Need Help With Speaker Surround Upgrades

R

rr2465

Junior Audioholic
Hello.

I posted a few weeks ago having just received a nice new receiver from Harmon Kardon - AVR 235 - as a Christmas present. I already have a pair of Paradigm Titans that I'm thinking that I want to use as my front speakers. I'd like to stick with Paradigm speakers - it sounds like the general recommendation from the forum is to stick with what you already have and I've always been pretty happy with the Titans. So I'm thinking about using the Titans in the front, Paradigm Atoms in the rear, the CC170 as the center and either the PDR 8 or 10 sub. I won't be able to afford them all at once, so what is a good buying progression? I want to start with the sub, adding the center and then maybe the Atoms in the rear. What do you all think?

Thanks in advance,

Rob
 
L

Leprkon

Audioholic General
just me talking here.. center first, since it carries the largest portion of the dialog in HT.

you're going to want to spend decent money on the sub. Your Titans will carry as decent bass as you would get with a cheap sub, so hold off on that for now.

you might want to get some minor-league rears at the same time as the center until you build up enough for the sub. The rears in an HT setup (notice the qualifier all you multi-channel audio guys about to jump all over this) should carry only mid-range and high stuff (as that is what gives you the impression of movement), so you can get some halfway decent sound movement without spending alot of dough.

if you are already heavy into SACD or DVD-audio, you will need good rears.

for under a hundred bucks (even wayyyy under a hundred) you can grab some indoor/outdoors that mount easily and carry good quality sound. try JR.com or etronics.com or even the new Rocket sereis I/O's at av123.com, all under a hundred. look for something with a main driver in the 4 to 5 1/2 inch range, since you don't want bass coming out of the rears. if nothing else, you are buying time until the new formats come out and you will have a better idea of what is needed to meet them.

bass is omnidirectional, so you don't gain anything by that coming from the rear speakers.

then get a decent sub.

It will let you experiment with placement and movement. Somewhere down the road, you can invest in quality surrounds for SACD/DVD-A needs.



just me talking. :)
 
gregz

gregz

Full Audioholic
...depends...

In "phantom" mode, dialog sounds like it's coming from the center - as long as you're sitting in or near the sweet spot. If you're off to the side, phantom mode doesn't work.

Since the usual audience for movies at my house is just me and the wife, phantom mode works superbly and I wouldn't live without proper sub response. When I go full HT, I'll get rears and center at the same time.
 
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