twochordcool said:
Hello everyone!
I am new here.
And it's been a long time since I put together a stereo / home theater.
And I can now afford to do it right - somewhat.
I have noticed that a lot of Dolby Digital receivers do something like 100 watts by 6, plus subwoofer - which I think is a good thing, I guess.
Anyhow, with it having identical watts for each channel, I have thought about purchasing 3 pairs of identical bookshelf speakers - one for each location - instead of buying floorstanding left and right, a specific center channel and specific rear surround speakers.
I have 2 main questions -
Is this a good or a bad idea?
If it is OK, what speakers would you recommend that I go with if I were going to spend between $200 and $400 a pair?
Bare in mind that I enjoy all kinds of music as well as movies.
I also acknowledge that I will probably have to buy a subwoofer.
So you are budgeting $600 to $1200 for six speakers, correct? If you like all types of music, and you are set on equal sized speakers, you may want to consider bookshelves with at least a 6.5" woofer so you don't have a "hole" in your bidbass that the subwoofer cannot account for.
With home theater, it's not as much an issue. But with music, the demands on midbass will tax small bookshelves. There's even some discussion about two way speakers not being able to reproduce female voices, due to a severe lack of a midrange. It's extremely hard for bookshelves to faithfully reproduce the entire frequency range of 20-20,000. Most bookshelves lose bass around 60Hz, but even more lack the 800Hz to 1500Hz range which is pertinent to voice and symphony reproduction. An eq, or even better, a parametric eq, can make up for some of these losses. But it's still up to the drivers in a given speaker to reproduce these voices/instruments well. Speakers with two way crossovers help separate the midbass from the midrange, and the midrange from the highs.
What it boils down to is that if you have the cash for two tower speakers with two way crossovers, a dedicated center channel, and 3 or 4 bookshelves, your music and HT will be better off.
Equal wattage never goes to all speakers simultaneously unless you are using a sound parameter such as 5.1 or 7.1 stereo. Also keep in mind, during movies, your center channel does 90% of the work, while with music, your two "towers" should be doing most of the work. Your subwoofer would be next in line, and really makes up for the lack of bass in todays 8" or typically smaller woofers. They are a must for home theater, and a definite positive with music. Don't skimp on your center, your towers, or subwoofer. The surrounds should have similar tweeters for voice matching, but the size is not as pertinent.
