Upgrading my surround sound system

Christmas themed thank

Christmas themed thank

Christmas themed thank

Mobster
Soldato
Joined
9 Apr 2012
Posts
13,172
I'd like to upgrade the sound in my quite small room (144 inches long by 125 inches wide).

I currently have:
  • AVR: Yamaha RX-V373
  • Speakers (all originally from the Onkyo HTP-038 HTIB):Front Left: Onkyo SKF-038
  • Centre: Onkyo SKC-038
  • Front Right: Onkyo SKF-038
  • Rear Left: Onkyo SKR-038
  • Rear Right: Onkyo SKR-038
  • Subwoofer: Cambridge Audio S80
The sub I think is weak so I'd like to upgrade that first. What can I get for around £300?
 
lucid said:
IMO, yes. If your budget is flexible, then it's worth the extra.

However, if your budget is fixed, I wouldn't compromise the front channel set-up for the sake of the sub.
Click to expand...

Budget is flexible mate, very flexible. I just want the best bang for my buck.

I'm sitting around 3.3m away from the fronts, sub is on the left of the left speaker (same distance from me), the rears are on the back wall to the side of me, so no room for 7.1 in this room but Atmos could be an option I suppose with front highs or speakers that bounce sound off the ceiling?

What sub would you recommend up to say £400?
 
Wow thanks @lucid!

Music is not a huge concern for me, I rarely use this system for music and if I do it is from Spotify.

What is the difference between down-firing and front-firing, do they sound different? I think the P12300-SB looks good. Will that alone provide a noticeable improvement with my current speakers?
 
Thanks @lucid.

Got the Gemini II installed and calibrated with YPAO, seems a bit weak though. Am I expecting too much? Not really getting any room shaking bass but wondered if you know any good sources to test this? YPAO set it to -6dB at about 9-10 o-clock. Anything higher than that it was said to -10dB which I understand to be the maximum.
 
Sorry to get you to repeat yourself @lucid.

Got the Gemini II, I feel a bit disappointed tbh and I'm not sure if that's just my expectations being wrong?

I'm coming from a Cambridge Audio S80.

The Gemini II is better no doubt but I still don't really "feel" any bass like I thought I would. Is there a film or something I can use to test this, I might not have watched the right source yet. I definitely can't locate the sub when audio is playing, it just sounds a bit hollow to me somehow.
 
I thought this might help show the dimensions I am working with.

qzfASc0.jpg


Due to the layout of the room, I have to be ~337cm away from the screen - this photo is taken at that position - so achieving what I understand to be ideal - an equilateral triangle - is always going to be impossible.

However, I could place the speakers within the 39cm gap beside the TV at a slightly higher level - ear height - to hopefully improve the soundstage. Would this provide a decent benefit?
 
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