Bought a detached house - time for a home cinema upgrade!

MG42Maniac

MG42Maniac

MG42Maniac

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Lymington
Hi everyone,

I've had my current setup upgraded bit by bit over the last seven years, currently it's this:
TV: 55" B6 OLED
AV Receiver: Onkyo 676
Front: B&W 602 S2
Centre: B&W CC6 S2
Rears: Ones supplied with Onkyo HT-S5305 Home Theatre
Subwoofer: Active subwoofer supplied with Onkyo HT-S5305 Home Theatre

I've managed to ring fence a very modest £700 + any sold AV bits for an upgrade. As we're buying a new build we have a huge amount to pay out for so sadly I think this would be the limit for move in at the end of June. Room size is 20.4ft X 11.2ft. TV will be down one end of the lounge. Viewing usage is movies (1080p & 4K uncompressed) and Netflix.

My partner has asked if I could get smaller front speakers as she finds the 602 S2 too big. To me, the 602 sounds great so I'll only want to get rid of them for a decent step up in quality.

Now I'm thinking if I touch the fronts then the centre will need to change as well. This would eat up most of my budget so not sure if best use of money? This was based on 685 S2 and centre.

I was thinking of upgrading the subwoofer to a BK Monolith +. I've always wanted more bass but terraced house living has stopped me.

Second upgrade I'm thinking is the rears to B&W 601 S2 or B&W M1. The M1 are a lot smaller but not sure they will sound as good as the 601?

I'm happy with the way it currently sounds, I'm just looking to make some upgrades to improve the over quality and experience.

Anyone have any suggestions? :)
 
Any possibility of ceiling speakers for Atmos?

Can’t recall if that amp supports Atmos come to think of it.

Edit: Ah yes it does. Go, go ceiling speakers! :)
 
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MG42Maniac said:
My partner has asked if I could get smaller front speakers as she finds the 602 S2 too big. To me, the 602 sounds great so I'll only want to get rid of them for a decent step up in quality.

I was thinking of upgrading the subwoofer to a BK Monolith +. I've always wanted more bass but terraced house living has stopped me.

Anyone have any suggestions? :)
Click to expand...

Firstly, tell her you'll get rid of your choice of front speakers when she shrinks her shoe and bag collection down to 1 set in each as you find her collections too big.

A BK Monolith would be a good upgrade and you have a nice size of room there, so I wouldn't go smaller than the XLS400.


Don't waste your time with ATMOS or adding in speakers everywhere. Setting up a 5.1 system properly will yield far better results than just adding speakers everywhere. I run a 5.2 system with ATC speakers as my front 3, then some M&K tripoles firing up at the ceiling and towards both sidewalls at the rear, with x2 XTZ Cinema subs. All powered by some chunky power amps and a Nakamichi processor.

Adding more speakers to my setup wouldn't be beneficial and the biggest changes any of us could make would be to consider room treatment. ENsure you have a nice thick carpet, or put a big rug down should you have a wooden floor. Ensure you have some nice big curtains and plenty of stuff to reduce the echo, be it Sofas, plants, side tables, coffee table and a chunk of soft furnishings.

Then ensure your AVR and system is setup properly with the supplied mic.

Or take a look on AV forums about purchasing or building some sound panels to put on the walls. Those alone will make more difference for a few £100 than spending thousands on new equipment.
 
Thanks for the replies! I am having second thoughts on the Monolith +, purely on size. I am assuming this photo is correct? https://tweakers.net/ext/f/hNRNsQmbDETKHQq5usO9dlWb/full.jpg

It's bloody enormous! I don't think I want a sub that is quite so big and imposing. How would the XXLS400 compare to it? I'm not coming from a particularly good sub so wondering if it would still be a good step up?

Thinking of getting some B&W M1 mk2 speakers to replace the rears, they are suitably small but seem to offer decent performance.
 
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If you want discreet but good sounding take a look at Q Acoustics 7000.

Not sure how they'd sound in a new build (chipboard ceiling joists and timber stud walls etc) but in our 1930's solid brick internal walled house they sound pretty damn good. The sub can hide behind a sofa. Gives a nice kick in the back when needed and the sats have a nice flat response. Crash tinkle and splutter on movies and plenty of drive if you want to listen to some music.

Even Spotify sounds good.

Been using them for 6 years with no issues ( had my first surround system in 1989)
 
MG42Maniac said:
It's bloody enormous! I don't think I want a sub that is quite so big and imposing. How would the XXLS400 compare to it? I'm not coming from a particularly good sub so wondering if it would still be a good step up?
Click to expand...

I have a BK Monolith DF+, this might help with size comparison

Black shiny box to the left
https://cookhousestory.wordpress.com/category/lounge-cinema/#jp-carousel-1488

https://cookhousestory.wordpress.com/category/lounge-cinema/#jp-carousel-1353
 
That is rather large! I bet it sounds amazing though :D I think I will settle for the XXLS400 as it's quite a bit smaller but should be a good upgrade.
 
So we've moved into the house and I need to sort out what I am doing with my life. At the moment, I don't have the rears even hooked up. My partner is still not happy about the size of the front speakers and is happy for me to downsize them even know it's quite expensive to do so.

I am thinking of the following upgrades:

TV: 55" B6 OLED
AV Receiver: Onkyo 676
Front: B&W 602 S2 ------> B&W 685 S2
Centre: B&W CC6 S2 ------> B&W HTM61 S2
Rears: Ones supplied with Onkyo HT-S5305 Home Theatre
Subwoofer: Active subwoofer supplied with Onkyo HT-S5305 Home Theatre ------> BK XXLS400

I am hoping this will be a solid upgrade, anyone got any experience doing a similar upgrade? Worth it? Alternatives?

I figured that would then leave me in good standing to just upgrade the rears, they would need to be B&W M1 mk2s due to size and "impact on the room".
 
That sub looks decent but mega expensive! I've got the following coming tomorrow:

B&W 685 S2
B&W HTM61 S2
BK XXLS400

As we've just moved house I cannot really spend anymore money on the home cinema at the moment. I hope the upgrades I have bought will make a noticeable difference though. Next step will be the rears. Was in Richersounds the other day, was very impressed with the Monitor Audio SILVER FX V2.
 
Soooo.... speakers arrived and we have this issue:
30k7ml2.jpg


29535fl.jpg


It's being swapped on Tuesday, a bit annoying but the sound it produces is like nothing I've ever heard before, it's incredible. I actually think the bass overpowers my current sub. Good job the BK sub is coming tomorrow!
 
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