[JWCoffman]

Hi all,
My name is Jason.  I'm a relative noob with a few skills and lots of questions.
We recently remodeled our basement room into a TV room with a kitchen.  It's medium to large-ish 18'x27'x8' space with the TV on the 18' wall.  Ironically, the room was sonically better before the remodel (carpet and drop ceiling with acoustical tiles), but was absolutely hideous.  Now it's laminate flooring with drywall all around.  Hard surfaces everywhere.
I know the most important thing I can do is to treat the room more, but I want to do that with the speakers I will be using in mind.
I've pretty much resolved to the X-LS Encores all around with the matching center.  While we "technically" have the space for OB, the furniture situation makes that hard to get sufficiently away from the walls.  Down the road I'll be looking at doing OB for our living room which currently contains a vintage system that we like, but is limited because...vintage.  Given that this will primarily be a HT system which we also enjoy music while entertaining, I think these should fit the bill really well.
Onto my questions:
- I would love to do the bookshelf versions all around with plans on adding a couple H-frame OB subs underneath in the future as budget allows, but for the time being there wouldn't be much down low.  I'm fearful my current whale fart sub will be sacrilege to use with these and muddy up the works.  Would one H frame work well with the two floorstanding or would I be better off with two H frames under the bookshelves and just suffer through the interim until I can get them built?
- Behind one of the speakers is a hollow sliding closet door, treat it with a diffuser or absorption?  I can't really do much about the door itself.
- Currently our setup has the rears wall mounted on Unimounts which we both really like as a tidy solution, but keeps the speaker just a few inched from the wall.  Has anyone done that with these?  Would I be run out of town if I did something like that?  We don't have kids but we do have rowdy dogs and I'd be concerned about speaker stands in the middle of the room.

Luckily, the WAF (I hate that term BTW) is fine as my father-in-law is a fairly accomplished musician and she grew up with the idea that sound is most important, but we still want the space to be usable for a variety of viewing and entertaining purposes.

Sorry about the long-winded introduction.

[corndog71]

A single sealed servo sub (kit 2) would be a good foundation for home theater.  Two might be better for reducing standing waves but one is still a monster of a sub. 

I’m not sure the OB subs are right for HT but maybe others have more experience with this.  I’ve only used mine for music.

[JWCoffman]

A single sealed servo sub (kit 2) would be a good foundation for home theater.  Two might be better for reducing standing waves but one is still a monster of a sub. 

I’m not sure the OB subs are right for HT but maybe others have more experience with this.  I’ve only used mine for music.

That's a good thought.  I got into the idea of the OB subs as the ultimate solution, but perhaps not the right choice for this application.  The price is better too.  Thanks for the input.

[Tyson]

I also would suggest a sealed sub (or 2) for your HT setup.  I love OB bass, but if I were you I'd wait to get the OB subs to match the OB speakers that you want to get later on.  In the short term the sealed servo subs will be more than enough (and a big step up over what you currently have).

[JWCoffman]

I also would suggest a sealed sub (or 2) for your HT setup.  I love OB bass, but if I were you I'd wait to get the OB subs to match the OB speakers that you want to get later on.  In the short term the sealed servo subs will be more than enough (and a big step up over what you currently have).

That seals it 
I'd still like to hear people's thoughts on wall mounting vs. stands.  I know I'd lose some performance with wall mounted rears, but how much considering they'll be surrounds?

[mlundy57]

I agree with the sealed servo sub for HT. That's what I use in both my systems for the LFE channel even in my man cave system which has OB main speakers, the ones in my avatar. The living room system is still very musical even with the sealed servo sub carrying all the bass duties from 40Hz on down from the main speakers (N3 towers in the picture) as well as the LFE channel for HT.

The X-CS Encore is the center channel designed to go with the X-LS Encores. Though I actually prefer three X-CS Encores across the front in an LCR setup. The CS doesn't play as low as the LS as the CS is sealed instead of ported but the sealed servo sub(s) have no problem blending the the CS. On the plus side, the CS has higher sensitivity, a fuller midrange, and can be placed closer to the wall than the LS.

Here's a pic of three X-CS Encores in an LCR configuration




You can't see the sub in the picture because it is behind the sofa

[JWCoffman]

I agree with the sealed servo sub for HT. That's what I use in both my systems for the LFE channel even in my man cave system which has OB main speakers, the ones in my avatar. The living room system is still very musical even with the sealed servo sub carrying all the bass duties from 40Hz on down from the main speakers (N3 towers in the picture) as well as the LFE channel for HT.

The X-CS Encore is the center channel designed to go with the X-LS Encores. Though I actually prefer three X-CS Encores across the front in an LCR setup. The CS doesn't play as low as the LS as the CS is sealed instead of ported but the sealed servo sub(s) have no problem blending the the CS. On the plus side, the CS has higher sensitivity, a fuller midrange, and can be placed closer to the wall than the LS.

Here's a pic of three X-CS Encores in an LCR configuration




You can't see the sub in the picture because it is behind the sofa

Another idea I hadn't considered.  At that point it's almost like a bookshelf MTM with a sub under it unless I'm missing something.
Noob question: are there issues to consider with putting the speaker directly on top of the sub other than some vibration isolation?  It looks like you have a real high tech solution between yours.
That gets me thinking of my rears question.  Would it be better to put the rears on subs, then do either X-SLS or MTM with and X-CS up front?  Or do the subs really work that much better as part of the front soundstage?  Obviously, room acoustics start to play a big role here as well.

[corndog71]

Danny also has surround speakers that are made to be wall mounted.

https://www.gr-research.com/store/p7/A%2FV-1RS.html

It’s not available at the moment but check with Danny for availability.

[mlundy57]

Another idea I hadn't considered.  At that point it's almost like a bookshelf MTM with a sub under it unless I'm missing something.
Noob question: are there issues to consider with putting the speaker directly on top of the sub other than some vibration isolation?  It looks like you have a real high tech solution between yours.
That gets me thinking of my rears question.  Would it be better to put the rears on subs, then do either X-SLS or MTM with and X-CS up front?  Or do the subs really work that much better as part of the front soundstage?  Obviously, room acoustics start to play a big role here as well.

Those stands are really midbass drivers which extend the X-CS Encore front L&R to 30Hz. There is still a sealed  sub in that system for HT use or the mains can be crossed to the sub at 40Hz in the AVR if you listen to music with a lot of low bass like organs or synths.

You can use just the CS Encores on speaker stands then place the sealed sub(s) where it/they give you the best bass response at the seating position(s). Often the best spot(s) for HT subs are not going to be where the main speakers are. This position flexibility for best results is an advantage that satellite/sub systems have.

I agree with corndog on the rears. I use Danny's A/V-1RS surround speakers in my system.

[JWCoffman]

This is all really helpful and gives us a lot to mull over.
I've really enjoyed reading the forums here and how helpful you all are in getting people started.  Thanks for making a great community.

[corndog71]

X-Omnis also make great surround speakers if you have a big enough room.