Help finding good surround speakers please

[Snausy]

Hi everyone, I joined this forum just to ask this question. It's a great resource and very much appreciated. I hope some of you can help me with my situation.

I have set of MBquarts that I bought back in about 1997. It's a very nice 5.1 system. They are:

Fronts: MBquart QL 1002 S
Center: MBquart Domain CTR Stage
Rears: MBquart Domain Balcony

It's been an amazing set of speakers for a long time now and I've always used 5.1 with my Denon AVR 3300.

My problem comes with my recent puchase of a new Denon 3808ci AVR for the HDMI and latest audio capabilities. It is now a 7.1 system and I want to add two more speakers to the back of the room. I have the balcony speakers mounted on the sides. They have a speaker that drives straight up to the ceiling and they sound awesome for filling the room.

Can you help me decide on some compatible speakers for the rear channels. Would you keep the balcony speakers in the middle channels(because of the ceiling reflection design) or would you just move them to the back of the room and add some other middle speakers...

I'm undecided what to do. I kind of wish I could just get another set of balcony speakers but they haven't been sold at where I bought them for a long time now.

I bought some Klipsch S-2 rears but I think the cornerhorns will be to "different" than the rest of my system to work well in this HT.

Any suggestions as to which speakers to buy and where to put them(balcony in middle or rear, new speakers in middle or rear) would be most appreciated.

 

[Exit]

I would buy conventional direcct radiating speakers for the rear wall. You want the sound directed into the listening are as opposed to diffuse sound from the side surround speakers. The rear speakers should be set to small. I would buy a speaker that has enough bass response to properly cross over at the subwoofer crossover point (probably 80 Hz). The surround channels don't get much use so I would not get top of the line speakers but rather something average priced. I would get the speakers small as possible while still meeting the bass crossover requirements.

 

[jcPanny]

MB Quart

How about some of the MB Quart in-ceiling speakers for the rear surround channels. These speakers are not as critical as the front or side surround channels. The AH store caries the MB Quart products.

 

[Snausy]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies.

Well I appreciate and understand the concept of direct rears but I was looking at Ebay(I know, I know it's a gamble) and I found a guy selling the exact same speakers that I have for my rears already.

He was selling a pair of MB Quart Domain Balcony speakers and the low bid limit was 100 dollars. I emailed him a couple times and he seemed very honest etc. Said things like "they are certainly worth 100 dollars considering what I paid for them and the quality of the speaker itself". Didn't try to oversell them, just was straight with me. They were in his system for a couple years and then he upgraded and put these in the closet. Been there ever since. In the pictures they looked newer and better than mine(if I got mine I'd be very happy, the titanium tweeters are indestructable).

So in the end I "won" them for 100 dollars for a couple speakers that originally cost about 400-500. Knowing the quality of the speakers and how tough they are(I've put mine through the wringer and they still perform flawlessly) I'm feeling pretty good about the puchase. While they are indirect speakers they have tweeters that fire left and right and the driver fires up. They really sound awesome and I'm thinking they will look really nice matching up to the other pair...making it all look "right". Being white they just kind of dissappear on the wall. Many people don't see them at first with the white speaker wire.

If this doesn't work out I'm going to go ahead and get a pair of direct speakers from Aperion(after much research I'm very impressed with this company). Might just upgrade my center channel as well as their big center matches up with my MB Quart fronts nicely.

I figure for 100 dollars I can't go wrong in my attempt here. Even if it doesn't work out I'll use them elsewhere in the house...in the kitchen for a zone2 or something.

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Exit]

I know what you mean about getting the right look to your system. I never figured the surround channels got much of a workout. I ended up buying four Klipsch SS.5 wall speakers (which are good for surrounds). I don't have sidewalls so I mounted two on the back wall and two on the front wall as presence channels. The four of them give a good balanced appearance to the overall HT system. My SS.5 speakers are diffuse radiators and they work out well on the back wall so I am sure you will be happy with yours.

 

[Snausy]

Yes, I am bringing this thread ALL the way back!

Actually I ended up getting two more balcony speakers(to run surrounds A/B with all four then I got a couple MBQuart Alexxa One Bookshelf speakers for the rear. Very nice indeed.

The reason for the thread awakening is that my center channel tweeter has died. I have no way to replace it as the company no longer makes them. Honestly I never really liked the center channel speaker as it wasn't up to par with the QL1002S fronts.

Can someone make some suggestions as to how I am going to replace this center channel speaker "well" so that it sounds as good as possible?

For instance, I can go on craigslist right now and get a JBL EC-35 or a polk cs350 for less than 100.00 but will they be ok? The JBL has a titanium dome tweeter as well I believe, does this suggest similar sound characteristics? They have both been called "bright"(the quarts and the JBL, I have no idea about the polk).

The only info I can find on the floorstanders is http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/newest-acquisition-mb-quart-ql-1002-s.237836/ here. They are 4ohm speakers...does this matter when trying to match a center with them?

 

[rojo]

I like my QL-C304CTR center channel pretty well. You'll find them on eBay from time to time. If you'd rather have something new, then I've always thought the Dana 630iLCR looked like a pretty good bargain. I've never heard it, though.

Center channel speakers aren't cheap to get right. I wouldn't have much faith that a $100 center would have the same sort of transparency you're used to from your Quart QL mains. You could also contact Dennis Murphy and see what it would cost to ship you a single Affordable Accuracy monitor.

Edit: Actually, if you liked your MB Quart Domain Center Stage, there are a couple direct replacements available on eBay for < $75 shipped at the moment.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

you never liked MBquart Domain CTR Stage since it wasn't good match for your towers, QL-C304CTR mentioned above or MB Quart QL S330CTR are.
They are available from time to time on ebay/CL/AudioGon etc....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MB-Quart-QL-S330CTR-QLS-330-Center-Channel-Speakers/231497603909?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIC.MBE&ao=1&asc=36499&meid=c71378b6e2134b29aa7269a3faacc677&pid=100011&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=181661389869

FYI: Someone made an offer of $340 and it was accepted by the seller.

 

[Snausy]

Yes, thank you for the quick advice. I too had found those QL 330 on ebay and was chatting with my wife about just buying one of these. They actually have a three year "square trade" warranty option.

I'm excited to hear how much better the 330 sounds than the ctr stage center I had for so long.

What is the difference between the 304 and the 330 if you don't mind me asking?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Yes, thank you for the quick advice. I too had found those QL 330 on ebay and was chatting with my wife about just buying one of these. They actually have a three year "square trade" warranty option.

I'm excited to hear how much better the 330 sounds than the ctr stage center I had for so long.

What is the difference between the 304 and the 330 if you don't mind me asking?

I won't do ST warranty for several reasons - one - if speakers works on arrival and in condition as described - unless you abuse it will work for decades until rubber surrounds dry out and you'd need to repair them. If they come in condition NOT as described - you can file ebay claim and get your money back. No need for ST warranty for that.
Another good reason are some of responses here:
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?121843-Is-SquareTrade-warranty-a-scam

As for difference - it's a slim chance anyone heard both at the same time and place. I feel confident that at $350 you should have no problems selling it and getting most back.

 

[rojo]

What is the difference between the 304 and the 330 if you don't mind me asking?

26. You're welcome.

I dunno. They both have MB Quart's signature Ti dome tweeter and poly woofers. The 304 is front ported; the 330, rear. Maybe the 330 has a more refined crossover?

I'd guess the best way to predict the difference is to say that they're just different series, that the 304 is closer to entry level, or from an earlier year. I can say that I don't get quite the same sense of airy transparency from my 304 as I do from my Vera mains. Not often, but occasionally it sounds a little nasal. There could be any of a hundred explanations for this, ranging from more compromises made for lower production cost (less meticulous phase matching in the crossover, cheaper drivers) to poorly recorded source content (most of my 5.1 listening comes from cable TV) to user error (poor choice of placement, non-optimal HPF frequency setting, lazy room correction). Nevertheless, dialogue is still clear and pleasant, and usually pretty convincing. I'm being hyper critical to let you know not to expect a miracle for less than $100. Be that as it may, I'm in no hurry to upgrade.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard the 330 center. It could be that the 330 sounds $250 better.

 

[Snausy]

Oh my goodness that Dana speaker deal has me thinking hard about just getting five of those for my bedroom instead of getting three of the new Elac UB5 coming out in a couple weeks. That price is hard to beat. I wonder how they sound...

I am definately getting one of those QL 330 centers to match my mains downstairs and THANK YOU everyone for your time and input. Sometimes all you need is a nudge here or a confirmation of what you thought you already know there to make the purchase.

There was some definate back and forth in my head but in the end it just made sense to try and keep the MBQuart thing going as long as they can go. I love the sound and it should be even better with this center.

Now, about those Dana's...haha. *braces for smack from wife*

 

[Snausy]

Thank you guys for that valuable info. I went ahead and bought a qls330 center today from the eBay add. My mains are ql1002s and the 330 is s too whatever that means but matching is good! Looking forward to many years of this. The mains have been babies and are still in perfect condition from what I can tell.

Bored I have used St before and been paid without trouble when the tablet got thrown off the deck by my 3 yo for instance. That being said I considered what you said and read a few threads and decided that you were right. No st for this speaker. If it's bad it goes right back. If it's good it will likely last 20 years.

He offered me direct pp for 35 less but I went ebay so I had the guarantee. I just needed that much piece of mind.