Rethinking My Current Music and Home Theater Set-Up

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nicoff

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I currently have an integrated audio/home theater room. It is a large room (18 feet wide x 26 feet long x 11 feet high).

I am moving to a new house that does not allow me to have both (audio and video) in the same room. I will have to separate the two (at least for now).

The new audio area will be 28’ wide, 25’ long, and 15' height. It is big. It will be a 2-channel system. I plan to have my two main speakers plus two subwoofers in that room.

However the home theater will have to transition into a much smaller room (13.5’ wide x 18’ long x 8’ height). I will call it a TV Room since my best option is an 85" LED TV (to replace a projector/116" screen combo). Note: I would consider a short throw projector but I am still learning/investigating.

However, I would like to use the TV Room for audio as well. Since the TV Room is much smaller I am considering active speakers (instead of passive speakers driven by mono amps as I was doing). Anybody here using active speakers for home audio?

Any suggestions or recommendations?

PS. I have been reading excellent reviews about the Genelec One speaker series. Anyone here using Genelec for home audio?
 
PS #2: My main set up (2-channel) will be digital only. I am moving the turntable to the TV Room, but I may add a reel-to-reel deck to that set up. That said, I will still have a Roon end-point so that I can stream digital as well.
 
I fit a 106” diagonal 16:9 screen in my last dedicated theater room, which was 13’ x 18’ with 8’ ceilings. Two rows of seating. Worked well for theater. Not so much for 2 channel stereo which I kept in a different, larger room. I had the gear in a closet outside of the room to minimize visual distractions. IR remotes to the equipment closet.

There is a big experiential difference between an emissive display and a reflective (screen) one that I can’t overemphasize. An 85” LED TV will not provide the same level of engagement as a projector/screen combo with high contrast ratio. To put a point on it - the very best LED TV’s truly suck compared to a dialed-in PJ/Screen combo. I’m sure I’ll get flack for this but this has been my personal experience.

Good luck with the move!
 
In powered speakers you can find a host of options.

Dynaudio has a selection and the Focus line recently added Dirac. For both music and movies I'd also look at ATC. I liked Kii.
 
Mr Peabody said:
In powered speakers you can find a host of options.

Dynaudio has a selection and the Focus line recently added Dirac. For both music and movies I'd also look at ATC. I liked Kii.
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Thank you for the suggestions!!
 
W9TR said:
I fit a 106” diagonal 16:9 screen in my last dedicated theater room, which was 13’ x 18’ with 8’ ceilings. Two rows of seating. Worked well for theater. Not so much for 2 channel stereo which I kept in a different, larger room. I had the gear in a closet outside of the room to minimize visual distractions. IR remotes to the equipment closet.

There is a big experiential difference between an emissive display and a reflective (screen) one that I can’t overemphasize. An 85” LED TV will not provide the same level of engagement as a projector/screen combo with high contrast ratio. To put a point on it - the very best LED TV’s truly suck compared to a dialed-in PJ/Screen combo. I’m sure I’ll get flack for this but this has been my personal experience.

Good luck with the move!
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I appreciate the response and insight about the displays!
 
W9TR said:
An 85” LED TV will not provide the same level of engagement as a projector/screen combo with high contrast ratio. To put a point on it - the very best LED TV’s truly suck compared to a dialed-in PJ/Screen combo. I’m sure I’ll get flack for this but this has been my personal experience.
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Completely agree. Went projector/screen years ago, never looked back. I have a decent (HD, not even 4k) Sony projector and a pretty cheap-o screen, but would rather watch on this than any TV I’ve seen. Not to mention, hard to beat 100” or so, that can be rolled up and out of sight when not in use. To me, art on the wall > TV on the wall, and that’s just a cosmetic advantage.
 
I appreciate the response and insight about the displays!
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Don’t just take my word for it, check it out and see for yourself. An OLED comes close but still kinda pricey in large sizes. IIRC my JVC PJ was 11’ back from the screen so you don’t need a short throw PJ. I did a Live End Dead End room which worked well and allowed me to place the speakers close to the walls.
 
If you are going to use one or more subwoofers in conjunction with the active speakers, check whether your have other equipment (such as AV receiver) that can enable such a configuration.
 
nicoff said:
Anybody here using active speakers for home audio?
Any suggestions or recommendations?
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I know a tiny bit about active speakers. Passive too. My suggestion? Try to listen to any speaker you're interested in. Yes, an "in your own home" audition is the most ideal (just above Youtube), even if least probable/possible.

cheers,

AJ
 
I bought a pair of Dutch & Dutch 8Cs recently and absolutely love them. 55 pound monitors with bass down to 20hz. If you use Roon you can stream directly to them without ANY source other than a Roon Core (I’ve been using my MacBook Pro). Two Ethernet cables and two power cords. That’s my entire system. Sold my Lumin DAC, sold my Lampizator, sold my amplifiers, sold my preamp and sold my turntable. Have a bunch of speaker cables and interconnects accumulating dust. Bought a lifetime Roon subscription and stream Qobuz. The older I get, the more simplification makes sense. I can understand those who wish to tinker around with various cables and components. That was me for 20 years. But for now at least, I’m enjoying the minimalist aspects of this wonderful hobby of ours!
 
RDSChicago said:
I bought a pair of Dutch & Dutch 8Cs recently and absolutely love them. 55 pound monitors with bass down to 20hz. If you use Roon you can stream directly to them without ANY source other than a Roon Core (I’ve been using my MacBook Pro). Two Ethernet cables and two power cords. That’s my entire system. Sold my Lumin DAC, sold my Lampizator, sold my amplifiers, sold my preamp and sold my turntable. Have a bunch of speaker cables and interconnects accumulating dust. Bought a lifetime Roon subscription and stream Qobuz. The older I get, the more simplification makes sense. I can understand those who wish to tinker around with various cables and components. That was me for 20 years. But for now at least, I’m enjoying the minimalist aspects of this wonderful hobby of ours!
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Thank you for the heads up on the D&D speaker brand and model. I had never heard about the brand so I need to do some exploring.
Although I still own a turntable, 95% of my listening is from digital sources and since I also use Roon and Qobuz, your experience resonates with me.

The simplicity and the sound quality that can be achieved using an all-active digital setup sounds very appealing!

It looks as if we will seeing more and more internet-compliant active speakers with DSP. I sense that the speaker manufacturers will be foolish not to embrace this trend. Easier for them , I believe, than for a power amplifier company to try to venture into speakers.
 
AJ Soundfield said:
I know a tiny bit about active speakers. Passive too. My suggestion? Try to listen to any speaker you're interested in. Yes, an "in your own home" audition is the most ideal (just above Youtube), even if least probable/possible.

cheers,

AJ
Click to expand...

Do you offer this (in home audition)?
 
jmusica said:
hard to beat 100” or so, that can be rolled up and out of sight when not in use
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Maybe not that big a deal in a dedicated TV/ theater room, but if the TV is in the living room, the empty black rectangle (when not in use) is just out of place & ugly.
I know others highlight the TV (putting it on a mantle or such) so there's obviously different opinions on this.
 
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