2. amps-preamps
  3. 181263-178750

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
soundswonderful OP
2 posts
 

I appreciate all of the great suggestions and advice so far.  I am attracted to the Anthem solution as it does appear to offer everything I'm looking for, and I remember lusting after their gear in college, so there's a nice bit of nostalgia there.  

The Forte amp appears to offer a lot for the price, especially with ARC included, but it's probably not complete enough for my main system.

General follow up question - does anyone feel as though I will be giving up too much in terms of pure sound quality by going with an AV receiver as opposed to a more stereo focused 2 channel integrated or separates?  Possibly in terms of soundstaging, black background and the like?

Thanks again.

erik_squires
16,060 posts
 

You are going to be a lot happier with a two zone stereo receiver than just about anything else.  It's just simpler and you'll have independent volume controls.

Otherwise, something like an Anthem AVR with 7.2 channels because the 7 channel models let you dedicate 2 of them to another zone I believe.

kota1
2,706 posts
 

You can partner the amp in the kitchen with the ML Preamp, the Unison in the LR. You will still get ARC, the streaming feaure, and can use it as an adjunct for straming whole house audio. Sale is $199-

 

soundswonderful OP
2 posts
 

Thank you both for the feedback.  Kota the ML solution appears super cost effective so I may deploy it for some other areas of the house.  Going to go with a more traditional setup for the living room and keep things a little simpler for the family.  Definitely a great deal on sale.

Erik I recognize your name from diyaudio.  Cheers mate.

In the end my sentimentality got the best of me and I ordered the Anthem mrx1120.  Has the power and features I need and gives me the ability to try Atmos at some point, so pretty excited to try it out.  Will report back once all of gear is received.

Cheers!

kota1
2,706 posts
 

Good news, the Anthem has DTS Play-Fi! Get the Martin Logan Forte for the kitchen and you are all set!

MRX 1120 Features

  • DTS Play-Fi® + "Works with Alexa" certification – Local and Streaming
More to discover