Same manufactuer for all speakers? (1 Viewer)

[JoshuaHoffman]

I've been upgrading my system over the past few months, and I've been replacing speakers piecemeal. I was curious if it was alright to have different manufactuers for the center, front and rear speakers (obviously, the front and rears are matched sets themselves).

Thanks!

 

[Craig Morris]

Of course it's alright. You may have to audition several center speakers to find one that mates well with your fronts and rears, but it is possible. The reason people recommend having the same brand is due to the fact that it makes the search for a matching center easier since you can usually find one that uses the same drivers as your fronts.

I may have this problem later in the week if I finally pick up some new speakers. I can't afford the matching center and rears, so I will have to find something more affordable to use.

 

[Chris Zell]

I went through the same thought process the last year. I would strongly recommend that you have a full return policy when you buy any new speakers, otherwise I'd be too scared to mix and match. It may work great, but there may be some trial and error in finding a match which suits your fancy. I think it is probably a bit more important and harder to get a good enough match for a center than it is for surrounds.

I had to return the mismatched center I bought because it just did not work. Wanted to save money, but in the end I had to wait until the wallet got full enought to get the matched center. I'm glad I tried though, otherwise I may be wondering if I wasted some cash.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Craig Morris]

I hear you Chris, I went through that with my Mirage OM-6's. I tried the OM-C3 and hated it, and eventually upgraded to the much better OM-C2.

However, now I'm looking at Revels and the center and rears list for about $2800 and $3800 Canadian, which is WAY more than I am comfortable with... of course, never say never. I might win the lotto.

 

[Jason Wolters]

I've been upgrading my system over the past few months, and I've been replacing speakers piecemeal. I was curious if it was alright to have different manufactuers for the center, front and rear speakers (obviously, the front and rears are matched sets themselves).

Your fronts should all contain the same drivers. (i.e. be from the same manufacturer) It is not as critical for the rears to match.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

I guess I'll be the rotten apple in the barrel.

Ideally you want ALL your speakers to match (that's even according to Gary Rydstrom at Skywalker Sound). The subwoofer is less important that it comes from the same manufacturer as long as it reproduces bass notes cleanly and can plumb the depths without sounding muddy and overbloated.

Having created a home theater with matching vertically aligned speakers all around (even for the center) for a neighbor I can tell you that is the cat's meow. It creates a seamless and coherent 360 degree soundfield. And the dialog doesn't take on that nasally/boxy/congested sound that I hear so often from horizontally aligned, so-called center channel speakers.

Dan