Two fronts with a center and a sub?

[davetroy]

I'm hoping this isn't too novice a question. I have a dedicated audio room where I do all of my two-channel listening. But I have a really nice 60-inch TV in another room (about 16'x14', walls on only three sides,), and I'd like to watch music DVDs and movies on it and get at least average sound. The thing is, I really don't want to mess with wires for the rear speakers, and from what I've read, the wireless options for rear speakers aren't very good (is that true?). So, I'm thinking about buying a nice pair of front speakers, a center channel and a sub. Does this make any sense at all? Does the center even matter if I only have two fronts? What would you say is the best way to go for a person who doesn't want to bother with rear speakers? I'm thinking that maybe one day I'll change my mind about this and go for surround, so it might make sense to buy a 5.1 or 7.1 receiver. Does it?

Thanks for your help,
Dave

 

[MDS]

You can use any combination of speakers you want because you tell the receiver which speakers are connected.

center
For movies, a center channel speaker is important as it anchors the dialog to the screen (so the sound appears to be coming directly from the actors mouthes). It's also important for the case where sounds start on your left, pan to the center, and then move to the right.

You could do without a center because the receiver will mix the sounds that should go to the center into the left and right speakers (known as 'phantom center'). It will still sound like the sound is coming from the center but you may lose some of the effect when sounds pan from the left to center to right.

surrounds
At various points in time I've gone without the surrounds but they are nice to have when the movie soundtrack actually has a lot of surround effects. Even without them you still have some surround effect as the sounds from the fronts and center bounce around the room - you just lose the pinpoint sounds where the soundtrack specifically places an effect in the surrounds.

There are still some 5.1 only receivers (even new models) but nearly all new receivers are 7.1. It doesn't matter if you don't use the other channels because you tell the receiver which are connected. A 7.1 receiver with a Zone 2 feature is a benefit because you can use Zone 2 to play stereo in another room if you have the wiring in place to get from the main room to the second room.

 

[pepi28]

Go for the 2 fronts, center and sub and dont look back. Almost all receivers are 7.1 now so you dont really need to worry about that. You would just setup the receiver to use the fronts and center. Sub goes to sub out.