5.1 surround sound speaker size for MUSIC

[tiankov]

I have a pair of Polk VM30, a VM20 center, and a PSWpro600 sub hooked to a Denon AVR3808ci. I am involved in a negotiation process with my wife to add two more speakers for a 5.1 surround sound, and I would prefer to stick to the VM series so that they match sonically and visually.

My question, though, is whether the size of the surround speakers would make a noticeable difference for 5.1 music listening. I mostly listen to jazz and classical.

My understanding is that for movies the surround speakers can be smaller. Does music recorded in 5.1 treat the surround channels as "equals" to the front channels? If so, I guess it would be better to have two VM30 towers as surround speakers. But something tells me that this would be wasteful. . .

Thanks for your advice.

T

 

[j_garcia]

If you aren't listening to mulitchannel music: DTS/DD, SACD, DVD-A, then it makes less of a difference. Identical surrounds is the way to go in my book, and/or the surround with the lowest extension you can get would get my vote. Having floorstanders as surrounds won't be a waste, but may also not be necessary, especially if you aren't doing true multichannel music as listed above.

 

[Pyrrho]

The better the rear speakers, the better the sound from them. The reason people scrimp on rear speakers is because they want to save money, most of the sound from the rear is typically less important than the sound from the front, and humans hear better forward than backward (human ears are aimed for forward listening).

As for the sound from the rear, are you listening to things like multichannel SACDs and DVD-Audio discs, or are you listening to something like 2 channel CDs processed via DPL II or some other DSP mode? With multichannel classical recordings, typically, the rear is ambiance, and will not matter as much as the sound from the front. With some multichannel recordings, instruments are placed in the rear, and then they are almost as important as the front (almost, because you hear better toward the front regardless of what is being reproduced).

I personally use the same speakers all around (except the subwoofer, of course!), and do not ever want to go back to different speakers for center and rear. But the rear matters less than the front, so if I could not afford what I have, it would be better to have lessor surround speakers than lessor speakers up front.

Given that you already have a VM20, you need to set the subwoofer crossover point accordingly. If your receiver cannot set a different crossover point for the rear speakers than for the front, then if you buy speakers that don't go as low as it, you will either need to set the subwoofer crossover higher, or you will have greatly reduced sound in the rear at the frequencies just above the subwoofer and below whatever the rear speakers can do. If you raise the crossover point, you will change the sound from the front. With that in mind, I would probably go with VM20 speakers for the rear to keep the crossover setting where it is.

Before buying a better surround speaker than that, I would want to upgrade the center front, because the front speakers matter more (see above for why that is). But you may find it inconvenient to put a VM30 in the middle front, so assuming that you are happy with your Polk speakers, I would go with the VM20 for the rear.

 

[lsiberian]

I have a pair of Polk VM30, a VM20 center, and a PSWpro600 sub hooked to a Denon AVR3808ci. I am involved in a negotiation process with my wife to add two more speakers for a 5.1 surround sound, and I would prefer to stick to the VM series so that they match sonically and visually.

My question, though, is whether the size of the surround speakers would make a noticeable difference for 5.1 music listening. I mostly listen to jazz and classical.

My understanding is that for movies the surround speakers can be smaller. Does music recorded in 5.1 treat the surround channels as "equals" to the front channels? If so, I guess it would be better to have two VM30 towers as surround speakers. But something tells me that this would be wasteful. . .

Thanks for your advice.

T

I know Towers are cool, but if this is in a living room then you should at least consider going with smaller speakers. Aesthetics matter and bad ones may make your wife more stressed when company comes over. You may be able to upgrade from your towers to decent bookshelves all around if you are looking for matching sound. There are some very good bookshelves out there to be had. Personally I think Big surrounds are only acceptable in a large living room or Home theater room. Call me crazy, but I don't want guests putting their cokes on my speakers. Can happen in a living room. Good small speakers have plenty of pop for a small room as long as they aren't the B company.