Best Home Theater According to r/hometheater

"Stretch and get 2 VTF-3 MK5. I have 2x ULS-15 due to size constraints and they're good for my wide open space but really wish I had more output. Else, 1x VTF-TN and add one later if you need. Folks will have a lot of opinions here and most are gonna be good but I am strongly in favor of multiple subs."

"I’ve got the VTF3 mk5 and have been very happy. It goes low enough, my seats shake during deep bass scenes. I had the plan of getting a second one at some point, but realized one is enough for me."

"Vtf3 mk5 is definitely the way to go.. but if you can not wait for the restock.. then for $250 less the RSL12s is an honourable mention.."

"They're great subs but if I had room for ported I would have used them. Problem is they're larger in every direction, crucially depth. The ULS-15 are quite compact and work for this space. They're really superb with music and most home theater content. I could use a bit more thump but I'm definitely not disappointed given their size."

"Absolutely under no circumstances get the REL subwoofer. If you're sticking with a dealer/retailer brand, then definitely go with SVS. If you're open to going with an Internet direct brand, then you can get two HSU ULS-15 MK2 for the price of a single SVS SB-5000" https://hsuresearch.com/collections/product-collection-grid-subset/products/uls-15-mk2-subwoofer The HSU ULS-15 MK2 trades blows with the SVS SB-16 Ultra and really only falls behind it a bit in the 20-30Hz range. I have no doubt that it can match or beat the SB-5000 in nearly every respect. The only thing to be aware of is that it is a fully analog subwoofer with no DSP or app. I don't think this is a bad thing and actually prefer it this way if I'm using an AVR. But if something like that app really matters to you, then you'll need to go with SVS. And this is assuming you wanted to go sealed. If you're open to going ported, then there's tons of other options. Given this is a completely open first floor, I would actually prefer to get two relatively powerful ***ported*** subs that will maximize my output in the 20-120H range. Something like two HSU VTF-3 MK5 HP: https://hsuresearch.com/collections/collections-true-subwoofers-subset-collection/products/vtf-3-mk5-hp-subwoofer"

"Yes, the 98" TCL QM8 at its current $4K sale price is def the way to go IMO: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/tcl-98-class-qm8-q-class-mini-led-qled-4k-hdr-smart-tv-with-google-tv/6538143.p?skuId=6538143 The 100" Hisense U8K is $500 cheaper and supposed to be a bit better on paper. But I would go with the TCL because of my experience with the relative quality control of both brands. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hisense-100-class-u8-series-mini-led-qled-4k-uhd-smart-google-tv/6561416.p?skuId=6561416 > Looking to add a sound system to make it a home theater. What is your budget?"

"Having seen the QM8 in person, I can say that it will look like shit from that closest seat. You are pretty far off center at that point. It will look okay from the seat next to it. Obviously, for the seats facing dead on, it will look pretty good. It all depends on how much the people sitting in those off-axis seats actually care or not. And all that being said, a 98" TV is much more fun from 12.5ft away than a TV that is 15" smaller. So if you mostly just care about the main 2-3 seats, I would go with that. That's just my opinion. The OLED will absolutely look better. That's no debating that. But how much you care when you're not going a side-by-side comparison is up to you."

"I just went from a 77” LG CX OLED to a 98” QM8 at a 17’ viewing distance. No regrets on quality. I do wish the 110-115” models didn’t 5x the price. "

">I have about a 3k budget, slightly flexible. AVR Options: Onkyo NR7100, RZ30 or Denon X3800H Speakers: Ascend Acoustics CMT340SE2's for front L/R/C and CMB170's for L/R surrounds Subwoofer options: SVS PB-1000 Pro, RSL Speedwoofer 12s, HSU VTF3, Klipsch RP-1200SW, Monoprice Monolith M-12 V2. A setup like this would utterly destroy what you have right now, it'd be life changing upgrade and well within your $3k budget."

"Hmm Spinorama has a [much different](https://www.spinorama.org/speakers/Ascend%20Acoustics%20CMT-340%20SE2/Ascend%20Acoustics/vendor/SPL%20Vertical.webp) looking plot for vertical response. Over +- 10 deg and it's pretty bad."

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with a good chuck of what was written above. Saying "bass under 100Hz isn't going to be a strength" is a wildly slanted statement. If you're comparing the CMT-340SE2 to a dedicated subwoofer, then sure, its bass response is weaker under 100Hz. If you're comparing it to the Sierra-1 V2 like the commenter is implying, then that is flat out wrong. I've measured both these speakers in-room. The CMT-340SE2 easily extends down to 40-50Hz with room gain. And this jives with the Klippel data as well. The CMT-340SE2 has a *slightly* higher port tune frequency than the Sierra-1 V2. But the CMT-340SE2 has a much shallower roll-off and is able to take advantage of room gain that the Sierra-1 V2 cannot. For home theater, you should be using a subwoofer and probably crossing over at 80Hz anyway. But implying that the CMT-340SE2 somehow sucks under 100Hz is wildly misleading. It actually has better bass extension than many tower speakers I've measured. The Sierra-1 V2 are very nice speakers. They have a nicer cabinet (bamboo vs MDF), more expensive drivers, smaller size, and look better than the CMT-340SE2. You are definitely getting something for the higher price tag. But there's no such thing as a free lunch here. The CMT-340SE2 are higher power handling, more efficient, higher output, and more dynamic than the Sierra-1 V2. The Sierra-1 V2 pretty audibly misbehave above ~95dB in my experience. That's 95dB at 1 meter. So more like 85dB at 10-12ft away. They are not really cinema capable speakers in anything but smaller rooms. Unless you specifically want a physically smaller speaker and are in a physically smaller room, I don't see the case for the Sierra-1 V2 here. And I'm also going to disagree with the commenter on their remark about your subwoofer. You would be much better served putting that extra $1000 you're looking to spend toward a subwoofer upgrade rather than getting more expensive speakers that are kinda an upgrade in some areas and a downgrade in others."

"Yeah. I would advise you to throw away the included puck mic and get an umik1 mic. It puts your speakers to large, which is completely wrong. You have to do it via desktop app with the umik 1 mic."

"Minidsp UMIK-1 must ship a lot of low quality mics. Same thing happened to me. Just bought one from Minidsp web site and it came dead on arrival. They will not take it back. Their customer service is really bad. I had to buy another one from somewhere else, worked OK. FYI: A $10 mic works just fine. MiniDSP wants me to pay to ship it back, pay for the repair and pay to ship it back to me. US to Hong Kong. The taxes are $35. It will must likely be $200 to fix it. Minidsp company sucks. The mic is very deep on the tip for the one that does no work."

"Whoa this is so cool! I really want to do this for my system. I googled UMIK and this came up: https://www.minidsp.com/products/acoustic-measurement/umik-1?srsltid=AfmBOopW22_UM2ifMDdz2WNwNqd7udFNxdN6wRZhVYyfbslA44UwbSaR Is that what you have and did you follow a particular tutorial?"

"Right now, the best MiniLED would be the Sony Bravia 9. Sony has the best picture processing and motion handling. Not only that, but the Bravia 9's local dimming algorithm is something else. It's basically as close an LED has gotten to an OLED performance. For OLED, I have to give it to the Sony A95L, LG G5 and Panasonic Z95B. The Sony uses a QD-OLED panel, so the colors are super bright and vibrant. The LG and Panasonic use an RGB Tandem Display which while still WOLED, which makes it a lot brighter in both SDR and HDR. I went with the Sony A95L, and it legit is a beautiful display. However, next year Sony will be launching their new RGB MiniLED TV. There's no idea which models will get the new backlight system, or how much it will cost. It's supposed to be incredibly bright because the LEDs don't have to be filtered through a color filter, and a lot more colorful. So if you can hold off one more year, then I would wait for the RGB MiniLED."

"I recently retired my B7 OLED. It’s time. I went with the Sony Bravia 9, but having done so I wish I had gone with a new LG OLED. Too bad QD-OLED didn’t turn out to have the burn in resistance it was cracked up to be."

"If I have all my information straight, LG makes the best panels. Sony uses LG panels, and they pair them with the best image processing pipeline. If you're watching in a room that will be sometimes bright and sometimes dark, get the Sony Bravia 9 (which is a QLED). If you have a more controlled environment, get whatever their top-of-the-line OLED is (I think the a95L?)."

"3030i s are my first speakers I have them for a year now and i'm still in love with them. I hear things in songs i have never heard and today i bought a sub to go along with them which shouldn arrive next week. So stoked"

"Not surprised by your impression at all. Everything I've heard about the the 3030i is they lack bass unless basically near field use. You need a small sub or bigger speakers that's all there is to it."

"Q acoustic are excellent for the price. Start by doing some basic research and looking up reviews? They are quite common and reviewed by major sites like what hifi. They can be quite large compared to comparable speakers. And the ‘i’ versions can be significantly better than the older ones eg 3030i is better than 3030."

"Start with the svs prime center and bookshelf speakers. Do not buy the elevation or the sub. You can get the towers if you find the bookshelf speakers not enough to your liking."

"Who cares it literally doesn't matter. Pick the better speaker. That being said I have the SVS Prime center and am pretty underwhelmed. If you push any real power to it, it just can't take it, it needs crossed over pretty high and if you don't, it's port turbulence hell unless you keep the volume down. That and the metal tweeter is harsh. But that's basically a given with any metal tweeter. I expected way more for the price though. It's fine for dialogue but there's so much more going on than dialogue on the center channel. I wanted decent bass response but this center just ain't it."

"I've had my Prime center for 3 years, previously had an R-25 C. There is zero comparison. The Prime center is clear and defined, the Klipsch is neither."

"If you want to save a few bucks on the AVR, you can look at the Marantz Cinema 50 or even the Denon X3800H (the latter would be even cheaper still). These AVRs would be a perfect substitute for the Cinema 40 you mentioned. I don't think it would be worth the extra money over the 50 or X3800H. Perhaps you can find a great deal on a refurb or open box. I'm not from the states, so I don't know if Best Buy is truly the best place to buy AV equipment, but there are heaps of reliable resellers that you might find a better deal at. I'm sure our friends living in the states can chime in with some recommendations."

"Isn't moving from the X4700 to the cinema 50 a downgrade on basically all technical levels? I get the Marantz signature sound and all that but even if you were moving to marantz you'd want to go for the higher level cinema 40 which technically matches the x4700. Don't see it as much of an upgrade though myself."

"Just searched avsfourm and those gays say the denon x3800h and marantz cinema 50 are identical on internals. BUT......some folks seem to feel after testing both back to back that the marantz is better with music...... Honestly it feels like the old days of just BS audio magazines playing favorites. Tough call OP"

"Eq’ing via Audyssey will be useless if you are connecting 4 subs in to 2 ports. I’d highly recommend investing in something like a MiniDSP. Time aligning is a crucial step when trying to connect multiple subs, especially if they’re in different parts of the room. Having subs placed throughout the room can cause dips and nulls in the response which will be rather noticeable. The 2x4HD will allow you to calibrate them together to act as a single output. You really don’t want Audyssey doing anything with the LFE, it should all be handled with the DSP."

"A MiniDSP will do little to nothing to improve your bass performance if you only have a single sub."

"If you have a minidsp 2x4HD skip rew and use MSO. Watch the MSO 2.0 youtube video and find out how all pass filters are game changers. They change phase at certain frequencies and watch how he does 3 subs with 5 seats and get a Rediculous FR on all seats. I immediately purchased a HD after the video. I have a standard and balanced minidsp before the HD. Let me know I can show you the before and after results of my 2 subs and 2 seats with REW and then MSO. I had to do almost a 20db cut in rew. ZERO cuts in MSO and I gained dB throught the FR."

"As someone who had 2 "Everyone's Favorite" (that is sarcastic guys!) Polk 10 inch sub and thought they were OMG THE BEST EVAR AMAZING!!!! Splurge and go with the SVS/HSU/RSL. You won't regret it. They are more expensive but really really worth it. The first movie I watched from my VTF-2 (HSU sub) I thought "I'm going to have to watch everything all over again to see how it REALLY sounds">"

"Thanks! I’ll admit I’m a bit of a bass head. Always have been. I ran the room correction on the WiiM ultra, and it was very, VERY lean for my taste. But even at the levels I crave, they are able to produce in a different way that my hsu vtf-2 mk5 are not able to do. The rsl subs are very musical; just smoother top to bottom. The hsu subs do a great job pressurizing the room (fantastic for home theater and some rap/electronic music), but they lack the overall initial hit (slap) and musicality of these subs (even in the same room and position)."

"I have a similar setup in an open basement and have an HSU VTF-2 MK5 and it is a monster. Just 1 is very adequate for the theater area and vibrates the whole house, I plan to add a second in the back eventually to shake the neighbors house."

"My personal preference would be the Polks. Not sure why they would be bad for movies. Especially in what appears to be a smaller space like this. I'm sure your AVR's room correction is setting the R700s to large and running them full range. I wouldn't do this for home theater. Change the crossover to 60Hz or 80Hz. Even if these speakers can handle the lowest octaves, that's still better off being handled by subwoofers. The speakers become more efficient and dynamic when not forced to play the deepest bass. On a related note, I don't know what subwoofer you have, but based on what I'm seeing from the edge of the pic, it doesn't look substantial at all. You need two subwoofers that have enough output for the cubic volume of your room. Setting up bass properly in your room fixes a lot of issues that people tend to associate with speakers."

"Been thinking about this all day. Polk R700s are selling out repeatedly. Denon and Marantz are routinely recommended as go to names for people configuring their system. How can no one see the value in these names and what they have accomplished?"

"I just went to best buy and listened to the sound bar on display and the klipch speaker, that was enough for me to not want a soundbar. Went with Polk R700 after much research in 2.0 setup, will buy the rest when i get the money / sales."

"I bought Buttkicker LFE and the amp they sell. I have one unit per recliner. I connected them, and my subs, to a mini dsp. I added a slight delay on my subs at the recommendation of a user here. Just a few milliseconds. I also filtered out everything over 46hz."

"I have a Buttkicker LFE, and I watched the Low Cut version of The Edge of Tomorrow which someone on here recommended, and even the Buttkicker couldn't handle the bass, it would make a clanking sound which is what it does when the bass it too low/too much..."

"I’m still learning about these buttkickers. But yeah, it’s to feel the rumble from a subwoofer directly attached to your couch. You mount these to the couch/chair you’re in and it rumbles based on the subwoofer signal. Apparently they’re awesome"

"You should get a sealed sub for a space that small. No need to bother with a port. Get a Rythmik F12."

"I've got one Rythmik F12 and absolutely love it. Using a very old Klipsch 12 on a Denon 1800, but once I upgrade to the 3800, I'll probably replace the Klipsch with another F12 :)"

"Find the matching Polk Center speaker and another pair of the Polk for Atmos. Focus most of your spend on really good subs. Dual Rythmik f12 come to mind. Your AVR should be up to date to have the best room correction. Denon 3800 is a favorite."

"Buy the denon x1800 from accessories4less.com as a factory refurbished that comes packaged brand new with full warranty for only $499. Take that savings and upgrade to the svs pb1000 pro. You'll get a more current manufactured avr resolving any internal parts supply/quality issues , get a better sub, and save $100 to boot. You won't be disappointed!"

"I was curious about the SVS price difference so I went checking — back in April of 2018 I paid $419 for my PB1000, and in 2022 I got another one used off eBay for $220 because it had some cosmetic damage to the cabinet. At those prices I absolutely love my subs. But PB-1000 Pros go for *850* now?! Holy shit that’s insanity"

">From what I understand, the PB series being ported has a higher output but is less accurate? Ignore the whole "accuracy" thing, it's a myth that just keeps getting perpetuated. The TLDR here is that ported subs dollar for dollar have higher output for less money than a sealed sub. For example you'd have to get an SB-5000 at $2k to get the same output as what you get in the PB-1000 Pro at $850 >The SB is also $200 cheaper, but the PB is within my budget if the difference isn't very significant....Is the sound profile of either that different? The PB-2k Pro is nearly 10dB louder at 20hz than the SB-2k Pro. At 20hz that 10dB is significant. Both are very linear/flat output subs, both sound fantastic, really comes down to output/performance expectations and what your room setup is like. If you have a smaller closed off room, say a spare bedroom type setup, go SB-2k all day. But if you have a larger, wide open concept space, 10000% get the PB."

"If I were you, I'd get a new receiver (like the Denon X3800H), and new 5.1 speakers, then use 4 of the ceiling speakers for atmos. Most new receivers can work with Alexa, Homekit, etc."

"I got it for denon 3800 and now if I change it I can't transfer it. Never again."

"Where is the $12k price coming from? Marantz 40 $3,500 Pair of R3's $2,100 R2 Center $1,300 R8's $1,600 sub total = $8,500 ​ Which Subwoofer? ​ Not seeing where the above comes to that $12k - $14k ​ The Marantz 40 is a nice AVR but not $3,500 nice, you can get the same features out of the Denon X3800H for $1,000 Speakers are very subjective, so that's really on a what you like kind of deal here. But just the AVR I think that's way too much for what you get."

"The Q Acoustics 3050i is fantastic. I replaced my Wharfedale Diamond 9.5s for them. What a difference. Cool modern look too. They were $800 aud, so $520usd on special."

"Off but, how do your q acoustics 3050i sound? I have them with the x1700h and they sound lifeless and not impactful at all"

"A pair of Q Acoustics 3050i for 850€ and a Chinese amp with optical input for 100€ are way better than this."

"SB 3000 very well regarded. I don’t think an upgrade to a SB 5000 is worth it. I’d get a second SB 3000."

"I don't think a SB3000 is enough sub for that room. I'm also guessing you are getting huge bass spikes where you sit (against a wall?) due to reflections since you say it has "even bass throughout the room". It doesn't. A single sub doesn't work that way. While this may be louder as multiple waves hit you where you sit, I'm guessing it's not a very tight bass sound. People use multiple subs + room treatments + bass traps + seats away from walls to avoid muddy/boomy bass. That may not be an option for your room, which is fine, but I'm guessing a SB5000 tuned properly will provide more "tight" bass feeling with less output because it won't be relying so much on wave reflections like you currently are. That being said that's just a guess and every room/setup is different."

"Denon 4800 ($1.8k) 4x SVS SB3000 pro ($4k) 7x KEF Ci4100QL-THX ($4.2k) 4x KEF Ci130qs ($1.4k) Total: $11,400 A little outside your budget and there are things that can be changed to make it cheaper but this set up would blow your mind. "

"A WiiM amp and then a pair of Polk R200 from accessoriesforless.com. All the connectivity you could want and awesome speakers."

"Have you tried Ascend Acoustics' Sierra line of speakers? They are very, very good speakers with premium parts and furniture grade cabinets in a variety of real veneer finishes (they put the Polk Reserve to shame). Depending on your tastes they have a high end SEAS of Norway tweeter or the premium RAAL Ribbon tweeter depending on if you want high SPL's or a more musical tonality. The nice thing about their large horizontal Sierra centers is that they don't do the standard MTM design that is actually inferior for a horizontal speaker. They nest the tweeter/midrange drivers vertically then flank them with the woofers. No matter what, I HIGHLY recommend setting your bass management settings to SMALL with cross-overs about an octave above the -3 dB specification for low frequency roll off on your speakers. You never want to run most speakers, no matter the brand or model, as LARGE."

"You cant beat this buying 'new'. [https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/polkr200blk/polk-audio-reserve-r200-pair-6.5-bookshelf-speakers-black/1.html](https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/polkr200blk/polk-audio-reserve-r200-pair-6.5-bookshelf-speakers-black/1.html)"

"I have a Marantz X3800H and run a Emotiva BasX A3+ three channel amp for my LCRs in a 7.2.4 setup. They make a great combo and it helps keep the Marantz cooler just driving the surrounds and Atmos speakers."

"I use the same speakers for LCR in my demo room. They are incredible, but not the most efficient at 89db sensitivity. They are currently driven from an Emotiva BasX A3 that delivers 200w/ channel (all channels driven) at 4Ohms. Short story, it is not quite enough to play reference level in my treated 20x14x9 room. It goes into protection mode after a while at -10db. My advice would be to go separate for LCR at least, and save some power for the surrounds and Atmos from you receiver. Sent you a DM."

"I got one about 4 months ago to upgrade my Denon 3700 from a 7.1.2 to a 7.2.4. I use it for the three front speakers. It works fine although I cant seem to get the off/on remote line to work between the two. The BasX A3 is much bigger than I expected it to be. The overall upgrade has been worth it. I redid the audisey set up and lots of movie audio that I thought was just ok are now awesome."