How important is timbre matching - really?

[BassHead]

When timbre matching is talked about,its mostle the 3 front speakers. If you can match the surrounds,even better but not as much noticed as it is with the 3 fronts.

For sure ill do that since you told me to,must have heard this from your bestbuy/futureshop saleman I will go sell all my 10g worth of quality speakers and head down to the box store after lunch.

 

[shokhead]

Shokhead did you read what i said,by the sound of things you know your speakersNOT!! I SAID OF HIGH QUALITY AND YOU TEST EACH PAIR TO SEE HOW THEY PERFORM,NOT SONY NOT -AXIOM AND NOT YOUR GUITAR YAMAHAS EITHER,I CAN SEE YOU ARE A BEGINNER ...

Well if i'm a beginner,why are you an a$$bit? Now go and mix and match as you said your 10g worth of speakers.

 

[westcott]

Many thanks to everyone for their input. I never cease to be amazed at the wealth of knowledge and experience available in forums like this. After reading your posts and talking to myriad dealers (a painful experience at times) I've decided to go ahead and mount my RS-7's to the paneled wall, which was always the best option apart from the cosmetic damage to the paneling. I was more comfortable cutting a big hole in a repairable, plastered ceiling than a small one in a very visible, paneled wall. As it turns out, it's not going to be as bad as I thought - got six holes drilled and they are hard to see even when looking for them.

Now, here's a twist on the original question: My RS-7's point straight out from the wall and they are mounted high - about 8' up. There's no good way to point them down toward the listening position. This is less than optimum but I have no real choice in the matter. Hopefully, my receiver's room EQ function can correct for the physical location of the speakers. Would in-ceilings have been better (theoretically) because they are down-firing? The adjacent wall would also have reflected sound toward the listener which, I would think, is a plus...

Since surround speakers rely on room interaction to help create an ambient sound, having it point at you directly is not as important as it would be for multichannel audio listening. Most speaker placements can be a compromise but in this instance, I doubt you will sacrifice any real sound quality with this installation. I too have to place my RS7's relativelyr high but with proper dB and distance settings, I notice very little difference in the ambient sounds produced. The compromise was only really noticable when listening to music in multi channel mode.

Second, I am not a big fan of equalization, especially in a home theater environment. It is nearly impossible to correct issues using equalization because most equalizers are not designed to work over the wide spectrum of frequency responses our ears are capable of differentiating. And if they are successful, it is rare for equalization to improve the sound quality in more than one listening position. I suggest sound field managment as the best way to improve sound quality where multiple listeners are situated like in a home theater.

Good luck and I hope my comments have been enlightening.

 

[shokhead]

Fwiw

I was reading the DTS stuff on my Don Henley DTS disc and at the bottom it says,for optimum playback,it is highly recommended that fullrange,equally-matched loudspeakers are utilized for all five of the main channels{including the surrounds}. I dont think its as important for surrounds to match if your not listening to multi-channel music but just as important if you do. Hey,what do i know,i'm just a scrub.

 

[BassHead]

Well if i'm a beginner,why are you an a$$bit? Now go and mix and match as you said your 10g worth of speakers.

WELL TELL ME ONE THING,Why do you have to match the center speaker with your mains? Where does the voice on 99% of movies come from your main speakers NO of course not its the center channel so what does the main speakers have to do with your center,Say your watching an action movie with jets for an example and the jet flys from one side of the room to the other did you know the wave of sound will go through the center drivers about 50% so you think your main speakers that may have a 10" or even a 15" match up with your 5 or 6 1/2" drivers in the center channel Right of course not.Now if they were the same identical drivers and tweeter there would be a difference and sound would be improved like using same center speaker used as your mains.You do not get the same sound from a 6" driver and a 10 or 12" driver from the same manufacture used for your fronts.sorry.I have seen a almost 1/4 million home theater in the US that had mixed equipment and was un real,Now why would they do that ,Hmmm,They had top model Mcintosh coloum front mains and a different klipsch center.they were using klipsch horns at the rear,and two wilson watch dog sub at both ends,Hmm

 

[BassHead]

I was reading the DTS stuff on my Don Henley DTS disc and at the bottom it says,for optimum playback,it is highly recommended that fullrange,equally-matched loudspeakers are utilized for all five of the main channels{including the surrounds}. I dont think its as important for surrounds to match if your not listening to multi-channel music but just as important if you do. Hey,what do i know,i'm just a scrub.

I am not trying to fight with ya.. sorry if you thought so,Renew a thread and ask every one what they have for mixed speakers,You will be very shocked at how many have and are happy with their sound.
Also go set up your system to watch a movie in dts or what ever,Watch half of it and then disconnect the center channel and watch the rest and tell me how you liked it.