New to the game. Please help with set up.

So it would be ok to use the Focals as surounds? I have been told that I should not mix speaker brands. I would like full suround but sound quaily is more important, should I get a B&W sub and center channel and not use the Focals at all? Will my Pioneer be enough to push this set up?

Thanks Michael

use what you've got for now.....the new house is gonna need money like oxygen for awhile.

Well Michael, it may not be ideal, but you're ears won't bleed and you won't vomit at the results. Could it be improved? No doubt!!

Set up of a surround system is way more critical than the speaker brands and their interaction. Since the surround channels require much less power and, generally, produce much less energy, a bit of a mis-match will not render things as unacceptable. Set up is the key. (Easier said than done, unfortunately).

Dave

For the surround speakers, in my opinion, you can get away running non-matching (to the front speakers) without really a big deal at all (with movies surround sound, not necessarily as true to with multi-channel audio). I think it is more important that the front channels (left, right and CENTER) be better matched. Based on this belief, you may want to consider adding a B&W center channel speaker (I believe it would be the HTM model that would go with these, but I am not sure on this). I would not go with a B&W sub, as I don't think they are really very good in comparison to others that you can get. For me, I much prefer REL (maybe an older Storm).

Another future consideration would be to add a good 2-channel amp and run the pre-outs from your receiver to this amp for the front two speakers (left and right) to get more enjoyment out of music (2-channel).

I have been using a mixed marriage of drivers for years, with ok results. As long as the speakers are somewhat similar in timbre, they will do just fine. Level matching is not a problem with multi-channel, so sensitvity isn't really an issue. I am more into 2 channel, but when playing M/C recordings, I get most of the desired results.
As previously stated, it will cause no harm, and it might surprise you with how good it sounds. Have fun with it, if you like it, great, if not, you are free to try anything you can afford later.

Enjoy,
Dan