think it may well be the individuals within the shops having their own personal 'favourites' or shop stock. My concern is that the revew shops only had relativley small rooms and thus i beleived what they were saying about my room being larger than normal. I really like the look of the new Kef Q's but have not read any reviews yet. Does anybody know if there is a review coming out soon on the new Kef Q's?.

So to be sure in my mind, if i stick with the Monitor Audio RX silver RX 8's or 6's, would i be better sticking with the MA Sub or (for more or less the same money) changing the sub to a BK Monolith?

 

[Anonymous]

As much as I hate to say it, as I own a RSW12, I think the monolith would destroy the Silver series MA subwoofer.

It generates lower bass, which you will feel instead of hear, but I hope you live in a detached house, or deaf neighbours.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, indeed a detatched house so the monolith looks favourite. Now its just a question of Silver RX package or hold out for the new Kef Q's!