We are early in the design phase for a new house. Plans may change, but if I get an idea of what I really want for my theater I will able to plan around it.

The room will be about 15' x 20' interior dimensions. The back wall will have a bar in the middle half and then short walls with doors to either side. I may just not have those doors and have curtains I can pull instead, we'll see. If there are no doors the sides of the bar will have pillars to mount rear surrounds. I plan to have an AV/network rack in the front left of the theater, that will actually be in the mech room.

I currently have a GoldenEar 3d array (smaller size) and a SuperSubX in my basement. I have a Marantz 7.1 channel receiver (the one with the D style amp).

I'd love to get amazing separates like the Monolith HTD-1 and some AMPs, but I really can't justify the cost when the Marantz SR8015 appears to have REALLY GOOD pre-outs and decent enough amplifiers already. That frees up more cash for the speakers (my wife insists on a reasonable budget).

I will likely end up getting a television for now simply because I play games and having a field of view that I can take in all at once is good. It would be wired for a projector though so I could add one later. Most of my use will be for video, however I've never had a dedicated stereo listing place, so I'd use it for that too.

I've attached a sketch of what I am planning.

Here are my questions:
1. Fronts: Do I go with Invisa SPS and get a second SuperSub X? or Go with Triton 1.R. This would be a significant price difference. How much am I giving up going with the SPS and not being able to position the speakers just right.
1a. If SPS plus subs, should I do one sub by each front? or somewhere else in the room?
2. SuperCenter Reference vs Invisa SPS (horizontal). The advantage to the SPS would be potential to have an AT screen down the road. It's also cheaper. I'm leaning toward matching the center to the sides.
3. What are other recs for the speakers in my drawings. I'm leaning toward the following to best direct sound to the front middle row without compromising other spots too much.

• Mid Front: HTR 7000 (May not get these right away)
  Surround Sides: Invisa 650
  Surround Back: Invisa 650
  Height Front and Rear: HTR 7000 (should these be 650s for benefit of other viewers)
  Height Middle: Invisa 650 (this will be wired but not installed since the reciever I'm planning can't do 15 channels.

4. Do I have too many speakers in my space? would people suggest cutting anything?
5. Anything else I missed?

Thanks in advance.

hi, tpavey

Welcome to the forum!

I will defer to any comments Moderator Dude adds, but some thoughts on your proposed setup:

Re SC Ref vs. Invisa SPS for a center speaker, they both utilize the same driver configuration, so choosing one vs. the other is probably a matter of which is easier to install in your setup.

Re SPS's vs. T1.R's for fronts, yes 1.R's would give you amazing bass integration, and yes adding subs can get you closer to that. Either the 1.R's or the SPS's would match perfectly with a SPS or SC Ref center speaker. They all utilize the latest Ref speaker technology besides.

Re where to place subs, since bass frequencies are less directional than higher frequencies, they don't have to be near the fronts if you use SPS's for fronts. Rather, they can be placed wherever they can best balance and cancel room modes. I prefer front/back for best balance, but each room is different.

If you use Invisa 650's for surrounds, they can reach 80 Hz easily as a crossover and give you some bass from the surround positions, which is important in my view. The surrounds have to have some weight to be effectively convincing I think. That can also be done with sub support in back if using surrounds with crossovers above 80 Hz or so.

Re HTR 7000's for height speakers, I love them! And I find their sound dispersion is equal to other Invisa speakers, and their bass support and clarity is top of the line. My 7000 top fronts disperse sound every bit as well as the 525's as top rears, so I would think that they would be an excellent choice for all seating positions.

Just some thoughts...

Happy listening!

Rick

Thanks for the feedback.

With you comments it really makes me see the big gap between the SPS and the 650, which would be the next size down for none directional speakers.

I wonder, would it be worth the cash to upgrade to SPS for surrounds and rears? There would obviously be a lot of blocked sound by the seats.

You point about sub location is also a benefit of the SPS I suppose in that it doesn't tie them to the towers.

More to consider...

Hi

Re SPS's vs 1.R's as fronts, I wouldn't consider using T1.R's as fronts any bass distribution issue because with that setup, you would have in effect three subs instead of two: the 1.R's as front bass sources, and you could place the SuperSub you already have in back for instance. I think that would be very effective for bass distribution. Another factor to consider is the mix of two channel stereo vs HT use you may play. For stereo listening, the T1.R's with built in bass integration are superb.

Re SPS's vs 650's for surrounds, another option to consider would be MPX's.

All of the speaker and sub options you are considering would give you a full, enveloping sound stage with lots of bass IMO.

Thanks for the input. I hadn't even thought of using the SuperSub as a 3rd sub.

I wasn't sure about the MPX with the move to more object based/positional audio, but looking at them more, that may help avoid too much direct sound for those on the edges for sides and rear.

Hi tpavey, it sounds like all of the speakers you’re considering would provide a great home theater experience as well as natural sounding music reproduction. With that said, the SPS’s and a second subwoofer would work very well in this application. Given a choice, I’d lean toward the Triton One.Rs as the main speakers. Having three subwoofers in your system and perfect integration between the bass and midrange would sound awfully nice. I agree with Rick on the center speaker. Using an SPS or a SuperCenter Reference would work very well as the center speaker with either the SPSs or Triton One.Rs as your main front left and right speakers.

Next, using the Invisa HTR7000s as your front and rear height speakers would provide a great Atmos experience. Last, in terms of side and rear surrounds, you might consider using the Invisa MPXs as your side surrounds and the Invisa 650s as your rear surrounds. This would provide a great balance of spaciousness and focus from your surround speakers. Happy Listening!