Audio Setup for Living Room under 20k

MadAxe

Adept
Want to buy audio setup for living room

Budget: 20k

Usage: Mainly for watching movies
Listening to music

Requirements: Clear vocals, adequate bass (not overpowering)
Great overall sound quality

TV does not have HDMI eArc port, would upgrade it in the future.

TV is wall mounted so tower speakers may not be a good idea?

Do not like the exposed wiring of the surround speakers running along the ceiling. So might not go for 5.1

Found This wireless 5.1 at 24k but not enough reviews to judge it.

So the only option that remains is soundbar with active subwoofer.

Is there much of a difference in sound quality in 2.1, 2.1.2 and 5.1 at this budget?

How much is the loss in sound quality if the subwoofer is wireless?

Also if there are some exceptionally good products slightly above this range, would increase my budget.

Please recommend specific models and do suggest your ideas for the setup.
 
Here's my two cents on this.
Really good 2.1 speakers will deliver a better listening experience than budget 5.1 sets.
Most music is mixed for stereo sound excluding Atmos, 360 etcetera so a good pair of 2.1 speakers would deliver great music.
For most movies, OTTs and TV, the stereo set up would do fine as well.
Wireless audio ALWAYS have a latency and will also compress audio so great speakers are defeated by convenience.
Have a Polk Subwoofer for my Home Theatre and it has a wireless option. Had to manually tune the delay into my AVR to work around the latency and honestly, it never sounded that great, so I trashed the 15k wireless kit for a good RCA cable instead and have never gone back.
Given you don't want overpowering bass, may I recommend just a 2.0 stereo set up: The PreSonus Eris E4.5 2-Way 4.5: NF Studio Monitors, available on Amazon for around 18k. Since they're powered, you do not need an amplifier and for the money, the sound is exceptional. You'll still get enough bass, it'll just be clear and balanced.
 
agree, a good 2.0 setup will do u better, you can add a down the line. if you can go a bit higher, jbl 305p are highly recommended. should be ~22k. but placement is key here, these can sound better than 50k speakers if placed right, and vice versa

micca mb42x/pb42x is also a good budget option
 
You would be served better by 2.0 actives. You can add a Sub later. Your options are JBL, Edifier, Micca, Presonus etc. You can go for better models if you are comfortable with pre-loved route.
 
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You would be served better by 2.0 actives. You can add a Sub later. Your options are JBL, Edifier, Micca, Presonus. You can go for better models if you are comfortable with pre-loved route.
Agree, if they're good speakers, people generally take good care of them so the pre-owned route is worth considering
 
I recently went through a bunch of 2.0 active speakers before finally settling with Edifier R1080BT 2.0 WHITE. They easily beat my much expensive Sony soundbar in the living room. The sound is open and enough to fill my 14X17 room.
 
I recently went through a bunch of 2.0 active speakers before finally settling with Edifier R1080BT 2.0 WHITE. They easily beat my much expensive Sony soundbar in the living room. The sound is open and enough to fill my 14X17 room.

Acoustic science is simple. Bigger the speaker diameter, the better the sound. A hundred tiny speakers won't match a single large diameter one. It's just how sound works. I would personally never get a sound bar unless it was say for a guest room and it's attached to the TV there. A marginal upgrade to the stock TV speakers.
 
Are you guys sure that 2.0 studio monitors would be loud enough?
They're just 40-50W compared to 400-500W on soundbars.
Don't have much knowledge on audio products. So pardon my ignorance.
 
Are you guys sure that 2.0 studio monitors would be loud enough?
They're just 40-50W compared to 400-500W on soundbars.
Don't have much knowledge on audio products. So pardon my ignorance.
40 to 50 Watts RMS is good. Regular consumer audio products report peak power output for short bursts and claim that they are 400 to 500 watts. My Polk Audio RTI A7s are running at 120 watts off an AVR and they're max capable for 300 watts. 120 watts each is deafening. Real audio talks about RMS and 50 watts RMS is good for the room size you described. Also remember the sweet spot for audio is somewhere in the top 66% on the volume dial. Never at 100%.

Some home systems say 2000 watts PMPO which is a laughable joke.
 
40 to 50 Watts RMS is good. Regular consumer audio products report peak power output for short bursts and claim that they are 400 to 500 watts. My Polk Audio RTI A7s are running at 120 watts off an AVR and they're max capable for 300 watts. 120 watts each is deafening. Real audio talks about RMS and 50 watts RMS is good for the room size you described. Also remember the sweet spot for audio is somewhere in the top 66% on the volume dial. Never at 100%.

Some home systems say 2000 watts PMPO which is a laughable joke.
Perhaps a digression - but I thought the days of PMPO faded away after the 90s ..
Funny that manufacturers still use the term
 
Root mean square (RMS) power handling, refers to how much continuous power the speaker can handle. The peak power handling value refers to the maximum power level that the speaker is capable of utilizing in short bursts.
These values won't give you the idea of sound pressure level. With a speaker, we are talking about the acoustic output, or the volume, resulting from a given amount of power.
The amount of volume produced is called the sound pressure level or SPL.
SPL is expressed in terms of decibels (dB).
Measuring the decibel (dB) output of a speaker when applying 1 watt of power provides the degree of sensitivity.
The measurement is taken at 1 meter from the speaker and is usually performed in an anechoic chamber.
I don't know about consumer audio, but most PA for live music will clearly mention it as xx dB of SPL.
I'm trying to remember the SPL of certain common scenario ( average values) they are not accurate, but you can easily search for them online ( they made us remember these values for Ableton Master examinations)

60 ㏈ - Normal conversation.
70 ㏈ - Vacuum cleaner.
80 ㏈ - traffic.
110 ㏈ - Rock concert.
120 ㏈ - Pain threshold.
150 ㏈ - Rifle shot.
180 ㏈ - The eardrum breaks.
Now calculate what you need according to your room dimensions ( since the room is possibly not treated, reflection etc. will interfere, positioning the speakers is of paramount importance)
These things are applicable only to stereo set-ups, not multi-channel.
PS: This is possibly my only helpful post after a LONG time.
 
Root mean square (RMS) power handling, refers to how much continuous power the speaker can handle. The peak power handling value refers to the maximum power level that the speaker is capable of utilizing in short bursts.
These values won't give you the idea of sound pressure level. With a speaker, we are talking about the acoustic output, or the volume, resulting from a given amount of power.
The amount of volume produced is called the sound pressure level or SPL.
SPL is expressed in terms of decibels (dB).
Measuring the decibel (dB) output of a speaker when applying 1 watt of power provides the degree of sensitivity.
The measurement is taken at 1 meter from the speaker and is usually performed in an anechoic chamber.
I don't know about consumer audio, but most PA for live music will clearly mention it as xx dB of SPL.
I'm trying to remember the SPL of certain common scenario ( average values) they are not accurate, but you can easily search for them online ( they made us remember these values for Ableton Master examinations)

60 ㏈ - Normal conversation.
70 ㏈ - Vacuum cleaner.
80 ㏈ - traffic.
110 ㏈ - Rock concert.
120 ㏈ - Pain threshold.
150 ㏈ - Rifle shot.
180 ㏈ - The eardrum breaks.
Now calculate what you need according to your room dimensions ( since the room is possibly not treated, reflection etc. will interfere, positioning the speakers is of paramount importance)
These things are applicable only to stereo set-ups, not multi-channel.
PS: This is possibly my only helpful post after a LONG time.

That's as true as it gets here. Since the OP mentioned room size, I guessed the 40-50 Watt RMS should suffice. Take a like my main man!
 
Guys stating it again I'm not into audio stuff and taking what you guys are recommending at face value.
I was set on soundbars with active subwoofers but most of you are recommending 2.0 studio monitors but not sure If I should spend 24k on monitors like JBL 305P.
@Nalin @Nitendra Singh @Rockfella
@rdst_1 @fLUX Wanted your suggestions too. Please recommend some models or ideas about the setup.
 
Guys stating it again I'm not into audio stuff and taking what you guys are recommending at face value.
I was set on soundbars with active subwoofers but most of you are recommending 2.0 studio monitors but not sure If I should spend 24k on monitors like JBL 305P.
@Nalin @Nitendra Singh @Rockfella
@rdst_1 @fLUX Wanted your suggestions too. Please recommend some models or ideas about the setup.

Don't get caught up on the Studio Monitors aspect of their description. They're bookshelf speakers primarily. Why do Soundbars sound like crap and Bookshelf speakers so much better? Because depth to sound develops behind the speaker itself, in that nice box cabinet. We're recommending Bookshelf speakers over a soundbar with an active subwoofer because whatever you get in your budget for those won't sound as good as a simple 2.0 bookshelf setup for one, and for two, you need not cross your budget to get great sound. The Eris ones from Presonus are well within your budget and they're not to be laughed at, trust me.

Anyhow, your wish in the end. Since you said you care about vocal clarity and did not care so much about boomy bass, I recommended the Eris 4.5 bookshelf speakers because they exactly fit your bill. A Soundbar will deliver highs and the subwoofer, low bass, the mid-range would be mostly lost out on and therefore you end up with a boomy speaker setup that is opposite to the brief you mentioned and vocal clarity would be out the window.
 
I would suggest auditioning the sound bar if its possible for you, before making the purchase. Side by side you can also listen to bookshelves with a sub. Ultimately it would be your choice. I have the Sony Z9F 5.1 setup with a bar, sub and a pair of rear speakers for my home theater as I like to enjoy the "big" Atmos experience. It is out of your budget though. Most of my critical listening is using headphones.
 
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