[drandom]

I have an old 5.1 sony system from 5+ years ago. Now trying to set up a 7.1 system. All my old speakers and receiver are sony. Anyway I just got the Onkyo TX-SR606 to replace the sony, very happy! I have 1080P TV with HD DVD and getting blu-ray. I am just trying to figure out if the speakers I have are any good or will they suck with my new system. (keep some, replace some, ect)


I dont want to spend a lot of money for the best but I am wondering if the current old speakers I have are good enough to make sense with my new Onkyo 606. To note the size of the room is small, a bedroom type size in basement. Even if I keep all current speakers I need to get two more rear for 7.1.



Current speakers:
2 Front: Sony SSMF650H (These probably the best I have)

Frequency response (+/-3 dB): 40 to 50,000 Hz (no range stated)

Maximum recommended power (average): 180 watts

Center: Sony SSCN490 (Heard this center very important, is this any good?)

Speakers Included: Center channel speaker - 2-way - 150 Watt - 38 - 20000 Hz - 8 Ohm - wired

Center channel speaker : 2 x woofer driver - 5" - Highly Oriented Polyolefine (HOP)

Center channel speaker : 1 x tweeter driver - 1" - Ferro-fluid cooled

2 side: Sony SSMB200H

speakers_maximum_output_power: 100 Watts

speakers_response_bandwidth: 60 - 50000 Hz Unknown modifier


Sub: Sony SAWM40 (asked about this in sub section but any help here appreciated)

Built-in amplifier with 120 watts into 8 ohms from 20 - 200 Hz at 0.8% THD

12-inch long-throw driver

Active

 

[drandom]

The amazon links to specs didnt work so I will just post them here, thanks!

Sony SS-MF650H 3-Way Floorstanding Speakers

Product Features

3-way, ported (bass-reflex) floorstanding speaker with 180-watt maximum power handling, 8-ohm speaker impedance

3.25-inch and dual 6.5-inch Kevlar/HOP (high strength, low weight, and low resonance) drivers and a 1-inch tweeter

Nano-Fine balanced-dome tweeter rated to 50 kHz; bass response extends to 40 Hz

Includes 2 lengths of 8-foot speaker cable and removable speaker grilles

Measures 8.8 x 37.5 x 10.1 inches (W x H x D)

Technical Details

Finish: Black ash

Bi-wirable: No

Directionality: Monopole

Enclosure materials: Information not available

Powered: No

Removeable speaker grilles: Yes

Speaker drivers: 4 (3-way construction)

Speaker enclosure type: Ported (bass-reflex)

Speaker terminals: Screw-type binding posts

Speaker type: Floorstanding speaker

Transducer type: Cone

Wall-mountable: No

Weather-resistant: No

THX-certified: No

Crossover points: Information not available

Frequency response (+/-3 dB): 40 to 50,000 Hz (no range stated)

Maximum recommended power (average): 180 watts

Minimum recommended power: Information not available

Nominal speaker impedance: 8 ohms

Sensitivity/efficiency (1 watt @ 1 meter): 89 dB/watt/meter

Tweeter (diameter): 1-inch Nano-Fine balanced-dome tweeter

Video shielded: Yes

Woofers (diameter): One 3.25-inch cone and two 6.5-inch cones, each reinforced with Kevlar/HOP (Highly Oriented Polyolefin, a proprietary Sony speaker cone material which combines high strength, low weight, and low resonance resulting in improved transient response, higher power handling, and flatter frequency response)


Sony SS CN490 Center channel speaker

Speaker system details

Speakers Included: Center channel speaker - 2-way - 150 Watt - 38 - 20000 Hz - 8 Ohm - wired

Driver Details:

Center channel speaker : 2 x woofer driver - 5" - Highly Oriented Polyolefine (HOP)

Center channel speaker : 1 x tweeter driver - 1" - Ferro-fluid cooled


Sony SSMB200H Bookshelf Speakers

Product Features

2-way bookshelf speakers with 100 watts' maximum power handling

6½-inch woofer with Highly Oriented Polyolefine (HOP) cone to minimize distortion

1-inch nano-fine balanced dome tweeter minimizes flexing and distortion

High-fidelity speaker cabinet design offers deep, extremely accurate bass from a small enclosure

Magnetically shielded

Technical Details

Brand Name: Sony

Model: SSMB200H

speaker_type: Left / right channel speakers Unknown modifier

speakers_maximum_output_power: 100 Watts

speakers_response_bandwidth: 60 - 50000 Hz Unknown modifier

Depth: 7.5 inches

Height: 14.6 inches

Width: 8.7 inches

Weight: 8.8 pounds

Speaker Amplification Type: Passive

Speaker Connectivity: Wired


Sony SAWM40 Home Theater Subwoofer

Product Features

Subwoofer with advanced SAW bass reflex design

Built-in amplifier with 120 watts into 8 ohms from 20 - 200 Hz at 0.8% THD

12-inch long-throw driver

Line-level and speaker-level inputs

Auto power on/off

Technical Details

Brand Name: Sony

Model: SAWM40

speaker_type: Subwoofer Unknown modifier

speakers_maximum_output_power: 120 Watts

speakers_response_bandwidth: 20 - 200 Hz Unknown modifier

Depth: 16.5 inches

Height: 16.9 inches

Width: 14.2 inches

Weight: 39.7 pounds

Speaker Amplification Type: Active

Speaker Connectivity: Wired

 

[DogEarz]

Hey Drandom,


Interesting post. I have a couple of questions for you; Are/have you been happy with your speakers? If you are, why do you want to change? What is it about your speakers that you don't like that is making you consider changing them? Where is the listening position in your room? Unless you have, at least, 3 feet of space behind your listening position, 7.1 will not work well in your room.


Having said that, if you have been happy with your speakers, keep em! But if you've got the upgrade bug and want to get new speakers, how much do you want to spend? Have you compared other speakers to the ones you've got now? If so, what were they and how did you like them? If not, go listen to other speakers and see what sounds good to your ears. You will be amazed at how speakers can sound so different compared to one another, and eventually, you will find a "sound" that is just right. We can help you with the process, but you need to do the work. Help us help you!

 

[hammong]

Those Sony speakers will work fine with your new Onkyo receiver, and I'm willing to bet they sound GREAT compared to your old receiver. If you have the room dimensions to support a 7.1 speaker arrangement, my advice would be to seek out two more bookshelfs that match your existing SSMB200H to keep the rear surround and side surrounds timber matched. Should be a cheap fix and get you from 5.1 to 7.1 without breaking the bank.


As for upgrading speakers, my rule of thumb is the Left Front, Right Front, and Center should all be the same brand, and be from the same "line" of speakers with comparable driver sizes. The purpose being to create a unified and seamless front sound stage. If you have room for three floor-standing speakers, you could use 3 identical speakers instead of two plus a horizontal center channel for the best possible imaging. Surround speakers are less important tonally and your existing Sony's might do the job nicely.


Greg