Advice on 5.1 please

Kohaashi · 24 Dec 2012 at 18:34

Hi

I'm planning on getting a 5.1 system for my room.
I've currently got a 42 inch Panasonic Plasma TV and the room is 10 feet x 9 feet wide (pretty small).

I've got my eyes on the Monitor Audio BX2 5.1 setup with a Yamaha RXA820 AV Receiver. My budget is a max of £1500 for speakers and AV.

I've never had a proper 5.1 system before (I had a cheap Logitech system a few years ago) so I thought I would ask here about a few things first.

Firstly, as my room is small, is it still big enough for 5.1?
I originally thought that the speakers I'm looking at may be too much for this small room, but I've been lead to understand that it's not about the power, but the quality and therefore the larger speakers should be fine. I also plan to move in a year so the idea of getting a larger system now is to try and future-proof somewhat so I don't have to change speakers again soon after.

I understand that 5.1 works best if you are at least 6 feet away from the TV/Front speakers, however I also understand that in order to get the most from a 1080P 42" TV you should be no more than 5feet from the TV, otherwise you enter 720p territory. Is this correct?

I plan to have the TV on the shorter wall and sit about 6 - 7 feet away from the TV. This would leave about 3 feet behind me. I then plan to mount the BXFX Dipole speakers on the side walls.

Any comments or advice is appreciated.
Thanks

lucid · 25 Dec 2012 at 00:24

That sounds like a nice system. I like Yamaha amps. Having installed quite a few this year and running one at home I find them very user friendly, sweet sounding if a tad under powered. However, Monitor Audio speakers are another favourite of mine. They are efficient so will make the best of the power on offer. They are also one of the few brands that do dipole/bipole surrounds at a sensible price. Nice choice.

The question about optimum TV distance versus optimum speaker distance is one of those situations where practicality has to take precedence over theoretical "best" ideals. Go with what works in your room. Lots of people watch their TV from more than the recommended distance. Don't sweat it. Enjoy!

413x · 25 Dec 2012 at 00:35

I have a Yamaha v1067 and a mix of monitor audio bx5s, rxcentre, bxfx rears and a currently faulty rsw12 Subwoofer

Looks awesome and sounds like good too

Kohaashi · 25 Dec 2012 at 16:56

Thanks for the comments guys.
How will the speakers be in a small room? Will they be OK? And is sitting 6 - 7 feet away from the Front speakers enough?

Thanks

413x · 25 Dec 2012 at 19:29

I sit 5 feet from my bx5s ..awesome

Good speakers work just as well quiet as loud. :-)

5 feet...ish

Kohaashi · 25 Dec 2012 at 23:07

al4x said:
I sit 5 feet from my bx5s ..awesome

Good speakers work just as well quiet as loud.

5 feet...ish
http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss77/al4xs/IMG_20121224_011655.jpg[/IMG[/QUOTE]

Thanks.
Nice setup. Is that TV 46"? looks very similar to mine, although mine is 42"

413x · 25 Dec 2012 at 23:35

Chadd said:
Thanks.
Nice setup. Is that TV 46"? looks very similar to mine, although mine is 42"

Yeah 46. Kind of wish I'd gone 50. Trying to figure out best way of raising the tv so the centresspeaker can sit on the unit!

The photo is bad. The camera doesn't like the leds

chaparral · 25 Dec 2012 at 23:37

Chadd said:
the room is 10 feet x 9 feet wide (pretty small).

The same size as my room...

I only have a kef 5005.2 sat+sub setup..which is perfect for me as I can never have the volume high where I live..

Kohaashi · 26 Dec 2012 at 01:29

al4x said:
Yeah 46. Kind of wish I'd gone 50. Trying to figure out best way of raising the tv so the centresspeaker can sit on the unit!

The photo is bad. The camera doesn't like the leds

How about this? not sure if it would give you enough room though. Or you could wall mount?

I plan to wall mount mine and put the centre speaker on the desk below.

Kohaashi · 27 Dec 2012 at 03:37

I'm now thinking that money might be better spent on a larger screen (55") and smaller/cheaper speakers. Hopefully this should provide a better over-all experience.

The optimum viewing distance for a 55" appears to be approx 86" or 7 feet, which is more than the recommended minimum of 6 feet for 5.1. I'm a little short sighted as well, so the closer the screen (or larger the screen) the better in my opinion.

People seem to recommend spending a ratio of approx 40:60 between AV and Speakers so maybe something like the Yamaha RXV673 & Q Acoustics 2000i 5.1? These both appear to be highly rated by What HiFi (although I would have to hear them for myself).

I guess the only problem would be selling the TV I have; I couldn't justify the purchase of another TV otherwise. :confused:

413x · 27 Dec 2012 at 10:11

Tvs unfortunately dont hold their value at all.
I kind of think I should have gone for a bigger tv as I said.

I have a beefy amp but I was running my MA system off a v371 and tbh it was more than acceptable. I don'tfeel iIl need a higher spec amp than I have ever (v1067)
What I wouldn't skimp on is speakers. A lot will disagree but I found speakers/tv to be more important than amp. What the amp can do however is amazing. It's the only piece of technology I have bought in years that I have trawled the 100+ page manual!

Also think once you get into above budget av (proper 5.1)you really get less and less improvement for more and more money. I won't be making more than 2 upgrades to my 5.1 (full MA rx 5.1)

413x · 27 Dec 2012 at 10:14

Chadd said:
How about this? not sure if it would give you enough room though. Or you could wall mount?

I plan to wall mount mine and put the centre speaker on the desk below.

I would wall mount but I keep moving about the country
I looked at that. It's stupidily expensive and I'm also not sure of the height