Finishing basement, looking for home theater speaker ideas

[GTBRMC]

My old 5.1 system is still doing fine in the living room (1998 vintage, made-in-Canada Paradigm Mini-Monitors on the corners with matching center channel and powered sub, now powered by a 2013 Yamaha Aventage RX-A3010 AV receiver).

I am looking for similar or slightly better speaker quality but want to go to an Atmos 7.1.4 setup.

I love the neutral sound, quality and performance characteristics of the Paradigms, but, unfortunately, the company was bought out by private equity investors a few years back and now their reasonably priced products are all made in China and their Canadian made, higher quality lines are no longer even close to a good buy.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Note: I'd like to buy similar quality (not quite reference, but not far off), neutral sounding speakers but want to spend no more than $4000 on all the speakers total (keep in mind, I have to buy a total of 12). Also, I am not a big fan of Klipsch products for home use. They do make a line of similar quality at my target price point, but I find their horn tweeters to be a bit harsh / strident.

Note I intend to drive the setup with the current top of the line Yamaha Aventage AV receiver (plus another power amp)... I have had great results from my previous Yammy receivers for nearly 20 years, so going to stay with them.

Thanks, in advance, for your input.

 

[mark_m]

Check out hsu research. They have great subs but I went with their in wall speaker with horn that sounds excellent. I drive them with a tube amp and a turntable for listening so it's not the same application, but they still sound fantastic. I have had great luck with b&w bookshelf monitors 601s2 or maybe s3 that sound great. This may be a notch below reference quality and should certainly fit in your budget.

 

[GTBRMC]

Bump

Realizing your niche is mobile audio, but respect your opinions... any thoughts Odin @Earmark Marine or David @David Analog ?

Note: Ascend Acoustics has caught my eye in last few days

 

[VONCE]

Definitely stick with Yamaha receivers, but it looks like you already know that. I was going to recommend Klipsch speakers, but it looks like you're not a fan.

 

[4x15mph]

Have you tried sampling definitive technology for speakers? No doubt b&w is always a smart choice.

 

[mark_m]

Check out http://hsuresearch.com speakers are good, subs are fantastic. ... plus they run a forum
Not nearly as great as ours but a forum nonetheless

 

[Mainah]

Polk has a high end line of both self contained and architectural in wall/ceiling for home theater that might be in that range. Their silk domes certainly should sound better that those klipsh horns. If you can afford 4-8k for one of the most amazing subs in the world check jl audios fantom amd gotham.

 

[GTBRMC]

All great ideas, I knew the JBN community would hook me up!

Keep 'em coming!

"If you can afford 4-8k for one of the most amazing subs in the world check jl audios fantom amd gotham."

@Mainah Not knowing the pricing, I actually did look at the JL subs. Very impressive... but I do not think the sticker price + the cost of the divorce would be worth it.

 

[Mainah]

Yeah those are a dream for me too. You can build a really good in floor or in wall for far less.