[csgamer]

I have infinity p362 for left and right, infinity pc350 center, timbre matched.


I was gonna order infinity p142 for surrounds but decided not to because of lack of bass response. Wife will not let me get the bigger infinity p152's to match the front speakers.


I just ordered energy c-r100 bipole for surround sides due to their small size and better base response.


Infinity p362 specs: http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/...USA&Country=US


Infinity pc350 specs: http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/...USA&Country=US


Infinity p152 specs: http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/...USA&Country=US

Infinity p142 specs: http://www.infinitysystems.com/home/...USA&Country=US

Energy c-r100 specs: http://www.energy-speakers.com/na-en...pecifications/


I will be using for movies/gaming. Probably not much multichannel music.

Did I make a mistake by not matching the surround to front speakers?

 

[TroyM2k]

I dont think you made a mistake for my LR and Center I have JBL Stadium series and my surrounds are Polk and my system sounds perfecto. I think the front 3 have to be matched and the rears and surrounds are prefrence choice.

 

[aquaphile]



Quote:
Originally Posted by TroyM2k /forum/post/16894017


I think the front 3 have to be matched

+1 have your LCR channels match is what you really want to concentrate on. as long as your surrounds are not a very different design (IE using horns), or significantly more or less efficient, you should b efine. although even efficiency can be corrected by adjusting levels on your receiver/amp

 

[csgamer]

Yeah, it seems that most would agree that the front needs to be matched.


But, there are some people who think surrounds should be matched as well for movies too. This is making me second guess my decision.


But hearing more people say it doesn't matter much makes me feel better.

 

[aquaphile]

well, idaelly you should have 5 (or 6 or 7 depending) of the EXACT SAME speaker for the best sound. but most of the time this isnt exactly practical or a wise financial choice, so we make do with our option/budget.


also, surrounds are rarely used throughout an entire movie, and they RARELY produce more than a couple of words of crucial dialog. i think youll be fine

 

[tvrgeek]

Fronts matched, definitely. I have Studio 20's for my mains and a CC450 for the center. Drives me crazy as the CC was voiced to match the Studio 40 and 60 series where the 20 was a lot flatter. Voices change as they move across the screen. I use Mirage rears and don't notice a difference in voicing. ( Actually, when set next to the 20's they are closer than the CC)

 

[amicusterrae]

first you ought to understand there is no consensus on this topic.


If you listen to multichannel music, it is said 7 identical speakers at seated ear level, dispersed at equal distances from the primary listening position along a circular path at the correct angles is IDEAL.

Obviously, that isn't realistic for most people. And, importantly, it isn't necessarily strictly adhered to in studios.

Of course, you have said multichannel music is not so important to you. For movies, there is even moore debate!


"Timbre-matching" of the loudspeakers was popularized by THX. Yet, even a matching system must exist in a real room--your room:

"In multichannel surround sound systems, a persistent problem is the mismatch in the timbral signatures of the various loudspeakers. Some of this may be caused by real differences between the loudspeakers but, even if they are identical devices, there will be differences attributable to different positions in the room." (Floyd Toole in a Harman white paper: http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/HowManyChannels.pdf ).

I recall Toole saying more in another paper about not worrying about matching the surrounds, but I wasn't able to locate it.


I use mismatched speakers for surrounds, and I consider my system highly satisfying.


Now, I do Q your use of dipoles for surrounds. Even in movies, the trend has been towards forward firing monopoles all around. Surround effects are not just ambient atmospheric sounds anymore. Bullets and arrows, for example, just don't pan properly with dipoles, at least in my room.

Conventional forward firing speakers might be too easy to localize in a small room, but there again, the front wall reflections from the side firing surrounds can be annoying.


Anyway, I'm not trying to rain on your parade. You've put together an impressive, high value system. I strongly recommend reading Toole's papers on room acoustics. It will help you find the best placement in the room you have.

 

[csgamer]

Oh, the energy c-r100 are not dipole, they are bipole. Dipole was out of the question for me since they should be mounted on sidewalls. I plan on mounting the bipoles on the back wall.


I figured i would try out bipole since many seem to recommend them due to direct firing focus and added dispersion of an extra tweeter.


I guess direct firing vs bipole/dipole would be a whole other argument.

 

[csgamer]

Hmm, although effected more by your room's acoustic setup, I would think bipoles as surrounds would pan okay. Or maybe i'm wrong.

 

[amicusterrae]



Quote:
Originally Posted by csgamer /forum/post/16898787


Hmm, although effected more by your room's acoustic setup, I would think bipoles as surrounds would pan okay. Or maybe i'm wrong.

Well, I don't think you're wrong, and I'm sure I'm not right!

anyway--my slip with di- rather than bipole!

Bipoles are almost omnidirectional at mid frequencies. All the reflected sound is pleasing for stereo, but less so (arguably) for multichannel playback.

You'll be the best judge of how they work in your room. Back wall will avoid the front wall reflections I was alluding to. And, I jumped to conclusions on those Energys w/o looking them up (I was thinking it fired two side mounted woofers). Anyway, those are an interesting design with bipolar tweeters, but a single woofer. Good luck! And, I'd love to read how it works out.

 

[csgamer]

Yeah i can't wait to hear how the system sounds. Maybe i'll write a review of my setup, but me being a noob to home theater don't know how good the review will be.


I listened to the infinity primus in-store and liked what i heard, but it's always different at home. Well, I'll have to wait until my hk 254 receiver arrives so i can hook the stuff up.

 

[Dennis Erskine]



Quote:
I have infinity p362 for left and right, infinity pc350 center, timbre matched.

All this arm waving over the surrounds but your fronts are mismatched as well. While the manufacturer may claim "timbre matched", they aren't really.


Now as to monopoles providing more localization (bullets and the like). Perhaps...perhaps not. In this case, why bother? Movie sound tracks are mixed to a reference space. That space has multiple side surrounds. While they are monopolar, the mix engineer knows (s)he cannot provide pinpoint localization using an array of multiple surround speakers. So, the localization you think you're attempting to achieve, wasn't part of the sound track in the first place. You may have other preferences for monopolar surrounds, but localization is a rationalization.

 

[NekoAudio]

For the majority of content, the acoustic character of surrounds doesn't necessarily have to match those of your fronts. However, as soon as you find a movie or TV show where a person is talking in front, and then from a surround, it suddenly makes a big difference.


I've made a conscious effort to have my surrounds sound as similar to my fronts as possible, precisely so when something moves from the front to the surrounds it doesn't sound like it is also moving to a new room. It's the worst with voices, because your brain can instantly tell that it doesn't sound right.

 

[R Harkness]

I've had a couple mix 'n match systems with the surrounds not matching the timbre of the

fronts. It certainly "works" in terms of giving a sense of immersion. But in the case of my current set up I've gone to pains to timbre-match as best I can. I adore the sound of my L/C/R speakers (Hales), their timbral accuracy being the number one feature for me. I don't want to "pollute" that sound with speakers of a different timbre firing at the same time.


Unfortunately the Hales line is no longer made so I can't have Hales surrounds. But I did find quite a close match in the Monitor Audio line for my side FX speakers. I actually chose the lower cost Bronze line over the more expensive Monitor Audio rear FX speakers strictly because the Bronze line had a general character closer to the Hales, whereas the more expensive Monitor Audio's had a brighter, more metallic, more "zippy" sound - and it's the character of the Hales to sound clear without those "hi-fi" characteristics so the lower cost line actually

was the better choice.

 

[Dennis Erskine]



Quote:
Now as to monopoles providing more localization

...one other point about monopoles ... as their height (above/below the ear) changes, their timbre also changes. That height difference will occur either by moving the speaker or moving the ear (first row height, second row height, etc).

 

[krab]

Like some of the posters already said, this is a nebulous subject and there are so many differentials for every system in every sized room, I say go for the best combo that you can optimally arrange and afford.


This reminds me of the agony for some when they choose the color of a new car. After a while you probably don't notice or care what the color is unless you're one of those people who think the grass is greener etc.

 

[hd_newbie]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennis Erskine /forum/post/16918544


...one other point about monopoles ... as their height (above/below the ear) changes, their timbre also changes. That height difference will occur either by moving the speaker or moving the ear (first row height, second row height, etc).

Dennis,


How critical do you consider the lack of low end extension in a small di-pole speaker?


Are you more likely to get less localized bass when you have full sized towers all around?

 

[Raymond Leggs]

Well you wouldn't want huge towers as fronts and tiny Cubes for the rears and sides, you'd at least want a Bookhelf speaker or a speaker with more than one driver and of the same efficiency for the entire system.

 

[EnergyOwner]



Quote:
Originally Posted by hd_newbie /forum/post/17341424


Dennis,


How critical do you consider the lack of low end extension in a small di-pole speaker?


Are you more likely to get less localized bass when you have full sized towers all around?

Response down to 100Hz should be sufficient. Anything below that is not localizable to most people.

 

[hd_newbie]



Quote:
Originally Posted by EnergyOwner /forum/post/17342284


Response down to 100Hz should be sufficient. Anything below that is not localizable to most people.

I assume you are implying that subwoofer will take care of frequencies below 100Hz. However, is that not true for fronts also? Do we need full size speakers that go low at all? Why not just let the subwoofer(s) handle all low frequencies?


My thinking was if a listener's surrounds could go significantly lower than 100Hz, it would help even out the bass through one's room. In my understanding, the only trade-off is not being able to use dipoles for side surrounds.