Suggestions on speaker upgrade

[Ketan]

Hey Guys,

I'm planning to upgrade my HTS. I have the existing system as below and some rough upgrade plan in place.

TV:
Sony Briavia KDL-55W950B (local dimming) - used to be the flagship model, has a decent performance but its not a 4K
Upgrade plan: Planning to go with either LG C8 or Pana Fz950/1000 (55 inch only); not sure when shall I buy this, waiting for a good offer/ festival offer

HTS:
Onkyo HTIB 5105B (HTR-518, 5.1 AV receiver) - borrowed this below information from Reju's thread
# HTP-518 5.1-Channel Home Theatre Speaker System SKF-518F 2-Way Bass Reflex Front Speakers
# 8 cm Cone Woofer
# 2.5 cm Balanced Dome Tweeter
# Max. Input Power: 130 W
# Magnetically Shielded
# SKC-518C 2-Way Bass Reflex Center Speaker
# 8 cm Cone Woofer
# 2.5 cm Balanced Dome Tweeter
# Max. Input Power: 130 W
# Magnetically Shielded
# SKM-518S Full-Range Bass Reflex Surround Speakers
# 8 cm Cone
# Max. Input Power: 130 W
# Note: All speakers are gloss finished. They also feature an impedance of 8, coulor-coded speaker terminals and cable, wall-mounting capability.
# SKW-518 Bass Reflex Powered Subwoofer
# 20 cm Cone
# Max. Power: 90 W
# Down-firing
# Output Level Control
Upgrade plan: Planning to buy Marantz SR6012/13 in coming few days

Front Speakers bought recently: Yamaha NS-8390

Meida player:
Xtreamer (first gen) and Xtreamer prodigy 4K
Upgrade: Have a plan to get nvidia shield TV 4k and later may also want to add apple tv 4k

Xtreamer eTrayz (twin bay NAS) - this is very old and small NAS that I have got long ago, may just continue to use it


Suggestions I need:

Ø I wish to setup a decent HTS to experience the dolby atmos, plan to setup 5.1.2 / 5.2.4 type system for this
Ø I live in a rented apartment, the room has a odd dimension at the back (real bad design I feel), the overall dimension approx. is around 18-20ft x 12ft, it merges into another sitting area so feels pretty spacious but at the same time that makes positioning speakers difficult - its rented apartment so planning to make as little changes possible, not planning to go for in-celling and planning to use height channels placing the speakers on the walls at celling height, may use just the front height channel to start with to see how the experience is - at the same time, want to keep the setup dynamic so that I can utilize all of my equipments when I move to own house in near future


1. Shall I retain the speakers I have from Onkyo 5105b or sell the entire system and go with another set of speakers to match the AVR I'm going to purchase?
2. With the recently bought Yamaha NS-8390, I consider my front speakers are upgraded (although not that great, but I wasn’t decided about my big upgrade plan when I bought them a month ago) - also feel I may have to buy a slightly better center speaker, considering either Wharfedale 240c or KLIPSCH R-52C, but would love to retain if the existing one is going to give better performance with new AVR since the new ones I'm considering going to be heavy on pocket - any other suggestions on center speaker are welcome
3. Shall I just retain the sub from the Onkyo and upgrade all other speakers in the system? I'm even considering retaining the sub and adding one more if its still within my budget to get the benefit of dual sub from my new AVR
I actually liked the Q Acoustics 7000i package, but then I feel I can keep it for future and avoid streching my budget too far
4. Any inputs that you think can be useful

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ketan]

Looks like I have added too much details here as part of the question. I'll try to prioritize question I have here to see if I can make it easier for someone to absorb and respond.

I have the following speaker systems as part of the Onkyo HTiB 5105B. Can someone help me confirm if these speakers still hold good in case if I upgrade the AVR to Marantz 5013/6013? Or shall I look for upgrading the speaker system with something that matches with the recent AVR gen that I'm planning to upgrade!?
TIA

# HTP-518 5.1-Channel Home Theatre Speaker System SKF-518F 2-Way Bass Reflex Front Speakers
# 8 cm Cone Woofer
# 2.5 cm Balanced Dome Tweeter
# Max. Input Power: 130 W
# Magnetically Shielded
# SKC-518C 2-Way Bass Reflex Center Speaker
# 8 cm Cone Woofer
# 2.5 cm Balanced Dome Tweeter
# Max. Input Power: 130 W
# Magnetically Shielded
# SKM-518S Full-Range Bass Reflex Surround Speakers
# 8 cm Cone
# Max. Input Power: 130 W
# Note: All speakers are gloss finished. They also feature an impedance of 8, coulor-coded speaker terminals and cable, wall-mounting capability.
# SKW-518 Bass Reflex Powered Subwoofer
# 20 cm Cone
# Max. Power: 90 W
# Down-firing
# Output Level Control

 

[bornfi]

If the question is if it will work, the answer is 'yes'. But, upgrading speakers will definitely take you next level. Alternatively, instead upgrading receiver, I would recommend upgrading speakers first. Hope this helps.

 

[Ketan]

Thank you @bornfi , I get the point. Speakers being the component which can outlast most other components in the setup, I should be spending on that wisely. The aging HT-R518 AVR in my setup is something I felt the need to upgrade as well while I was thinking of moving beyond usual 5.1 experiance. I know the content with Atmos, dts.X etc will be fewer moments of the limited content we have out today. However, a good 7.1 content seems to be common these days.
I'm looking for following options, any ideas what can be a good performer for a room size 17 x 13 (with viewing distance ~13-14feet)

1> Q acoustics Q 3010i cinema pack
2> Definitiv Tech pro cinema 600
3> Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 pack
4> Klipsch reference R-51 bookshelf (2 pairs) + Klipsch R-52C + sub from the old onkyo setup (shall upgrade later to comparable Klipsch later)

Above considering I have already bought Yamaha NS-8390 a few days bac to fill front L/R positions, I should be able to setup a decent 7.1 to start with and planning to add 1 or 2 height channels (if possible with same bookshelf ones or something specialized for atmos) on the walls close to celling (not in-celling) at later point to add atmos capabilities.
Thanks.

 

[elangoas]

1. Shall I retain the speakers I have from Onkyo 5105b or sell the entire system and go with another set of speakers to match the AVR I'm going to purchase?

If you are on a budget and can't accomodate ceiling / height speakers, you can re-use the Onkyo speakers as heights.. The good thing abt this speakers is they have threaded hole inserts at the back.. So you can comfortably mount to ceiling using external brackets..

3. Shall I just retain the sub from the Onkyo and upgrade all other speakers in the system? I'm even considering retaining the sub and adding one more if its still within my budget to get the benefit of dual sub from my new AVR

room size 17 x 13

You should upgrade to dual subs first fir solid lows in the room and then upgrade the center & surrounds..

2. With the recently bought Yamaha NS-8390, I consider my front speakers are upgraded (although not that great, but I wasn’t decided about my big upgrade plan when I bought them a month ago) - also feel I may have to buy a slightly better center speaker, considering either Wharfedale 240c or KLIPSCH R-52C, but would love to retain if the existing one is going to give better performance with new AVR since the new ones I'm considering going to be heavy on pocket - any other suggestions on center speaker are welcome

Since you have the Yamaha as fronts, good to consider a center speaker from Yamaha itself for timbre matching.. If that is no possible, you may consider center from any other brand of your choice..

 

[Ketan]

If you are on a budget and can't accomodate ceiling / height speakers, you can re-use the Onkyo speakers as heights.. The good thing abt this speakers is they have threaded hole inserts at the back.. So you can comfortably mount to ceiling using external brackets..

True, I'm thinking of listening to existing speakers with the new AVR first to see if they sound better and match the AVR, may go with the speaker upgrade in phases then on. More I see around, more I feel like stretching my budget, after looking at bipole Klipsch, I felt like going with that for surround and monopole bookshelf for surround back. This is just to keep all surrounds from the same make/brand, doing so with Klipsch, becoming very costly, their biploe pair is just under 70k which takes up 80% of my Center+Surrounds (side+back) budget.

One more thing, I'm planning not to go with the celling mount for atmos speakers for now, its a rented apartment and I've heard that height channel eleveted on wall (either front or back, since back is close to listening area) may be a better idea, next best to in-celling and surely better than top firing atmos speakers.

Any inputs on below options for speaker upgrade? I'm confusing myself wether to get them rght away or test existing speakers with new AVR before taking a call.

1> Q acoustics Q 3010i cinema pack
2> Definitiv Tech pro cinema 600
3> Monitor Audio MASS 5.1 pack
4> Klipsch reference R-51 bookshelf (2 pairs) OR one of these pair as bipoles, RP-402S, which will bump the budget really high) + Klipsch R-52C + sub from the old onkyo setup (shall add another sub later, may be Klipsch!)

You should upgrade to dual subs first fir solid lows in the room and then upgrade the center & surrounds..

Thanks, hoping to see better response with the discrete dual sub on the new AVR, I shall surely try this.

Since you have the Yamaha as fronts, good to consider a center speaker from Yamaha itself for timbre matching.. If that is no possible, you may consider center from any other brand of your choice..

Need to search a decent yamaha center channel, I was thinking of going with Klipsch here while I couldnt see a decnet yamah center channel either on hifimart, nexthifi or amazon, need to check other sources.
Thanks so much for your valuble inputs.

 

[HTuser]

Since it is an upgrade, I would recommend to take step-by-step upgrade route if you have budget constraints.

I recommend 6013, since it can process 11 channels and got 9 amp channels. You can start with 5.2.4 setup and later upgrade to 7.2.4 with 2 channel external amp. IMAX Enhanced feature support also available in 6013.

In case of speakers you can audition SVS, KEF, Polk RTi series etc.
Consider speakers having 5.5" drivers or larger (like 6.5", 7" etc.)

Sub I recommend SVS - PB2000 will be a good fit if you can afford.

 

[arunkvivek]

I would recommend that you freeze your budget and work around it. If you feel that you can save in short time and upgrade, then delay your spend until you save up money. No point in losing money through reselling during upgrades. You can acquire other stuff like TV/better source and start saving. If you think that you need 4-5 years for the next level of setup, then a compromise in quality makes sense.

Probably buying a good Subwoofer might quench your craving for better experience! you might not even go for a new AVR or speaker upgrade.

If you have decided on the proceeding with investment, personal opinions on the options mentioned:

1. Thumbs up for Q-acoustics + Marantz combo. I have listened to them in whathifi show in Bangalore and they sounded best to me.
2. if you like Marantz, then Marantz + Boston Acoustics is a combo to considered as well.
3. Options around Yamaha - I wish you had bought higher end Yamaha FS. NS-8390 being an entry level speaker does not have best of highs and sounds bloated in the lows. Good thing is that they are priced cheap. If possible, try to trade in Yamaha's back and get 5.0 speakers of the same make (you might lose some money but win on the timbre match). If you are tight on budget, you can go for this combo. I think they belong to the same family but you might have an itch for upgrade given that you liked Q-acoustics.If you can afford higher Yamaha speakers NS-F160 or NS-555, you can even consider moving NS8390 to rear speakers (budget rear speakers would cost around 12-15K and this costs around 18K and has better low end than ones available in market).
4. Klipschs are overpriced in India IMHO but they do sound great! you are looking at a big budget if you go the Klipsch way! if this is going to be your budget, it opens up options on Dali, Polk, Tannoys as well!!! You might end up opening another thread as well.
5. There are also sleeper brands like Magnat, Heco whose 5.0 packages sound great!
6. Tagas are great for budget!
7. AVR upgrade can be held back until you have clarity on budget. It is one thing that gets outdated quickly and also gains discount as time passes by.

 

[Ketan]

I would recommend that you freeze your budget and work around it. If you feel that you can save in short time and upgrade, then delay your spend until you save up money. No point in losing money through reselling during upgrades. You can acquire other stuff like TV/better source and start saving. If you think that you need 4-5 years for the next level of setup, then a compromise in quality makes sense.

Probably buying a good Subwoofer might quench your craving for better experience! you might not even go for a new AVR or speaker upgrade.

If you have decided on the proceeding with investment, personal opinions on the options mentioned:

1. Thumbs up for Q-acoustics + Marantz combo. I have listened to them in whathifi show in Bangalore and they sounded best to me.
2. if you like Marantz, then Marantz + Boston Acoustics is a combo to considered as well.
3. Options around Yamaha - I wish you had bought higher end Yamaha FS. NS-8390 being an entry level speaker does not have best of highs and sounds bloated in the lows. Good thing is that they are priced cheap. If possible, try to trade in Yamaha's back and get 5.0 speakers of the same make (you might lose some money but win on the timbre match). If you are tight on budget, you can go for this combo. I think they belong to the same family but you might have an itch for upgrade given that you liked Q-acoustics.If you can afford higher Yamaha speakers NS-F160 or NS-555, you can even consider moving NS8390 to rear speakers (budget rear speakers would cost around 12-15K and this costs around 18K and has better low end than ones available in market).
4. Klipschs are overpriced in India IMHO but they do sound great! you are looking at a big budget if you go the Klipsch way! if this is going to be your budget, it opens up options on Dali, Polk, Tannoys as well!!! You might end up opening another thread as well.
5. There are also sleeper brands like Magnat, Heco whose 5.0 packages sound great!
6. Tagas are great for budget!
7. AVR upgrade can be held back until you have clarity on budget. It is one thing that gets outdated quickly and also gains discount as time passes by.

Makes a lot of sense, I need to fix my budget for each of these components, Speakers, AVR, Display, media player/sources etc. I'm considering speakers to be a long term investment, followed by Display and AVR which may hang around for another 5-7 years max. I'll start working on AVR, display for now, may add a sub as a couple of you said, to see if that helps. Start saving for speakers and wait for a good time and opportunity.
On NS-8390, you are right, I realized that I made the decission in bit haste, good point on moving them as rear (retaining them or selling them will continue to remain a question whenever I'm upgrading since I have not seen /read yet about the decent Yamaha speaker systems) if I'm not selling them now. I have read some good reviews about Q acoustics and will continue to look at them. Not looked at much around Taga which seems to be popular these days, but not sure if its in the category that I'm looking for, max bang for the buck in intermediate category.
Thanks a lot, your inputs helping to make the decission.

 

[Vivek Batra]

Hey

Not sure if you already decided or bought something. I have something acclaimed for HT if interested please see my post below.
https://www.hifivision.com/threads/denon-x4500h-klipsch-rp-8000f-and-r-115-sw.75160/

Thanks.