Night Time 5.1 surround sound system needed.

[Nick2010]

Hello Looking to use my Yamaha RX-V3900 receiver to run a 5.1 surround sound bookshelf system. Mostly watch TV/Movies/Sports at NIGHT TIME!!! Looking to spend $750 to $1000.00 for speakers and subwoofer. Any insights or suggestions for me? Thanks.

[MrBoylan]

Hello Looking to use my Yamaha RX-V3900 receiver to run a 5.1 surround sound bookshelf system. Mostly watch TV/Movies/Sports at NIGHT TIME!!! Looking to spend $750 to $1000.00 for speakers and subwoofer. Any insights or suggestions for me? Thanks.

Well I may start to sound like a broken record, but in that price range, it's hard to beat the MartinLogan Encore TF speakers that Amazon has on clearance for $199 each ($300 off per speaker!). These are amazing little speakers that reproduce music, vocals and movies extremely well with excellent dynamics and transparency. It's basically a $2500 set of speakers for $995. Add in a Polk subwoofer and the system price is only about $1100 delivered. More details here:

MartinLogan Speaker Deal: $995 for 5-piece system

In terms of watching at night vs. day, this is less an issue of speakers and more an issue of the electronics. You'll probably want to engage the Yamaha's Dynamic Range setting which will compress the dynamic range to the speakers based on how you set this (max, standard, min/auto). With the DR set to min, the loud parts are softened and the quiet parts raised so there isn't as much of a range between them. Normally I wouldn't recommend using something like this for day time or evening listening, but if you have to keep the overall volume low so as not to bother others, then a setting like this can come in handy.

Good luck!

-Chris

[Nick2010]

CB, Thanks for the response to my questions. I've looked at the ML TF spkrs and think they would work well. I'm looking at the WHARFEDALE DIAMOND SW250 sub because my father had speakers back in the 70's from them and I like the look/specs. Also am considering the PARADIGM CINEMA 70 CT 5.1 PACKAGE. Any thought on these two pieces?

[MrBoylan]

Hi, Nick,

I don't have any hands-on experience with the Wharfedale stuff, though I do have fond memories of the original Diamond bookshelves from several years back. Based on the specs and crossover, I'd say the SW250 should be a fine match for the Encore TFs, and it looks cool too which is always nice. I've listened to the Paradigms at shows like CEDIA and the old Stereophile/HiFi show and they've always sounded good but again, no experience with those specific models.

Not sure if you're in the US or UK but that Amazon deal on the MartinLogan Encore TF may only be available in the US. It's also a clearance price so they may run out of stock at any time. Here's the direct link:

Encore TF: $199 (Clearance)

Good luck!

-Chris