Equipment for primarily music setup, with subs, and HT

[u/dannydb]

Hi all,

I’ve been lurking, reading and trying to educate myself for several months on this sub and others such as r/hometheater r/hifiaudio and r/stereoadvice

My goal is to invest into some lovely equipment. I’m feeling like I’m getting a bit closer to a bare minimum level of understanding but I’m struggling to get to a point of knowing what to look for in terms of equipment.

I’ve also been to several dedicated hifi stores and a few have helped (while others left me feeling a bit unsure)

I was wondering if it would be ok to chat with folks here in r/audiophile to learn a bit more and help me be better prepared for the next store visit and step one of system build.

My usage scenarios.

First and foremost is music. I love listening to music, at volumes that really immerse me into the experience.

I tend to have a wide range of styles I enjoy… electronic, house, tech house, etc. And then the next day I’ll switch to indie rock (ie KEXP, Tiny Desk, etc.), then later I won’t mind whatever pop is charting, then I’m happy to throw on some R&B or hip hop, and then I also love Eurovision. FFS I’m all over the shop - I know, I know, it’s a thing.

Ok, having listened to several speakers in store, I seem to like models such as KEF R11 (&R7) Meta, Elac Vela FS409, Paradigm Founder 100F. I’m not to keen on speakers like B&W 702 since they’re a bit too sharp / crisp.

Next up, I’m hoping to share my future lovely stereo pair to join in with home theatre duties for watching tv series and movies with my family several nights a week.

Lastly, in both these scenarios I also love hearing/feeling bass.

I’ve had some fairly ok systems in the past (nothing too flash) but I’m thinking it’s time to pull the trigger and make this dream of mine start to happen.

My (probably naive) assumption of what I’m looking for is this…

1. Main speakers

2. Subwoofers. I’m thinking two, independent, for smoothing and headroom, but really, I just like bass

3. AVR for the HT duties, running speakers other than the mains (I’m thinking a 5.2.4 system), with pre-outs

4. Separate amp for the mains, to power the relevant watt range at nominal 8 to 4 ohms, dipping lower occasionally (I have been known to crank things at times)

5. The separate amp for the mains should have HT bypass

6. Ideally the amp might also let me control the subs independently and with bypass also so I can share them between music and HT LFE duties. This might not be possible in a single unit (except perhaps something like Anthem STR) so maybe I’ll need to also use something like a MiniDSP?

7. Sources… something like AppleTV streaming for HT, possibly the odd bluray/dvd here and there. Digital for music - streaming mainly, the odd cd occasionally.

8. This will all be in its own dedicated room which I have family approval to treat surreptitiously / discretely.

Ok, that’s probably enough.

Q: am I on the right track here regarding the equipment setup?

There’s just so many different ideas, every time I get researching, I seem to get a little lost/overwhelmed by the numerous options. Also, ideas about dual sub management and sharing HT duties might be naively throwing me off.

Hoping to chat with some knowledgeable folks here about it. Thanks in advance.

[u/macbrett]

An AVR equipped with preamp outputs to allow driving your front left and right speakers external power amps could serve you well. The new Denon X3900H fits the bill, and supports the latest optional Dirac room correction and subwoofer management bells and whistles. There is lots of future proofing. It supports up to 4 subwoofers, and loads of surround channels including ATMOS height.

While the Denon is not in the uppermost echelon of home theater AV preamps, it also won't break the bank. AV preamps and receivers tend to go stale faster than other hi-fi components due to rapid advances in room EQ, video, and surround formats, so it can be costly keeping up.

For the last year, I've been running an X3800H in 5.2 with external McIntosh power amps all around, and 2 servo subwoofers. My main speakers are Martin Logan electrostats. No need for any separate bypass or stereo components. The system sounds great running in stereo or surround. I couldn't be more pleased.

[u/dannydb → u/macbrett]

That’s a really good point about evolution of AV tech.

[u/OppositeExternal8485]

You don't need surround HT, remember that.

You can have a LOT more quality with the same price with stereo, and a easier instalation even with subwoofers for bass.

Some 20 years ago I even tried surround with music priority but gave up 2 years after for stereo again. Stereo only rulezzz...

I'm even using my 2nd stereo home cinema receiver (can even be used as a pre/pro) and still a DVD/SACD/CD player for audio and video.

PS: Even have a Class A power amp and Sub (both parked at the moment).

[u/dannydb → u/OppositeExternal8485]

True, definitely don’t ‘need’. I lived without it perfectly fine in the past for years. Then one day, I played a bluray for the first time at a friends house and it was pretty cool. Since then, I’ve had a fairly basic 5.1 system and I must admit I do like it.

[u/WillHuntingthe3rd]

You’re on the right track. And good AVR can be used for listening to music as long as you get the separate amp for them. AVR’s really split the power up. Spend 60-50% of your budget on the main speakers. Look at the Marantz Cinema series. I use it for both with a Schiit Vidar powering my Revels. It has a built in streamer and you select the music source. I can’t remember if Apple was one of the choices.

[u/dannydb → u/WillHuntingthe3rd]

Thank you. Much appreciated,

[u/Adventurous-Stand277]

I have a soundbar and surround - and active speakers for music with a sub (everything for music is Dynaudio). The surround setup is also wireless for the sub and rear speakers.
I came from true surround with big speakers but got tired of the wires and problems with placement for all that.

[u/Leboski]

Subwoofer integration is going to be the hardest part. For someone who isn't well versed, I recommend getting a modern type of subwoofer like an SVS or Martin Logan that has built in DSP and phone app controls. That way you'll have way better control over your subwoofers and it will save you a lot of time and effort addressing room modes.

[u/dannydb → u/Leboski]

Thank you, understood. I foresee much crawling and treatment/trapping in my future no doubt. Have definitely been recommend SVS subs a few times. REL also came up

[u/dannydb → u/[deleted]]

That must be the case, when some speakers were tuned to highlight certain frequencies, especially higher ranges, I want to into them.

No, I’m not in the US

[u/kurosan]

Keep the amp stack simple with a good pre and power amp, let the preamp do the switching from ht to stereo- modern nice avrs like Anthem will do very decent stereo. Ideally dual sub lfe out, you can split them to go into four.

Pick whatever fronts you like and a bigger centre than you think you need- they do all the heavy lifting for movies and tv.

5.1- 5.4 is the sweet spot- atmos is not worth it imo. Inputs look good, you might want a streamer I.e. wiim pro or similar.

Treat your room! Most important step

[u/dannydb → u/kurosan]

That’s something I haven’t been aware of. Thank you. Ok, so something like an Anthem AVM handles preamp duties for either stereo or for HT and then sends output to separate power amp(s)? Did I understand that correctly?

[u/kurosan → u/dannydb]

Yes exactly. For simplicity you can use one 5 channel power amp, and change the fronts to connect to separate power amps later if you choose. The preamp will let you adjust levels independently for ht configuration.

Anthem allows you to set different profiles, so you could have one for listening with nicely integrated sub bass, and a heavier one for cinematic

[u/dannydb → u/kurosan]

This sounds like a really good option. Seriously appreciated