[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

Can anyone suggest a better alternative setup?

Can the position of the TV be flipped over to where the 3 seat couch is and the couch moved to where the TV is? I feel this would work better but I don't know what other challenges you may have or if your family would accommodate a change like this.

The Bose and Polk are not going to sound all that great for music. You much rather go Sonos if you are looking for wireless and multi zone. Alternatively, you can look at the KEF LS50 Wireless speaker system for Zone 1 and a Sonos system for Zone 2.

[arpanjha]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Can the position of the TV be flipped over to where the 3 seat couch is and the couch moved to where the TV is? I feel this would work better but I don't know what other challenges you may have or if your family would accommodate a change like this.

The Bose and Polk are not going to sound all that great for music. You much rather go Sonos if you are looking for wireless and multi zone. Alternatively, you can look at the KEF LS50 Wireless speaker system for Zone 1 and a Sonos system for Zone 2.

Thanks for the suggestion of moving the TV, but that is something all in my family are against, there are some challenges, to it.
Regarding your product suggestions, I will look up the KEF & Sonos combination. In the meantime I connected to a company called PROFX who do these high end audio setups. They are suggesting to go with a 5.1 with tower and central speakers, and add 2 sattelite speakers in zone 2. Not to do wireless since it will cause loss of fidelity. Since, we are in the stage of interior work, we can plan and integrate the wires at this stage. He has suggested an AV reciever Denon AVRX 1600H if I want HEOS, or 550BT if I can live without option of adding heos family components later, and a Polk audio setup called fusion T series, I can customise the sub and other components as per my budget and need.
Any inputs on this suggestion?

[smsrini]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

Thanks for the suggestion of moving the TV, but that is something all in my family are against, there are some challenges, to it.
Regarding your product suggestions, I will look up the KEF & Sonos combination. In the meantime I connected to a company called PROFX who do these high end audio setups. They are suggesting to go with a 5.1 with tower and central speakers, and add 2 sattelite speakers in zone 2. Not to do wireless since it will cause loss of fidelity. Since, we are in the stage of interior work, we can plan and integrate the wires at this stage. He has suggested an AV reciever Denon AVRX 1600H if I want HEOS, or 550BT if I can live without option of adding heos family components later, and a Polk audio setup called fusion T series, I can customise the sub and other components as per my budget and need.
Any inputs on this suggestion?

Since you are in the construction phase, you must do up the wiring, whether you use it or no. This is a small cost.

What is the Zone2 ? Study ? Workstation ? Family lounge ? Primary requirement of Music ? Reason I ask is you can easily install a good 5.1 or 7.1 with towers for Zone1, and buy a dedicated stereo amp with bookshelf speakers, and a bluetooth, wifi enabled receiver for zone 2.

It may cost slightly more, but will give you much better flexibility.

Alternately a Bose SmartSpeaker 500 or SoundLink Mini II can fill a 10x10 room. or better still get a Bose WaveCD system. If you go with a smart speaker, the options are endless - Bose, Marshall, Bowers & Wilkins Zepplin etc.,

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

In the meantime I connected to a company called PROFX who do these high end audio setups.
Any inputs on this suggestion?

You can't go wrong with Pro Fx except for one thing, their pricing. Make sure you bargain hard, once you've decided what you want.

As your requirement is mostly for music, why go so many speakers around the house? Keep it simple. You can go with the receiver they recommend but start with two speakers instead of 6. That KEF speaker I recommended does not even need an amplifier. Its built in so all you need to do is run a wire from the TV to the speaker for TV sound and two power points where you place the speaker. From your phone or network, its all wireless. The Sonos solution I was talking about was not for critical listening. Its just for back ground music in the second zone. It is possible to get two sonos speakers and have them play in stereo configuration. Its not cheap but it does work very well for a secondary system.

Don't get locked into the Denon Heos system unless there is some real benefit to it. The Polk Audio T series are good though a bit large.

Fidelity loss over wireless used to be a problem. With several advancements made over time, this is less of a problem. Critical listeners may notice a difference. For the 99% of us, I doubt if we will.

[deep_blue]

He has suggested an AV reciever Denon AVRX 1600H if I want HEOS, or 550BT if I can live without option of adding heos family components later, and a Polk audio setup called fusion T series. Any inputs on this suggestion?[/quote]

Unless planning to upgrade soon to Atmos etc, try & go for the 1600H at least. Very capable 5.2 receiver though the price has shot up since launch due to short supply. Or see if you can get the Marantz slimline 1509 for around 35k. An advantage of Heos is that you can control the system using your mobile as well as Alexa etc.
As far as speakers there are plenty of options as per your budget incl Polk, Q Acoustic, Wharfedale etc. You can also check HifiMart for packages & pricing.
There is a forum ‘Hifivision’ which has a lot of similar threads in case intd.

[arpanjha]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

You can't go wrong with Pro Fx except for one thing, their pricing. Make sure you bargain hard, once you've decided what you want.

As your requirement is mostly for music, why go so many speakers around the house? Keep it simple. You can go with the receiver they recommend but start with two speakers instead of 6. That KEF speaker I recommended does not even need an amplifier. Its built in so all you need to do is run a wire from the TV to the speaker for TV sound and two power points where you place the speaker. From your phone or network, its all wireless. The Sonos solution I was talking about was not for critical listening. Its just for back ground music in the second zone. It is possible to get two sonos speakers and have them play in stereo configuration. Its not cheap but it does work very well for a secondary system.

Don't get locked into the Denon Heos system unless there is some real benefit to it. The Polk Audio T series are good though a bit large.

Fidelity loss over wireless used to be a problem. With several advancements made over time, this is less of a problem. Critical listeners may notice a difference. For the 99% of us, I doubt if we will.

Thanks again. I will pay ProFX studio a visit this week if they are open, I’m thinking of the Denom 550BT as the receiver and the Kef speakers you mentioned, but I will need small speakers around the other zone else it will end up unfed with the music. Thanks again.

[amrutmhatre90]

I have made a video on the tour of my Hometheatre and in depth experience as multiple people have been asking me about it. Its a very long video but I have added chapters, so you can skip to them if you want a specific segment.

https://youtu.be/DdcpS_HPVxc

Input Gear:
AVR - Denon x3700
Speakers - Taga Harmony Tav606v3
Height Speakers - Micca Covos
Subwoofer - Taga Harmony TSW-212 SE
Xbox Series X plays
Acer Nitro 5
Jio Setup box

Most of my music listening is done through Amazon Echo via Aux to 3700 and on Direct or Pure direct mode and 10% on stero. I do have Tidal account, but won't be renewing it, I am satisfied with Amazon.

Streaming is done by Xbox or Jio Setup box.
Movies come in from a laptop.

Loving the home theater journey more things to come in future.

Do let me know your views and suggestions on the video.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

I will pay ProFX studio a visit this week if they are open, I’m thinking of the Denom 550BT as the receiver and the Kef speakers you mentioned

I repeat. If you buy the Kef LS50 Wireless speakers, an external amplifier like the Denon 550BT is not required. The money saved from the receiver can be used for a pair of Zone 2 powered or passive speakers.

[arpanjha]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I repeat. If you buy the Kef LS50 Wireless speakers, an external amplifier like the Denon 550BT is not required. The money saved from the receiver can be used for a pair of Zone 2 powered or passive speakers.

Now I get it, so, the KefLS50 will be the primary speakers, and do you suggest Sonos for the zone 2 or any other decent small satellite speakers which can wirelessly connect to the KefLS50? Or even wired if it saves some money.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

I have an L shaped living room, a screenshot of the floorplan I have attached below.

I am primarily looking for having a great music experience, and the movie or home theatre experience is secondary. I have been looking at a few combinations,

Room Setup
Since you mentioned that some interior work will be done in your room, see if you can get some sort of paneling work done on the TV wall which extends a bit towards zone 2 (see the attached diagram at the end). Get this paneling done using some acoustic panels instead of of simple plywood. That way you can put front stereo speakers in ideal locations for best music listening experience from the three seater couch. Some acoustic treatments on backside of the three seater and at first reflection points will be also be rewarding.

Receiver
Checkout the the Marantz receivers instead of Denon as their amplifier section is better and more suitable for music listening. Make sure the receiver has dedicated amplifiers for each speaker, not a shared amplifier. There are 7.x receivers which can be configured for multizone setup.

But these days Dolby ATMOS receivers are also available so consider them as well even if you are not keen on using the ATMOS feature right now, you can use the extra height channels for zone extending. Later if you get itch of extending the setup further into ATMOS (which I am sure you will get one day ) then you won't have to buy new AVR. That time you can get any decent stereo amplifier for your zone 2 stereo setup, like this one: https://hifimart.com/product/fx-audi...mplifier-html/

Speakers
For the speakers, better to audition a few before selecting. You can check the with Q acoustics 3030i for the main stereo setups. It has almost flat response through out the frequency range and goes as low as 46hz eliminating need of subwoofer for most the of the music content. You can get other speakers from the same series to extend your setup further without compromising the timbre matching.

Polk makes some very good speakers, like their TSI and RTI series have been highly regarded but the T Series suggested by ProFX is compromised one. For example you may see three woofers in the tower speakers but in reality there is only one and other two are just passive radiators. These speakers are ok for casual listening. Avoid these kind of speakers.

You can start with two stereo sets of speakers which you can extend further. Just get the wiring done in advance. Also consider the Dolby ATMOS extendibility in future and get the wiring and speaker provisions done accordingly as advised by your audio installer.

Subwoofer
Subwoofer will be important part in your both the setups since one setup will be a full home theater+ music setup and other will be a stereo setup with small speakers. See if any subwoofer available with multiple input selector so that you can use the same sub woofer for you both zones. If not then get some audio input selector device for the subwoofer.

You can do this in steps but the get the components which can be extended in future.

Avoid This
If you are serious about audio then avoid those fancy plastic things sold in the name of 'wireless' at any cost.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

do you suggest Sonos for the zone 2 or any other decent small satellite speakers which can wirelessly connect to the KefLS50?

Thinking about this and looking at the floor plan, why do you need speakers for Zone 2? Its a open room plan. What you play in the living or TV area will be heard easily in Zone 2. Start with just a pair of speakers for the living room. If you feel the need for a pair of Zone 2 speakers, add them later. KEF's LS50 Wireless II can cover a large area for sound. If you must have a pair of speakers for Zone 2, just buy a cheap Edifier or something that can do wireless. This will operate independent to the KEF's and will cost a fraction of the Sonos/Bose solution.

[arpanjha]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Thinking about this and looking at the floor plan, why do you need speakers for Zone 2? Its a open room plan. What you play in the living or TV area will be heard easily in Zone 2. Start with just a pair of speakers for the living room. If you feel the need for a pair of Zone 2 speakers, add them later. KEF's LS50 Wireless II can cover a large area for sound. If you must have a pair of speakers for Zone 2, just buy a cheap Edifier or something that can do wireless. This will operate independent to the KEF's and will cost a fraction of the Sonos/Bose solution.

Thanks, but if we add the cheap speaker to this setup, we do it wired right? Like, I already have some decent tower speakers from F&D, can I connect with via aux with the Kef LS50 and play them all at one go?

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Room Setup
Since you mentioned that some interior work will be done in your room, see if you can get some sort of paneling work done on the TV wall which extends a bit towards zone 2 (see the attached diagram at the end). Get this paneling done using some acoustic panels instead of of simple plywood. That way you can put front stereo speakers in ideal locations for best music listening experience from the three seater couch. Some acoustic treatments on backside of the three seater and at first reflection points will be also be rewarding.

Thanks for your detailed explanation and guidance, I will work on this and keep everyone updated.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

Thanks, but if we add the cheap speaker to this setup, we do it wired right

The Kef LS50 II Wireless does not have any form of audio output. It will not be possible to pair it with another pair of speakers.

You can look at something like a Edifier S3000 Pro for Zone 2. Aside from the power socket, it is wireless.

[arpanjha]

I was wondering if something like a Polk audio Legend L100 with a not so heavily priced Denon or Marantz receiver will be suitable for a start? And I initially place them behind the seating 3 seater sofa area, use it primarily for music listening, and get the zone 2 wired for additional smaller speakers later on which can plug into the same AVR. I have a strong feeling the L100 will quite comfortably fill up the area with immersive stereo 2 channel sound, enough for music. Or am I going too overboard? Will something like L900 or any other do a similar job at half the price? Sorry if I sound noob, I am actually one.
Also, would the QAcoustics 3030i suffice my music requirements too? Later add 7000LRi satellites if we are not satisfied with the sound in zone 2?

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by arpanjha

I was wondering if something like a Polk audio Legend L100 with a not so heavily priced Denon or Marantz receiver will be suitable for a start?

The Polk L100 will be my pick between the two options you've listed (The other being Q Acoustics).

I am trying to understand what the goal is here. You want the same music source to be playing in Zone 1 and Zone 2? If Yes, then you much rather stay with a Zone 1 only set up for now. If the zones must play two different source, then a AV/Stereo digital receiver helps. In the latter scenario, I don't know how this will work as the zones are not closed rooms so you will have spill over of sound which I doubt anyone would like. You'll hear the TV playing while you're trying to listen to music in Zone 2.

Start with building Zone 1 for now and keep Zone 2 for later. This way you will not over spend on the first go. You may install wiring from Zone 1 to Zone 2. Just hold of from buying anything for Zone 2. Spend so time then evaluate the need for a Zone 2 speaker system.

Av receivers are not the best for music. You will be paying for features you are not going to use. Get a Stereo receiver instead, like this Onkyo. Denon, Marantz, Yamaha make similar products too.