surrounds & ctr to match mains

[EddieG]

Since I use the surrounds for ambient surround sound effects during movies do I REALLY need to match them with my mains?

As for the center, should I match the same line (in my case the Avant series) to my mains, or can I go with MS 304 center?

Thanks!

 

[boboi]

Since I use the surrounds for ambient surround sound effects during movies do I REALLY need to match them with my mains?

As for the center, should I match the same line (in my case the Avant series) to my mains, or can I go with MS 304 center?

Thanks!

For a seamless front soundstage, timbre matching the mains and center is critical. Ideal would be to have your mains and center be identical speakers. The surrounds are not as critical to match the fronts, it all depends on your usage. If you're listening to DVD-A or SACD where the music can be mixed into the surrounds as well, then perhaps matching surrounds would be more important. For movies, it's not really an issue.

 

[EddieG]

For a seamless front soundstage, timbre matching the mains and center is critical. Ideal would be to have your mains and center be identical speakers. The surrounds are not as critical to match the fronts, it all depends on your usage. If you're listening to DVD-A or SACD where the music can be mixed into the surrounds as well, then perhaps matching surrounds would be more important. For movies, it's not really an issue.

I'm not an audiophile and do not listen to DVD-A or SACD. My car came with DVD-A and I never bought a DVD-A disc.

So, for someone like me, what are your thoughts on me getting the Mordaunt 304's for half the price of the Avant?

 

[boboi]

I'm not an audiophile and do not listen to DVD-A or SACD. My car came with DVD-A and I never bought a DVD-A disc.

So, for someone like me, what are your thoughts on me getting the Mordaunt 304's for half the price of the Avant?

You don't need to be an audiophile to appreciate a good, seamless soundstage across the front, like I said, even if you watch movies, you'll want to match the the mains and centre for sure. I am not familiar with that brand, but as long as the Mordaunt 304 Centre is from the same series as your mains (assuming you have the Avant Premier Series mains?), you should be good to go.

 

[j_garcia]

The 304 is not from the same series, however they all use the same tweeter and fortunately for you the 3, 5 and 9 series all have a similar enough timbre that it should be OK, but I would personally spend the extra $$ and get the 905i; it is a very good center. www.ac4l.com Any MS surrounds should work with them, as the timbre match is less important than the center.

Mordaunt Short fan here

 

[dtaylor0319]

ALWAYS match your mains and centre to keep the same timbre...as for your surrounds and subs..mix it up.

 

[Adam]

I don't think that it's as important to match them as it used to be, depending on your electronics. My Pioneer receiver from over three years ago did a great job of auto equalizing my speakers to make the front soundstage pretty seamless. BTW, my speakers were supposed to be timbre matched, but they sure didn't sound like it to me.

So, my advice would be to get as close as you can (provided budget and availability), but it's certainly not the end of the world if you can't get something exact.