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Diminishing returns?

I have a Denon X3700, which I bought primarily for it being within my budget, and capable of handling 8k and HDMI 2.1.  I’m currently in the market for floor standing speakers that will serve a dual purpose as both  2ch audio, and the L/R in a 5.1.

I would imagine at some point, the limitations of the receiver will outweigh the benefits of purchasing higher-end speakers?  In essence I would lack the equipment necessary to truly bring out the best in the speakers.  Is this an incorrect assumption?  Assuming I don’t plan on using anything besides the aforementioned Denon, at what price point would investing in more expensive speakers be pointless?

128x128mlenow
musicaddict
372 posts
 
Sure, there is a point where you will not get the best out of a speaker but most folks cannot hear electronics as well as they think they can. A pair of $5000 stereo mains would sound great. They'd sound better on better electronics but it's a stretch for many to hear it.

And, it would be helpful to better understand what 'expensive' means in regards to a speaker budget, low end, and high end. Five speakers (including the two mains) and subs or more?

Other considerations:  Primary use of system, TV or two-channel audio? Hopefully two (or more) good (not expensive) subwoofers as well.

I love movies but I'm an audio guy first. In your case I'd get better mains, a fair center and smaller surrounds plus two good inexpensive subs. I have the Elac Debut F5.2, center and B5.2 bookshelf surrounds for the smaller TV room (and an old REl sub). Elac is great for the money and there are a lot of other good economical mfrs these days, Golder Ear, PSB, etc.

soix
9,757 posts
 
I would imagine at some point, the limitations of the receiver will outweigh the benefits of purchasing higher-end speakers? 
Yeah, IMHO you’re already there as the AVR just doesn’t justify higher-end speakers and will be a significant bottleneck to good 2-channel performance.  To meet their competitive price points, mass market AVRs use cheap components (power supplies, etc.) so both its preamp and amp sections are severely limited in their respective performance levels.  And no, it’s not hard at all to hear the difference between a mass market AVR and decent dedicated stereo electronics with good speakers.  If you’ll only be using the 3700 I wouldn’t spend more than $1000/pair on floorstanding speakers.  I’d recommend the SVS Prime Towers as they have an excellent Prime Center speaker to match and that’s much better than most center speakers near its $350 price, and a good center speaker is really critical to fully enjoy the HT experience.  And SVS offers a completely risk-free, 45-day trial so you can see if they work for you in your home and with your electronics.  Read the reviews that are universally positive. 

However, there is another option if you think you might get more serious about 2-channel down the road.  Your Denon has pre outs so you could buy a good stereo integrated amp with a HT Bypass feature and seamlessly integrate it into your HT setup (with the 3700’s pre outs) such that the integrated alone powers the front L/R speakers for 2-channel and the AVR is completely out of the signal path.  If that’s a possibility then you could absolutely justify getting much higher-end speakers— it just depends how serious you wanna get into 2-channel.  Just my $0.02 FWIW, and best of luck.

millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Save you the trouble: you can never get the best out of anything. No matter what you do, something can always be better. Any speaker however good or bad you will hear improvement with a better amp. Any amp, however good or bad, same thing. Including even AVR which you are right to wonder about that.  

Diminishing returns are another fallacy. Except in the case of channels. From mono to stereo, huge returns! From stereo to add a center, nada. Nothing. Stereo already has a good center image. From stereo to surrounds, worse than nada, the processor ruins the stereo quality.  

One simple decision- to go stereo instead of multi-channel- frees up so much money you can afford much, much higher quality. Vastly higher quality. As in no comparison higher quality. 

Run the HDMI direct from your video source to your video monitor. Run your video sound direct from your source to your stereo integrated amp. Thank me later, when you hear how freaking awesome this is.
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