Speakers for Denon 790 (aka 1910)

[pavanhifi]

Hi All,

Thanks to your help, I bought Denon 790 (aka 1910) for my HT system. Its not yet reached home; would get it the next couple of weeks. I am now looking for the right speakers to hook them into the AVR.

I am gonna keep the HT in my living room. The size of the room is 24' x 16', but the TV is placed on the longer wall. So the viewing distance from the TV is around 12-13'. The living room also opens into the dining/kitchen. Its around 8' wide opening and dining/kitchen itself is around 18' X 12'.

With that background, I would like to know the suggested speaker setup. The local dealer who earlier suggested me Paradigm CT70 5.1 package, now says (albeit a different sales man) that I must get tower speakers for that kind of room size, especially that the room is open. Is that a fair assessment ? Or is he trying to sell more to me ?

My budget is limited to 40K for speakers at this point. At the same time, I know speakers would probably last very long and hence I am not averse buying very good quality speakers, slowly and steadily. I am also not a movie freak. In fact, in the initial days it would be more music and less movie. Also, I wouldn't play loud audio at home. So I won't mind buying just 2 front speakers at this time.

So I have several questions:

1. Are tower/floor standers must for my room size ?

2. If so, is it a better strategy to buy 2 high quality front speakers now and add other components later on ?

3. Would 2 good front speakers be enough for music and some movie watching, at least to start with ?

4. Is Denon 1910 good enough to drive those tower speakers (I know a bit about bi-amping) ?

5. Finally, if I buy towers, what are recommended brands/models ? Please keep in mind the current requirement and future enhancements.

 

[spirovious]

Few spk which can match -
http://www.hifivision.com/what-should-i-buy/6882-speakers-go-denon-avr-1910-a.html

 

[iaudio]

pavanhifi, please take the time to read through the threads in the forum. All your questions have been already answered in detail.

 

[pavanhifi]

pavanhifi, please take the time to read through the threads in the forum. All your questions have been already answered in detail.

Thanks. I have been reading through the forum for many days. Still I believe each of us always have a slightly different situation. Otherwise this forum would be dead ;-)

 

[cooltoad]

What iaudio means is to take a cue from other threads and ask for further inputs specifically(from what has already been discussed earlier) which would be much easier to answer.

 

[iaudio]

Pavan, Not really!

All the questions have been answered for similar if not identical situations. Floorstanders are advised only when your room has enough space to give them clearance from back and side walls. Generally a room thats more than 150 sq ft. A FS pair working in 2.0 would serve you best for music and pretty good for movies too.
Also the step by step buying of components is better rather than settling for a mediocre package in a limited budget.
If music is your preference 2 channel is more than enough. The 1910 will drive your speakers but nowhere as good as a stereo int amp can do.

You can try Accoustic Energy Aegis Neo3 floorstanders. The pair will cost 42k. Later you can add corresponding centre and surrounds.
Else try Jamo c405.
Audition some speakers, that will help make a decision. Also it depends on your music preferences.

 

[Sumain]

Hi,

My situation is very similar to yours. The "family room" area where my HT is located is about 18' x 14', with the TV in the middle of the long wall. Also, one of the short sides is open and leads to the dining area.

I have a Denon 1908, the predecessor to the 1910.

I too, purchased my speakers in installments, so that I could get the set I wanted without having to shell out the entire amount in one go.

First, I got Wharfedale floor standing units. I programmed the 1908 accordingly to indicate that I had only 2 speakers, and it should feed all sound through them.

Next, came the Wharfedale subwoofer to add the much needed "punch" to movies, for playing the LFE (low frequency effects).

Next, the rear speakers, which are wall mounted Wharfedales.

Last, but not the least, the Wharfedale centre speaker.

This way, I was able to get better speakers than I would have got if I had bought all at once. And, my system kept getting better and better

Also, there was something to look forward to every alternate month or so, when I went and bought more stuff, hooked it up, and reprogrammed the Denon 1908.

It was a great experience for me. Finally I have a great sounding home theatre which is excellent for music too.

Hope it works for you too.

Cheers

 

[pavanhifi]

Pavan, Not really!

All the questions have been answered for similar if not identical situations. Floorstanders are advised only when your room has enough space to give them clearance from back and side walls. Generally a room thats more than 150 sq ft. A FS pair working in 2.0 would serve you best for music and pretty good for movies too.
Also the step by step buying of components is better rather than settling for a mediocre package in a limited budget.
If music is your preference 2 channel is more than enough. The 1910 will drive your speakers but nowhere as good as a stereo int amp can do.

Thanks for a detail response. I get the point that FS are good only if the room size is 150 sq ft or more (mine is at least 300 sq ft even if I leave side the 8 ft opening into the dining). Is the corollary also true i.e. for my room size, FS are *must* (thats what the salesman was trying to convince me) ?

 

[sud98]

Although a good 2.0 system helps in having a flexible music/movie watching experience. After being in this position for more than a year, I feel one must have a center channel if you are into movies. The subs come in later and the surrounds after that.

For movies the quality of the front two speaker dont affect as much as the center and the sub. So plan and buy accordingly.

 

[Kittu]

Pavan


Figure out if you want a 2 channel stereo setup or a full 5.1 ? And what is your budget .... Most of all what kind of music / movies/ games you like to watch or play in proportion...... And what are your room accoustics (living room/dedicated HT room) .... when you post all these details experts can give you best suggestions.... And after the suggestions you audition all the choices and choose the one which sounds better to you...

 

[pavanhifi]

Pavan


Figure out if you want a 2 channel stereo setup or a full 5.1 ? And what is your budget .... Most of all what kind of music / movies/ games you like to watch or play in proportion...... And what are your room accoustics (living room/dedicated HT room) .... when you post all these details experts can give you best suggestions.... And after the suggestions you audition all the choices and choose the one which sounds better to you...

Well, I would like to have a 5.1 setup eventually, but I can live with 2 channel setup for the time being as long as it sounds good in 2 channel form and can be extended to a 5.1 setup.

I have posted my room acoustics in the original post on this thread. As I said, initially its going to more music (since I have a baby at home), but later on I would do more movies. So I need a balance system. Budget is 30-40K right now, but I can spend more when I extend the system, if at all.

 

[svenkateshsmart]

Pavan, Not really!
A FS pair working in 2.0 would serve you best for music and pretty good for movies too.
Also the step by step buying of components is better rather than settling for a mediocre package in a limited budget.
If music is your preference 2 channel is more than enough. The 1910 will drive your speakers but nowhere as good as a stereo int amp can do.

Hi,

I second iaudio! The AVRs, Yamaha RXV663, Denon 1910, 863 are some which have been discussed threadbare and extensively in each and every aspect.

For the size of your room, I would have actually asked for you think about 2310 rather than 1910 because I am afraid whether the 790 has sufficient power. Anyway, I guess getting a pair of FS, preferably Wharfedale, will do the trick and because there are lots of success stories on the marriage between denon 1910 and wharfedales.

For music, it is always the stereo amp route. Keeping aside other things like sound quality, etc., while the Denon struggles to drive my Torvin floorstanders (of course at less impedence of 4 ohms) and I need to crank up the volume to -17db, the vintage NAD drives them easily at the volume controller positioned at 8-9 o'clock.

Cheers!

 

[pavanhifi]

Thanks all for the useful tips and suggestions. There is some twist to the story though

After lot of readings and some auditions, I kind of acknowledged the fact that small speakers would probably never work for my living room which, together with the dining, is more than 350 sq ft of open space.

I could finally convince my wife to move the 40" LCD to our third bedroom which is lying unused and will remain so for next couple of years at least. So yes, I am gonna have my small HT. The area of the room is around 120 sq ft and I hope it will be a nice playground for my first setup. Also, since this is only room which doesn't have any furnishing yet, I would be more liberal with the speaker placements etc.

With that in mind, I am once again contemplating a smaller 5.1 speakers package, Energy Classic, Polk or Paradigm CT 70 etc. I am hoping to learn through the experience before I spend too much on this.

BTW, I auditioned few systems at Sound Factor, East Street, Pune. They have much better demo rooms than the AVExcellence.

 

[Kittu]

if you are going for a small HT setup go for Energy Take Classic.. 5.1 . Our forum member Chirag007 has energy you can pm him and findout their performance.

 

[pavanhifi]

if you are going for a small HT setup go for Energy Take Classic.. 5.1 . Our forum member Chirag007 has energy you can pm him and findout their performance.

I finally bought the Energy Take Classic 5.1 from Reliance Digital, Vashi for 25K. Haven't setup it yet though. I am waiting for the Maxine transformer to arrive from Chennai.

BTW, AVExcellence, Pune was quoting 32K for the same speakers and the authorized distributor Rivera International, Mumbai was quoting 38K. JFYI.

 

[Kittu]

Congratulations thats a nice deal you got. Do post the detailed review of the speakers after you connect them..... Possibly some pics also... :clapping:

 

[pavanhifi]

Congratulations thats a nice deal you got. Do post the detailed review of the speakers after you connect them..... Possibly some pics also... :clapping:

Thanks. I would surely keep everyone updated, as I am doing so far with my purchases.

Just when I thought I am all set, I realized that there is another thing that I don't yet fully understand (well, I am sure there are many more to come ). So the question is, what's the best way to place the speakers ? I have read Denon manual and some online guides as well as ETC manual which states the optimum speaker placements. So I am quite clear about the optimum height, angles etc. But I am still confused about whether I can directly hang the satellites on the wall using the keyhole at the back of the speaker or should I use some kind of mount/bracket/shelf. If I must use mounts, which are the VFM ? Is it OK to use wooden/glass shelves to host the speakers ? Is there a minimum distance I should leave between the speaker and the back wall ?

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,
Pavan

 

[Kittu]

use this link .

Dolby - Dolby Home Theater Speaker Guide - Speaker Placement and Setup Guide for Home Theater Surround Sound

click 5.1 setup.

 

[pavanhifi]

use this link .

Dolby - Dolby Home Theater Speaker Guide - Speaker Placement and Setup Guide for Home Theater Surround Sound

click 5.1 setup.

Thanks a lot. That guide is indeed useful to select the speaker locations. But I have a simpler doubt: What is the best way to put the speakers at the selected points ? Should I just hang with a simple nail, put them on wooden/glass shelves or use fancy speaker brackets like Omnimount ?

Thanks,
Pavan

 

[Kittu]

if you have cables drawn in the wall for a 5.1 setup use Omnimounts to wallmount the speakers. I think magma(forum member) will be best in this department for you take advice. PM him.