Update:
I got a chance to visit Pro Audio Video in Laxmi Industrial Estate, Mumbai. I initially thought they only sold music production speakers, like pro studio monitors and broadcast equipment, but I spotted a box of the Focal Sib EVO on their storefront, so I decided to check it out. Turns out, they also do home theaters and have a demo room. In fact, they carry more brands than most other places I’ve been to.
Since my last set of auditions, I had narrowed my options down to the Polk ES15s as mains, HTS10 for the sub, and Polk OWM3 as surrounds, with the ES35 as the center. While I auditioned everything else, I hadn't tried the OWM3s as surrounds. After doing some research online, I found that most people use them as height speakers, with only a handful using them as surrounds—and those reviews were generally positive.
I went into their demo room to audition the Polk OWM3s as surrounds. The Polk ES10s were used as mains. I don't recall which subwoofer was used, but we tested a few clips and some music. As a system, everything sounded good. The ES10s are impressive for their compact design even as mains. Unfortunately, they were still too big to use as surrounds in my setup.
After a few scenes, I asked them to isolate the output to the OWM3 speakers only. Honestly, I was a bit underwhelmed. There was a noticeable lack of bass, even with their 4.5-inch drivers. I played them with and without the sub, but there was no real impact. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was slightly disappointed. The speakers are also a bit larger than I had hoped, I could likely convince my wife if they sounded great. She’d still prefer something more modest in size, though.
So, I’m still on the fence about the surrounds. One thought I had was to buy the Focal SIB Evo pair and use them as surrounds, as I was really impressed by their size-to-performance ratio. They also look good in my opinion.
It’ll be a bit of a wait before I make my purchase—probably around 3-4 months down the line. I plan to re-audition the Polks, Focals, and Klipsch Reference set before making a final decision. I’ll also bring my own scenes to demo next time.
While we’re on the topic, I’ve been considering the 65-inch Sony X90L. It’s a bit over my budget, but I’m willing to stretch if it lives up to the hype. I did see it in person, though the experience was less than helpful—demoed by a salesman who was a borderline mythomaniac. Not a word of truth came out of his mouth about the TV. The demo was in a brightly lit showroom with uncalibrated settings, competing with super-bright OLED and Neo QLED panels, so it didn’t really give me a proper sense of the TV’s performance.
If anyone here owns the X90L, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Also, what are some comparable options in that budget? Would I be better off going for something slightly cheaper in a 75-inch size, with a mild compromise in picture quality?
Thanks for the read and feedback.