I agree with spenav, upgrade the receiver to separates, even if you stay with 5.1 - I long ago upgraded a highly rated Denon AVR with Mcintosh 5.1 separates and the difference was amazing (although I am now back to 2 channel). Going with a better/newer receiver would give a small lift, but probably not enough to wow you. Once you upgrade the electronics, then add the sub. Of course you could always replace and upgrade the girlfriend instead........
Ideas to improve my system
In short, I’m looking for ideas to improve to my system.
What do I want out of a system?
I would like to have a system that sounds great during both 2ch music and movies (think criterion not marvel).
I live in NYC and my living room does double duty as a listening area + home theatre. I am unlikely to be able to have a separate listening and watching space anytime soon. I primarily listen to music from records, Apple Music and Spotify and watch movies from an Apple TV 4K.
What do I currently use?
A bit of a hodgepodge/mess bought over the past 10+ years
Rega Planar 1 with Ortofon Blue (and a few other minor upgrades)
Musical Fidelity phono pre-amp
Sony DN1080 Receiver
B&W HTM6 S2 Center channel
Klipsch Hersey IV
4 Mirage Omnisat v2 speakers
The system also has a dedicated line
At my desk
Sony IER-M9 powered by a RME ADI-2 DAC with corrections from AutoEQ (I love this setup)
What do I not want?
I tried height speakers and they didn’t give me much.
What do I like?
I want my living room sound to feel exciting, visceral and something special. My desk setup is pretty perfect for me reference wise but I want the living room to be a bit different. I like the Hersey much more than expected and I want to generally build a cohesive system around them. They perform great in my apartment for music. For movies, they are actually great left/right speakers! They make string or brass soundtracks come alive. The B&W center channel isolates dialog pretty well and transitions between the Heresy and B&W rarely bother me or other listeners I’ve had in the space.
What isn’t going to fly
- Going 2 channel. My girlfriend objects and likes the surround speakers (as do I).
- Wall treatments. Not a lot I can do here unfortunately - I have thick rugs and a fair amount of furniture + books on walls.
Options considered
- Add a sub like KEF KC62 (I can’t do 2 tho)
- Match the center channel to the Hersey’s via Klipsch center
- Upgrade the receiver (thinking something like the NAD t 778 or upcoming Yamaha RX-A6A)
- Switch to separates (I’m very fond of the Anthem’s room correction but would need the AVM70 + a 5 channel amp)
Are there other things folks would recommend? If you had 3-5k to spend, where would you put it?
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I would get the sub - it really does make for a huge improvement with movies. I have the KC62 and it's good, but it's part of a 2 channel rig with no tv - if i were doing a home theater setup i'd probably look for something that can move more air. the kc62's form factor is great but depending on the size of your room it might not do it for you. If you have the space, i'd try a Rel t/9 or something along those lines. |
I agree, by all means keep an AVR and surround speakers for any Video based program. Then improve it for everything: Movies; Video/Music Programs; or Music only (via Web, Cable, Media) via a separate ’FRONT STEREO SYSTEM’ You need 1. FSS. ’Front Stereo System’ with ’HT Bypass Input’ to receive the AVR’s line level Front Signals. 2. AVR with ’Pre-Out’ for the AVR’s Front Channel line level signals to be sent out to a separate ’Front Stereo System’. FSS Always drives the Front Speakers. AVR always drives center and all surround channels. I had it backwards, it became very clear here: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/avr-internal-2-channel-audio-mode-or-ht-bypass-external-equip... Critically: AVR ON, it controls the Volume including the Front Volume the FSS is amplifying. Unfortunately, your Sony AVR does not have ’Pre-Out’, fortunately many do, and HT Bypass is gaining understanding. There is some yap about any chosen AVR’s pre-out signal strength https://www.avsforum.com/threads/receiver-brands-with-the-best-preouts.3045816/ Anyway, think LONG Now, think best 2 channel sound, then figure out how to use that for your HT Front. ............................................ Bass, Subs: improved bass, make sure it is part of the Front Stereo System IF you want extended bass all the time, even when AVR is off, (large mains, or stereo pair of front firing subs adjacent to smaller mains) or part of AVR Only, i.e. Single Sub movies only, Dinosaur Stomps .... |
This discussion has been super helpful! I’m generally leaning in the separates or ht bypass direction. I like that I could get an amp that matches well with the Hersey as well. For the separates approach it seems like the Anthem AVM 70 + Anthem MCA 525 Gen 2 (total is about 7500) would be a dream setup. That is a little out of my budget and I just am not as comfortable with the used market right now. Other options seem to be roughly in that ballpark. It seems folks use the budget-ish 5-7 channel amps (like the Outlaw MODEL 5000X) just for surrounds and front…meaning I would need 3 total components (processor and 2 amps which would basically erase the cost savings). The HT BYPASS approach, I would need to upgrade the AVR (you are correct elliottbnewcombjr) but I could do that relatively affordably - it looks like the Yamaha RX-A6A has a great DAC, is $2,100 and has HT BYPASS. I could then get a relatively low powered 2ch amp that would work with the Hersey IV for ~1000-2000. If I wanted to have some room correction on the 2 channel setup (debatable I know), can you keep room correction from the AVR on while using HT BYPASS? I imagine I would create a 2 channel profile with the AVR based on powering 2 speakers via the HT BYPASS, but my understanding is the HT BYPASS…bypasses the room correction/equalization? Or would I need to get a 2 channel amp that has some built in room correction? Thanks! |
Current direction I'm leaning: Yamaha RX-A6A using the balanced front pre-out to connect to a Zen Decware (https://www.decware.com/newsite/SE84CKCS.html) powering the Hersey IV I believe the pre-outs are still corrected with dirac but I'm not 100% sure. The downside of the Zen is that it would not automatically turn on when my tv turns on. Are there others that I am missing? The total cost there is around 4k. |
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