Home theater system speakers - a mini-documentary!
Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2018 8:18 pm
Man oh man, over the past week, I've dived head first into the world of home theater speaker shopping. I've learned quite a bit during that brief time.
First, on various audiophile web sites and even on mainstream web sites (Amazon, Best Buy, etc.), I've noticed HTR speaker connoisseurs prepare user reviews with such detail and articulation that they look every bit as good as an article one might read in an electronics magazine. I could not believe the number of amateur reviews I found online that exceeded five full, extremely detailed paragraphs!
Second, I've quickly learned the difference between "warm," "neutral," and "bright" speakers. Warm speakers offer less detail on high-end treble and have a smoother & more subdued sound overall. They also usually offer relatively good bass response. Bright speakers have a tendency to emphasize high-end treble, sometimes to the point of annoyance.
Speakers with soft cone tweeters generally offer a neutral or warm sound; those with a hard dome or horn tweeter are "bright."
Third, I sorta learned about speaker impedance. This seems to be a murky area, because speakers do not draw consistent power levels; the level varies. I've noticed a number of mainstream speakers on the market that are rated for "6 ohms" (less impedance = generally higher power use) and others rated for "8 ohms." I honestly do not know which is better. A number of high end ($$$) speakers are even rated 4 ohms.
Fourth, I learned there are a bazillion different speaker brands out there, with a massive range of price points! Klipsch,
Sony, Polk, Elac, Q Acoustics, Bose, Martin Logan, Wharfedale, SVS, KLH, etc., etc. One can spend as little as $125 or as much as several thousand dollars on a pair of bookshelf speakers. GOOD LORD!
Last but not least - I learned that a TON of retailers are offering big time discounts - in many cases 50% - on numerous
models of speakers from some pretty highly regarded brands right now. Best Buy, Crutchfield, ABT and in some cases, Amazon, all have speakers deeply discounted.
So, how is all of this applicable to me?
Well, a week ago I bought Klipsch reference series R-51M bookshelf speakers on sale for $125 for the pair. These were going in my living room, which is configured in a way where I have limited space for speakers on the floor (not enough width on either side of my entertainment center for a floor standing speaker tower). I initially picked these because (i) I found a lot of positive reviews from consumers, (ii) I liked the looks of them and (iii) I read they reproduce electric guitar particularly well.
I ultimately returned them. Why? Because upper-mid and high treble frequencies were difficult to control. On my Yamaha RX-V683, vocals sounded boxy & a bit distorted. I could not correct that issue without bastardizing the entire upper half of the sound spectrum.
I also learned that some audio receivers have "warm" versus "bright" tendencies. Denon receivers - which seem to be highly regarded - are often described as outputting a "warm" sound. Ditto for Marantz. Yammies (also highly regarded) are neutral to bright. Not sure about Onkyo, Pioneer or Sony; I saw lots of comments regarding Onkyo but cannot recall what the consensus was.
So, I replaced my Klipsch bookshelves with Elac Debut 2.0 Series B6.2 speakers. I guess they are called "Debut 2.0" because this is the second series of speakers developed for Elac by some dude named Andrew Jones who I guess was well respected in audiophile circles during his time at Pioneer.
I bought the Elacs at Best Blah for $149 last night (Crutchfield is also selling them for that price until 11/26). These were commonly described as neutral to slightly warm. They are also about 3/4" wider, perhaps 1.5 inches taller, and a couple inches deeper. Before I added my sub, I already noticed an improvement! Sound has more fullness using these versus the Klipsch speakers. They are also rated for greater average power than the Klipsch R-15Ms - 120 watts vs. 85 watts. BUT, I still noticed an issue with speech. However, the issue was most noticeable in my leftover Yamaha surround & center channel speakers of 2006 vintage.
So, enter the subwoofer! This was a Klipsch R-10SWi wireless sub rated for 150 watts average / 300 watts peak power. I bought it from ABT for $225 (regular price is $449).
Spec sheet:
https://f072605def1c9a5ef179-a0bc3fbf18 ... -Sheet.pdf
I friggin' love the thing!!! It comes with a wireless transmitter; the receiver is built inside the sub itself. The wireless transmitter is comparable in size to a Google chromecast device and has a small cord that plugs into the "LFE out" jack of your receiver. No pairing, no WiFi setup, no NOTHING is required! It works straight out of the box! Just need to make sure the subwoofer is enabled in your home theater receiver configuration settings.
The sub is powered, of course, so you do need to plug into an electrical outlet.
The thing is OUTRAGEOUSLY powerful. If you turn the crossover dial to, say, 150 Hz, configure your HTR for same, and turn the gain knob up just 60% of the way, it puts out enough bass to rattle the windows of the house.
I re-ran the YPAO auto speaker setup on my Yamaha HTR after placing the subwoofer in my living room (It wanted to decrease output to the sub by a full 10 dB!!! LMAO. I changed that to -4 dB). With the crossover set at 120 Hz and the subwoofer gain knob just short of the 11 AM position, it sounds quite nice.
BTW, when I re-ran YPAO (I believe Denon has a similar technology called Audyssey), it turns out I wasn't sending enough power to my center & surrounds. Those were boosted by about 7 dB each.
I'm still using my surrounds & center speaker of 2006 vintage, and those sound pretty decent now. The whole system now sounds to my liking. Not a particularly wide soundstage, but the music sounds clear yet powerful and lower-end bass now has respectable (but not absurdly high) boom & punch.
I am probably going to add the Elac debut 2.0 C6.2 center channel speaker to my assortment. That's on sale right now for $139. The thing is massive but will fit my space fine and comes from the same series as the Elac bookshelf speakers I purchased for $149.
First, on various audiophile web sites and even on mainstream web sites (Amazon, Best Buy, etc.), I've noticed HTR speaker connoisseurs prepare user reviews with such detail and articulation that they look every bit as good as an article one might read in an electronics magazine. I could not believe the number of amateur reviews I found online that exceeded five full, extremely detailed paragraphs!
Second, I've quickly learned the difference between "warm," "neutral," and "bright" speakers. Warm speakers offer less detail on high-end treble and have a smoother & more subdued sound overall. They also usually offer relatively good bass response. Bright speakers have a tendency to emphasize high-end treble, sometimes to the point of annoyance.
Speakers with soft cone tweeters generally offer a neutral or warm sound; those with a hard dome or horn tweeter are "bright."
Third, I sorta learned about speaker impedance. This seems to be a murky area, because speakers do not draw consistent power levels; the level varies. I've noticed a number of mainstream speakers on the market that are rated for "6 ohms" (less impedance = generally higher power use) and others rated for "8 ohms." I honestly do not know which is better. A number of high end ($$$) speakers are even rated 4 ohms.
Fourth, I learned there are a bazillion different speaker brands out there, with a massive range of price points! Klipsch,
Sony, Polk, Elac, Q Acoustics, Bose, Martin Logan, Wharfedale, SVS, KLH, etc., etc. One can spend as little as $125 or as much as several thousand dollars on a pair of bookshelf speakers. GOOD LORD!
Last but not least - I learned that a TON of retailers are offering big time discounts - in many cases 50% - on numerous
models of speakers from some pretty highly regarded brands right now. Best Buy, Crutchfield, ABT and in some cases, Amazon, all have speakers deeply discounted.
So, how is all of this applicable to me?
Well, a week ago I bought Klipsch reference series R-51M bookshelf speakers on sale for $125 for the pair. These were going in my living room, which is configured in a way where I have limited space for speakers on the floor (not enough width on either side of my entertainment center for a floor standing speaker tower). I initially picked these because (i) I found a lot of positive reviews from consumers, (ii) I liked the looks of them and (iii) I read they reproduce electric guitar particularly well.
I ultimately returned them. Why? Because upper-mid and high treble frequencies were difficult to control. On my Yamaha RX-V683, vocals sounded boxy & a bit distorted. I could not correct that issue without bastardizing the entire upper half of the sound spectrum.
I also learned that some audio receivers have "warm" versus "bright" tendencies. Denon receivers - which seem to be highly regarded - are often described as outputting a "warm" sound. Ditto for Marantz. Yammies (also highly regarded) are neutral to bright. Not sure about Onkyo, Pioneer or Sony; I saw lots of comments regarding Onkyo but cannot recall what the consensus was.
So, I replaced my Klipsch bookshelves with Elac Debut 2.0 Series B6.2 speakers. I guess they are called "Debut 2.0" because this is the second series of speakers developed for Elac by some dude named Andrew Jones who I guess was well respected in audiophile circles during his time at Pioneer.
I bought the Elacs at Best Blah for $149 last night (Crutchfield is also selling them for that price until 11/26). These were commonly described as neutral to slightly warm. They are also about 3/4" wider, perhaps 1.5 inches taller, and a couple inches deeper. Before I added my sub, I already noticed an improvement! Sound has more fullness using these versus the Klipsch speakers. They are also rated for greater average power than the Klipsch R-15Ms - 120 watts vs. 85 watts. BUT, I still noticed an issue with speech. However, the issue was most noticeable in my leftover Yamaha surround & center channel speakers of 2006 vintage.
So, enter the subwoofer! This was a Klipsch R-10SWi wireless sub rated for 150 watts average / 300 watts peak power. I bought it from ABT for $225 (regular price is $449).
Spec sheet:
https://f072605def1c9a5ef179-a0bc3fbf18 ... -Sheet.pdf
I friggin' love the thing!!! It comes with a wireless transmitter; the receiver is built inside the sub itself. The wireless transmitter is comparable in size to a Google chromecast device and has a small cord that plugs into the "LFE out" jack of your receiver. No pairing, no WiFi setup, no NOTHING is required! It works straight out of the box! Just need to make sure the subwoofer is enabled in your home theater receiver configuration settings.
The sub is powered, of course, so you do need to plug into an electrical outlet.
The thing is OUTRAGEOUSLY powerful. If you turn the crossover dial to, say, 150 Hz, configure your HTR for same, and turn the gain knob up just 60% of the way, it puts out enough bass to rattle the windows of the house.
I re-ran the YPAO auto speaker setup on my Yamaha HTR after placing the subwoofer in my living room (It wanted to decrease output to the sub by a full 10 dB!!! LMAO. I changed that to -4 dB). With the crossover set at 120 Hz and the subwoofer gain knob just short of the 11 AM position, it sounds quite nice.
BTW, when I re-ran YPAO (I believe Denon has a similar technology called Audyssey), it turns out I wasn't sending enough power to my center & surrounds. Those were boosted by about 7 dB each.
I'm still using my surrounds & center speaker of 2006 vintage, and those sound pretty decent now. The whole system now sounds to my liking. Not a particularly wide soundstage, but the music sounds clear yet powerful and lower-end bass now has respectable (but not absurdly high) boom & punch.
I am probably going to add the Elac debut 2.0 C6.2 center channel speaker to my assortment. That's on sale right now for $139. The thing is massive but will fit my space fine and comes from the same series as the Elac bookshelf speakers I purchased for $149.