Heya, In another country I have a 5.1 system (B&W speakers, paradigm sub) - and it's time to do something in the new house. Room is 9' (TV on this wall) x 19", dedicated TV room. Seating position about half way along room. I would prefer kits with flat packs. I'm not planning on becoming deaf so insane SPL not required. Probably looking at Emotiva XPA Gen 3 amp(s) and Marantz 7703 for power. I liked what I read about the Cohesive 893's and was wondering... a) Cohesive 893's suitable for LCR in this size room? Is there a better choice? b) 4x ?? for surrounds? I found it difficult to see info about what would be a suitable match. If the best bet is 4x <the LCRs> then I can do that c) to add next... probably 15" DIY sub. What matches the 893's? d) to add later... atmos speakers... Volt-6/8? I know this is an annoying post and many of them go unanswered but appreciative of any thoughts to any of the questions asked. Thanks, Scott.
Scott, I built a 893 center that I like a lot. I plan to build ported towers sometime soon, to complete a 5.2 channel system which includes a pair of Volt 6s. I have a sealed 12" and a sealed 15" sub. Sub(s) are really helpful with sealed 893s. Since your room is considerably smaller than mine, I can't say if it is overkill or not. Probably not. If you have the space, I say 'go for it'. How about this: 893 LCR, with the left and right sitting atop a pair of 12" Dayton RS HO subs in sealed boxes? Good luck, Scary
I have the 893 LCR and Volt 6 surround and front heights, subs are 2x Dayton 15" HO's below left and right speakers. I love the system a lot, watching movies is much much more enjoyable compare to my old JBL Northridge system. Having said that, I wish my room had a better layout that allows me to move the subs to a better location. When testing, the subs performed the best when stacked together in a corner. But the compromise is not bad, it's a family room so it only not has to sound good but looks decent as well. @LuisV I think has UM18s with 893's. Hopefully he'll chime in with his experience.
Before I found DIYSG and took the plunge into DIY, I was using B&W 804 and HTM Matrix speakers for L/R/C for the last 20 years or so. I still have and love my B&Ws, but they started to show their age... you can read about my journey to replace them here: http://emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/41054/opinions-help-needed-which-speakers My room is basically 17' x 18' with 8' ceilings and it's not a dedicated room that opens to the rest of the home; however, I have bass traps and acoustic panels on the walls. I built a pair of Volt 6s to use as surrounds, but I'm going to buy another pair and use them for Atmos / DTS:X instead. For now I'm using four Emotiva ERD-1 speakers as surrounds, but I'm thinking of replacing them with four HTM-8 instead... jury is still out on that decision though. My XMC-1 feeds an XPA-2 Gen 2 for L/R and an XPA-5 Gen 2 for surrounds and center. I'm running dual UM-18s feed by two Crown 2502 amps bridged. Here are my build threads: http://www.hificircuit.com/community/threads/um18-diy-sub-build.571/ http://www.hificircuit.com/community/threads/893-speaker-build.573/ That being said... the 893s sound great at all volumes, normal day to day and at reference. No strain, not at all harsh, just great sound that always bring a smile to my face. The B&Ws are more musical with a wider / deeper sound stage, but after I picked up a projector and 100" screen a few years ago I rarely sit down to critically listen to 2 channel audio. Now a days music is played in the background while entertaining and or relaxing with HT taking center stage. The dual UM18s play deep and clean... they can rattle my windows and rumble my couches when the need arises, but sound quick and deep when listening to music. I originally had a HSU VTF-15H with my B&Ws, but sold it after I built one of the sealed UM18s. My wife loves this hobby as much as I do, so I'm very lucky in that regard. Her only regret, is that I didn't build grills for the 893s and subs... she prefers grills, I prefer them naked. She also prefers the 893 over the B&Ws for HT. Here's my left 893 sitting on top of a sealed UM18. I'm using 4 of these between the 893 and sub... one pad at each corner: http://amzn.to/2qOUkL2 If you are at all concerned with the size of the larger subs, another 893 owner built them on top of the DIYSG 12" MBMs. I don't recall if he added larger subs afterwards, but I've read nothing but good things about those MBMs. http://www.diysoundgroup.com/midbass-module.html Below is a picture of his 893 and build thread. Hope that helps and if you have any additional questions or need more info, simply ask... I'm more than happy to lend a helping hand... http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-d...oom-system-towers-power-based-diysg-kits.html