Surrounds for 7.1 timbre matching SRTs
Robert.Petersen
Posts: 9
Hi,
I currently have 3 rooms with SRT systems, all set up identically: SRT fronts, SRT center, and FX1000 surrounds mounted on the side walls. One room is for "music" and the other two are for home theatre.
I have decided to grow to a 7.1 system and am having difficulty selecting rear speakers that are timbre matched to the SRTs due to their availability.
I have a few questions that I hope some of you can help me out with.
1) Should the rears for 7.1 be directional or Di/Bipole? The Polk Home Theatre Handbook (hthandbook.pdf) page 9 figure 2 shows dipoles on the sides and directionals on the rear for 7.1. The answer may be different for music verses Home Theatre.
2) If I should go with SRT timbre matched dipole rear speakers, I have narrowed down to the FX1000, FX500i, and LSiFX. The 1000 and 500 are timbre matched with the same tweeter as the SRT, but are hard to get. The LSiFX has a new tweeter, so I fear it will not be timbre matched, but this model is currently available. Does anybody know if the LSiFX is reasonably timbre matched to the SRTs?
3) If I should go with SRT timbre matched direct rear speakers (in perhaps the "music" room), I have narrowed down to the following (since they have the same tweeters as the SRTs):
Pair of CS245i or CS400i centers used as rears instead.
Pair of RT55i.
4) Since I have three SRT systems with FX1000s already, I could regroup for different rooms. I could put FX1000 sides and rears in one room, and then put LSiFX sides and rears in the other two rooms. The only concern again is if the LSiFX are timbre matched to the SRTs!
I appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Thanks!
-Bob
I currently have 3 rooms with SRT systems, all set up identically: SRT fronts, SRT center, and FX1000 surrounds mounted on the side walls. One room is for "music" and the other two are for home theatre.
I have decided to grow to a 7.1 system and am having difficulty selecting rear speakers that are timbre matched to the SRTs due to their availability.
I have a few questions that I hope some of you can help me out with.
1) Should the rears for 7.1 be directional or Di/Bipole? The Polk Home Theatre Handbook (hthandbook.pdf) page 9 figure 2 shows dipoles on the sides and directionals on the rear for 7.1. The answer may be different for music verses Home Theatre.
2) If I should go with SRT timbre matched dipole rear speakers, I have narrowed down to the FX1000, FX500i, and LSiFX. The 1000 and 500 are timbre matched with the same tweeter as the SRT, but are hard to get. The LSiFX has a new tweeter, so I fear it will not be timbre matched, but this model is currently available. Does anybody know if the LSiFX is reasonably timbre matched to the SRTs?
3) If I should go with SRT timbre matched direct rear speakers (in perhaps the "music" room), I have narrowed down to the following (since they have the same tweeters as the SRTs):
Pair of CS245i or CS400i centers used as rears instead.
Pair of RT55i.
4) Since I have three SRT systems with FX1000s already, I could regroup for different rooms. I could put FX1000 sides and rears in one room, and then put LSiFX sides and rears in the other two rooms. The only concern again is if the LSiFX are timbre matched to the SRTs!
I appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Thanks!
-Bob
Post edited by Robert.Petersen on
Comments
-
Having done some more research, I have found that THX Ultra2 recommends that side surround speakers be Dipole, and the rear surround speakers should be Monopole. They further recommend that the rear pair of Monopoles be the exact same speaker as the front center monopole.
I am definitely leaning this way even more so, especially since in my experience, monopoles in the back sound better for music, where I am much more critical of the sound.
So, I guess this leaves me with searching for SRT timbre matched monopoles for the rear surrounds since I have all the FX1000 side surrounds I need.
Any comments or recommendations are welcome!
-Bob -
I think you are on the right track with the 1000's on the side and the 245s or 400s in the rear. Has worked VERY well for me.
Doc"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
Ed Mullen (emullen@svsound.com)
Director - Technology and Customer Service
SVS
