Noticing a lot of questions about surrounds

[ivseenbetter]

I have noticed a lot of questions being posted about what surround options to get. It seems that a lot of people are concerned about how the surround speakers will perform. However, a lot of the info that I have read, and a lot of the opinions folks have shared with me about surrounds has led me to believe that it really doesn’t matter much in terms of selecting a good surround speaker. Everybody wants to save a buck and they usually do it with this component of their system. From what I can tell, the surrounds don’t do very much heavy lifting so I would think budget and aesthetics would be the primary concern for these types of speakers. Am I wrong about this? Heck, when you think about it, there isn’t any single surround speaker/company out there that is a dominant performer in this category.

I guess what I am getting at is that perhaps people are really over thinking these component of their system?

 

[tcarcio]

Some people think that you have to match your surrounds to your LCR and if you have small speakers then it is a good idea but the notion that you have to have the same kind or quality of speakers is ,IMO, just that ,opinion. I have big main speakers with dual 15's in each so the idea that I have to use the same for my surrounds is ridiculous. They do not have to produce nearly as much info as your LCR speakers so a decent quality speaker that fit's your room or decor will work fine. I have used different styles of surrounds like dipoles and monopoles or bipoles and they have their own uses and sound. If it works in your situation then like I said a decent quality is all you need.IMO.

 

[jostenmeat]

I guess what I am getting at is that perhaps people are really over thinking these component of their system?

The best choice in surround speaker is very simple: the exact same speaker as your mains. This goes for your center speaker too. IOW, the ideal is to have all speakers be the exact same speaker.

Less that, you'd like to have them from the same lineup.

Less that, you'd like to have them from the same brand.

Sure, one can argue the real world benefits vs compromises, but you cannot argue that it's not best.

In essence, it's pointless to argue who makes a better surround speaker. It's much more relevant to argue who makes a better speaker, period, and the companies that do make better speakers will also be the ones who make the better surround speakers.

Period.

 

[lsiberian]

I have noticed a lot of questions being posted about what surround options to get. It seems that a lot of people are concerned about how the surround speakers will perform. However, a lot of the info that I have read, and a lot of the opinions folks have shared with me about surrounds has led me to believe that it really doesn’t matter much in terms of selecting a good surround speaker. Everybody wants to save a buck and they usually do it with this component of their system. From what I can tell, the surrounds don’t do very much heavy lifting so I would think budget and aesthetics would be the primary concern for these types of speakers. Am I wrong about this? Heck, when you think about it, there isn’t any single surround speaker/company out there that is a dominant performer in this category.

I guess what I am getting at is that perhaps people are really over thinking these component of their system?

I think this is the place where compromise is just fine. I compromise for my surrounds, but when I get a dedicated room I plan to build some surrounds to complement my fronts.

 

[ivseenbetter]

I think this is the place where compromise is just fine. I compromise for my surrounds, but when I get a dedicated room I plan to build some surrounds to complement my fronts.

Much agree with you on this. Compromise is ok in surrounds...they are just surrounds. The fun is coming from the front.

 

[m_vanmeter]

as long as we are discussing surrounds for movie soundtrack HT setups, I agree with those who say "match the front 3, but use any decent surrounds that will fit the room layout". The surround tracks on movie Dolby Digital 5.1 encoded sources are just not that demanding. They carry ambient sounds and special positional effects only.

When you are discussing true multi-channel music sources like SACD or DVD-A, then completely matching all your speakers is a definate requirement.

 

[Patrick_Wolf]

I agree it's a good place to compromise, but I'd think If you got unlucky and picked some surrounds that sound totally different than your fronts it may be distracting.

 

[ivseenbetter]

as long as we are discussing surrounds for movie soundtrack HT setups, I agree with those who say "match the front 3, but use any decent surrounds that will fit the room layout". The surround tracks on movie Dolby Digital 5.1 encoded sources are just not that demanding. They carry ambient sounds and special positional effects only.

When you are discussing true multi-channel music sources like SACD or DVD-A, then completely matching all your speakers is a definate requirement.

Great point. I was just talking in terms of HT. Multi-channel music is a whole other beast. Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[ivseenbetter]

I agree it's a good place to compromise, but I'd think If you got unlucky and picked some surrounds that sound totally different than your fronts it may be distracting.

I wonder how far off the surround sound would have to be for that to happen. Ambient sound doesn't really have to match to closely with the front stage. I'm thinking most average speakers are going to sound pretty close to each other and make it hard to really notice any matching issues.

 

[Patrick_Wolf]

I wonder how far off the surround sound would have to be for that to happen. Ambient sound doesn't really have to match to closely with the front stage. I'm thinking most average speakers are going to sound pretty close to each other and make it hard to really notice any matching issues.

True enough. I was using the Energy CB-5's as surrounds for a little while before I returned them cause they pretty much sucked in general. But they weren't terrible for surround duty. I haven't really played around with my B2030P's as surrounds yet so I'm curious to see how it compares. I test mostly with games as they tend to have a lot activity back there; as well you can control what is heard behind you by moving around & stuff.

 

[MDS]

This is another area where there is no 'right' answer - only compromises.

For movies, the requirements on the surrounds isn't that great most of the time and practically anything will do. Per Dolby recommendations they should be placed between 90 and 110 degrees from the listening position and 2 - 3 feet above ear level.

For multi-channel music, the surrounds should be directly to your sides (90 degrees) and at ear level. In this case, having speakers identical to the front three would be ideal although in most homes it just isn't feasible.

Add in the choices of monopole vs bipole vs dipole etc and you have even more possible combinations of speaker type, size, brand, placement etc and no one setup is going to be ideal for all situations.

Sticking with speakers from the same brand or model within a brand is about the best you can do but I don't think it's really necessary for the surrounds to be of the highest quality.

 

[ivseenbetter]

Agreed. That is why I feel a lot of these folks are over thinking their options. Heck, was one of those guys who was pinging about which surrounds to get not long ago. Now I know better. I think the community needs to do a better jobe of letting folks know that this is oner category, at least in terms of HT, that you can definitely slack on and perhaps take your decor into account.