Questions About 5.2.4 System

[Khashmi]

Never owned a wired speaker or amp before but decided to take the plunge and get the basement pre-wired for a 5.2.4 system. Room size is approx. 250 sq. ft. with 7.4 foot ceiling height. Initially, I was going to go for the setup recommended by wirecutter (Polk Audio s15,s10, s10 and rsl speedwoofer 10s) but my AV guy advised that I should do some more research, while we wait for the basement to be completely finished.  He had advised Concerta M10 as fronts and M8’s as rears and told me to invest more in the center as it does a lot of work for a HT system.  Well, one thing led to another and I ended up gravitating towards Klipsch (a brand I was barely familiar with) but I soon realized that it was highly respected and was able to find a lot of reviews and resources. I would especially like to thank Youthman, for his advice as I started looking in to buying second hand equipment to start building my system.  Just a week after seriously looking, I have snagged a pair of Walnut RP-8000F and RP-504C as my front stage from a guy in CT.  I intend to go pick them up next weekend, as it’s a 3 hr drive.

 

I apologize for the long preamble, but wanted to give some context as to my HT background, from knowing next to nothing about Klipsch (10 days ago) from now owning their highly reviewed front and center speakers from the Reference Premier line. That leaves me with selecting a receiver, subs (didn’t realize 2 subs was a thing either), rear surround speakers, and 4 ceiling speakers to gather.  This is where I need more direction.

The way the room is setup, the couch will be directly against the back wall. On each corner of the back wall, I have wires for the 2 rear surround speakers. Initially, I was thinking of putting up Klipsch’s wide dispersion dipole speakers on the back wall right above the couch but I learned yesterday that it will ruin the atmos effect and that I should get direct radiating speakers instead? Please tell me if there is any merit to this? The problem with Klipsch’s direct radiating speakers is that they have a port in the back, which needs to breathe so mounting them up against the back wall does not seem to be advised either. Plus they will be pointed towards to the front end of the room, vs. to the main listening position or MLP (new lingo, I’m learning).  

Question: is it necessary to stick with the klipsch line for direct radiating rear surrounds or get something like the Revel Concerta M8 that are small and can be angled towards the MLP. Will the RP-8000f and 504c play well with the Revel M8 or am I overthinking it?  The other benefit I see going with Concerta M8 is that they will be smaller in size too, which is a factor if I am mounting them at ear level just above the couch’s back.

 

Question: In one YouTube video, I saw a guy who owns the same front stage and used RP-600M as rear surrounds (which again I thought was off, because they were flush against the wall with no room to breathe). The one interesting thing about this setup, was that instead of installing the RP-600M direct above the back of the couch, he installed to the walls adjacent to the each corner of the couch, so the speakers were firing directly in to the MLP.  It was more of a side surround setup vs. a rear surround.  If you guys think the Concerta M8 will play well, do I need to even bother with side mounting since they can be angled in to the MLP?

The Front wall (besides having the wires for the speakers, also has two sub outs as well). Initially, I was thinking of going with dual RSL Speedwoofer 10s, but learned that I am better off pairing the RP-8000f (which already has good bass extension) with something more potent that will go even deeper. SVS was also a name I wasn’t familiar with 10 days ago, but 8 out of 10 reviewers recommended it.  At the very least, dual SVS PB-1000s or PB-2000’s? Any recommendation here? Is the PB-2000 Pro worth saving money for? Assuming if I just get one sub in the beginning, and buy the second sub later when the budget allows, it won’t have an adverse effect (or am I better off buying both subs before I install the system). Both subs have to be on the main front wall based due to space limitations and furniture.  Not that I wasn’t looking in to Klipsch subs, but I’ve run across multiple reviews advising to stay away from their subs and stick with a specialty sub co like SVS.  Let me know if there is other (cheaper brands that I should consider) that will complement the already good bass extension of the RP-8000f.

Haven’t bought the ceiling speakers yet, but my AV guy was recommending 8 inch vs. 6.5 inch speakers for heights. Any recommendations there? I know Klipsch makes ceiling speakers too with tweeters that can pointed towards the MLP, so that is something I will consider.  It’s hard to find used ceiling speakers though.

Rounding this off will be a receiver that can power 9 channels and is future proof. I am gravitating towards the Denon X3700H with 9.2 channels, which should be able to power all my speakers.  Hopefully, that is a good choice. Let me know if you guys think otherwise.

FYI-My current 5.1 wireless setup is the Sonos Arc, with gen 2 sub and two One’s as rear surrounds in my living room, which is right above the basement. Thinking of moving it to the basement (once finished), while I gather all my wired equipment.

[inMotionGraphics]

Lots to unpack here, so I'll just address a few of your questions that I have personal experience with.

 

5.2.4 is a good speaker layout choice, so your research has served you very well. @Youthman is a legend, and I too love his videos. Congrats on your RP front stage purchases. You've done very well here and you will definitely love them... 🙂

 

Regarding the surround speakers, surround speakers actually do go on the side walls, either directly adjacent to the MLP, or slightly behind the MLP (ca. 10 degrees), but on the side wall. This is also where you would traditionally put the surround speakers in a 5.2.4 set up. Rear surrounds only come into play when you step up to a 7 bed channel system such as 7.1 or 7.1.4 for example. And these rear surrounds go on the back wall. So with that in mind, in your setup, i would try and mount the surround speakers on the side wall in line with the MLP.

 

Dolby Atmos spec recommends direct radiating, the best of which for your set up would be the RP-600M, however many of us still use wide dispersion speakers for the surrounds and they work great. But since your surrounds will likely be quite close to the rear wall, I think direct radiating would be better. If you can afford the RP-600M's, I would go with those, but you can just as easily go with a lower RP model and save some money if you prefer. Consider a wall mount bracket that can add a bit of space between the rear port and the wall to deal with the port issue.

 

I highly recommend you familiarize yourself with Dolby's speaker layout recommendations here: https://www.dolby.com/about/support/guide/speaker-setup-guides/5.1.4-overhead-speaker-setup-guide/

 

 

Just remember though, these are just recommendations, and you can (and most likely will need to) adjust to your specific room situation and environment.

 

You can't go wrong with SVS subs, and I think it is wise to go with them over the Klipsch subs if you can afford them. Since I use Klipsch subs, I can't offer you more advice on SVS subs other than to go with the biggest two that you can afford and fit in your room... 🙂

 

I hope this helps somewhat...