Speakers for a bedroom surround sound setup

[Chris1725]

Thanks for the replies. While they have certainly given me some food for thought, I was really hoping any members of this forum could point me towards speakers packages suitable for use with my 5.1 channel Yamaha RX-V475 receiver, which work well with both films and music, striking a middle ground between a big floor shaking, window rattling scale of sound, and one that's particularly thin and bright. I feel that my current Yamaha NSP110 package falls into the latter, which is why an old pair of Tannoy floorstanders were connected in place of the front two Yamaha speakers a number of years ago.

My movie watching includes some blockbuster titles and I listen to classical music, along with some rock and pop as well. As I don't care for movies or music particularly loudly, and given that the speakers will be used in a small room, I'm still wondering if any packages currently available in the UK would fit the bill. There are occasions when I have to turn on the receiver's Adaptive DRC, but find the sound can still at times be a bit loud for my liking, even with this feature activted.
I am still hoping to find a package that gives great subtle low level detail, improving on that area of performance of my current Yamaha speakers. The subwoofer ideally should not be more than the 8.5 kg weight of my current sub. Failing that, would it be possible to swap it for the same model of sub in black rather than silver, or use a different one all together, seperate from the package. Hoping any forum members can provide me with further assistance in chooisng a package to meet my requirements.

 

[newlash09]

Hi Chris..I've finally got off the boat, and iam finally home. As I mentioned in the past, the performance of the q7000i package was restricted by the preset cross over limits on the powenode. I now have them in a 11x15 ft room, facing the length of the room in a 3.1 configuration, driven by my Sony str-dn 850. And after setting the cross over at 180hz...iam glad to say that they sound stunning. But I do keep changing the cross over depending on my mood. I listen mostly to Indian classical music, which is mostly vocals and string instruments, and they sounding stunning at a crossover of 180 Hz. But when I revert back to normal pop or rock, I lower the cross over to 120 Hz, and it still sounds good. But I have my speakers standing freely in my media shelf, about a foot and half from the rear wall. Took a subscription of Netflix today, it has just been launched in India. And watched mi4 ghost protocol, and was stunned with the scale of the sound. So in my opinion this could be a good buy. But what I mentioned before regarding sound staging still stands. They are very directional speakers with a narrow sound stage. All speakers have to be at ear level and not a inch off. If you can achieve that in your room, you can go for them

 

[newlash09]

Hi Chris..I've finally got off the boat, and iam finally home. As I mentioned in the past, the performance of the q7000i package was restricted by the preset cross over limits on the powenode. I now have them in a 11x15 ft room, facing the length of the room in a 3.1 configuration, driven by my Sony str-dn 850. And after setting the cross over at 180hz...iam glad to say that they sound stunning. But I do keep changing the cross over depending on my mood. I listen mostly to Indian classical music, which is mostly vocals and string instruments, and they sounding stunning at a crossover of 180 Hz. But when I revert back to normal pop or rock, I lower the cross over to 120 Hz, and it still sounds good. But I have my speakers standing freely in my media shelf, about a foot and half from the rear wall. Took a subscription of Netflix today, it has just been launched in India. And watched mi4 ghost protocol, and was stunned with the scale of the sound. So in my opinion this could be a good buy

 

[Chris1725]

I had been considering the Q7000i as one possible replacement for my Yamaha NS-P110 package for both films and music, as reviews give the impression that Q Acoustics packages, including the Q7000i, are capable of a fantastic level of detail. That was until I noticed from the specification that the weight of the subwoofer is over 5kg more than my curren sub, which is on a shelf, given limited floor space. In fact it seems that all Q Acoustics subs are considerably heavier than my current Yamaha SW-P130. In addition, I've been somewhat put off by the What HiFi review, for while my movie watching includes some blockbuster titles, I'm certainly not looking for a scale of sound which threatens to go through the roof and where it's possible to "feel the full force of any bomb blasts or car crashes."

Another package under consideration is the Tannoy TFX 5.1 packge, as a review on the Home Cimema Buyer website suggests that fans of adrenaline fuelled sonics may find that "the set lacks some overall power in places, but those who like their films less loud will appreciate the subtleness it offers." The review though, doesn't give any indication as to how well this package performs with music, and while the included sub is not as heavy as those from Q Acoustics, it still weighs more than my current Yamaha.

 

[newlash09]

You are probably right on the scale part. Before I bought the q7000i package, I had a audiopro avanto 5.0 HT package in the same room. However, due to built in sub woofers in the floor Stander's, the bass was too much and boomy. Drowning most of the dialogues. They might be excellent for a larger room. So after shifting to the q7000i, I felt absolutely no drop in scale. And that is saying something for a duminitive speaker. And the bass is also well defined. However, as I've said before. Everything has to be at ear level. But if you are looking for a smaller sound, you might be better off looking else where. As the q7000i package sounds at it best at mid to high volumes. And to add to my previous gripe of the treble being laid back, now partnered with my bright Sony amp, it sounds really good now.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

You don't want two pairs of fronts so spend most of your cash on good fronts based on your musical preferences, source and receiver. Buy some decent speaker cables and interconnects.
Spend what's left on surrounds / backs, centre and a new sub.
Prioritise that way and you'll get the best compromise for music and home theatre.
You can add a "proper stereo" source and amp later for even better music playback.

 

[Chris1725]

One package that has been suggested as a replacement for my current Yamaha speakers on this forum, is a Monitor Audio package such as the Radius R90HT1, as the sattelite speakers are capable of excellent low-level detail. However, while the included sub integrates well with the speakers according to reviews, it's power output of around 200 watts seems more poweful than I require.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Most decent subs have a volume (or gain) knob.

So you can turn them up or down to suit your room.

And even Motorhead's PA system has (had) volume controls....

Point being just because a sub is rated to 200 watts, or 2 gazillion, doesn't mean you need to use all of them all of the time...

 

[Chris1725]

Thank you for your reply.

Chooisng speakers is proving rather tricky.

Still hoping to find a set of 5.1 speakers that would work well with my Yamaha receiver, giving a detailed sound, particularly in terms of subtilty, in my small bedroom, at a low volume level, or with my receiver's Adaptive Dynamic Range Control activated. I am not looking for hugely powerful speakers, given the room size and that I do not care for a particularly big scale of sound. I certainly don't want a package that is likely to be sonic overkill. Don't know If I'll have a chance to try out any packages before coming to a final decision.

As prevously stated, subwoofer weight seems to be an issue given limited floor space, so I don't know if I should keep my current Yamaha SW-P130 sub, considering it's silver rather than black like the rest of my AV setup.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Spray paint.

About $8-99 a can at B&Q.

 

[Chris1725]

I am still considering replacing my speakers. As previously stated, my setup is used for both films and music, and i currently use a pair of old Tannoy mercury M3 floostanders for the front left and right channels. When listening to music, both multichannel and stereo recordings played via my Sony BDP-S790 blu-ray player, i find the sound can at times be rather bright. I listen mainly to classical music, but also some rock and pop as well. I generally find that more recent recordings are more likely to sound bright. While adjusting the receiver's tone control can improve things to a certain extent. I'm wondering what's the best way of reducing the brightness of the sound, or would I have to replace my speakers to hear a noticable improvement in this regard.