Letters - July 2006
Larger center?
July 21, 2006
Editor,
Will a larger center speaker than what I have (small KEF; I don’t know the model)
mate better with large Paradigm speakers I own, or is it something else that matters more
than the size?
Theresa
The main consideration is that the speakers match tonally. This is usually
accomplished by buying both your main speakers and the center-channel from the same
manufacturer. Typically, models within the same line are designed to work well together,
which is especially important when it comes to mating your stereo speakers with a center
speaker. An undersized center-channel speaker can cause issues too, however. Many times a
tiny center speaker that can’t play any real bass frequencies will sound hollow and
sparse with deep vocals -- not a good thing. A very small speaker might not play as loud
as you’d like, either: Pushing it too hard will cause distortion, which always equals
bad sound. You can avoid both issues -- small size and a poor tonal match -- by getting
the Paradigm center to match your main speakers. I suspect that will improve your home
theater by several notches….Jeff Fritz
Two or five?
July 14, 2006
To Doug Schneider,
My budget is small, about $1000. Am I better off to buy two
bigger speakers for home theater or should I get five smaller speakers for the same price?
Richard Contan
Some may disagree with me on this one, but if I were
spending that amount of money I’d get the two speakers for a grand and save to add
three more for full surround sound later on.
First off, most of the sound comes from your left and
right main speakers, for movies and music, so you want to have the best speakers in those
spots. (Some may argue that a lot of information is in the center channel of movie
soundtracks, and they’re right. However, you can “funnel” that information
to the left and right speakers, so you don’t really need a center-channel speaker at
all, even for home theater.) Second, I find that the most impressive thing about home
theater is not the surround effects, which are what the surround channels bring, but the
overall quality of the sound, top to bottom, and, in particular, the frequency response --
mostly, how low in the bass the system goes. The surround effects are basically the icing
on the cake.
So, by starting off with a very-good “stereo”
home-theater system you can get most out of the home-theater experience, and then save up
and add the rest later. One more thing: If you just go with two speakers now you
won’t need five channels of amplification now either. However, you must consider your
future expansion and whether it’s best now to get a five-channel amp or receiver to
power the system, or if you can add three more channels somehow later. Frankly, sometimes
it’s easier to add speaker channels than it is amplifier channels….Doug
Schneider
Newer Onkyo?
July 4, 2006
I just came across your site and have a question you may be able to answer. I have an
Onkyo TX-DS494 receiver and just got new Cerwin Vega E710 speakers (200W maximum) for
surround sound, with a JBL center-channel (150W max.) and no sub at this time. The
TX-DS494 seems a little underpowered (55Wpc at 8 ohms), and I saw a Onkyo TS-DS777 (100Wpc
at 8 ohms) on eBay. I really like the Onkyo receivers. Could I expect the '777 to be a
good as the '494? Just need 5.1.
Tom
My answer is yes, but not simply because of the difference in power of the amplifier
sections. Your Cerwin Vega E710 speakers may have a power rating up to 200W, but that
isn’t necessarily the most important specification to note. The sensitivity of the
Cerwin Vega E710s is 95dB, which, if true, tells me that the speaker is an
easier-than-average speaker to power. While 55W isn’t that much, it should be able to
do the job in that respect. The main reason to move to the TX-DS777 is the extra features
that come along with a top-of-the-line Onkyo receiver. In the end, if the TX-DS494 has all
the flexibility you need for your home theater, why not let it prove itself?...Randall
Smith |
