Why don't matched speakers sound the same?

Schwingding

That is the theory, right? A CSi5, for example, is the "matched" speaker for the RTi series. The SC80 in ceiling is supposedly the "matched" speaker for the RTi series.

Pink noise test tones sound VERY different in these speakers as compared to the RTi10 and RTi8 speaker sets I have. The 10s and 8s, they sound identical. The 5 - while a superb speaker, sounds quite different when producing the same pink noise tones, and the SC80 isn't even in the same ballpark.

Why am I trying to buy matched speakers if they don't match? Is my thinking wrong on this? Shouldn't these speakers produce material in the same "timbre" if they're "matched"?

danger boy

the only thing i can think of.. and I have no research to back this up..

but I think that center channel speakers are tuned differently.. because for the most part carry mostly dialog and not much surround sounds. I could be wrong. but if they use the same drivers, and tweeters... they should be timbre matched to your mains.

PolkThug

The Csi5 has a different style crossover, but I bet if you ran a freq sweep, the high-end would match the Rti8's.

danger boy

in a home theater set up.. say a 5.1 system.. are all speakers just mono? a speaker is only stereo when it has a left and right speaker, correct?

so in say my home theater.. each speaker is receiving a mono signal.. but once combined with all 5.1 speakers it becomes surround sound?

sorry for the derail Schwingding.

PolkThug

danger boy wrote:

in a home theater set up.. say a 5.1 system.. are all speakers just mono? a speaker is only stereo when it has a left and right speaker, correct?

so in say my home theater.. each speaker is receiving a mono signal.. but once combined with all 5.1 speakers it becomes surround sound?

sorry for the derail Schwingding.

Yes, but they are distinct.

sucks2beme

Putting a speaker in the wall or ceiling has to sound different than a regular speaker. For one, the enclosure is not wood. Two, there is no back wall reflection on an in-wall speaker. The wall/ceiling IS the enclosure, and maybe only a so so one at that.

Schwingding

sucks2beme wrote:

Putting a speaker in the wall or ceiling has to sound different than a regular speaker. For one, the enclosure is not wood. Two, there is no back wall reflection on an in-wall speaker. The wall/ceiling IS the enclosure, and maybe only a so so one at that.

Of course I understand that, but those speakers are designed to be matched. So how does one design or determine what is a "matched" speaker. If they test them in free air, what good is that, since they will never be mounted as such.

How about for the center channel? What exactly determines a "matched" speaker is what I'm really getting at.

PolkThug

If you wanted to be "100% matched" you would need identical drivers/x-overs/enclosures in each location.

Schwingding

PolkThug wrote:

If you wanted to be "100% matched" you would need identical drivers/x-overs/enclosures in each location.

Don't laugh too hard - I have been considering just that - 5 RTi10s.

sucks2beme

I've got a Paradigm cc370 running with RTI10's. It gets the job done well.
Is there a problem with how your system performs? Or did you just notice it
while doing channel levels? As someone already stated, the center is built differently than the regular speakers because it does a different job.

I always felt that wall mount speakers weren't as good as regular speakers.
It comes down to WAF, as always. If she ain't happy, nobody's gonna be happy.

Drumingman

While center channel speakers have their place, I don't use them.
Since i use my system for TV and music I use 4 R50's across the front.
I get a big sound stage and timbre matching is not a problem.
I like a big coherent sound and small center speakers have never done it for me.
But to each his own.

NCNog

The pink test tones out of my Monitor 30's sound louder and brighter than the same tone out of my CS1. They should be "matched". Is this normal?

Emlyn

I wouldn't be concerned about how pink noise test tones sound from the speakers. Make sure the speakers are balanced to the same sound pressure level using the test tones. How do the speakers sound together when playing active movie and music material? As long as you are satisfied with how the speakers sound, you have nothing to be concerned about. I found the CSi3 and CSi5 to sound quite a bit different when compared side by side, and chose the CSi5 because it seemed to be a closer, bigger sounding, match to the RTi12's I had. Both would have been acceptable though. There's no such thing as a perfect match with a center speaker. Even with identical speakers, room intereactions may make the same speaker sound slightly different if it's used in the center of the system.

zombie boy 2000

NCNog wrote:

The pink test tones out of my Monitor 30's sound louder and brighter than the same tone out of my CS1. They should be "matched". Is this normal?

Have you had the CS1 longer than the 30's? I believe the Monitor series is extremely "bright" right out of the box.

jakelm

Speaker level is probably the #1 reason why some people think their speakers dont have a closer match. IMO no 2 speakers sound 100% alike. And with different SPL's they will seem even farther apart.

Jake