5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 lacs

[elangoas]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

@Eddierockks - Your AVR is capable of 9.1, you have good room space too after renovation...Any reason you are limiting it to 5.1 ?

Since you are going the Satellite speakers way and budget not a constraint, i suggest you to go with 9.1 layout (Traditional 5.1 + Front Wides + Front Heights)

 

[[email protected]]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

Hi Eddie,

I am not sure about the quality issue recently, but MK took me instantly to heaven when i demoed it in 2014. I never heard such a huge sound stage and precision detailing in that sized speakers. Ask ranjeetrain in this forum about MK, u will instantly buy for sure.

I personally use Monitor Audio along with Sunfire Sub, yet my vote goes to MK. Anthony speakers are also of great value.

 

[Eddierockks]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

@Eddierockks - Your AVR is capable of 9.1, you have good room space too after renovation...Any reason you are limiting it to 5.1 ?

Since you are going the Satellite speakers way and budget not a constraint, i suggest you to go with 9.1 layout (Traditional 5.1 + Front Wides + Front Heights)

Hi there! Yes it's 9.1 capable but that will be lot off speakers I suppose. The whole exercise of moving out the beautiful CM9 theatre is to de clutter and free up the space in the bedroom. Btw, I was interested in a Dolby Atmos setup hyeah: but the wife thinks that I can have an Atmos setup in the dedicated HT room Therefore, I was left to consider the satellites even knowing that it will be huge difference from my old setup. Thanks for your suggestions thou.

Hi Eddie,

I am not sure about the quality issue recently, but MK took me instantly to heaven when i demoed it in 2014. I never heard such a huge sound stage and precision detailing in that sized speakers. Ask ranjeetrain in this forum about MK, u will instantly buy for sure.

I personally use Monitor Audio along with Sunfire Sub, yet my vote goes to MK. Anthony speakers are also of great value.

Which M&K speakers did you demo? Please share the model name. Based on your strong recommendation, I'm going to get a demo soon. Will be sharing my experience shortly.

Hi Eddie,

Thanks for contacting me on this. Yes, I did have a pair of Anthony Gallo Strada speakers and I have written elsewhere in detail about them. If some one is looking for a wall mount solution and willing to couple it with one or two sub woofer(s), then Strada are perfect solution. They are extremely good in the frequency spectrum they perform and most neutral speakers out there.
If I am doing a 5.1 setup for movies then, I would go for Strada for the Left, Right and Center and for surround you can go for A'Diva and if there is no budget constraint then of course all 5 to be strada.

Regarding Subwoofer, I had most of B&W sub including PV1 as well as PV1D. PV1D is really good sub and matches very well with Strada as I ran that combination for some time but I feel that Velodyne offers better VFM. Dialing in a sub to match the speakers and room is not very simple / straight forward so it is better to get as much support as possible. I do not know how good the Audyssey in your Denon for tuning the sub but I would opt for a sub which has its own Auto calibration mic. Also, if there is tip that I can give with Strada or any other smaller speakers, IMO, it is better to go for a 5.2 set up than a 5.1 set up. I have noticed it personally that a single sub tends to get directional especially when it has to dial in wider frequency range.

Please listen to everything for atleast two demos (One if possible at home) and with your / equivalent AVR as our hobby is subjective to individual.

Hope I am able to add some food for thought!

PS: BTW, I had B&W CM7 and then moved to CM9 and after living with several B&W speakers and subs, IMO, their 800 series is the best and some how their tuning does not trickle down the line and definitely not the MT range. I heard them too and if your choice is between the Strada and MT, then I can already tell you that you do not even have to look at the MT range. Strada is definitely some of the best out there given their size, wall mounting capability.

Thanks a lot for sharing your views, it's immensely helpful! :clapping:

Do you think that Denon 4520CI would be a good match with Strada 2's? Which avr/components were you using?

I've been using a Velodyne SPL1200 Ultra that came with its own mic and after the calibration, I was pretty satisfied with the result. Regarding 2 subs, I think I might not have the space for them. I'll have to figure that out. Till then, I'm considering getting one only at the moment. I'm leaning on the PV1D or Velodyne DD+10 (maybe! yet to find out the local price) Quick question, do you suggest 1 PV1D or 2 ASW608/610/VelodyneOptions? Price upto some extent, is not a major consideration to me for the sub. Also in case of two subs, can the be placed right next to each other with a gap of say 2 ft. approx.? I'm attaching a proposed 2D of the tv cabinet

I've checked the pricing and availability of Strada 2's in New Delhi but no dealer has them on demo. :sad: The pricing is around 4.9 lacs (excluding the discount) for 5 Strada 2's and 1 TR3 sub. Its upward of my budget but keeping in mind that the discount is still to be discussed, the worst part is that they are not available for demo. And that's a lot of moolah involved as well for just the speakers and subwoofer as I already have an avr.

Update: The distributor has been helpful and is suggesting shipping the speakers to a delhi dealer for my demo but by the time they'll reach here, I'll be long gone (I'm in delhi atm). So I guess I'll have to plan a next visit in sync with them and come back again for a listen. So in this trip, will try to audition B&W, MA, M&K and others.

 

[Eddierockks]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

Other option.

I don't like them much. Any/all suggestions are welcome. Also, the round object in both drawings is the subwoofer.

 

[[email protected]]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

If i am correct, it was the starting 150 series, yet it was superior than any other brands in its class. Call denny in Bass n trouble at ghitorni, he will guide you the most. +91 9999016124, you can take my name Pran as he is a good friend of mine.

 

[Eddierockks]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

If i am correct, it was the starting 150 series, yet it was superior than any other brands in its class. Call denny in Bass n trouble at ghitorni, he will guide you the most. +91 9999016124, you can take my name Pran as he is a good friend of mine.

Hi again Pran, sorry for the late reply. Been unwell recently. Yes I did visit Denny and auditioned MK Sound M7 speakers and had kind of mixed reviews. The first demo room where they took me, I did not really like the M7's. Even Denny was busy for sometime with another customer so I had about an hour or so explore the speakers to their full potential. I really liked them for movies but not so much for the music. Also, I think I could have a totally different view from others here but I hated the MK Sound SBS12 sub. It retails at 1.17 lakhs and sound really bad, at least to my ears. I think my Velodyne SPL 1200 Ultra would be a far better bet than that anyday and it's cheaper than the MK as well (retailed at 1 lakh). I was told that MK invented the Subwoofer back in the days. Anyhow, the speakers were mated to a Yamaha 3040 top of the line and latest AVR but still I wasn't really satisfied.

Then in the same room, I auditioned MA Mass speakers but then they were paired with Marantz (top of the line I suppose) PrePower combo. Honestly, they sounded better at Music than the MK's there. I then requested the engineer there to pair them with the same Yamaha and found out that they lacked punch in movies and the Marantz musicality was missing as well. Since I have to pair my speakers to a Denon avr, there was no point pairing the MK's with the PrePower. When Denny returned later, I shared my views with him and he told his guy to setup just the M7's L&R in a different audition room with the MA A100 amp (I think). There they sounded much better but still not upto the mark given their price. Here is the price as follows:

M7- 47k a piece x 3 LCR
M4T Tripole surrounds- 75k a pair
SBS 12 sub- 1.17 lakhs a piece

Total- 3.70 including Furutech wires

The max discount from his side was a measly 8% and that too if bought as a system. Otherwise he said he could only extend 5%. I don't know but for a retail price of 3.70 lakhs (including wires etc.) and that too just for the speakers and sub, I wasn't satisfied and felt that it might be a bad choice going for the MK's. Had they retailed for a lakh rupees lesser, I would have been able to justify their price. But, this could be just me. YMMV. As it is, there are rare reviews about MK M7's on the internet.

He told me that Apex wasn't available for demo and would get them only against confirmed order. He himself told me that nobody buys Apex and he doesn't have any experience with it! The Radius were there but I did not like them one bit aesthetically. Otherwise also I wasn't that keen on the Radius series. I really liked the Apex series but so is my luck that I couldn't find them on demo. The B&W M1's were unavailable for demo at that moment and I was assured that I could have an audition when next in Delhi. I have almost forgotten about the Strada 2's as well as they would not fit in my budget.

So overall, on this trip, I was only able to audition the MK M7 theater package. The Apex and Radius series are off my list now. Will be auditioning the B&W MT 50 and MT60D on my next trip as well as Goldenear SuperSat 3, 50 and 60 series packages. Anybody has any experience with either of the Goldenear SC series? Please do share your input. They have rave reviews and I think they just might have what I am looking for. Let's hope for the best.

 

[[email protected]]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

Hi Eddie,

What i've demoed and what you demoed, the models were different. I forgot to mention that i demoed it with SVS PC-13 Ultra which cannot be compared with the stock model of MK. Any how, thanks for the detailed input.

MK is good for movies, not for music.. True fact !! There are many dealers available in delhi for majority brands. You can cover all of them in 2 days.

 

[Eddierockks]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

Hi Eddie,

What i've demoed and what you demoed, the models were different. I forgot to mention that i demoed it with SVS PC-13 Ultra which cannot be compared with the stock model of MK. Any how, thanks for the detailed input.

MK is good for movies, not for music.. True fact !! There are many dealers available in delhi for majority brands. You can cover all of them in 2 days.

Pran I am myself confused at the moment to be very honest with you. Let me break down my dilemmas with you and other forum members:

Option 1:

- Retain the B&W CM9 theatre in bedroom with existing Samsung 51" plasma and PJ+motorized screen (yet to buy)

- Buy a new HT setup for dedicated HT room as and when it is ready with latest equipment available at that time (I am guessing 2017)

Problem in Option 1:

- I have a door on the right side of the wall which limits the flexibility of placing the right front speaker on the right side. Refer to the 2D drawing posted on the last page.
- Out of total wall length of 13', almost 42 inches is taken by that door, which leaves me with a remaining of 9'6"
- As I have to place the TV on the centre of the wall (i.e. 13' long wall length), the speakers have to placed in the similar fashion as well i.e. centre of the overall wall length.
- Leaving 42" from the left side of the wall to maintain symmetry, I am left with only roughly 6' of space to place Left, Centre and Right channel speaker.
- This results in speakers extremely close to each other with subwoofer placed on the extreme left of the tv wall.
- I don't think that the left front will look good if I start my speaker placement like :
Left, Subwoofer, Centre and then the Right speaker. It will look odd I am sure!
- Ok, even if I ignore the closeness of these speakers, and stick to Sub,L,C,R arrangement, I can say that they will look good with the wall hung tv.
- But the problem will arise if I install the pj screen as well, which I now want to, after recently purchasing the Epson TW-8200.
- The screen , as per my understanding, should obviously not obstruct the door that leads to my dressing room.
- I am in that case bound to use the available space on the tv wall i.e. left area to the door.
- Now, let's assume that when I would want to use the pj screen, with the above mentioned arrangement of my speakers, the screen will cover almost all of the available tv wall (even if I install a 100" motorized screen, assuming it measures 56"x96" i.e. 4'8"x8' out of the available 9' length!!). In this setup, the speakers would be placed in the following order: Subwoofer, Left, Centre and then the Right speaker. It will look out of place/sync/symmetry with respect to the pj screen of course with sounds of the left speaker coming from almost the center of the screen due to it's placement.

Option 2:

- Purchase a new satellite speaker package with a new Atmos supporting AVR for my bedroom

- Pack the Denon 4520+CM9 theater for later use in my dedicated HT room.

Problems in Option 2:

- I recently had a demo of a Liberty perforated screen, which will be required in case I plan to buy satellite speakers (to be wall mounted around the TV when PJ wouldn't be used).
- At all seats at that dealer, I was annoyed by a glare resulting from the projector in the centre of the screen. I guess the screen was glossy which I was told that all perforated screens are and I cannot imagine buying something like that for myself and countering that on a daily basis.
- If that was not enough, that dealer told me to stay away from satellites as I have already been using floorstanding speakers from past 2 years stating that no matter how much I spend, the sound will never be in the same league as floorstanding speakers. He further added that I will almost spoil the whole experience if I add a perforated screen on top of them.
- To me, I think it makes sense because on one hand, I am increasing my bedroom area by adding almost 50 sq. feet of space (by removing the store wall and adding sofas) and on the other hand, I will be downgrading from floorstanding speakers to satellites.

Why I am again considering retaining the B&W CM9 theater in my bedroom area and not shift it to the dedicated HT room

- Since last week itself after my projector purchase, I am madly in love with the bigger picture and would like to have that facility in the comfort of my bedroom area.
- My dedicated HT room isn't ready at the moment and no plans to do it till 2017.
- Technology is ever evolving and I have learnt it very recently with the launch of Dolby Atmos. I am yet to demo it but reading on the internet about it and speaking to a few dealers, they say it's awesome and new HT setups should have it if they can.
- This means that within just 1.5 year of my purchase of the Denon 4520CI AVR, it now lacks the latest toy "Dolby Atmos". When I bought it, it retailed for 2.40 lacs and was top of the line product from Denon with great reviews.
- I am also aware that DTS is also launching DTS:X in their answer to Atmos soon this year.
- It never did struck me that just like phones, laptops, consoles, these are also equipment and can get outdated soon enough.
- All this means that if I keep the Denon 4520+CM9 theater reserved for my dedicated HT room, which I am not even going to begin constructing by next year also, it will be lying unused for more than 2 years. Makes no sense.
- There is no other place in my house where I can install the Denon and CM9's with or without the pj.

Result: #ConfusionMax lol :lol:

 

[Eddierockks]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

I have a meeting with my architect tomorrow. Will try to workout some possibility of shifting the door, although there is lesser hope without unless incurring heavy amounts. If not, then I think I might have to content myself with the B&W setup with TV. I might pack the pj for the meanwhile. Let's see how it goes.

 

[[email protected]]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

You are wasting money Eddie.. B&W's are very good speakers, keep it, use it for more time and later shift them to HT and buy a good sound bar/dock for your bedroom or even a wireless system like Sonos. Once you develop enough craving to setup your HT room, think then. New electronics/technology will become obsolete in months, beware.

HTIB/Satellites will never match sound from a full frame speaker. Choice is yours !!

 

[Eddierockks]

Re: 5.1 Satellite HT for bedroom: MA Apex 5.1 vs B&W MT 50 vs B&W MT-60D Budget 3-4 l

You are wasting money Eddie.. B&W's are very good speakers, keep it, use it for more time and later shift them to HT and buy a good sound bar/dock for your bedroom or even a wireless system like Sonos. Once you develop enough craving to setup your HT room, think then. New electronics/technology will become obsolete in months, beware.

HTIB/Satellites will never match sound from a full frame speaker. Choice is yours !!

You are right Pran. I think I went too easy with the drift of new technology not realizing that this year, it's Atmos, DTS:X, etc., next year, there might be other new things. One cannot and should get carried away (which I clearly did).

Anyhow, from past 2 days, I have been listening to a lot of music and even new genres, instruments, etc. really extensively after making that post. It has reaffirmed my thoughts of retaining the existing system as it is, with or without the projector in my bedroom.

Also met my architect today, discussed the problem of speaker placement with him (when used with projector screen). After several permutations and combinations, he suggested to move the door on the right side towards the left side by let's say around 12-14 inches. Exact distance will be finalized soon. Nevertheless, he meant that by doing this, I will have about 15-18 inches approximately for the right speaker to placed on that extreme right side. How do you suggest this option of speaker placement? Right on the extreme right of the wall and left on the extreme left of the wall? The total wall measuring 13' in all. I don't think I am left with other options otherwise.

Much thanks.