System building advice needed


Hey gang,

I could use some help finding the right device(s) to meet our criteria.

I've just ordered Polk R600s that I'll be using as my front stereo pair.  These will go at the front of our 16' x 35' great room where we spend most of our time.  My primary listening seat on the couch is about 9' away, though I will also listen standing and further back.  The Polks are only 87.5dB sensitive, 4 ohm, and need some decent power.  

At the back of our great room is our kitchen.  My wife has asked for a solution that will allow her to hear tv programs from back in the kitchen, without having to turn up the speakers so high.  In this scenario she is nearly 30' from the main speakers.  For this I've ordered a pair of Polk R900s which will hang on the wall above our cupboards.  

Consequently I need to find the a good solution that will allow me to power both sets of speakers (and send the same "front" signal to both pairs).  I also need it to have a subwoofer out, and some form of tone controls or EQ (for the R600s that will be very tight to the front wall).  Dirac would be amazing but not required.  Bluetooth or streaming capabilities are a nice bonus also.  Biggest priority however should be on sound quality for the R600s.  My bias is against buying a receiver, but I'm open minded.  Connected sources will be mostly digital (toslink or Hdmi) and we mostly stream our music.

Budget is ideally under $2K, and I am open to new or used gear.  

Thanks!

soundswonderful

There’s a nice Anthem MRX1120 available here for $1750 that’ll do everything you’re looking for.  Alternatively there’s an MRX720 that’s even cheaper at $1250 if you think it has sufficient power.  Both feature Anthem’s excellent ARC room correction. 
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lisb1g21-anthem-mrx-1120-receivers


https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649926459-anthem-mrx-720-receiver-4k-hdr-dolby-atmos-home-theater-receiver-72-channel/

I’d also return the R900s and get these Audio Engine A2+ powered, wireless speakers for the kitchen so you don’t have to run wires to the kitchen.  They’re also $270 cheaper than the R900s and will be perfect for getting good sound in a kitchen.  Get the B1 wireless Bluetooth adapter and you’re all set.  Alternatively you could get the B2 speaker if you don’t need two separate speakers and that’s only $199.  I have a B2 and it sounds great.
https://audioengine.com/shop/wirelessspeakers/a2-wireless-computer-speakers/

https://audioengine.com/shop/adapters/b1-bluetooth-music-receiver/

https://audioengine.com/shop/wirelessspeakers/b2-wireless-speaker-2/

Just some ideas to ponder, and best of luck. 

+1 @soix , but I would try a receiver (NAD, Denon, etc). My experience has been the room, setup and speakers determine the majority of the sound quality you will hear. Buy used and you can resell with little loss if you're not happy. I'm betting you will be. Keep us updated!

OK, you need a whole house audio solution. Get a Martin Logan Forte amp for the kitchen with ARC room correction and another one for the living room. It has a subwoofer out and the ARC room correction is amazing. The TV RCA outs will go to the RCA in on the amp. Download the Play-Fi app to your phone and you are streaming too:

https://www.martinlogan.com/en/product/forte

 

Review:

Conclusions: It is almost too good to be true!