I don't want new speakers...

[Yardstick]

...but I think I might need new speakers.

I've had some reluctance to build up a 'real' home theater setup for various reasons - space and budget being the primary factors. I also figured that a good 2-channel setup would sound better than a low-budget home theater setup. In an effort to improve dialogue in movies and TV I finally bought a decent AVR recently (Yamaha RX-A6A). And since I've already got enough speakers I have been experimenting with what I have, even though they're not all the same brand/series. The results have been mixed. I'm not sure if I should continue to experiment with what I've got or if I should look into a set of matching speakers.

Here's what I've got:
Focal Chorus 836V Towers
Focal Chorus 706 V2 Bookshelf Speakers
Canton Vento 896 DC Towers
2x SVS SB-3000

I tried setting up the Focal towers as L/R with a Focal Bookshelf speaker as a center. That seemed to work, but depending on the content and settings the center speaker seemed too obvious - like a LOT of the volume had to be coming from that speaker. The Canton towers are acting as rear channels. Sometimes they're fine, sometimes I don't notice them at all and sometimes I really know they are there. Maybe that's appropriate depending on the content. This was all put through the YPAO setup too.

So should I continue to experiment with what I've got or should I switch to a speaker brand where I can get a matched set? I don't really want to hunt around on the used market to try to find decent versions of what I've got to cobble together a matched system - too much time and questionable quality that way. I think the subs are fine. I don't exactly have a budget in mind, but I'm kind of cheap. I want the speakers that sound and look like they're $10k-20k but cost $3k-5k (for a pair). Don't we all? What would you do?

 

[lovinthehd]

I like the idea of the Focal bookshelf as a center....horizontal centers start with flaws. In a multich movie much of the action is in the center, tho. Was the speaker not handling it well? Where did you place the center?

Where did you put the surrounds particularly (they're surrounds in 5.1, don't get rear surrounds until 7.1). Surround content varies, tho.

I'd play around with what you have for now, you have decent speakers already....

 

[Yardstick]

The speaker seemed to handle the volume okay. YPAO set it to +4dB which seemed odd to me. To me it sounded a little too biased to that speaker and that speaker sounded small (can't think of a better way to describe it). I had it perched on a small stool below the TV height but angled up toward the center of the room. Not ideal, I guess.

My terminology was off - The Cantons are on the Surround channel, not rear. They are off to the sides and slightly behind the listening area.

 

[lovinthehd]

You might also just try the fronts without a center, for a "phantom center". Where were the tweeters of L/R compared to the center? Angling towards your ears is a good thing.

 

[TLS Guy]

...but I think I might need new speakers.

I've had some reluctance to build up a 'real' home theater setup for various reasons - space and budget being the primary factors. I also figured that a good 2-channel setup would sound better than a low-budget home theater setup. In an effort to improve dialogue in movies and TV I finally bought a decent AVR recently (Yamaha RX-A6A). And since I've already got enough speakers I have been experimenting with what I have, even though they're not all the same brand/series. The results have been mixed. I'm not sure if I should continue to experiment with what I've got or if I should look into a set of matching speakers.

Here's what I've got:
Focal Chorus 836V Towers
Focal Chorus 706 V2 Bookshelf Speakers
Canton Vento 896 DC Towers
2x SVS SB-3000

I tried setting up the Focal towers as L/R with a Focal Bookshelf speaker as a center. That seemed to work, but depending on the content and settings the center speaker seemed too obvious - like a LOT of the volume had to be coming from that speaker. The Canton towers are acting as rear channels. Sometimes they're fine, sometimes I don't notice them at all and sometimes I really know they are there. Maybe that's appropriate depending on the content. This was all put through the YPAO setup too.

So should I continue to experiment with what I've got or should I switch to a speaker brand where I can get a matched set? I don't really want to hunt around on the used market to try to find decent versions of what I've got to cobble together a matched system - too much time and questionable quality that way. I think the subs are fine. I don't exactly have a budget in mind, but I'm kind of cheap. I want the speakers that sound and look like they're $10k-20k but cost $3k-5k (for a pair). Don't we all? What would you do?

That Focal should be fine as a center speaker, as long as it is vertical. It should be turned on its side.

I would check that your receiver has set the balance of the speakers correctly and check it with an Spl. meter if possible. Otherwise just try turning down the center speaker. Balance between mains a center is difficult to get right, but crucial. Center speakers are the most difficult to design, and most centers fall way short of the mark. You just need to experiment. I would not change all your speakers, but you might need a properly designed center. If it is a horizontal MTM, the that excludes it from the properly designed group.

 

[lovinthehd]

The speaker seemed to handle the volume okay. YPAO set it to +4dB which seemed odd to me. To me it sounded a little too biased to that speaker and that speaker sounded small (can't think of a better way to describe it). I had it perched on a small stool below the TV height but angled up toward the center of the room. Not ideal, I guess.

My terminology was off - The Cantons are on the Surround channel, not rear. They are off to the sides and slightly behind the listening area.

It's setting level based partly on the speaker's sensitivity as well as it's distance from your seat, as well as the other speakers in the system. You can always play with the level to taste.

 

[snakeeyes]

I would do the opposite. Canton as front speakers.

 

[Yardstick]

You might also just try the fronts without a center, for a "phantom center". Where were the tweeters of L/R compared to the center? Angling towards your ears is a good thing.

That's kind of where we landed. I didn't want to go through all of our experimentation so far since it would make the intro a bit long. We turned it on and off a few times to see what we liked best and ultimately we preferred it off. The towers are quite tall, so the tweeters are something like 43" high. The bookshelf on the stand put the tweeter at maybe 24" off the floor but angled up. We are thinking of putting the bookshelf speakers on stands to be surround speakers instead of the Cantons so that the towers can go back in another room.

That Focal should be fine as a center speaker, as long as it is vertical. It should be turned on its side.

I would check that your receiver has set the balance of the speakers correctly and check it with an Spl. meter if possible. Otherwise just try turning down the center speaker. Balance between mains a center is difficult to get right, but crucial. Center speakers are the most difficult to design, and most centers fall way short of the mark. You just need to experiment. I would not change all your speakers, but you might need a properly designed center. If it is a horizontal MTM, the that excludes it from the properly designed group.

We had it set up vertically. There's not a lot of space in our TV stand thing to put a horizontal center anyway. It would have to be less than 7 inches tall. I considered mounting the TV and getting a horizontal center, but then we're back to trying to find a center that is similar enough to the Focal or Canton towers to blend in and then I start thinking it would be easier to start with different speakers altogether.

I just ordered a microphone to try out REW. I may try to find a good SPL meter too since I have some other things I'm interested in using one to check.

I would do the opposite. Canton as front speakers.

I had that thought too. My reasoning was that the Canton tweeters are much lower than the ones on the Focals so the Focals would be less muffled by furniture if they were used as surround speakers. Why would you make the switch?

 

[snakeeyes]

Oh I have Canton Vento speakers so I know how they sound. The ideal center is the Vento 866.2 or Vento 50 but they are pricey.

 

[lovinthehd]

I just ordered a microphone to try out REW. I may try to find a good SPL meter too since I have some other things I'm interested in using one to check.

The mic and REW have an spl meter function, too..

 

[Boerd]

Now that you have a microphone, try Dirac and see if that makes difference. I use MacMini + Dirac => DAC ....
I used a MOTU 8A and now an Okto DAC8 PRO.

 

[Yardstick]

I have an older Intel NUC running Ubuntu hooked up to the TV. It looked like REW could run on Linux so I might try that. I can also hook up a regular Windows laptop. I haven't looked into Dirac yet. Is there an advantage to one software over the other?

 

[Boerd]

I have an older Intel NUC running Ubuntu hooked up to the TV. It looked like REW could run on Linux so I might try that. I can also hook up a regular Windows laptop. I haven't looked into Dirac yet. Is there an advantage to one software over the other?

Dirac generates filters that EQ your system.
Here is a picture from my system: https://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/perlisten-s7t-tower-speaker-review.122293/post-1585851
To me Dirac is a must - I can tell in a blind A/B when Dirac is on due to difficult room I have for my speakers.