How important is it to match my surrounds to my fronts/center?

[Mega2000]

I am slowly piecing together my system and I just got my matching center last night (sounds awesome by the way). As far as surrounds go, should i try to match those to my fronts/center or does it not matter as much.

also, what speakers should i spend more on. surrounds or surround backs/presence?

one last thing. what are some good speaker wall mounts for speakers that weigh up to 20lbs? all I can find are the dumb satalite ones that only hold up to 8lbs and I want to mount some 15lbs bookselfs.

 

[JurisFrog]

omnimount 20.0 wall mounts are good.

 

[Nomo]

Ideally all the speakers should match. But IMO matching the surrounds to the fronts is far less important than what you already have accomplished. The surrounds generally carry more sound than the backs, but they need to match each other.
I'm not running presence speakers in my set-up but if you choose to do so, as they are in close proximity to the fronts and center, they should match those.

 

[markw]

Depends on your goal.

If movies are your goal, then the rear surrounds are not really that critical. They are usuallly reserved for SFX, occasional mood music or atmospheric ambiance. None of which really requires a critical match to the front.

If multi channel music is your ultimate goal, then the rules change a little. An engineer/artist can mix whatever insturments/sounds/voices into whatever channel they wish. They are not limited by sticking to the requirement that all "music" eminate from the front. I'd say for this application, matching would be more critical.

 

[zumbo]

"also, what speakers should i spend more on. surrounds or surround backs/presence?"

Surrounds.

I watch a good bit of concert dvd's. At the moment, it is what I enjoy the most with my system. IMO, it is a must that all speakers are timbre matched and of the same make and quality(line) of the rest.

 

[Mega2000]

thanks guys. The speakers I got are discontinued and I am not about to do research on speaker timbre. Luckily I found some matching bookshelfs on ebay for under $100. sweet

i think for the surround backs and/or presence I will just go with the best deal avail.

thanks again

 

[zumbo]

Click here for a better understanding.

 

[Mega2000]

how would one go about finding the timbre of different speakers?

 

[Fife]

I may be ignorant, but what are surround backs/presence. How do they differ from "surrounds". Is it the rear center speakers vs. the traditional 5.1 rear surrounds?
Thanks

 

[Mega2000]

I may be ignorant, but what are surround backs/presence. How do they differ from "surrounds". Is it the rear center speakers vs. the traditional 5.1 rear surrounds?
Thanks

back surrounds are the 6 and 7 of 7.1 surrounds. Normally located directly behind the listener and about the same distants apart as the fronts. precense speakers on my v2500 can be used instead of the surround backs. They are used for front ambient noises and are usually located above and outside the fronts (be my v2500 manual)

 

[zumbo]

how would one go about finding the timbre of different speakers?

You have to stick to the same brand. Even a different line of speaker in the same brand can have a different timbre, and probably will.

 

[abqhudson]

Use almost anything for the rear speakers.

No, the rears don't have to be the same brand as the fronts. You can use just about anything if the system is set up properly. The only one who would advise differently is the salesman who needs to sell you something or someone who believes the salesman that needs to sell you something. Use what you have or can afford.

Jim

 

[zumbo]

No, the rears don't have to be the same brand as the fronts. You can use just about anything if the system is set up properly. The only one who would advise differently is the salesman who needs to sell you something or someone who believes the salesman that needs to sell you something. Use what you have or can afford.

Jim

No salseman here. Nor do I tolerate one very well.

I , however, do not want that exploding bus coming at me to all of a sudden sound like a fire cracker in a trash can when it comes to rest behind me. Can you smell what I am cooking?

 

[Leprkon]

back surrounds are the 6 and 7 of 7.1 surrounds. Normally located directly behind the listener and about the same distants apart as the fronts. precense speakers on my v2500 can be used instead of the surround backs. They are used for front ambient noises and are usually located above and outside the fronts (be my v2500 manual)

prescence speakers are, as of now, only available on Yamaha receivers. The Yammie guys process certain signals to sound a little higher up and further back than the original front sound stage. It adds to the depth of the sound.

 

[Nomo]

Anybody actually running presence? If so what speakers? I'm figuring a cheapa$$ book shelf (matched to the fronts/center) would suffice.

 

[dm_4u]

I'm running the Athena AS-R1 for Presence Speakers.

Seems to do the job quite well.

Yamaha says that the Presence Speakers can be the smallest of all, but should be timbre matched to your fronts.

 

[Nomo]

Thanks for the reply

 

[Leprkon]

Anybody actually running presence? If so what speakers? I'm figuring a cheapa$$ book shelf (matched to the fronts/center) would suffice.

I have a set of Infinity Alpha's (50 front and 37C center) and use Infinity Primus 140's (their smallest bookshelf). I'm considering upping to a set of Infinity on-walls, since they would fit in a perfect position for "prescence" behind a rear-projection and that the price on the OWS set has come down drastically.

D'OH... had come down drastically.. the local CC had them for $ 160 a pair last week <<smacks himself in the head>>