DavidS827 said:
I don't remember what he said verbatim, but it was basically that if you have 4 speakers - 2 good, 2 better than good - that you should put the two better speakers in the rear to get a more enveloping sound.
Maybe he had been smoking something then. I asked him several times if I understood him correctly and he said yes......
Not only doesn't he get it, it sounds like you may not quite get it yet either. Which is why websites like this have a lot of good, unbiased information about the technologies involved. Don't look at brands, pricing, or anything else, just look at what you are trying to achieve, then worry about who is best/worst for your money later on.
If you are looking to do surround sound then you need to start with the most basic of things... No, not speakers to go around you, but a SOURCE that is actually a surround sound source.
Let's say you have a regular CD you bought from the store. That CD, at most, is 2 channels. It is stereo. Run it through 95 speakers, know what you have?
Stereo.
Stereo through lots and lots of speakers.
Multiple speakers aren't supposed to simply wrap you in sound, they are supposed to discretely represent the intent of the director of the film or the creator of the surround sound mix. SACD and DVD-Audio can contain surround sound, and almost all DVDs use surround sound.
So, we know have a surround sound source... what do we expect from it?
1. For music the front left and right speakers will contain 90%+ of what is going on.
2. For movies, anything related to dialog will come primarily from the center channel.
3. This means that the absolute best speakers should be the front left, right and center channels.
4. In an ideal world, you will identically match all 5 (or 7) speakers in your surround sound setup so that you get perfectly matched audio throughout the room.
5. If you are on a budget and need to spend less on certain speakers, then the FIRST speakers to start going cheap on are the surrounds. Since far less audio should ever come from the surrounds those speakers won't be driven as hard and won't suffer as much from being of lower quality.
6. Just because you go cheaper with the surrounds does not mean you don't have to properly set them up and calibrate them for the room they are in. Properly calibrated cheaper surrounds will still sound very good and do their job nicely.
7. A good subwoofer is what will really help put you into the action during movies. People freak on the concept of spending $1,000+ on a subwoofer. They shouldn't. The subwoofer, for movies, is about the most critical piece for immersing a person in the film. The surrounds help. The center channel will often be the most important for being able to clearly hear the audio.
8. Sales guys are 95%+ clueless. Yes, even in smaller specialty chains like the Magnolias, Tweeters, and others.
