Home theatre/stereo dilemma

[AmosMoses]

Hopefully someone here can point me one way or another.

Iam wanting to upgrade my home stereo system. I currently have an older low level LG soundbar with sub. It's fine but I'd like something more. Soundbars are very popular and there are some nice units from samsung and others. My issue is my living room has surround speaker ports already wired, 4 of them, 2 front and 2 rear so if I bought a 5 speaker system it would integrate perfectly to my living room.

Alot of the higher end soundbars have 2 rear wireless speakers which is cool but I can't use my wall mounts with wireless speakers because wireless speakers need power wires not speaker wires. This reality and the fact that this system would primarily be used for music kind of leads me to think I should just piece together a 5 speaker system (wired) and get a receiver.

Anyone here have any input on this dilemma? Iam pretty ignorant about home audio stuff.

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[mx5red]

If you are ok spending for the receiver/speakers then it’ll sound better.
You can even get pretty decent surround sound packages that aren’t horrifically expensive like a Klipsch reference cinema system. If you’re interested in music then larger front sound stage speakers will sound better still. Budget/sky is the limit.
Crutchfield is a good reference.

 

[AmosMoses]

If you are ok spending for the receiver/speakers then it’ll sound better.
You can even get pretty decent surround sound packages that aren’t horrifically expensive like a Klipsch reference cinema system. If you’re interested in music then larger front sound stage speakers will sound better still. Budget/sky is the limit.
Crutchfield is a good reference.

Yep, that's the set Iam considering. Amazon has it and a Yamaha receiver for 699.

 

[Iamstubb]

I've had a similar dilemma. My living room is wired for 4 speakers, sub, and center channel (independent from TV input). I am not too particular about movies, but I am about music. I have an older system, though. I spent time (and some money) in my latest TV/Amp upgrade to tune my system using a digital sound processor from MiniDSP and the free ware REW. With that little extra investment, the system sounds amazing. Playing in 2.1 (no center) you can't even tell the center channel is not playing. The stereo imaging is that good. So-to help you out with your question, decide which is your priority, cinema, or music. The cinema systems sound pretty good for movies, but I found that they lack for music, especially if there is not much integration with the subwoofer. It may also be becasue they are generally small speakers with limited range. I think the reviewer said as much for the Klipsch system mentioned. Also, for that atmos design, I think results may vary based on ceiling height, and other acoustic things and it might be hard to get the most from it. A solid 4.1 or 5.1 with quality speakers properly integrated will sound pretty good, and you can get better speakers for that $1400 you would spend on the atmos system. I recently bought a Yamaha amp (my other past favorites are NAD and Onkyo) and I must say I was pleased. The Yamaha proprietary tuning that is integrated into the amp is simple to do and is well reviewed. I think it did a good job integrating the 5.1 system I have. But overall it didn't match the custom tuning I was able to do myself for listening to music in 2.1 mode.

 

[Y-Guy]

I went the soundbar route, had speakers installed in the ceiling when we built the house. But then I picked up two of the original HomePods in a stereo pair with an AppleTV and haven't looked back.

 

[dajudge]

The biggest issue with home cinema is the 1 million different choices. The separate 5.1 system will sound better but you will have to decide on a budget and work from there. I have a Denon receiver and Paradigm speakers, but that may be more than you want to spend. On the other hand, you could spend ten times what I did.
So separates will sound better, but is it worth it to you?

 

[antwon412]

Go with real surround sound. 5.1 or 7.1. Or .2 for more immersive explosions!

I like my Denon a lot. I have everything remotely mounted, and the Denon allows you to access it via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi which is really nice.

And for speakers, take a look at craigslist or Facebook marketplace. You can get stuff for pennies on the dollar. I have about 7500 bucks worth of speakers, and I think I paid 500 for everything.

It was a guy who was really into high-end audio, but his wife didn’t like how it looked so he was instead installing a Bose type system. Poor guy.

 

[AmosMoses]

Go with real surround sound. 5.1 or 7.1. Or .2 for more immersive explosions!

I like my Denon a lot. I have everything remotely mounted, and the Denon allows you to access it via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi which is really nice.

And for speakers, take a look at craigslist or Facebook marketplace. You can get stuff for pennies on the dollar. I have about 7500 bucks worth of speakers, and I think I paid 500 for everything.

It was a guy who was really into high-end audio, but his wife didn’t like how it looked so he was instead installing a Bose type system. Poor guy.

I definitely want a receiver that I can play Spotify via my phone. What does a wifi capable receiver add over just Bluetooth? I also like the idea of finding used on marketplace.

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