How Important is Voice Matching Rears?

[Hitman]

Hi Everybody,

How important is it to voice match the rear channels to my existing 5.1 setup? Just what goes on back there anyway? How high a quality speaker should I get, you know, I found some JBL's that would fit really well at a great price. I guess it all depends on what's going on back there though! My problem is my seating position is right near the back wall so I'm looking for something shallow. Any recommendations? Anyway, thanks for the help!

 

[muncybob]

my seating set up is similar and for the rear I have a pair of Axioms on speaker stands...don't match the fronts but seems to work out just fine. I believe it's much more important to timbre match your front sound field, L..R abd center...matching the rears if you can could only be a plus?

 

[sh0]

I've heard that if the surrounds are bipoles that it's less critical for them to match the fronts since they tend to sound different from direct radiating (even with the same drivers) anyway.

For being close to the back wall, I like the concept of the M&K Column Surrounds that bounce sound of the ceiling as well as the sides (and front). They're "tripole" speakers which are supposed to work well with both music and movies.

I haven't heard them and I don't know if the tripole aspect makes it more important to match the fronts though.

http://www.mksound.com/surround_speakers.php

 

[zumbo]

I look at it this way, if a jet is coming overhead (front to rear), I would like it to sound like the same jet when it got to the rear of me. I believe the brand, model line, and driver size should be the same.

 

[shokhead]

Hi Everybody,

How important is it to voice match the rear channels to my existing 5.1 setup? Just what goes on back there anyway? How high a quality speaker should I get, you know, I found some JBL's that would fit really well at a great price. I guess it all depends on what's going on back there though! My problem is my seating position is right near the back wall so I'm looking for something shallow. Any recommendations? Anyway, thanks for the help!

1st choice would be to match all 5 and the 2nd choice would be to match the front 3.

 

[chrish]

This is just my opinion:

When you hear a sound that is only in the front or only in the rear, it will not matter if they match exactly. If you hear something that is moving front to rear or rear to front, you will get a DOPPLER SHIFT (change in pitch) as the sound passes you. For example, a police car with siren approaching you will have a certain pitch. As it passes the pitch will shift from high (vehicle approaching) to lower (as the vehicle moves away). So, the with the changing pitch, I don't think you will notice a slight change in timbre between speakers.

Note, this is just my opinion/observation...

 

[Pyrrho]

Ideally, all speakers match perfectly (i.e., they are all the same exact speaker). Now, how important is this? Well, that is a matter of personal preference that no one can answer for you. I would try to get a reasonably close match for them all. When I switched surrounds to speakers that were the same as the front, I was quite pleased with the results. However, the surrounds matching is less important than the front three speakers matching because your hearing is more sensitive to what is happening in front of you, and because most of the important stuff is placed in the front in the mix. If you can manage it without financial or other burden, I recommend using the same speakers for every channel, excepting only the ".1" channel. If it is a problem, then come as close to this as you can without it being a problem.

 

[Pyrrho]

Ideally, all speakers match perfectly (i.e., they are all the same exact speaker). Now, how important is this? Well, that is a matter of personal preference that no one can answer for you. I would try to get a reasonably close match for them all. When I switched surrounds to speakers that were the same as the front, I was quite pleased with the results. However, the surrounds matching is less important than the front three speakers matching because your hearing is more sensitive to what is happening in front of you, and because most of the important stuff is placed in the front in the mix. If you can manage it without financial or other burden, I recommend using the same speakers for every channel, excepting only the ".1" channel. If it is a problem, then come as close to this as you can without it being a problem.

 

[W_Harding]

Music or Movies??

Are you playing 5.1 music or movies?

If you are using your set-up for music then I would recommend following the ITU standard set-up and following the advice that comes with many SACDs. "Best results are achieved with five identical speakers, each equidistant from the listener. Additionally, in 5.1 home theater systems, a subwoofer or .1 channel can be used for low frequency effects."

If your main use is for movies, then non-matched speakers may be preferred. Dipole surround speakers are often used in home theater movie applications with good results.

 

[Hitman]

Well, remember, I'm going from a 5.1 setup to a 7.1 setup so I can be ready for blu-ray. I have a Klipsch Reference system (tower fronts) and their bookshelf speakers are pretty deep and my requirement calls for a shallower speaker back there so I can't really match my rear (back) speakers to the rest of the system. Having never heard 7.1 I don't really know what goes on back there. What goes on back there? Do I need a really high quality speaker for the rears (backs)? Can I get away with a really small speaker that only goes down to say 100Hz, or do I really need lower? Thanks you guys...