Can I mix brands of speakers in 5.1 setup?

[Toms-all-ears]

<font color='#000000'>Hi. &nbsp;In setting up a home theater (7.1 using Sony STR-DA7ES which is rated 120 watts x 7 channels), in a large 31’ x 16’ x peaked ceiling 14’ tall at its highest I’d like to use a pair of Klipsch RF-7 towers as the main stereo front speakers, a REL Storm III subwoofer, and Gallo’s for all the rest. &nbsp;I’d use a Gallo Nucleus Due for front center as well as both rear channels (the ones used by 5.1), and Gallo Nucleus Micro’s for the remaining 2 Surround-Back speakers (used by 7.1). &nbsp;Klipsch of course makes companion center and surround speakers to match the RF-7 (RC-7, RS-7) but I’d rather use Gallo's for the size factor. &nbsp;Cost would be about the same.

Is there anything dangerous, or at least worrisome about doing this (mismatching across these 2 brands in this way) from a technical point of view? &nbsp;And will 5.1 or 6.1 or 7.1 when it gets here sound natural and balanced do you think, or will voices change in pitch as the character moves around from Klipsch’s to Gallo’s and back? &nbsp;The room being so large, and the rich high end I hear in the Klipsch’s make me want them for the mains, but I’d really rather go with Gallo’s for the rest. &nbsp;The Due in center front position would mount just under the “picture on the wall” 3.5” thick 42” Panasonic plasma TV and it’s much easier to properly position the other Gallo’s on the side and back walls – they don’t stick out 9.5” plus space for the rear ports, and are less conspicuous (in white) on the white walls. &nbsp;Can be mounted at proper height whereas windows prevent puting the RS-7's anywhere but 9' off the floor on the rear of the side walls.

The RF-7’s are 8 ohms, are rated 250 watts maximum continuous, &nbsp;have freq response of 32Hz-20kHz +/- 3 dB and a sensitivity of 102dB@1watt/1meter (in case that helps to answer the question).

Believe the Gallo's are able to stand up to 100 watts, but let's assume I won't push the Sony higher than that (since the cost of a divorce would push this little project out of my budget).

One other question: &nbsp;my computer workstation where I spend 40-50 hours a week minimum is in a little alcove in the front corner of the room. &nbsp;So from there the mains are a little behind me and point away. &nbsp;The Sony has a switch for A/B speaker selection (A or B or both or off) which is normally used for mains in another room. &nbsp;But it occurs to me the the 2 Due's I would mount as rear speakers in the 5.1 setup are not in a bad position to act as stereo speakers (left and right mains) when I'm at the computer because they at least face me and are on the far wall. &nbsp;So could I simply &quot;jumper&quot; the speaker leads at the back of the Sony receiver (B speakers left main going to 5.1 right rear plus vice versa for the other one), then use &quot;A&quot; for normal use both with 5.1 and stereo, use &quot;B&quot; for stereo only when I want to face the music toward the computer, and promise never to use the A+B switch setting? &nbsp;(And what happens if somehow that did happen, just muddy music or something worse?) &nbsp;

Thanks.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Mixing speaker brands in your home theater setup won't damage anything.  You will get differing opinions as to how important it is to have speakers that have the same characteristics (sonic charateristics) all round.  I find that if the center speaker doesn't sound very similar to the mains, it can be distracting, but it's not the kind of thing that bothers everyone.  I've gone to a lot of trouble to make sure that all of my home theater speakers are as closely matched sonically as I can manage (tough, because I have very large main speakers).  Staying with one brand is unimportant, but IMHO, it is better to keep the sound as similar as possible all around.

I would NOT connect an extra set of speakers for use at your computer desk the way you have described.  This may well damage your receiver.  If you have powered computer speakers already, you could just run an RCA cable from one of the tape loops to your computers sound card input, and listen to music when you work right through the computer.  The quality won't be as good as the main system, but at least you won't damage anything.

Hope this helps,

Chuck</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>...in a similar question, is there any effect on the overall sound if the subwoofer is a different brand from the other 5 speakers in a 5.1 setup? &nbsp;Should I go to the trouble to make it &quot;match&quot; the rest?
If it matters, this is almost exclusively for DVD movies, not music.</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000000'>Absolutely not a big issue in considering a sub. Sound quality is more important than matching the brand.</font>

 

[DLeague]

I think most agree mixing brands is not always an issue, but there are some good rules to follow.

Stay with brands that have similar atributes.
Try to match the timbre across the front (L, R, C)
Mixing horns or metal domes with soft domes is probably not a good idea.

Be adventurous in your life, and don't be afraid to try something new (audio).

 

[adwilk]

I think most agree mixing brands is not always an issue, but there are some good rules to follow.

Stay with brands that have similar atributes.
Try to match the timbre across the front (L, R, C)
Mixing horns or metal domes with soft domes is probably not a good idea.

Be adventurous in your life, and don't be afraid to try something new (audio).

This advice could not have come too soon....

Strong bump there DLeague

Strongest I've seen to date!

 

[AVRat]

Yes, but no need to be a grave digger! (Old Thread)