Which ML to buy....HT question

[cmescia]

Hi,

I have had a pair of aeriius i's since 99 and love them. I also have a sherwood newcastle 965 (not the separates, but their flagship 7.1 reciever) and an RBH sub sa400. I am setting up a HT room in my basement, and had a couple questions about the next speakers to get to complement what I already have.

My room is 12 ft wide, and 30 ft long. Due to an unfortunately placed pole and door, I will have to shift my center spot for the TV (60" rear proj) and couch 1.5 feet to the right. I will be able to place the front panel of the front speakers about 30" from the front wall (no more), they will be 7-8ft apart, with my couch 10-11ft from the front speakers.

Initially I thought about getting a used pair of scripts (~$1000-1200) to use as the rear speakers, but I see that the aeon's, and older sl3's seem to go for around $1500, which is still in my price range. So, I am now thinking about getting a larger set for the mains, and using the aerius's for my surrounds.

My question mainly is in regards to my room size...would the aeon's or sl3's be too large for a 12' wide room that will allow for fronts only 7-8 ft apart and only 30" from the front wall? If not, do folks here like the aeon's over the sl3's or vice versa? Is there a different older model that might be a better fit for the fronts that is still <$1600?

I will have a seat on the left also, which makes the hourglass distribution of the cinema center speaker less than optimal, so I was thinking about the logos (the theater center is a bit too pricey for now). I will get this in stages, so initially the tv will be the center channel for a few months while i hunt for a center speaker. the logos will have to be mounted on the ceiling (10ft) and angled down.

any tips?

Thanks so much....I wish I found this site years ago....

Chris

 

[Reverb2009]

It’s hard for me to picture the layout, but I think you will be fine. I have not heard the SL3’s, but the Aeons are grate speakers, they should be just fine in your space.

 

[cmescia]

thanks...I guess the aeons will not suffer by only being 30" from the wall (everyone seems to say you need 3ft at least).

I guess my description was poor. The room is basically 12ft wide, but the whole theater system is shifted 1.5 feet to the right due to a door on the left side that I need space for. Therefore the system is not in the direct center of the wall. I figure I will need room treatments to help with this, but I wanted to make sure that the aeons, sl3's or any of the other larger ones that folks might recommend on this list wouldnt be too large for my space. I have jsut over 8ft ceilings. The speakers will be 7-8ft apart and the couch will be 10+ft away from the speakers, so I know I have that covered. The room is long (30ft), so I got no probs with what to do with the rears.

*******Assuming I have enough space, the question boils down to what speakers would you all get if you had $1200-1600 to spend (assuming getting used ones)********

thanks,
Chris

 

[Jeff Zaret]

cmescia,


A few things to ponder

First, I would not be too worried about the "off center" positioning. I believe you have already compensated for the difference and that is what a balance control is used for anyway.

Second, do not get so wrapped up about specifications and the technicalities. We all do not have perfect rooms or for that matter perfect mates. There are and will always be compromises with every room, setup, listening material, (WAF's) and budget. Ultimately you are the one who needs to be satisfied not us. I believe you will get a lot of worthwhile advice but like any advice and opinion you have to make the decision and live with it.

Third, I believe you are on the right track. Personally I believe you are really in a win-win situation. There will be no downside to the choices you have presented. I have heard the Aeons a long time ago but never heard the SL3's. The Sl3's were the replacement for the Sequel series and the differences where the physical height and I believe they were a little easier to drive. I own a pair of Sequel II's and a pair of CLSiiZ's, which are a completely different altogether. If at all possible I would try each one in your environment and see what you like. Do not worry about the size of your room. If the SL3's are too big you will be the first to know. The SL3 has more panel so they will present a larger soundstage than the Aeon. This does not mean they will have a better sound just a larger one.

Hope this helps and by all means ask tons of questions, invite another pair of ears trained or untrained for an unbiased opinion and finally trust what you hear you will know when it "feels" right.

Good Luck

Jeff

 

[Craig]

My question mainly is in regards to my room size...would the aeon's or sl3's be too large for a 12' wide room that will allow for fronts only 7-8 ft apart and only 30" from the front wall? If not, do folks here like the aeon's over the sl3's or vice versa? Is there a different older model that might be a better fit for the fronts that is still <$1600?

The Aeon's or Aeon i's will work great for your HT. 1.5 feet off center is not much to worry about. Try adding an extra absorption panel on the near side to compensate. Like Jeff said, most of us don't have perfectly acoustic rooms. The trick is knowing what the deficiencies are in a particular room and how to best correct them. We all have to work with what we have
.
Since you already have the Aerius, they will do very well for surround speakers. Scripts are great if you need to mount electrostats on the wall. You don't have much HT sound that comes from the surrounds anyway. I originally had Aeons for surrounds and they were overkill in my system and took up too much floor real-estate so I changed them to Scripts and now use the Aeons for a 2 channel system in my bedroom. Your budget would be put to better use elsewhere.

If you are interested, I have a very nice set of Aeons for sale at $1600 - shipped and complete with boxes, packing, manual, cords and spikes. http://www.martinloganowners.com/~tdacquis/forum/showthread.php?t=2126

I find that an electrostatic HT system seems to disappear and allows you to become more involved in the video. It sounds very real and that of course...is a good thing.

 

[HK-Steve]

I am currently using a set of Quest's for my main speakers,
a Cinema Center,
and Aerius i's for my rears.
I Bi-Amp my Quest, and Aerius i's with Rotel amps.

My Guests and I find this setup Amazing, as the Quest panels are pretty much the same height of my screen which really sucks you into the image.
Screen is 98inch wide for my Marquee 9500LC CRT projector.



I agree that being off center by that small amount is not going to be a real concern.


If you can pick something up for a good price, and the panels are in good condition, then go for it. I got my Quest for a very cheap price, because the panels were low on output, so I replaced the panels for less than buying something new, and now I know they are good for a very long time.

Here are couple of pics,

Hope this helps
Cheers
Steve