2-Channel Home Theater

[rgdawsonco]

I’m posting this in the Two-Channel forum, because I’m guessing this is where people with two-channel home theaters hang out.

 

I’m recommending a Two Channel Home Theater Solution to my son.

My son is returning stateside after the last 9 years away (He’s in the Air Force).  He’s now stationed at Barksdale, AFB, bought a house and has asked for advice for his movie/music room.

It looks like this:

 

I just can’t see a way to get outstanding surround sound due to obstacles in the room locating them.  We discussed a few compromise solutions.  We were discussing a total Klipsch Reference Premiere system.  But finally, I just said, screw all this.  Just get yourself a pair of Cornwall IV’s and be done with it.  Nothing else I can think would be better, especially for music, and movies will still be better than anything you've ever had.  (I should note that Klipsch (especially Heritage) series has a significant gravitas factor in our extended family.  So getting anything else would be like showing up at the reunion in a Toyota Prius, when everyone else in the family drives American muscle cars.  When I told him his uncle Jeff had Cornwalls and La Scalas, and Uncle Donny has La Scalas, he was sold.  He did not want to be excluded from the man-club, haha.)  I myself have a full blown 5.1.4 Klipsch Palladium system, but Klipsch doesn’t make that anymore.  So he is going to go with a pair of new Cornwall’s in American Walnut.

 

I think a pair of Cornwall’s would be better than anything else I can think of for this room.  But am I giving the right advice?  What do you two-channel movie/music aficionados think?

 

RGDawson

[billybob]

Cool, Do you know the dimensions of the room?

What are the speakers to be powered with?

Thanks!

[rgdawsonco]

From the listener perspective, front wall is 14 ft wide.  total front to back is almost 17 feet.  The right side wall is 11 feet (cut short by doorway).

 

Initially, will be powered with a Denon AVR-X3600, cuz that is what he has.

 

RG Dawson

[billybob]

I used Chorus speakers and thought they did well in a similar size room for music/HT at one time.

Some may say the new Heresy IV 

would also work.

I do like the idea of 2 channel Cornwall IV however.

Thanks!

 

[YK Thom]

Love it! We used to call it stereo TV. I know several people who are  moving back to a straight up two channel system for music/TV movies and ditching the 5,7, 11, 224.12 systems.

I do like having a centre but could live without it. What I would consider the  perfect solution would be the rise of three channel "stereo" amps.

[dusty_bottoms]

3 channel reminded me of a 3 speaker system in which #3 is hooked up to each of the other speakers. I can’t remember the name of the system/effect but I’m curious how that might work in a home theater setup.
Anybody have any experience doing that?


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[garyrc]

2 hours ago, rgdawsonco said:

He did not want to be excluded from the man-club, haha.)

 

We lived with 2 channel TV for years, in two houses, and it was fine, BUT with Cornwalls that far apart, with the couch that close (as it should be, for a big picture), the people (except the one dead center) might not have dialog centered. 

 

If you do this, can a center speaker be placed above the TV (or below?).  Hopefully, it won't have a stray magnetic field distorting the picture.  Maybe that is a thing of the past (?).   There would probably be a center channel amp in your son's AVR.  It would also allow Klipsch "Wide Stage Stereo" for his MUSIC.  Since he is now a home owner, not an apartment dweller, he could really rock out (or toccata and fugue out, as the case may be).   To become the President of the "man club," if and when finances permit, he could get a third Cornwall, with an acoustically transparent screen that comes down in front of it, and a projector on the rear wall.  Like many members of the forum, I enjoy spending other people's money.

 

Either way, without a subwoofer, be sure the the AVR's subwoofer output is set for OFF, or NO, and that the front speakers outputs are set for LARGE, or the bass may not be sent to the Front Left and Front Right Cornwalls, as well as a center, if any.

 

 

[Kevin S]

Be sure to toe in each Cornwall (at least) so it fires at the opposite end of the couch. Then the stereo image will basically remain stable for everyone sitting on the couch, and the TV sound will be centered on the TV.

[rgdawsonco]

Good points.  The TV will actually be 73" wide.  The picture I posted shows the TV stand wider at 87", but that has not been purchased.  Realistically, the Cornwalls can be closer together, such that the width angle from the listening position can be as narrow as 57 degrees.  I was chuckling to myself.  He is newly married.  So when he and his wife watch TV, well, they are both sitting in the sweet spot, haha.

 

RGDawson

[Kevin S]

In my experience, Klipsch Heritage speakers like to be placed relatively far apart. I would keep them in the corner, toed in at 45 degrees. For the reasons I previously mentioned plus to have a realistically sized soundstage width.

[Bubo]

On 1/31/2021 at 4:24 PM, garyrc said:

 

We lived with 2 channel TV for years, in two houses, and it was fine, BUT with Cornwalls that far apart, with the couch that close (as it should be, for a big picture), the people (except the one dead center) might not have dialog centered. 

 

 

 

Agree, why not push the sofa to the rear wall ?

 

I ran 2 channel for years and loved it, LaScalas

 

Adding surround was something I did as project one winter out of boredom

[kevinmi]

I was really into home theater when it first came out, and kept up with it for a decade or so, upgrading whenever there was a new breakthrough. After a while, it just started to sound to much like noise. I went back to two channel and never looked back. It's never sounded better, either.

[Ceptorman]

For two channel I think I would go slightly bigger footprint and go La Scala.

[Shiva]

Personally, I think it's good to have options. As already said, a two channel system does the job, but there might be a time when those who come to visit will not all be able to sit in the sweet spot.  Having a center channel for if and when the need arises is not a bad thing.   From your pic,  there is going to be a entertainment shelf of some kind.  Looks like plenty of room for a center channel.  Get a quality A/V receiver with pre-outs to add an amp if desired for the mains and with all the conveniences of HDMI inputs, which he will want to have and which can also power a center channel should the need or desire arise.  He might also desire a subwoofer and some bass management might come in handy as well.  

[rgdawsonco]

Update.

 

He bought Cornwalls, they arrived, and they are beautiful.  In his words, he is "just Over the Moon" in terms of satisfaction.  He is still waiting for his household goods to arrive from overseas, but he did have a very cheap, bottom of the line Denon receiver on hand. He's done minimal experimentation with positioning and toe-in, and he doesn't want to change anything because, he says, it sounds so amazing.  Even though he has heard my Palladium system, I've never seen him react to sound like this.  He told me that he was very pleased that the Cornwalls had certain qualities he was hoping for after listening to the Palladiums.  (I intentionally did not ask which he liked better, haha)  I think his Cornwalls  might sound better in his room than my Palladiums do in my multi-use non-ideal room setup, anyway.  He described the sound as amazing, he is hearing things he has never heard before, like how the guitar pick hits the strings, and artists taking breaths, locations, and such.  He said it just sounds like the sound is coming from the whole wall, no indication there are actually two speakers there.  Looks like he discovered what imaging is.  Yesterday, after getting it all running, he said, "I will never forget this day."  We all remember that first time we heard sound that changed the way we think about audio and made us audio nuts, aka "audiophiles".  His was yesterday.  We spent the evening texting each links to songs, while he played on his system in Louisiana and me on mine in Colorado.  As "Dad" I fully appreciated the bonding experience this has been and will now always be.  It has awakened in him a new appreciation of high fidelity music.

 

So, now I am re-inspired.  I'm planning on redoing my formal living room, which I walk past, look at, but don't use, into a "Music Room" (Piano, guitar, and 2-CH Audio).  The dimensions are the same as his.  I put some spare KLF-20's in there to test the concept.  It is going to work well and my wife likes the idea of buying new furniture, haha.  I could do Klipschorns, nicely, but I'm too afraid of that commitment.  So, I'm thinking Cornwalls, also.

 

Overall, I'm pleased as punch at the outcome.  And we have a plan for multi-channel at some point down the road for movie watching.

 

 

R Greg Dawson

 

 

[MMurg]

On 1/31/2021 at 3:02 PM, rgdawsonco said:

I myself have a full blown 5.1.4 Klipsch Palladium system...

 

RGDawson

Just curious what you are using for the Atmos speakers.  You're the first person I've heard of besides myself with a full Palladium immersive surround system.  Are they P-27S as height speakers?

[rgdawsonco]

 

17 hours ago, MMurg said:

Just curious what you are using for the Atmos speakers.  You're the first person I've heard of besides myself with a full Palladium immersive surround system.  Are they P-27S as height speakers?

 

I have P-37F's for the front L-R, P-27C Center, P-27S for surrounds for the 5.1.x part.  And for the Atmos speakers I have 4 Klipsch In-Ceiling speakers, I think CDT-3650-II.  My room is not ideal, but I've done the best I can with it.  I know the little ceiling speakers are way outclassed by everything else, but in practice it works fine.

 

 

 

 

[Ceptorman]

4 hours ago, rgdawsonco said:

 

 

I have P-37F's for the front L-R, P-27C Center, P-27S for surrounds for the 5.1.x part.  And for the Atmos speakers I have 4 Klipsch In-Ceiling speakers, I think CDT-3650-II.  My room is not ideal, but I've done the best I can with it.  I know the little ceiling speakers are way outclassed by everything else, but in practice it works fine.

 

 

 

 

Very nice. No P312? You might be amazed how well it blends in.

[MMurg]

6 hours ago, rgdawsonco said:

 

I have P-37F's for the front L-R, P-27C Center, P-27S for surrounds for the 5.1.x part.  And for the Atmos speakers I have 4 Klipsch In-Ceiling speakers, I think CDT-3650-II.  My room is not ideal, but I've done the best I can with it.  I know the little ceiling speakers are way outclassed by everything else, but in practice it works fine.

 

 

 

Ah OK.  So, the ground level channels are Palladiums.  I did something a little more crazy.  Mine is actually 7.1.4 where the all ground and height channels and one of the three subs are Palladiums.  The picture is the front stage but I've done the same heights in the back too.  The overhead localization isn't as good as ceiling speakers but the coherence of the "dome of sound" is much better with the heights timbre matching the ground.

Apologies for hijacking the thread to talk about Palladiums but I was curious if there was another setup like mine.

[Ceptorman]

Very nice. I have a 5.1 Palladium with P38s, I use P17b for surrounds, I think they're a little more placement adaptable for me than the P27s.