r/hometheater

Hoping to get some advice. We bought a house with a finished basement, and turned it into our den. It has our good TV, as well as all of the good speakers. Currently running an AVR-S760H, SVS Prime Center and Towers, a Speedwoofer Mk2, and 2 older Boston Acoustic bookshelfs as surrounds. We spend all of our evenings and casual time down there.

We're realizing that a basement with a single tiny window isn't really where we want to do the majority of our TV watching, especially for just casually watching TV while doing work or hanging out. So the plan is to move the S95B upstairs into a living room, get a good projector for the basement den, and use the den for movie nights with big sound, so all of the speakers will stay down there. Our normal TV evenings will just be in the living room.

However, I've spoiled my wife to being able to actually hear our TV and hear dialogue. I don't want/need to hear things at reference volume in this space, I just want some good speakers for casual TV/movie watching when we don't want to go into the basement.

Hoping to keep the entire setup under 500$, what is currently recommended for this? I have the ability to run speaker cables through the walls, so if there is a good 5.1 setup, I am open to it. I slowly built my current setup, from 2.0, to 2.1, to 3.1, to 5.1, and the biggest change was 2.1 to 3.1, so maybe that's all I need?

I'd love to hear what you are all doing for your casual watching spaces? What's the recommended setup with a good price to quality ratio? Thanks in advance!

Anyone have brands or specific speakers they swear by around my price range? Room's pretty big so size isn't really a concern, could go bookshelf or floor-standing, doesn't matter to me. I just want the best bang for my buck.

Would love to hear what you guys recommend. thanks!

earlies this year i made myself a surround 7.0 sound system in my living room (subwoofer is not included since im in an apartment and my downstairs neighbors are insufferable). all speakers are klipsh reference line and the AV reciever is an onkyo tx-nr7100. i am currently experiencing issues while watching movies since the gap between the volume of low sounds such as voices and loud ones is way too high. enabling night mode does little to nothing, increasing center speaker level while lowering front ones is not a solution since expecially with older movies the problem persists. has any of you had the same problem and found a working solution?

Trying to do an electrical plan for my house build and wondering about the living room/AV gear. I have had a lightning storm take out gear before... Granted it was 20+ years ago and I think it came down the phone line because IIRC it took out a modem and network card in a computer.

We will be bringing in 200A service to the house.

I've always had my stuff plugged into a "surge protected" power bar but never really considered that they actually did a whole lot or that the manufacturer would actually reimburse me.

Is it worth getting a surge protector over a power bar or are they pretty worthless?

Would it be better to get a "whole home" protector at the panel, something like this?

https://www.rona.ca/en/product/eaton-7-in-surge-protection-device-chspt2ultra-13345171

I'm looking at upgrading my TV and I'm wondering if the OLED burn in issue has improved at all these days? I use my TV for watching movies and TV, but I also play alot of games on it that have static areas. So it makes me weary about getting an OLED.

Should I look at other screen options like these new RGB TVs? Or has the burn in problem with OLEDs become a non issue?

Other considerations are that I do have a bright room during the day that can be slightly controlled with some curtains but still a good amount of sunlight coming from opposite end of the room. Evening times are quite dark but I like having some ambient light on for mood so I'd like a screen that can handle that.

Trying to decide if going from 5.1 to 2.1 is a mistake. I currently have 2 separate systems: one for watching TV and one for listening to vinyl. I would like to combine the vinyl into my family room because I would listen to it much more if it were in the same room as my TV, etc.

We watch movies/TV as a family basically every night (70-80% of use); vinyl is the other 20-30%.

Dialogue clarity matters a lot given how much TV we watch.

I was thinking of going with a McIntosh C2800/270 tube pre-amp and a McIntosh MC152 solid-state power amp, and using HT bypass with my current Anthem handling all the A/V processing and downgrading to 2.1, or I could do the same thing and just keep my current 5.1 setup.

The major benefit of going down to 2.1 is getting rid of my center frees up room to put the turntable and amps on the furniture piece replacing the center. However, if HT were to be downgraded too much, I could keep the 5.1 intact, run my center, sub, and surrounds from the Anthem, run the fronts from the power amp, and fit the other equipment in my cabinet.

Looking for feedback and advice. Thanks!

TV 5.1 Room Set Up

Anthem MRX-520 AVR

B&W CM9 towers + CMC2 center

Def Tech UIW BPZ/A surrounds

REL HT/1205 MKII sub

Pioneer Elite Kuro plasma

Vinyl 2 Channel Set Up

Thorens TD 160

Ortofon 2M Bronze

McIntosh MA230

Klipsch KG4s

I was not expecting Dirac ART to make such a massive improvement in my system.

Bellow are measurements of Dirac Off, Bass Control and ART using REW and Umik-1.

Frequency response:

https://preview.redd.it/1n8l88fe6dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5bb322c678ae15da17cb4063722013940c787502

RT60:

https://preview.redd.it/f4g1bn0n6dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=acf7d246087c4ab3e818faf348e79ab7d67e3d22

Dirac Off:

https://preview.redd.it/vybzp7ru3dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db90c0c64a17468a709fab6e54c608339c482704

https://preview.redd.it/x661c53w3dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2bd78cadf73ed0f5c9136f07b97002120515452e

Without any correction the Frequency response is all over the place with high decay times. The bass sound boomy and fatiguing.

Dirac Bass Control

https://preview.redd.it/30or32j44dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e97b746f4a5992ef9b187ae672e961fb837f3db4

https://preview.redd.it/0fkkhxs54dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dc1c09e9a3cc7b51d4c3ce1530a1d5bf4c5709f2

With Dirac Bass Control the frequency response is highly improved especially bellow the 80Hz crossover point.

The dip around 100Hz is actually a combination of a room mode and front speakers boundary interference.

The decay is long making the bass sound muddy.

Dirac ART

https://preview.redd.it/d4jwf30d5dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b131316b8b74c75851505ee699a2e67d823f949

https://preview.redd.it/hf7kweed5dbh1.jpg?width=1904&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce71988c5e82d9ba8b76a55312c879dc2b800a31

Dirac ART gives the best frequency response.

The decay is shorten considerably and makes the bass feel thigh and punchy.

Setup:

AV receiver:

• Denon x3800h

Speakers (5.3.0):

• Front: Monitor Audio Bronze 50 7g
• Center: Monitor Audio Bronze Center 7g
• Surrounds: Monitor Audio Bronze 50 7g
• Subwoofer1: Monitor Audio Vestra W10 (Sealed)
• Subwoofer2: Klipsch R-100SW (Ported)
• Subwoofer3: Klipsch R-100SW (Ported)

Room:

• dimensions: 4.89 x 3.61 x 2.68 (length x width x height)
• this is a small room with the speakers firing down the width of the room
• on the back wall i have a curtain covering the windows and a door which leads to a balcony
• on the right of the room there is a set of stairs leading into the attic
• on the front right is the door which leads to a hallway
• the room has a two person couch, a foot rest that doubles as a coffee table, a tv console with a wall mounted tv, a rug, a desk with a gaming pc on the left wall and a small bookshelf under the stairs on the right.

Placement:

• LRC are on the front wall,
  • the center is on the mid point of the wall
  • the left an right speakers are place at ~1/3 of the wall
  • the right speaker is right next to the door opening
• Surrounds are in the back left and right corners
• Subwoofer1: is is placed on the front wall at 1/4 from the left
• Subwoofer2: is placed on the right wall at 1/3 from the back
• Subwoofer3: is placed in the back right corner

Personal Notes:

• The biggest improvement is to the kick drum. It feels impactful and quick.
• Because the decay time is low, the bass needs a lot of extra boost. I am using a Harman +8db house curve to compensate for it. I also enjoy listening to bass heavy music.
• The tactile response is improved. I think this is the result a low decay time combined with the bass boost of the house curve.
• Bass is not fatiguing anymore.

No AI was used to create this post.

Struggling to decide between AV processors and would appreciate some input. First one is the new Arcam AVP45 and the other is the Marantz av20. I can get the Marantz on sale for around $4,000 but the Arcam is brand new so $6000. I'm looking for separates with a 7.4.4.

I'm almost of the mind to not even try these two because they are both owned by Harman which also owns Denon and every single Denon receiver I've ever had has been the biggest piece of junk. I currently have a 3800h and I have more issues out of that receiver than any other piece of technology I own. I also owned a 2400h before, and had a bunch of issues out of it as well so this isn't the first time. I will never own another Denon product because of it and the way they've handled any kind of warranty issues.

I see The anthem AVM 90 has four sub outs but it is still $7,500 and that series is about 6 years old at this point so I'm sure a new model will be coming out soon.

I'd say around $6k USD is about the top of my budget.

Hi everyone. I have 2x AVR Denon X1700H and 1x Klipsch RP 1400 SW. In one room, also 2x 5.0.2 System + 1 Subwoofer. Later i will make one 10.1.4 System, but this is not important right now.

I am looking for a switch that can automaticly switch between both AVR Subwoofer output (AVR 1 or AVR 2, depens what is activated and sending sound), to my Klipsch RP 1400 SW. This one Subwoofer have enough power for my room, so i dont need two of them!

Actually i have used a regular RCA switch with a knob, but by switching all the time between source 1 and 2... it is now dead (contact issues).

I can not find a RCA auto switch with 2 in and 1 out on Amazon germany (where i am living, keep that in mind).

From RCA to Toslink to Toslink Switch to RCA is not a good idea right?

Thx for answers!

Does anyone have a recommendation for an electric home theater recliner or a sofa with a sufficiently long footrest?

I'm 193 cm (6'4") tall, and with most recliners I've tried, my feet still end up hanging off the edge even when the footrest is fully extended, which becomes uncomfortable over time.

I'm looking for either a single recliner or a 2-seater sofa with electric adjustment. Budget isn't a concern – comfort and a footrest that's actually long enough for tall people are the priorities.

All of a sudden now, my remote can only turn volume up or down in increments.

Before I could be at say, Volume: -10dB ..

Hold the volume up button and raise it smoothly to say, Volume: -5dB ..

Now when I do it. At -10, holding up, it goes to say -8, and then stops. And I have repeatedly tap the up button to get to -5 ... (Like e.g. I have to press it 5 times to raise it 2 steps.)

I have the original remote, google TV remote calibrated for NAD T758, and logitech elite with the companion remote.. So can't be a remote issue, they all produce the same result. Even when I hold the remotes directly infront of the newly cleaned window on the NAD directly infront of where the ir-sensor is..

What can I do to fix this?

I’m looking for an inexpensive preamp or receiver with pre-outs. I’m running powered monitors so I don’t need amplification. Why are preamps so expensive? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!