Any good deals in the 80-100 in tv range?

[FSUTribe76]

This gold phantom setup from devialet looks like it could be quite good at $6k

https://www.devialet.com/en-us/buy-...Y6b8d61Yj10NCQrufVBeO7pAHV1kmwk8aAtodEALw_wcB

 

[Banditking]

This gold phantom setup from devialet looks like it could be quite good at $6k

https://www.devialet.com/en-us/buy-...Y6b8d61Yj10NCQrufVBeO7pAHV1kmwk8aAtodEALw_wcB

That’s pretty funky. I don’t know that company. But, if they sound good, I’d consider that.

This might not be bad.

http://m.bowers-wilkins.com/speakers/theatre-solutions/mini-theatre/MT-60D.html

 

[Banditking]

As a matter of fact this Bose setup looks pretty nice for $3k.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=details&O=&Q=&ap=y&c3api=1876,{creative},{keyword}&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsqLSBRCmARIsAL4Pa9TTZO-LQwASF_5z-tDJ83Fh1BFX4Eu94g7kxrACvmSadYrlh0tRxdkaAsj1EALw_wcB&is=REG&m=Y&sku=1281480

This Sonos looks pretty nice for half that

https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/5-1-surround-sound-playbase-sub-play1-pair-white.html?utm_campaign=GGL_US_EN_SONOS_B_PLA_SHOPPING&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_content=GGL_US_EN_SONOS_B_PLA_SHOPPING&utm_term=PRODUCT GROUP&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsqLSBRCmARIsAL4Pa9S33ZouuJYI6c_tLPtyR324ho-TGdfFM8qg_XDSxBjQH5zsqs6-PTUaApthEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

My brother has a sonos playbar, sub and two play one rears in his bedroom. Sounds pretty solid. Not a fan of bose in home theater. But I do like my car stereo they designed.

 

[Banditking]

Btw, I’ve heard the persona bookshelves and towers. They do sound really good.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Btw, I’ve heard the persona bookshelves and towers. They do sound really good.

They’d better for $31k. I’d expect them to have diamond cores lubricated with Thai virgin tears and encased in pure blue whale penis leather.

 

[Banditking]

They’d better for $31k. I’d expect them to have diamond cores lubricated with Thai virgin tears and encased in pure blue whale penis leather.

Ha! They aren’t 31k for a stereo pair. Bookshelves are in the 3k range.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Ha! They aren’t 31k for a stereo pair. Bookshelves are in the 3k range.

Yeah but I’d want at least the Center $7.5k and Sub 6.5 and two bookshelves as back speakers ($3k) each so you’re still talking $24k and the set I saw had two additional front side speakers. I just don’t know if I could really tell the difference.

I can obviously tell the difference between a cheapo $200 soundbar and cheap subwoofer and those in the $1500-3k range. But after that...I doubt I’m getting anything out of it. I don’t know...maybe I would, I don’t think I’ve ever had a demo of the ultra high end stuff to really see. I’ve had demos of the Bose, Sonos, Harman Kardon level of speakers (the Lexus and BMWs of speakers if you will), but I’ve never heard the ultra high end speakers to see if it was actually worth it.

 

[Banditking]

Yeah but I’d want at least the Center $7.5k and Sub 6.5 and two bookshelves as back speakers ($3k) each so you’re still talking $24k and the set I saw had two additional front side speakers. I just don’t know if I could really tell the difference.

I can obviously tell the difference between a cheapo $200 soundbar and cheap subwoofer and those in the $1500-3k range. But after that...I doubt I’m getting anything out of it. I don’t know...maybe I would, I don’t think I’ve ever had a demo of the ultra high end stuff to really see. I’ve had demos of the Bose, Sonos, Harman Kardon level of speakers (the Lexus and BMWs of speakers if you will), but I’ve never heard the ultra high end speakers to see if it was actually worth it.

Center, yes. I wouldn’t get a sub from them. I’d do internet direct.

Powersound audio
svs
Seaton
Funkaudio

There are a lot of options.

I have a powersound audio s3000i.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

Best buy home service came to my house to recommend speakers and sold me on an ELAC speaker set for around 3k total including everything. He promised me it would be as good as speakers in the 10k range and so far I'm very impressed honestly.

 

[Banditking]

Yeah but I’d want at least the Center $7.5k and Sub 6.5 and two bookshelves as back speakers ($3k) each so you’re still talking $24k and the set I saw had two additional front side speakers. I just don’t know if I could really tell the difference.

I can obviously tell the difference between a cheapo $200 soundbar and cheap subwoofer and those in the $1500-3k range. But after that...I doubt I’m getting anything out of it. I don’t know...maybe I would, I don’t think I’ve ever had a demo of the ultra high end stuff to really see. I’ve had demos of the Bose, Sonos, Harman Kardon level of speakers (the Lexus and BMWs of speakers if you will), but I’ve never heard the ultra high end speakers to see if it was actually worth it.

There are diminishing returns to “ultra high.” And, in the ridiculously high end, there’s a lot of voodoo. But, 1-2k for a subwoofer gets you a lot of performance from internet direct. Similarly 1-3k a speaker gets you really nice performance.

In fact, another consideration:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/

- ascend Sierra 2s (ribbon tweeter) fronts and back, they also sell a center.
- internet direct sub. I really like powesound audio but the look is a little industrial. Thus, maybe svs? Pb13 ultra or whatever their high end is now.

ThAt setup would absolutely pulverize anything from bose.

Bose and sonos have their place. But you may not realize what you’re missing. Do you have any high end audio shops around you? Where do you live?

 

[FSUTribe76]

There are diminishing returns to “ultra high.” And, in the ridiculously high end, there’s a lot of voodoo. But, 1-2k for a subwoofer gets you a lot of performance from internet direct. Similarly 1-3k a speaker gets you really nice performance.

In fact, another consideration:
http://www.ascendacoustics.com/

- ascend Sierra 2s (ribbon tweeter) fronts and back, they also sell a center.
- internet direct sub. I really like powesound audio but the look is a little industrial. Thus, maybe svs? Pb13 ultra or whatever their high end is now.

ThAt setup would absolutely pulverize anything from bose.

Bose and sonos have their place. But you may not realize what you’re missing. Do you have any high end audio shops around you? Where do you live?

Tallahassee. And if we have high end audio shops around here (and I assume we do it’s not THAT small) I don’t know where they are. I’ve always just gone the typical big store (Best Buy etc) and online sales after I saw some reviews.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

Tallahassee. And if we have high end audio shops around here (and I assume we do it’s not THAT small) I don’t know where they are. I’ve always just gone the typical big store (Best Buy etc) and online sales after I saw some reviews.

Best buy will send someone to your house and they are actually pretty knowledgeable. They'll tell you if you should go surround or towers etc and recommend the best speakers in your budget. I was very happy.

 

[Banditking]

Ascend Sierra 2 - 4 speakers = 2600
Ascend center = 730
Svs pb 13 ultra = 1500

Total cost = < 5k.

If you want Atmos, add two or four in ceiling speakers. Figure, 300-600 from a custom install place.

That system would kick ass.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I have a 75 inch Sony 4k that was about $2500 six months ago. Wish I went 80 or 85 honestly because my living room is 17 feet long and the TV just looks normal size at that distance. How deep is the room you're putting it in?

So I finally found it. The room is 20x15.

 

[EveryoneBleedsGarnet]

So I finally found it. The room is 20x15.

Well if you are 15 feet from the TV I think a 75 is good but if you are 20 feet away I'd go with 85ish. I'm basing this on nothing but my own experience and I like to have big TVs. Most official recommendations would be slightly smaller than what I said. Good rule of thumb is divide the inches from the TV by 3. So 20 foot (240 inches) divided by 3 would be an 80 inch recommended TV but I'd go 85.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Well if you are 15 feet from the TV I think a 75 is good but if you are 20 feet away I'd go with 85ish. I'm basing this on nothing but my own experience and I like to have big TVs. Most official recommendations would be slightly smaller than what I said. Good rule of thumb is divide the inches from the TV by 3. So 20 foot (240 inches) divided by 3 would be an 80 inch recommended TV but I'd go 85.

The way the room is setup, where you would want to put the entertainment center is blocked off by a useless (in Florida) fireplace ie where the 20ft is used (and the opposite side opens into the kitchen area with a stool and bar area separating the two rooms). So the next best spot is to place it where the 15 foot is the maximum depth but we would want to probably leave a walkway space behind it, so 12 to 13 ft back.

 

[Nole Lou]

Ascend Sierra 2 - 4 speakers = 2600
Ascend center = 730
Svs pb 13 ultra = 1500

Total cost = < 5k.

If you want Atmos, add two or four in ceiling speakers. Figure, 300-600 from a custom install place.

That system would kick ass.

So, I'm in a bit of a similar situation in envisioning how I'm going to set up my new townhouse. Main TV area is going to be in the ground level "basement" family room. I think I'm going to have Atmos overheads installed, in anticipation of upgrading to Atmos.

The thing I can't quite figure out is this. I'm only going to use half the room for the viewing area. This is because I want to stay at 65" for the TV, so I want to be about 8-10 feet away. I don't want to invest in the TV size required to utilize the whole room. Plus we can use the space behind. I've never had a setup where the couch wasn't against the back wall, so I could wire the speakers around the room to the back. In this scenario, the rear surrounds (labelled 2) are essentially in the middle of the room. Even if I went with wireless surrounds, I still need to run power to them in the middle of the room, so that doesn't seem to help.

How do I do that without having wires strewn across the floor? The floor is carpeted, I do not think we want to tear the carpet up to run speaker wire underneath and then punch it up through the carpet in the middle of the room. Is that how it would be done? Is the only option to throw an area rug between the TV and couch, with the speaker wire in between? I don't love the rug-on-top-of-carpet look, but I can't think of how to do that without tearing things up too much.

 

[Nole Lou]

So, I'm in a bit of a similar situation in envisioning how I'm going to set up my new townhouse. Main TV area is going to be in the ground level "basement" family room. I think I'm going to have Atmos overheads installed, in anticipation of upgrading to Atmos.

The thing I can't quite figure out is this. I'm only going to use half the room for the viewing area. This is because I want to stay at 65" for the TV, so I want to be about 8-10 feet away. I don't want to invest in the TV size required to utilize the whole room. Plus we can use the space behind. I've never had a setup where the couch wasn't against the back wall, so I could wire the speakers around the room to the back. In this scenario, the rear surrounds (labelled 2) are essentially in the middle of the room. Even if I went with wireless surrounds, I still need to run power to them in the middle of the room, so that doesn't seem to help.

How do I do that without having wires strewn across the floor? The floor is carpeted, I do not think we want to tear the carpet up to run speaker wire underneath and then punch it up through the carpet in the middle of the room. Is that how it would be done? Is the only option to throw an area rug between the TV and couch, with the speaker wire in between? I don't love the rug-on-top-of-carpet look, but I can't think of how to do that without tearing things up too much.

Or should I just say screw it and put the rear surrounds way behind me on the back wall anyway? I'm using pretty powerful bookshelf speakers as my rear surrounds anyway so there should be no issue with volume from back there, and maybe it will be more immersive and less directional. But I always think of rear surrounds pretty close behind your head.

 

[Banditking]

Or should I just say screw it and put the rear surrounds way behind me on the back wall anyway? I'm using pretty powerful bookshelf speakers as my rear surrounds anyway so there should be no issue with volume from back there, and maybe it will be more immersive and less directional. But I always think of rear surrounds pretty close behind your head.

In my living room, I also only use a portion of the room for tv. Not because I didn’t want a bigger tv, just thought the room was more functional that way and it would have looked strange having the couches against the wall.

My rear speakers in the setup are in the ceiling.

I have a 5.2.1 setup.

1 center (in wall)
2 fronts (towers)
2 front heights (in ceiling)
2 rears (in ceiling)
One subwoofer

I’ve thought about adding two bookshelf speakers behind my couch but, as I have a theater, I have children, and I’ve spent enough money on audio I have refrained.

In my theater, my couch is about third of the way from the back wall. I have my rack behind it and two rear speakers behind the couch on stands.

How to deal with cables.

In my living room, I have in wall wiring for the fronts and I have in wall wiring behind the tv. I have a rack and everything endpoints on the wall behind it.

In my theater, I have a large throw rug and I run wiring under the rug. I have a wireless subwoofer transmitter as it is self powered.

You could also use wireless powered rears. Though you’d still likely need to plug them in.

 

[Nole Lou]

In my living room, I also only use a portion of the room for tv. Not because I didn’t want a bigger tv, just thought the room was more functional that way and it would have looked strange having the couches against the wall.

My rear speakers in the setup are in the ceiling.

I have a 5.2.1 setup.

1 center (in wall)
2 fronts (towers)
2 front heights (in ceiling)
2 rears (in ceiling)
One subwoofer

I’ve thought about adding two bookshelf speakers behind my couch but, as I have a theater, I have children, and I’ve spent enough money on audio I have refrained.

In my theater, my couch is about third of the way from the back wall. I have my rack behind it and two rear speakers behind the couch on stands.

How to deal with cables.

In my living room, I have in wall wiring for the fronts and I have in wall wiring behind the tv. I have a rack and everything endpoints on the wall behind it.

In my theater, I have a large throw rug and I run wiring under the rug. I have a wireless subwoofer transmitter as it is self powered.

You could also use wireless powered rears. Though you’d still likely need to plug them in.

Yeah, I'm ok with powerless rear speakers, but a power cable to plug them in is going to be more conspicuous than speaker wire. I am thinking now, the room isn't that big, that I'll put the rear speakers on the back wall where I can plug them in, and use a wireless transmitter. If I'm having ceiling speakers put in for Atmos, maybe I'll see how much it is to run some wires in the ceiling across the rest of the room and down the back wall. Probably not worth it.

Might as well fill the whole room with sound, I think it will be fine.

 

[Nole Lou]

In my living room, I also only use a portion of the room for tv. Not because I didn’t want a bigger tv, just thought the room was more functional that way and it would have looked strange having the couches against the wall.

My rear speakers in the setup are in the ceiling.

I have a 5.2.1 setup.

1 center (in wall)
2 fronts (towers)
2 front heights (in ceiling)
2 rears (in ceiling)
One subwoofer

I’ve thought about adding two bookshelf speakers behind my couch but, as I have a theater, I have children, and I’ve spent enough money on audio I have refrained.

In my theater, my couch is about third of the way from the back wall. I have my rack behind it and two rear speakers behind the couch on stands.

How to deal with cables.

In my living room, I have in wall wiring for the fronts and I have in wall wiring behind the tv. I have a rack and everything endpoints on the wall behind it.

In my theater, I have a large throw rug and I run wiring under the rug. I have a wireless subwoofer transmitter as it is self powered.

You could also use wireless powered rears. Though you’d still likely need to plug them in.

So, is your rack behind your couch, or on the back wall. What video cable(s) do you have running in wall to the front at your TV? I was kicking around setting up a rack like that, as I've always had all my equipment in the stand under the TV, and I'd kind of like a cleaner look.

I'm just really concerned about future proofing for new devices. 18 months ago, I had all my equipment running into my AVR, and one HDMI cable into the TV. I never would have thought of needing anything different. Today, I have everything plugged into the TV, and a toslink cable running audio back to my receiver instead. That original setup never anticipated 4K HDR which my AVR can't pass through, or in-TV apps that have to send audio back to a receiver. I'm afraid running one HDMI through the wall to the TV is going to leave me sorry. I am the kind of person that wants to jump on every new thing in home theater as soon as I can afford it.

 

[FSUTribe76]

So far on the speaker front, I’m really liking the idea of getting the Sonos Playbase with an extra real subwoofer and two rear Play 3/5 speakers. And if I decide there’s not enough sound separation coming from the Playbase (which is supposed to be the second best “bar”/central speaker for stereo soundscapes then it’s not supposed to be a big deal to add two other front stereo speakers. Plus I really like the idea that you can add additional speakers easily to that unit to add speakers to the Kitchen, dining room and/or my decks if I decide to do that later. And the white versions are pretty stylish and will fit with my new decor.

 

[Banditking]

So, is your rack behind your couch, or on the back wall. What video cable(s) do you have running in wall to the front at your TV? I was kicking around setting up a rack like that, as I've always had all my equipment in the stand under the TV, and I'd kind of like a cleaner look.

I'm just really concerned about future proofing for new devices. 18 months ago, I had all my equipment running into my AVR, and one HDMI cable into the TV. I never would have thought of needing anything different. Today, I have everything plugged into the TV, and a toslink cable running audio back to my receiver instead. That original setup never anticipated 4K HDR which my AVR can't pass through, or in-TV apps that have to send audio back to a receiver. I'm afraid running one HDMI through the wall to the TV is going to leave me sorry. I am the kind of person that wants to jump on every new thing in home theater as soon as I can afford it.

When I bought the house, it had Ethernet, s video, and component video running through the wall. Unfortunately, the tv and endpoint area for the tv is over the fireplace. I’ve never liked that arrangement because it’s too high. But I combated that by having my couch reclinable with an adjustable headrest.

I used a wireless hdmi transmitter for a while, which broke, then I got a thing for hdmi over cat 5, which broke. Then, I paid a few hundred to get hdmi cable capable of 4k hdr installed, which is what I’m using now. I do audio return through hdmi (arc) which lets me use my tv programs. I bought a receiver capable of Atmos and 4k hdr video switching.
To be safe, I also ran a toslink though I’m not using it.


The rack is to the right of my couch, maybe 6 feet away from the outer most edge of my couch, against the wall. The subwoofer is next to the rack. No cables are visible anywhere. Very clean look.

 

[Banditking]

So far on the speaker front, I’m really liking the idea of getting the Sonos Playbase with an extra real subwoofer and two rear Play 3/5 speakers. And if I decide there’s not enough sound separation coming from the Playbase (which is supposed to be the second best “bar”/central speaker for stereo soundscapes then it’s not supposed to be a big deal to add two other front stereo speakers. Plus I really like the idea that you can add additional speakers easily to that unit to add speakers to the Kitchen, dining room and/or my decks if I decide to do that later. And the white versions are pretty stylish and will fit with my new decor.

Is the playbase better than the play bar?

I do like the sonos ecosystem. I have a sonos connect hooked up to my avr. And I have in ceiling speakers throughout my house. Sonos works really well to control that.

 

[Nole Lou]

When I bought the house, it had Ethernet, s video, and component video running through the wall. Unfortunately, the tv and endpoint area for the tv is over the fireplace. I’ve never liked that arrangement because it’s too high. But I combated that by having my couch reclinable with an adjustable headrest.

I used a wireless hdmi transmitter for a while, which broke, then I got a thing for hdmi over cat 5, which broke. Then, I paid a few hundred to get hdmi cable capable of 4k hdr installed, which is what I’m using now. I do audio return through hdmi (arc) which lets me use my tv programs. I bought a receiver capable of Atmos and 4k hdr video switching.
To be safe, I also ran a toslink though I’m not using it.


The rack is to the right of my couch, maybe 6 feet away from the outer most edge of my couch, against the wall. The subwoofer is next to the rack. No cables are visible anywhere. Very clean look.

Thanks. What's your rack look like? Does it have doors that close? Do you use an rf remote/repeater or Harmony?

 

[FSUTribe76]

Is the playbase better than the play bar?

I do like the sonos ecosystem. I have a sonos connect hooked up to my avr. And I have in ceiling speakers throughout my house. Sonos works really well to control that.

According to reviews (as I haven’t heard them) it’s supposed to be much better as it has a small woofer built in to give it better bass than the Playbar without needing a full subwoofer (although I’m definitely getting that as well). Supposedly, the Playbar has better tweeters so it somewhat depends on your priorities.

 

[Banditking]

Thanks. What's your rack look like? Does it have doors that close? Do you use an rf remote/repeater or Harmony?

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_537SB...&awnw=g&awcr=104893307905&awdv=m&awug=9011701

Looks like this except in a more hickory color.

I use a harmony.

 

[Banditking]

According to reviews (as I haven’t heard them) it’s supposed to be much better as it has a small woofer built in to give it better bass than the Playbar without needing a full subwoofer (although I’m definitely getting that as well). Supposedly, the Playbar has better tweeters so it somewhat depends on your priorities.

Given that you’re getting a sub, I’d lean playbar