OP, I found my way to 2 channel via my love for HT when I was growing up. I prioritized having a HT right after graduating from College. Was always told that you had to match your speakers, really buy the same brand, line for things to sound right, correct. As I got into 2 channel my focus shifted, I prioritized my 2 channel set up over my HT though they share the same space. That meant shifting away from matching speakers and finding 2 channel fronts that I loved for 2 channel, working for HT was an afterthought. Guess what, everything still sounds great in my HT. My fronts are a different brand, different type of tweeter than my center / rears and Atmos speakers. The rears are my old towers, only because I had them, wasn’t worth the hassle of selling them and was easier to repurpose than store them. Ceiling Atmos speakers are yet a different brand. I do think using the room correction on your HT Receiver is key. I have an Anthem MRX1140 but I did have a Marantz, generations older than your model prior which did a great job blending the hodge podge of speakers together. Get a descent set of used speakers, I’d roll more with best value, bang for the buck, build quality over trying to brand / voice match. If you are into 2 channel, I took the opposite approach to that, I built the 2 channel as a separate, stand alone system that doesn’t need to share anything from the HT chain. I found that approach for 2 channel was key, system matching everything in the chain, pre, streamer, DAC, Amp, speakers. Polar opposite to how I approached my HT set up once the space morphed into HT and 2 channel listening.
Selecting Rear Surrounds for 5.1 system
Hello
I would like to get some advice on selection of rear surround speakers for my 5.1 system. I have repurposed my formal dining and living to an A/V room and it is
23 feet long and 12 feet wide and ceiling is 10 feet high.
I have B&W 702 S3 fronts with HTM72 center & Polk 12" sub with Marantz 7015 amp. I've placed the chair 14 feet from front wall (12 feet from front speakers). What type of rears would make sense. I was thinking about Polk R700s - is that a silly idea.
Thank you
- ...
- 19 posts total
Hi OP: The ideal surrounds have a lot to do with the character of the fronts. If the fronts are very neutral it makes it very easy to pick among neutral surrounds, but B&W have their own sound characteristics. I find that these traits are not usually damped by room correction so you should stick to B&W in general here to get the most immersive experience possible. Best, E |
This YT video was very technical for those who like such depth. Its 1hr presentation on spectral decay of 18 speakers. |
- 19 posts total