Where to spend on a budget 5.1 system?
Please help me with my first real HT setup! I've been doing some reading and research, but picking between spending on a sub vs slightly better L/C/R has me unsure.
Budget: Right around $1k--I could spend more, but my husband will balk at it. My strategy is to go with a budget setup and agree in the future on components that are underperforming to both our ears.
Current setup: LG C8 OLED 65" TV with audio through a 5.1ch Vizio Soundbar (SB3851). Consoles galore: XB1; PS4 Pro; Switch. Might use my gaming PC with the TV, too.
Current gripes: My soundbar doesn't have enough inputs to run all the consoles (for either HDMI or Optical), and this TV is known to introduce audio lag on passthrough. Audio lag drives me nuts. The frequency response is a little erratic but livable... Occasionally male voices will fall entirely within a dropoff in the mids that makes it difficult to hear dialogue.
Space: Small room--10.5'L x 10'W x 8'H. Carpet floor. I have about 11" vertically between the TV and the shelf below, where I'll have all the front speakers. Surrounds sit on a 6" deep 'shelf' on the rear wall at about eye level. There's really only one spot for the sub. (Yay city living!) See layout below.
Thoughts:
It feels like my options are generally:
- Go with a relatively okay front (C-Notes/BS22/AAM) and bottom-budget sub. Save $150 for later. SAF loser on appearance but winner on budget.
- Go with budget 5ch (Micca MB42X/-C) and stretch for a good sub. SAF winner on appearance but loser on budget.
- A third way?
If I must choose between a nicer center channel and a nicer sub, do I go with the nicer subwoofer? I think reaching for a nicer center means stretching for the entire L/C/R setup due to matching, and the sound-per-dollar tradeoff is worse than going modest front + less bottom-budget sub. Is this way off-base?
Receiver choice:
- Denon AVR-S750H ($400+t shipped) - Seems well-liked here and a Wirecutter pick. Room to grow into a 5.1.2 setup. (I love the idea of 5.1.2, but does that even make sense in such a small space?) Audyssey is a plus, since I don't want to get too far into the EQ weeds.
Front options:
- C-Notes ($200+t shipped) - L/R pair plus the MTM center would offer great value, but the L/R will hang off the front edge of the shelf I have under the TV. I'm DIY-capable but don't do a lot of projects these days, so assembly's a small negative. Size constraints are the biggest concern.
- Pioneer BS22 w/ SP-C22 ($200+t shipped) - Strongest contender until I read many negative reactions to the SP-C22. These are also tall but shorter front-to-back than C-Notes, so I think I can fit them on the shelf.
- Micca MB42X w/ MB42X-C ($160+t shipped) - These little guys make a lot of sense re: footprint, but are they are a bad value when the BS22s are just $40 more? (Possibly yes, based on reading this sub.) It seems like the lows are the major concern with these vs the Pioneers, but is that a non-issue in a 5.1 setup where the sub can pick up the slack?
- Philharmonic AAM used ($300) - I have a line on a used 5ch Dennis Murphy-upgraded BS22 set. I didn't find much info on the web about the upgraded SP-C22 and space is still a constraint, but this seems like good value. Is $300 reasonable for a 5-y/o full set of these speakers?
- Others considered: S2000 (stock issues), Overnight Sensations (don't seem a great fit for 5.1?), KEF Q350 (missed the boat on their holiday sale 😠but 2pr to get an extra for the center channel would have blown up my budget even at sale prices)
Surround choice:
- Micca MB42X ($90+t shipped) - Small and affordable seems to make sense here.
Sub options:
- SVS SB-1000 or RSL Speedwoofer 10s ($400+t shipped) - Both of these are a stretch of the budget, but they seem to be a good value in the sense that they perform well enough to not need upgrading the future.
- Dayton SUB-1200 ($150+t shipped) - Shopping for value and budgetary WAF/HAF/SAF.
Nothing set in stone re: equipment. Any major flaws or oversights with my reasoning? What would you do?
Posted Dec 28, 2020, 9:49 PM UTC · edited
Looking back over my two options at the bottom, I'm more inclined to the second option to go Micca all around with a good sub. My partner will only think about the budget once but will see the speakers basically every day.
I guess I'm worried that I could regret the sound quality of Micca L/C/R.
Can you start with just a pair to determine if they're enough? You will likely be using them for surrounds either way to start and it would provide a good idea on the sound.
I didn’t consider this. Just to confirm, the right way to test this would be set up a 3.1 system? Then I could return the center channel and sub if I decide it isn’t gonna work out and I want to head in the other direction.
I’m a little averse to shipping a lot of stuff back and forth, but this seems reasonable enough.
You will want the center channel no matter what for hearing dialog.
Focus on buying quality L/R/C speakers and AVR. Then expand if needed. Subwoofer would logically be next but you live in an apartment and may be surprised at how deep the front speakers can go with bass.
[removed]
[removed]
Yep! I was referring to returning the MB42X-C and shopping for a new front three--not just sticking with a 2.0 system.
I took what u/Extreme-Philosophy said to mean that I could test out the Miccas to see if I felt like they were sufficient as a 3.1 setup before buying the surrounds. The Miccas are supposed to have issues on the low end, so this gives me an opportunity to see if the sub can make up for that.
Please don't do this.
Plan for a good 3.1 channel setup (or forgo the subwoofer entirely if you live in an apartment), then add 2 cheap micca for the rear when cost permits.
A cheap subwoofer (<$500) will not provide more bass than decent left/right/center speakers. Trust me, I watched an entire movie without the sub plugged in and my girlfriend thought the bass was amazing (so did I to be honest, compared to everything else we had heard up until that point).
Ensure that your front L/R/Center channel are all of the same brand/model. You want them to be tibre matched so that they sound the same. The rears and subwoofer don't matter.
The rears should usually be micca or something else cheap since the audio coming out of them is minimal and doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I made the mistake of buying the same rear speakers as my L/R. Totally overkill and a waste of money. I repurposed them shortly after.
With a good 3.0 or 3.1 setup you'll be amazed at how much better your movie watching experience is (and that you can hear the damn audio). Get a Denon AVR with Audyssey for less than $400, spend remainder on L/C/R speakers. The AVR you can get less refurbished from accessories4less without worrying about buying used.
Edit: for your reference, I chose a Denon x2200w receiver with ELAC debut 5" bookshelf speakers (5.1 originally, now 3.1). Subwoofer is an SVS PB1000.
The ELACs are warmer speakers and the bass is sufficient. The PB1000 only kicks in the shake the couch/floor when needed.
[removed]
I understand the general line of thinking here, but can you make some recs on what speakers might make sense given my space constraints?
The room is small and SAF means I have to have stuff that isn't huge in the space, plus I can't block the door or the screen. FWIW, this is not an apartment. I own the house and we're planning on being here a while; it's just a small place because we live in the city. (No shared-wall concerns re: noise.)
The only reason I selected matching fronts and surrounds is because I was already looking at a smaller-size/value speaker for the fronts. If I were buying larger fronts, I would still go with Miccas in the back and not larger bookshelfs to match the front.
Larger speakers (e.g. Q350s) physically will not fit between my shelf and my TV (height-wise). And if laid down, Q350s would extend past the front of my shelf if I toed the L/R channels in at all. ELAC B5.2s are way too tall and will block the bottom of the screen, even though I think they're shallow enough to sit on the shelf in front of the TV.
I didn't turn up any good options given the space I have, and I don't really have room to place stands without blocking the door. What do you suggest that's on the smaller side?