Earthquake Platine Noiree? Help!

[rolyasm]

My friend recently got the Earthquake Platine Noiree speakers. First, let me say they are gorgeous and built like a rock. I helped him install them and we listened for about 2 hours, swithing between his new setup and his older Polk system (RT 800 Mains, Cs245I Center). We didn't bother with the surrounds. Immediately we both noticed that the voices on the Earthquake system were a little muffled and not near as loud or clear as the Polks. Nothing was as crisp or clear with regard to clarity. Now they did excel in bass and mid-range giving us a deeper sounding sensation. Only when we used the Earthquake towers with the Polk Center did it sound wonderful. THAT setup was killer. Anyway, anyone have any experience with the Earthquake system? Any similar results? Could it be the configuration somewhere? We used the same settings on his Denon 3802 and simply switched the speakers back on forth. The Center on the Earthquake just made the whole thing sound so heavy and dull. He doesn't really want to just toss his Earthquake center because he was hoping to sell his Polk system for a little cash. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks all.
Roly

 

[Sheep]

I read a breif review on this set up, no surrounds though, as matter of fact, it was YOU!


Sorry, I have NO experience with earthquake speakers. I have read a couple things on their subwoofers, but not speakers.


SheepStar

 

[rolyasm]

Sheep, you are funny. Are you saying my problem was having no surrounds? Doesn't ANYONE listen to Earthquake.
Roly

 

[Sheep]

No problem. Earthquake seems more hometheater then 2channel music if you know what I mean.

And yes, its safe to say no one here knows about them.


SheepStar

 

[eddiem67]

The earthquake line requires more power than the polks, look at there sensitivity rating, you need twice as much power to get them to sound decent.

 

[rolyasm]

[/COLOR]Sheep: "No problem. Earthquake seems more hometheater then 2channel music if you know what I mean.

And yes, its safe to say no one here knows about them. "

I am new here. Is Audioholics mainly stereo listening? I saw the Home theater forum and thought it was for, well, home theater. Are most here just the stereo kind of listeners?

Eddie, do you think this could be the problem? The towers sounded great. Is there any way to boost the center without going out and buying a new amp? I don't think my buddy will be thrilled unless he thought it would really make a difference. He had been looking at Earthquakes 300w/channel. I guess that should do the trick.
Roly

 

[eddiem67]

The Cinenova 5 would definitely work, Earthquakes in general are laid back. Polks are bright to begin with, if you like the polk sound, I would lean toward Energy or Klipsch.

 

[rolyasm]

Since he really likes the towers, but not the center, how many people use mix and match speakers? Anyone using Klipsh towers with RBH Center for instance, or whatever combination? Def Tech with Klipsch. You get my meaning. He wouldn't be able to sell his Polks as a package, but the sound is great with the Earthquake towers and Polk Center. When it comes down to it, I guess the ears are the best and final judge. Any technical or mechanical problems he needs to watch out for if he mixes like that?
Roly

 

[Sheep]

Since he really likes the towers, but not the center, how many people use mix and match speakers? Anyone using Klipsh towers with RBH Center for instance, or whatever combination? Def Tech with Klipsch. You get my meaning. He wouldn't be able to sell his Polks as a package, but the sound is great with the Earthquake towers and Polk Center. When it comes down to it, I guess the ears are the best and final judge. Any technical or mechanical problems he needs to watch out for if he mixes like that?
Roly

Generally mix and match up front is a no no. BUT, if it sounds nice, why not? Its his system.

If he really wants to keep the earthquake center, I know a solution that might help him. All yamaha receivers have a center EQ. If he upgrades his Reciver to a heaftier Yammy, it will help him drive the speakers better, AND he can use the center EQ to fix the dullness of the earthquake center. A little more money, but a solution none the less.


And down the road he can add a power amp to driver the fronts.


SheepStar

 

[rolyasm]

I guess I will help him find somebody with a better system, with some good power behind it, and try the center on that. That would indicate if it was a power problem or just the way the center sounds. Thanks for the help.
Roly

 

[rolyasm]

A little more information now. When Frank turned up the volume on the center channel alone, it helped a lot with the clarity. Turning it up all the way, I think it is on a scale of 0-12dB, it really helped the sound. The downside was that he lost some of the surround staging. All he could really pay attention to was his center. At 6dB incease he said it still sounded better and had most of his surround presence again. So would this help to substantiate that he just needs more power to run his center, since it appears the center is capable of making the sounds he wants, just not at the dB level? Would more power allow him to run less dB, but use the full range of the speaker? Thanks all.
Roly

 

[AVRat]

When changing any part of the system you need to recalibrate the new system. The configuration for one won't necessarily work for the other.