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Thank you both for that great feedback.

I believe my room is about double the volume of yours at close to 4000 cu. ft.

My current bass situation is a fairly tired circa 2007 EP500 which is a bit finicky. Not all the inputs work and I believe the volume control is also out of wack as I have to have it set to the minimum level to make it useable.

So current bass is less than ideal.

If I don’t change the subwoofer I’d think I’d probably need to go with M5s all around. You all are making me think I might need to look at updating my sub situation and go with M2s but that would be more than going with M5s all around

Your sub needs upgrading no matter what. Trade it in. Don't think twice about it.

Even with a sub, you will get more emotional impact setting the cross-over for the M5s to 40Hz. With the M2 you'll have to cross at 80 and M3 at 60.

BTW, I run 4-channels (fronts and sides). I have sealed subs on every channel. My 800 is dedicated to LFE only. There is no substitute for full range on every channel.

The family room is a bit over 2900 cu ft ... the setup M2/VP150/EP500 setup seems to fill it nicely ...

Like Mojo said ... you'll need to fix that EP500! It sounds fixable.
In any case Sub's are important ... I'd bet you could benefit with 2 EP500's in that room

Having to set the volume to the min level, to make it work, is kind of intriguing ... I would understand needing to set it to the max.

Thoughts on that:

• Subs will go lower than the M5s
• Surrounds can not be set to help will the low end of the other speakers ...
• M5's only go down to 45Hz (call it 40 even) ... So you would not want to set them to LARGE since you'd want the low-end off loaded to the sub.
• since frequencies below are 80 hard if not impossible to place there is not a big need to cross over below that.
• Personally I'd set the M5 x-over at 60Hz, M3's and M2 at 80 Hz. (I would try the the M5's at 40 and maybe the M3's at 60 but so far I have not found content to test with... Anyone know any movies which sends the surrounds low bass frequencies?)

All movies contain the full spectrum of sound in each channel. The LFE channel, which is designed for 3Hz to 120Hz, is not mandatory for the sound engineer.

Yes, even M5s require a sub.

Sure, that's the audio spec ... but what do content creators actually send to the surrounds?

I don't know but what I do know is my subs are busy below 40Hz. BLAM! DDDDDDD...KABOOM! THWACKTHWACKKABLAAM!

BOOOOOOOÒÒÒOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

What are your goals for the room performance wise? Adding lots of big speakers might be a dissapointment given all hard surfaces and tile floor. You might want to allow some budget for a room rework. A 14’ ceiling is going to be a reverb chamber without a plan to reduce decay times.

Pop a balloon. Sound like a boing or zing? Start there.

If this was a client install I would be pushing for stereo EP500s for the LFRs and an ultra short throw projector for a 120” image to cover the fireplace. Cover the lower 2/3 of windows with honeycomb blackout blinds to reduce decay times and treat the back wall with a tapestry. Put diffusers on sidewalls.

Keep it simple. This is a problem room with insane decay times. My vote anyways.

Treat a sick room like I did.

Not to disuade you, but I would put serious thought into treating that room if you are going to enjoy it at loud volumes or want a discrete presentation for movie soundtracks.

Its a pile of work to do it right, but can be done.

We did a room ages ago with 13’ ceilings and did this: