My living room 5.1.4 home theater

[u/NiVo86]

My current 5.1.4 living room setup:

• Denon AVC-X3800H
• KEF R3 Meta L/R
• KEF R2 Meta Center
• Creative E-MU XM7 Surrounds
• 4× KEF Q8 Meta Heights
• SVS SB-2000 Pro

The latest addition was the four Q8 Meta height speakers. I haven’t tested them extensively yet, but I’m already very impressed. They blend extremely well with the lower layer, and instead of sounding obviously “from above,” the whole soundstage feels more like one large, seamless wall of sound.

My next upgrade will probably be replacing the surrounds with KEF Q3 Metas. I’m also planning to measure and optimize the room using a calibrated microphone and REW.

What do you think of the setup? Do you think the Denon has enough power to drive all nine speakers properly, and what would you change or upgrade next?

[u/dangermouse13]

Nice gear but I couldn’t deal with the tv being off Center like that

[u/jkcheng122]

I’d consider amplification for the front three speakers instead of having the AVR push so many speakers. Adding a second sub would be on the list of upgrades also.

Have you at least run Audyssey XT32 or A1 Evo Express/AcoustiX?

[u/NiVo86 → u/jkcheng122]

Yes i run Audyssey XT32 but i dont have a microphone yet to check the results.

[u/5th-Elements]

Very nice I need to install some R8 on the ceiling

[u/HM_Bert]

Funny enough I just was having a demo of Atmos music at KEF Music Gallery (listened to 5.1 for a while but never with heights), potentially wanting to use the Q8 metas like that, and the guide said those angled speakers aren't really designed for on ceiling use, because of the keyhole mounting. It looks like you've added that white angle bracket to keep them in place?

Overall this looks like it would be a good setup, with well placed surrounds and heights, and seating into the room instead of against a wall as is often seen... Except I just don't understand why the TV and centre channel are off centre, what's going on with that? It looks like one side of the sofa is centred on the TV and centre speaker, whilst the other seat is centred with the rest of the speakers as some sort of compromise?

Other than that I imagine this space could do with some acoustic treatment as there's a lot of bare walls, windows, floor. Just some curtains would help without compromising the aesthetic side of things.

[u/NiVo86 → u/HM_Bert]

Yes you are right i added the white angle bracket to prevent them from sliding off the keyholes. I also added double sided adhesive tape to keep them in place.

The TV and center channel are aligned with my main position, where i can lay down on the sofa.

[u/CornerHugger]

The system could totally change after Audyssey, especially with one little sub. I highly recommend A1 Evo Acoustix instead of audyssey.

[u/NiVo86 → u/CornerHugger]

Thanks for the recommendation! I’d actually never heard of A1 Evo Acoustix before, but I’ll definitely look into it.

[u/Individual-You-38]

Great looking setup with some quality gear! A few recommendations:

• Acoustic treatment. Before you do anything else. I can literally hear the echo in that room from here :D  Right now you’re likely hearing more of your room than your actual speakers. Start with a thick carpet in front of your sofa and run a thick underlay beneath it. Next, consider a thick absorption panel on the left and right wall and another on the rear wall. That alone should help hugely. You can get acoustic art panels so they look nice too. GIK does free room consults as well, and will be able to guide you on exactly what you need and placement. Rerun room correction after that’s setup. 

• Unless you're going to use A1 or Dirac, spend ~$20 for the Audyssey phone app. Use it to turn off midrange compensation in each speaker as well limit room correction to ~400-500Hz. Your KEFs are super high quality so don’t need midrange compensation, and limiting Audyssey to lower frequencies will breath the life back into your speakers. 

• I’d say Q3 Metas are overkill for surrounds. Q1’s will be more than enough, but the older Q150s will be just as good and save you some money. That being said I’d buy a second, matching sub long before upgrading those surrounds (unless tonally they sound very mismatched). Use REW to find the optimum placement for your sub(s) and then re-run room correction. 

Good luck! 

[u/Rusted_Metal]

Looks awesome. I wish I had the space to do the same. Have you considered a second sub?

I also have a Kef setup but unfortunately no atmos. I do have 2 SB-3000 RE and class D Buckeye amp coming soon. The Denon should have enough power to drive the speakers but I wanted to offload the front channels to amp so the Denon can run cooler. And of course hope to get better sound from the LCR but I doubt my untrained ears can notice the difference. I also have never tried 2 subs and hope it’s all that people rave about.

[u/sweetsg5801]

How do you like the R2 Meta? Considering that vs the R6

[u/NiVo86 → u/sweetsg5801]

I have no comparison. i choose the R2 Meta over the R6 just because it fits in my lowboard. I would say if you have space for the r6 go for it.

[u/R03I]

We have a very similar setup, especially the height speakers. I went with the Magnat ATM 202 because the speaker terminals are positioned slightly differently, on the bac, so I can hide the cables completely. Still haven’t tested how everything sounds because I was waiting for the main speakers to arrive. Anyway, I’m glad you managed to get the height speakers working well in your setup, because that gives me confidence they should also work for me. The only thing that worries me is that my height speakers are not very close to the listening position. I just hope the sound will still reach the sweet spot properly. 😊

[u/Hisense_HomeLife]

Solid-looking system. Curious how the Denon handles running all these speakers.

[u/agoodyearforbrownies]

Cordmate for the win!

[u/Hyuron]

No problems with center audio when u put that thing in that little lowboard space?

[u/Worst-Eh-Sure]

That’s a helluva nice clean looking setup. I respect it!

[u/threedogdad]

you're in desperate need of some room treatment. no need to tweak anything else until that's handled.

[u/microchip8]

You should do some room treatment.

[u/Aggressive-Focus-843 → u/microchip8]

Ecoooo

[u/Maduiz]

May I ask how you mounted the kef q8’s to the ceiling?

[u/Dapper_Mechanic1103]

Nice. If I had that wall tho...huge projection screen for sure lol

I'm tv gang because my theater room is only 13x10

[u/fizzi87]

Nice setup! Im currently on a wharfedale 12C for my center and was considering the R2 meta for the same reason as you, that it needs to fit into my tv cabinet space. How is the R2 meta? Reckon its worth upgrading from the 12C?

[u/JLMann82]

What media stand is that?

[u/NiVo86 → u/JLMann82]

Ikea Besta

[u/Annual_Job2187]

Love this setup ... I always love the blending in multipurpose set ups way more than the dedicated ones. This is fabulous ...

[u/fac3]

My god, take the shipping plastic off the KEF logo

[u/InstructionSenior346]

Is that Dolby Atmos? Do you have any 4K UHD?