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Seeking advice for speakers for my Family Room

 Hello experts,

I am starting out on my quest to finally get some quality speakers, mostly making do with off-brand in-walls, in-ceilings for the most part for my family room.

And wanted to get your advice on what speakers to get for my kind of use case.

USE:

So, these will be used in my Family Room where I will be using them for 60/40 movie watching/listening music.  Ocassionally, we would like to be able to pump up the volume and listen to either multi channel audio or 2 channel music for parties etc.

ROOM:

The room has a lot of hard, reflective surfaces (tile flooring, some, tile on the wall behind the TV, it also is a large room (36' wide x 18' deep with 9' ceilings). However, my main listening position/couch and media cabinet and the floor standers will be in the left 15' portion of the width of the room and at 13' away from the speakers/TV.  Pictures attached below.

 


EQUIPMENT:

My receiver is Denon x3700H and I have a Polk PSW-505 12" sub. Eventually, I am open to getting an external amp to use with the pre-outs of my receiver, something like this Class D amp Purifi based VTV stereo amp. But first, I wanted to get my speaker selection nailed down.

 

SOURCE: 

At the moment, I have tried only YT Music (at 256kbps AAC) since I already have a subscription for this. I am not an audiophile and neither is my use case for critical listening. So, while I understand there are better SQ options for streaming music, I have my reasons for sticking with YT music (lyrics, music videos etc)

 

SPEAKERS AUDITIONED:

I have tried the Klipsch RP-280FA with the Klipsch RP440C center channel and found them unbearably harsh/bright. Tried several modes, but couldn't even get through 2 songs without having to stop. This was at loud volumes...

Next, I tried the KEF R11's and these were MUCH better, but I still found the highs a bit bright.

Other contenders (based on what I am hearing are considered a bit more warmer speakers) I have not tried yet but would like to get some advice on before just going through the hassle of ordering, setting up, trying etc:

-Wharfedale EVO 4.4

-Sonus Faber Lumina V (would have to wait a long time to even get these)

 

Maybe later, I might look into room treatments, but I am thinking I will leave that for later, that can be a slippery slope/money pit, but for now, I am looking for speakers that don't sound harsh/bright at loud volumes for extended periods of time. I will probably get a matching center as well (for HT/movies) that would need to provide clear dialog. 

Thanks,

KG

 

ROOM PICS:

 

 

kgtunes
kgtunes OP
9 posts
 

@fleschler No worries. Current issue is just that the speakers sound too bright (even for Klipsch). I have tried Klipsch, KEF and Polk, all of them sounding bright/harsh at higher volumes.

There is a little slap echo on the adjacent section of the room, but not so much in the actual listening area. This is probably because the listening position opens up to the kitchen behind whereas the other section is all enclosed with windows and sliding door.
@ooctaviuss Thanks for the suggestion. but I am pretty much set on the Sonus Faber Lumina V that I auditioned last week and loved. 

maxwave's avatar
maxwave
978 posts
 

´´ the listening position opens up to the kitchen behind ´´
Have you though about a partition screen ? Any model .

Maybe , it is possible to fix 2 twelve inches acoustic pannels on it.

 

 

kgtunes OP
9 posts
 

@maxwave No way the wife allows that. But are you saying to put the screen at the back of the room so that the listening position/area is NO LONGER OPEN to the kitchen?

I think the kitchen being open is the reason I do NOT get a slap echo in the listening portion of the Family room.

Where I get the slap echo is on the non-listening area where the orange sofas are. And this is due to this area being surrounded/enclosed by the sliding door and 3 large windows...

kgtunes OP
9 posts
 

@auxinput @searchingforthesound @soundmd @sandthemall @fleschler @maxwave 

@b_limo @larry5729 

Thinking ahead a bit. Let's say i have done some room treatments (rugs, acoustic panel or 2 on the side wall, covering the windows with thick drapes, moving the front speakers in front of the now-covered windows etc.

Do you all think I should then invest in a receiver with Dirac Live (since it's considered best room correction software compared to Audussey, YPAO, ARC) vs any others? Thinking along the lines of trying to get all the help I can to address my difficult room.

I have returned my Denon 3700H, so that is no longer a consideration, so, am basically open to any receiver. I don't think i am quite at the level of going seperates, so AVR it is.... I was leaning toward Marantz 5015 (but it only has Audussey XT, not even Audussey XT 32), moving up to 6015 is $2k already...

Any suggestions on the AVR to use? I don't really care about the power of the amp section since I will be getting an external Class D power Amp (like the VTV Purifi stereo or 3 channels) to power my L, C, R anyway. So the AVR will only be powering the surrounds.

Given my speakers are the SF Lumina V (4 ohms)...Listening is HT/Music at 60/40 and would like to play at loud volumes @2.1 or 2 channel audio for parties and such for a few hours at a time....

soundmd
5 posts
 

kgtunse,

You might take a look at the NAD T788. Kind of pricey, but when you add the MDC2 BluOS-D module to it (for $549 more) you get Dirac Live Room Correction  and a nice music streamer together.  Check out the NAD T788 review on AV Forums from Oct. 2020 for more info.  I would say whatever you do, don't make any equipment changes until you have done the room acoustic changes. I think you'll be surprised  at the sound improvement. This will also allow you to make a more informed choice if you have a chance to audition any gear in your space. You are correct that the open Kitchen space behind you is working somewhat to your advantage. 

I don't know if you do any streaming, but I just replaced a Sonos with a Bluesound Node in my system last night.  Sounds much better, soundstage and imaging are improved.  I'm waiting for my Denafrips Pontus II to arrive so I can bypass the DAC in the Node.  

 

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