Hey guys - sorry for the lack of response: got tied up with work and some other commitments. Understand the reasons for being suspicious, but not sure why somebody would go to the length of creating a detailed post for trolling. Indeed, I posted the same topic on 2 more websites at the same time - wasn't sure where it would get any traction and no offense was intended.
Thank you all for the responses - very helpful inputs and gave me a lot of food for thought (even started checking out alternative apartments)! I was also trying to do some research to come back with informed follow-ups (takes me a bit of time as I'm figuring things out).
One thing I should've probably highlighted in my OP is that I don't have the extra money burning my pocket. I started with a ~$5k budget and as I kept reading, it grew closer to $10k. But if the consensus is that a $10k system is not going to sound any different than a $5k system in my room, this is unfortunate, but then there's no need to spend that amount.
A desktop system is a valid suggestion, but I would ideally like to enjoy a bigger sound + connection to the TV.
I guess I underestimated the importance of the
room before. On the forum that
@Habu linked, it was suggested to check out
Lyngdorf tdai-1120. From reviews and forum discussions, it seem to get positive feedback: specifically, that its room correction technology works well and is very intuitive (which is helpful to somebody like me).
Is this something that might help in my case or is it a lost cause given the layout that I have? I realize that this is a fully digital amp, which will impact the sound, but seems like the room issues are more important.
For the speakers, saw a few recommendations for
active speakers above. If I'm planning to buy an amp (or integrated with Lyngdorf),
is there another reason why they would be a better solution for my placement? Genelec 8351B at $8k/pair, however, is, unfortunately, outside my budget, since I'd also like to buy a turntable.
I was actually looking at LS50 Meta at first (and really like the design), but then read that R3 would probably be better in most cases. Given that the speakers would be close to the wall (there's no elegant way to fit in speaker stands),
would front-ported speakers perform better? I was advised to look at Sonus Faber Sonetto 2.
Also, the size of the speakers shouldn't be an issue, because I'm planning to re-mount the TV a bit higher (long story, but this is where it was supposed to be in the first place).
I also hadn't thought about a
sub before.
It seems they're best placed on the floor? Then I do get a bit worried about the neighbors. We have a pretty good sound isolation, but think this might get disturbing in the evenings?
If I end up going with Lyngdorf and given it's a fully digital amp, does an MC cartridge make sense at all? Or
might as well buy P6 with MM and plug directly into Lyngdorf, which I believe has MM phono input?
Again, thank you all for the opinions! This just takes some time to digest, especially with my room complications.
P.S. If any of the questions are stupid/basic and you can think of any articles/threads that address them, I would appreciate the link.