Speaker advice for a newbie, unorthodox approach?

[mfrankwilson]

Interesting idea, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[PerVirtuous]

Check out this video.

He shows you how to build excellent flat speakers for cheap money. A few of these and your subwoofer should handle all of your needs. You have a couch and a recliner. Perhaps you put a couple small bookshelf speakers near the TV aimed at the recliner and the other speakers could be added to maximize the sound at the couch. Then find a home for the sub that works for both. As for surround sound, trial and error is a time consuming but effective method. Keep in mind everyone's ears are individual. As Duke Ellington said: "If it sounds good, it IS good." You have to live with it, and your wife. What anyone else thinks is just mental exercise.

 

[shadyJ]

Check out this video.

He shows you how to build excellent flat speakers for cheap money. A few of these and your subwoofer should handle all of your needs. You have a couch and a recliner. Perhaps you put a couple small bookshelf speakers near the TV aimed at the recliner and the other speakers could be added to maximize the sound at the couch. Then find a home for the sub that works for both. As for surround sound, trial and error is a time consuming but effective method. Keep in mind everyone's ears are individual. As Duke Ellington said: "If it sounds good, it IS good." You have to live with it, and your wife. What anyone else thinks is just mental exercise.

I applaud that guy's efforts to explore the abilities of exciters, which are a neat trick. Here is a 'high-end' exciter speaker brand, insofar as they can be high-end. One problem is that exciters will never equal the fidelity of a half-way decent loudspeaker. So when he talks about 'high-quality' sound, you have to think relative to what? Maybe the speakers in your laptop PC. Another problem is the intro where this guy goes through some of what he sees are problems in conventional loudspeakers; clearly he knows a lot about materials engineering and physics, but he does not know much about audiology or psychoacoustics. Human hearing is much more sophisticated than he is giving it credit for. He seems to think human hearing is just like simple microphones.

Sorry, but exciters are not a substitute for high-fidelity loudspeakers.

 

[PerVirtuous]

Sorry, but exciters are not a substitute for high-fidelity loudspeakers.


That is all true, however, if you remember the OP of this thread he said: " I’m exploring my options for surface mounting speakers on front wall" I offered an inexpensive option within the parameters given. Although electrostatic flat speakers may produce better sound, from my experience, they are also far more sensitive to placement, therefore, the exciter method may be a happy medium.