Pro logic speaker setup VS 7.1 set up

[Nat]

I'm swamped with advise and everyone's different! Have a Pro logic Harmon Kardon AVR 20 receiver and am looking to come into the 21 century with 7.1 (perhaps HK again or perhaps dennon). I have a 5 speakers and a sub and my "rear" speakers are jamo dipole jobs that sit on the wall parallel to the couch as originally and professionally installed. SO, in order to go to the 7.1 system; 1/2 the "audio advisors" say the dipoles can be used but have to be moved closer to the bigscreen (HOW close they never say). The other 1/2 say that the jamo dipoles have to be scrapped and the "rear and rear centers" should match. Some say that ALL speakers need to match. Some say that the "rear centers" are merely for "fill". HELP! For a reasonable intelligent professional male who has survived 57 years in Florida and has gotten more "sound advise" then I need - is there anyone out there who can help me thru this maze? Post back here or e mail to natchman@aol.com thanks in advance!

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Nat,

In laymans terms, if you were to buy a new 7.1 receiver, you could use a mic to balance out the db level of differnt mfg. speakers, but you could not "timber" match them. The tweeters and midranges of different mfg's may not blend correctly, thus giving you inferior surround results compared to a matched speaker setup. Go slowly if you are upgrading your system. Start with a new receiver. HK is a great place to start. Give yourself a budget, and let us know so we can direct you to the best "bang for the buck" based on your listening preferences. Then you can decide if you need a new speaker setup or not. Have fun. There's a ton of new equipment on the market. Rear centers help the "enveloping" effect of surround sound. The newer dvd's use 6.1 and are very impressive with the new receivers.

 

[Nat]

I was also looking at a dennon midrange receiver. The 3 front and 2 rear speakers presently are Jamo.