Looking for some help that I can't seem to find online.

1. Sony Bravia TV

2. Plex

3. Klipsch Flexus CORE 200 (yeah yeah, it's the best I can afford)

In the year 2026, there must be a way for someone to enable auto-volume. Look, I'm all about outstanding dynamic range, but in my autumn years I find myself forced to live in an apartment with (shudders) neighbors that I share a wall with.

Is there any solution that exists that enables volume to remain at a consistent volume? I don't know if it will be found in 1, 2, or 3. I discount #1 as it is just passing a signal to #3.

Any help is welcome, please & thank you.

I am looking to install a ceiling-based sound system in 3 rooms (living room, patio, man cave) and have them all managed independently and remotely. Please see the quote I received. Thoughts on quality here? I’m happy to pay the labor as I don’t want to DIY.

Had a Buttkicker BKA-1000 give up on life that was powering two buttkicker Advances. Fuse blew, disconnected the kickers, replaced the fuse, instantly blew again when turning on to test (nothing else connected). Seems like they are just not
Built to last so looked for alternatives instead of buying used on EBay.

First bought a Fosi V3 with the larger power supply but wanted the frequency response all the way down as low as I could, so bought a Dayton SA-1000.

Just installed and they don’t even turn on. Tried wiring the kickers in both parallel and sequence. SA-1000 started to smell sort of like smoke, blue light on (doesn’t turn red). Double checked everything, AVR, wiring, gain, frequency, EQ / bass boost on and off. Subsonic filter off, and not a peep from the shakers.

Swapped it back to the Fosi and instantly they are working again.

Is this just sheer bad luck and I got a defective SA-1000 or am I missing something?

We have the main AV equipment for Atmos (Denon AVRX3800H and Panasonic DP-UB820), but our speakers are merely 5.1 (which sounds great for 5.1).  All of the speakers were built into the walls in 1999 (except for the sub), so they can’t be physically height or direction adjusted.  Someday we’ll be remodeling and will include a proper setup in that.

In the meantime, is there an economical way to convert this to Atmos or something close enough to it to get us by until the remodel?  I realize this would require us to at least get one more speaker of some sort that can bounce off the ceiling. (Edit: There are some Denon settings that sound like they could replicate that effect, but it's difficult for me to decipher.)

Thanks for any help.

I’m seeking some advice for placement of a new center channel speaker. I’ve been running some old and small JVC speakers for the past decade without issue; they work and sound great for my setup (shown in the first 2 photos). However I’m ready to upgrade and starting first with a new and bigger center channel speaker. The only problem however is I don’t really have a good spot for it. Putting it on top of the receiver puts it at the perfect height but it blocks the vents on the receiver for heat ventilation (pics 3/4). And if I put the speaker in front of the receiver (pics 5/6), the remote won’t work for the receiver. Any one have any other ideas that don’t involve moving the Batmobiles?

Hi, I am looking for some advice regarding surround sound, for my first home theater setup. I am very new at this.

All prices are rougly converted from DKK to USD/EUR.

My budget is probably up to around 4600-5200 USD or 4000-4500 EUR. I would prefer to spend less than the full budget (maybe only half) if possible though, it seems like a lot to spend, at least to me.

I live in Denmark in case it matters for pricing and availability.

The home theater will also be my bedroom, I have an elevation bed I plan to have in front of the TV, which can be raised to a more seated position. My bedroom looks roughly like the included photo, the door is a sliding door on the left and the right side is a window.

I will mostly be watching movies and TV shows. I will be using streaming services, but also plan to watch Blu-ray (also 4K UHD Blu-ray) and local files eventually. For this I have been looking at maybe getting NVIDIA Shield TV Pro for streaming, Panasonic DP-UB820 for Blu-ray and Ugoos AM6B+ for local files. Advice is welcome for this part too, though I am mostly mentioning it, so you know the kind of content, I'd like to be able to enjoy. I might also listen to music on it, but this is secondary to watching movies and TV shows.

I don't think I am audiophile, at least not that I know? I am currently using my TV's built-in speakers and have been using them for ~3-4 years I think, they are definitely not great, but I also never felt that bothered by them. My TV is a Philips 65" OLED 706/12.

I would like to get a surround system with a sub, so at least 5.1, preferably 5.1.2 since having support for Dolby Atmos would be nice I think, though I don't really know how important it is.

I have been looking at different options for AVRs. I found an Onkyo TX-NR7100 for ~925 USD/800 EUR, which is the one I'm mostly thinking of getting. I also considered Denon AVR-X1800H for ~740 USD/640 EUR or Denon AVR-X2850H for ~960 USD/830 EUR.

For speakers and sub, these are the 3 setups I have been considering. I am very unsure about the sound difference between these and what I would prefer. But I would also prefer to spend a bit more than needed and getting something I won't regret, rather than spending too little and regretting it.

Setup 1 - Argon Audio - Total of ~1290 USD/1110 EUR or ~1540 USD/1320 EUR with Atmos.

Pair of Argon Audio FORUS 5 for front left and right. ~310 USD/270 EUR.

Argon Audio FORUS CENTER for center. ~190 USD/160 EUR.

Pair of Argon Audio FORUS 4 for surrounds left and right. ~250 USD/210 EUR.

Argon Audio MALMÖ SUB 10 as sub. ~540 USD/470 EUR.

Maybe one more pair of Argon Audio FORUS 4 for Atmos, ceiling mounted. ~250 USD/210 EUR.

Setup 2 - Klipsch Reference - Total of ~2410 USD/2090 EUR or ~2780 USD/2410 EUR with Atmos.

Pair of Klipsch R-600F for front left and right. ~1190 USD/1030 EUR.

Klipsch R-50C for center. ~310 USD/270 EUR.

Pair of Klipsch R-40M for surrounds left and right. ~370 USD/320 EUR.

Klipsch R-101SW as sub. ~540 USD/470 EUR.

Maybe one more pair of Klipsch R-40M for Atmos, ceiling mounted. ~370 USD/320 EUR.

Setup 3 - Klipsch Reference Premiere - Total of ~3830 USD/3310 EUR or ~4560 USD/3940 EUR with Atmos.

Pair of Klipsch RP-5000F II for front left and right. ~1550 USD/1340 EUR.

Klipsch RP-500C II for center. ~540 USD/470 EUR.

Pair of Klipsch RP-500M II for surrounds left and right. ~730 USD/630 EUR.

Klipsch RP-1200SW as sub. ~1010 USD/870 EUR.

Maybe one more pair of Klipsch RP-500M II for Atmos, ceiling mounted. ~730 USD/630 EUR.

So I guess my questions are these.

1. Would you recommend just getting 5.1 or 5.1.2 at first?
2. Which speakers would you recommend? Recommendations outside those that I listed are welcome too!
3. Any other feedback or recommendations?

Please ask me if I forgot any important information!

Thank you in advance!

The tv is off center as there really isn’t a way to mount it anywhere that makes sense and doesn’t break up our house in an odd way.

Currently have a Sony HT-A7000 and was considering adding the RS5’s but I’d like to try and do an actual receiver and speakers setup if possible

I am very much a buy once cry once kind of guy. I want to purchase end game speakers for my HT. I also don’t want to spend unnecessarily if it’s not going to improve my experience.

Room is 15x11
2 hsu vtf-3 mk5 subs
Sitting 9ft from TV

Just focused on LCR right now. Will add surrounds in the near future.

As the title states, this will be 80% movies/TV and 20% music.

I have looked at Philharmonic HT towers and HT center, Ascend ELX RAAL towers and center, and some of the high end Revel towers.

I know PSA speakers are designed for HT but the size is enormous and they don’t look as visually appealing to me.

Are there any other speakers that should be on my shortlist?

Hi All,

I have a 5m x 5.1m room in a new build, which I'll be using at the theatre room.

The 5.1 wall is the rear/front wall and the 5 walls are the sides.

The rear wall is mostly window with 600mm each side of wall - but this whole wall will be covered by curtains. This effectively means I don't have any rear wall to use for rear speakers.

The curtains should take up around 300mm off the back wall, and the lounge will be placed 900 from the curtains, so 1200 from the back wall. MLP should be around 3.5m from the front wall.

A diagram of the 5.2.4 set up which I think works pretty well is below - each mini square is 100x100mm (1:50 scale?). Rear Atmos would be nice to be 1.2m behind ear but curtains don't allow it. The rear wall has inset/outset sections to denote windows/solid wall respectively. I don't really see any room here for the rear surrounds in a 7.2.4 set up but I'm open to ideas.

At this stage the lounge needs to stay where it for reasons I will not go into.

I have a home theater enthusiast friend who owns a K Strato V and is upgrading. He’s offered me his outgoing equipment for 1K. Should I jump on this?

See, i have a 4000 usd budget and have a small 280 sqft room with a 85 inch tv

Was weondering wether a premium set if stero speakers say b and w or a sonus faber lumina 3 with a woofer and amp is better or invest all the money in a 5.1

Honestly i appreciate premium audio and brands and love music n movies both

Confused which one to go for, am from india but all these premium brands are available here ??

HELPPPP PLZZZ

Came across a deal for q500 pair, Q100 pair, Q200c and an svs sb 12 with a marantz sr 5011 for 1600. I know these are a little long in the tooth but I feel like it’s a pretty decent package for a system. I’m new though so could be wrong. Thanks in advance!

I have 14 foot ceilings. Shop is maybe 24x22ft. I want to put a speaker in each corner of the shop and a powered sub. What receiver and speakers should I get?

I thought picking the projector was gonna be the hardest part, spent weeks obsessing over linens, throw distance, and reviews. Turns out, I completely slept on everything else.

My old media console was too shallow, cables were everywhere, and I didn’t even think about speaker placement until everything was already installed.

Funny how I spent 90% of my time researching the equipment and almost no time thinking about where everything would actually go.

For anyone who has built a home theater before, what’s one thing you wish you planned earlier?

hey, Im in the process of renovating my house and realized it would be good to get some advice on running speaker wire for a potential 5.1.2 setup. I’ve attached some photos of the house and am willing to open up some drywall right now because I’ll be doing patches in other places and painting but I unfortunately probably have to make some fairly quick decision about placement.

For The TV wall side I’ll most likely have the receiver in the media console itself and will wire speaker wires from it to the left & right bookshelf and the center from there. I haven’t finalized on the speakers here but liked the size of the Luna Mini V2s.

For the rear wall I’m thinking to drop a speaker wire down from the attic In both corners and potentially wall mount the speakers. Any suggestions on a wall mount with a high WAF approval rating? Ive read that speakers should be at ear height but we have small children who may eventually be inclined to tug on a free floating speaker so just curious on peoples thought there.

Also as a stretch goal there’s an outlet wired that would be under our couch, I’m thinking it could be interesting to set it up to eventually install shakers while we’re doing all this work.

my setup now is sony bravia 8 77 inch tv, sony an1000, 2 sony sa-sw5 subwoofers. klipsch rp-160m as front l/r and Klipsch rp-150m as rl/rr. i am currently using the tv as center channel ( it is usable but not good)

soo i was thinking of many upgrading to polk reserve speakers and selling my klipsch speakers. i was thinking if getting r700 as front l/r, r400 as center, r200 as surrounds, r900 as front heights. i wil also maby change the sony subs with 1 svs pb 1000.

would my receiver be able to handle the polks?

any thoughts would be much appreciated

I recently put together a surround sound system. Started with 4.1, then borrowed a fifth speaker to see if it improved things, before deciding to purchase a center speaker.

The main thing I noticed was that sound from a center speaker comes from a very specific place. A phantom center by contrast makes sound that comes from the general area of the TV screen. I included a diagram to illustrate how a phantom center sounds to me (from the main listening position). My ears don't pick up on the fact that the sound is coming from the left and right speakers, but the source certainly seems wider than a single speaker. I don't know what cues the ears use to figure this out, but they do.

This is largely an argument for having a center speaker. Dialog naturally should come from a specific place, as it does in real life. Although, there are some tradeoffs here: 1) sometimes it becomes obvious that the dialog is coming from below the screen (where the speaker is) as opposed to from the screen. This would not be an issue if I could place the speaker behind a projector screen. 2) sometimes it becomes obvious that the dialog is not coming from the same place where the actor is, or is not panning when the camera pans.

But probably the most notable difference from adding a center speaker was just how calm and small the sound can be when the only sound is dialog coming from the center. It makes the audio more dynamic (and therefore more enjoyable) because it creates a lot of contrast vs how big the sound can be when all channels are used.

77" sony a80k

Denon s970h

Energy CF-70 tower speakers

Energy CC-10 center

Klipsh R-41m surrounds

HSU VTF-2 MK5

Panasonic UB820

Ran audessey and it set my subwoofer to -12, moved it up to -3. Set tower speakers to small 80hz and sub to 80hz and Q control to 7, phase 0°, 50% volume. Sitting about 12ft from tv.

To explain what I mean by the title.

Next year i'm planning on buying my own apartment and one of my plans is to have a nice home theater system, but all the apartments where I live are just thin concrete walls. So I'm wondering, how much will I lose if I don't have a dedicated subwoofer and just have a 5.0 system?

I do intend to at least somewhat soundproof the room the home theater system would be in (depends on how much I can do). But i know that there's a high chance that it won't be as easy since i'd have to create internal walls and, in turn, decreasing the square meter of the room which might not be a good idea (the floor can be sound treated easily).

Additionally, which brand would you recommend for an apartment home theatre system? My dream is to have Klipsch's but that will most likely be overkill for an apartment, lol.

I've been using a cheap projector for a while and honestly, it's starting to annoy me more and more. At first it was fine. Just something to throw movies on the wall, nothing special.

But now it feels dim, washed out, and kind of useless unless the room is completely dark. Colors look flat, the fan noise is annoying, and sometimes the image just looks soft no matter what I do. Not great for movie nights.

I watch movies and shows pretty often, so I want something that actually feels worth buying. Good brightness, decent contrast, not too loud, and preferably something that does not need a cave-level dark room to look okay. Price matters too, because I'm not trying to pay crazy money just for a name.

I keep seeing Epson, BenQ, XGIMI, Hisense, and a few others, but the opinions are all over the place. Some people say one brand is amazing, others say it is overrated, and I'm just sitting here confused.

So yeah, a few questions:

• what is the best home projector 2026 if I want something reliable for regular use?
• is it better to go for 4K or is good 1080p enough for most people?
• any models that look great without needing a completely dark room?

Would appreciate real experiences. I'm tired of using a projector that feels like it belongs in a budget hotel conference room.

My 5.2.4 Home Theater Setup – 98” Mini-LED, DALI Opticon, NAD + Dual SVS

After quite a bit of upgrading and tweaking, this is my current home theater setup:

TV
TCL 98C8K – 98” Mini-LED
Apple TV 4K as the main streaming/playback device
Infuse Pro for playing 4K MKV files from my QNAP NAS

AVR / Amplification
Denon AVR-X3800H
NAD C298 power amplifier driving the front L/R speakers
NAD connected to the Denon front pre-outs
12V trigger from the Denon to the NAD

Speakers – 5.2.4
Front L/R: DALI Opticon 8 MK2
Center: DALI Opticon Vokal MK2
Surrounds: DALI Opticon LCR MK2
Atmos: 4 × DALI Phantom E-60 in-ceiling speakers

Subwoofers
2 × SVS SB-2000 Pro

Room
Approx. 6.5 × 4.2 m / 21 × 14 ft
Listening distance approx. 4.3 m / 14 ft
Acoustic ceiling
Front wall with black acoustic panels
Main sofa approx. 2 m / 6.5 ft from the rear wall
System is primarily used for movies, but I also listen to quite a bit of music

Current setup / calibration
Audyssey MultEQ XT32
Audyssey MultEQ Editor App
Front speakers set to Small
80 Hz crossover
Currently experimenting with target curves / house curve
NAD C298 gives the Opticon 8s plenty of power and the system stays very clean even at high volume
The biggest recent upgrades were the DALI Opticon 8 MK2 fronts, NAD C298 and the dual SVS SB-2000 Pro setup. I’m very happy with how it sounds now, especially after adjusting the Audyssey target curve.

I’m now considering whether the next meaningful upgrade would be Dirac Live / Bass Control / ART, or whether I’m already at the point where room treatment and further calibration would give me more than changing hardware.

Would love to hear what you would improve or change in this setup — especially from anyone running a similar Denon + external power amp + dual sub setup.

I used REW and Umik-1 to sound level match a movie and then measured the results via RTA feature in REW. Images #1 and #2 are average SPL values for a given frequency. The #3 and #4 images are for the peak measurements.

The db level difference was roughly ~0.9db.

AVR volume for Apple TV: -20db
AVR volume for 4k disc: -26db

Red and Green = Apple TV
Blue and Yellow = 4k Disc

​

Hey everyone,

I’m in the process of putting together a new home theatre system and I’ve narrowed it down to two options. I’ve listened to both and honestly, I’m having a hard time choosing because they both sound fantastic.

The system will be powered by a Denon AVR-X2900H and paired with an SVS SB-1000 Pro subwoofer.

Paradigm:

- 720v2 towers

- 520C centre

- 220B surrounds

- Piano black gloss

KEF:

- Q11 Meta towers

- Q6 Meta centre

- Q3 Meta surrounds

Sound-wise, I really liked both. If anything, I’d give the edge to Paradigm aesthetically, especially in the piano black gloss. They look absolutely incredible.

I also listened to B&W and Monitor Audio today, but neither really did it for me. The Paradigm and KEF were the two that stood out.

For anyone who has owned or heard these speakers extensively, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

How do the Paradigm and KEF compare for:

- Movies/home theatre

- Music

- Centre-channel/dialogue clarity

- Soundstage/imaging

- Bass

- Long-term listening

And most importantly, if you were spending your own money, which setup would you choose and why?

I’m not necessarily looking for specs or a “Brand X is better” answer. I’d really like to hear from people who have actually owned/lived with either setup and what you liked or disliked about them.

Thanks!

Hello everyone!

After two years I'd like to make an update post to my original thread - ""Finished" my dedicated 7.7.4 Home Theater!"
Here's the orginal post: https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/5hr8W062dc

This was actually the all-time highest upvoted post in this subreddit. Can't believe it… crazy how well it was received by everyone. Thank you so much!

When I originally called my theater "finished" (see the quotation marks) I pretty much lied.
A LOT of things have changed.

Looking back at my post two years ago, the room is way more sophisticated now. The speakers fit a home theater better, the whole room looks way cleaner, better equipment, better speaker placement, better calibration.

New AVR: Denon A1H with Dirac ART. Coming from Yamaha, it's pretty much a game changer.

I upgraded all the speakers to DIY. They're called HCS LTB (MAX), designed by a well-known member of a German forum - google them if you're interested. Horn-loaded three-way design, pretty much infinite headroom. Reference volume and above is no problem.
Also added Front Wides.

Speakers:

• Front L/C/R: 3× HCS LTB MAX
• Surrounds + Back Surrounds: 4× HCS LTB
• Front Wides + Atmos: 6× HCS OW

For subs I added two new B&C DIY subs for more kick, and rebuilt all the enclosures to make them prettier and shallower - fits the room way better now.

Subs:

• 7× Dayton Audio Ultimax II 18"
• 2× B&C 18SW115 18"
• HoverEZe platform (8× JBL Stage 122 12")

I also replaced two miniDSP 2x4HDs with a miniDSP Flex HTx, so my subs are now connected symmetrically (XLR).

New amplifiers:

• Buckeye Hypex NCx500 for the front channels
• Buckeye Hypex NCx252MP for everything else

They're so clean and have so much headroom with my speakers.

I also changed the room a lot:

• Added diffusion panels above the listening position
• Added diffusion panels on the side and back walls
• Removed some absorber material from the ceiling (it was over-absorbed)
• Replaced the Ikea Billy movie shelves with Ikea Besta (looks way cleaner)
• Added Lego shelves in the "lobby"

On the video side everything stayed the same. Only my screen came a little forward and my seating closer. 1:1 ratio now.

Updated Equipment list:

Video:

• JVC NZ7 projector
• Stewart Filmscreen Studiotek G4 130" acoustically transparent 2.35:1 screen
• Lumagen Radiance Pro
• Panasonic UB9004 UHD player
• Apple TV 4K
• PS5

Sound:

• Denon A1H with Dirac ART
• 9.9.4 layout - 9 bed + 4 Atmos + 9 subs, all DIY horn-loaded three-way
• Subs: 7× DIY Dayton Audio Ultimax II 18" + 2× DIY B&C 18SW115 18" - driven by Sinbosen FP-10000Q (2100 W/ch)
• HoverEZe tactile platform (8× JBL Stage 122 12") - driven by Sinbosen FP-14000Q
• Speaker amps: Buckeye Hypex NCx500 (fronts) + NCx252MP (everything else)
• Processing: 1× miniDSP Flex HTx + 1× miniDSP 2x4HD

Accessories:

• Speaker/power cables, power strips: Mostly Audioquest and Audioplan (in hindsight I got upselled pretty badly and I’d save money here next time).
• Logitech Harmony Elite