2.1/Soundbar audio setup for a big room

[cellar_door]

Hey guys.

Need ideas for a speaker set up. Its a fairly big room. Distance from TV is about 8-10 feet.

5.1 is out since the distance between the TV wall and the opposite wall is too big (around 13 feet) and the TV is smack dab in the middle of a 10foot wide wall. So I imagine running wires would be a nightmare. Plus budget restrictions.

So I was thinking of either getting a 2.1 setup or a Soundbar. Budget is around 20k. Would rather not stretch it anymore but if its really worth it then I could consider going a little higher. Viewing distance is a little far back to might need something with more punch to it than a desktop speaker set.

Usage is 50% games and 50% movies. Music is not important.

What would you recommend? Soundbar or a 2.1 setup? Keep in mind I might not get a chance to upgrade for a while. Any ideas?

 

[alpha1]

I am kind of in a similar situation right now, not for TV but PC. And for music, not movies.
But anyhow the situation is pretty similar and I believe you should benefit from the reading around and analysis that I have done.

For about 20K - we can forget about powered amp + passive speaker setup.
What we have is 2.0 systems - like powered active monitors and 2.1 systems with satellite and subwoofer.

The soundbars that you mention look more like marketing gimmick to me.
1. Soundbars will not have as great stereo separation as two speaker system.
2. Soundbars like Boston Acoustic TVee and Wharf Vista are frankly marketing yarn. I have not been able to find proper published measurements yet. Therefore immediately discarded for sound quality.
3. Wharfedale has a promising set: Wharfedale DIAMOND 10.LCR LEFT/CENTRE/RIGHT SPEAKER BAR (Black, Single Unit) But if you read in properly, you will realize that it is passive. Which means about 10 K extra for the amp.


All the reading around I have done points me to the following at 20K budget:
1. For movies and games - subwoofer makes sense. It gives the the sexiness to the sound. This anyway rules out most of the soundbars.
2. For music - subwoofer will not cut it. Since your use case is movies, I can explain this in detail later if required

For about 20K, the most promising 2.1 system that I can see in India right now is Swans M50W.

 

[cellar_door]

Swans M50W looks good. But a little hard to find. Also was looking at the Edifier C3 and the Klipsch Pro Media but I dont know if they are powerful enough to sound good at a viewing distance of 8-10 feet.

Ive been iffy on sound bars myself but would like to hear from someone who has actually tried one. Maybe there is a place where I could demo one in South Delhi.