I've been trucking along with an old Energy Take 5.1 system for over 5 years now. I am still pretty happy with the sound, but I see a new A/V receiver with new surround standards on the horizon. (I'm still reading up on DD EX, Neo, DTS-ES etc.)
My basic question is: is is possible to expand my older system with a couple of new speakers and still get good, matching sound... or am I in for buying a new setup if I want to go 7.1?
Here are the options I came up with.
1. Buy 2 used original Take 5 sats. Price/availability unknown, but probably a cheap and easy solution. Provides no extra "punch" besides the better surround field but it gets the job done.
2. Buy 2 new full-range speakers for the fronts, and migrate the Take sats to the back for 7.1 support. Improves my stereo music playback, but are there any drawbacks besides price? Does this improve movie watching, or is the difference between fronts and rears an annoyance?
3. Buy a pair of bipolar rear surrounds, and migrate the Take sats to side surround. This is probably cheaper than #2. Again, I am not sure if mixing speaker makes is a good idea: I have always been a sub-sat guy and the world of speakers beyond those tiny boxes is strange and frightening to me. Also, I am not sure if bipolar speakers are appropriate for the newer 7.1 standards.
Thanks very much for your comments. I'm not rushing out to make a purchase, but I do want to pick my strategy so I can start checking reviews and such.
