Sub and center recomendations? (1 Viewer)

[antivirus6613]

Hello all. I have a home theater with paradigm studio 60's, cc-590, adp-590s, and the servo-15. I have been used to hearing those and now I want to upgrade my living room.

Currently there are 2 fronts and 2 surrounds that are in wall, which I don't really have knowledge about. I would like to add a center and subwoofer to make this setup complete.

I cannot decide between the CS2 center channel and the csi-a4.
The subwoofer I am looking at is the PSW505 or the PSW10.

Whats your guy's input?

 

[SherardP]

Skip the Polk Sub and go for a better sub, Polk subs tend not to offer very much on the low end. I'd save up for an Epik or SVS sub.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

That's a problem. Ideally your center speaker should be the same make and same series as your front speakers, so that all three are timbre-matched and you get a single, uniform, front soundstage. If you add a center speaker that does not match you surrounds in tonal quality, "warmth" and all the other intangibles, it is going to sound distinctly different from the other two, and probably very distracting anytime music, sound effects or dialogue pans from left to right across the screen. You may want to wait to save more and buy a complete set of front speakers and simply stop using the in-wall speakers. (Or else pop the grilles, find out what speakers you currently have installed and see if you can add a matching in-wall center.)

It is going to be a crapshoot adding any non-matching speaker, regardless of quality or how well it is reviewed. A speaker that is notably better than the in-walls is going to sound just as odd and out of place as one that is worse.

It is not as important that the rear surrounds match the front speakers, as they are mostly used to "fill in" the soundtrack with music and sound effects, and there is much less "panning" from front to back in film than there is from side to side. (And even when there is, it is less of an issue. In real-life we expect sounds coming from behind us to have a different tonal quality anyway, and to change as they approach us.) But for the three front speakers it can really make a difference.

Re: subs. Any powered sub is going to vastly improve a system that doesn't have one. You can always get a relatively inexpensive one now and upgrade later. If you can save up for an SVS by spring I'd say go for it, but if it would take you a year to put aside that kind of money I'd say, "Buy what you can afford now" rather than live without a powered sub for that length of time.

Good luck!

Joe

 

[antivirus6613]

I see. I will be popping those grilles off momentarily and doing some research.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I was researching Polk speakers for someone else, and was interested to learn that they make in-wall systems as well, and that many of their in-wall speakers are indeed timbre-matched to specific free-standing speakers, making it easy to combine in-wall L/R with a set-top or shelf-mounted center. I would expect other manufacturers do the same (guessing, because I've never used in-wall speakers myself and don't know a lot about them.) So if you have a brand-name installation, you might be in luck.

Joe

 

[antivirus6613]

I have found a subwoofer, eD a3-300. Its costly but I only want to purchase one subwoofer and be done. The center now depends on what kind of speakers we have. I am currently watching a movie on them so in about half an hour I will pop these babies open and check them out. The sound is perfect on these though, take into account I don't have much sound experience .

 

[antivirus6613]

The center channel should be niles then, because the in wall speakers are niles. Any recommendations?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Identifying the speakers as Niles products is only the first step. Now you need to look for any marks or lables that identify the exact speaker models. Then go to the Niles site (or give them a call) and see if you can find a matching enclosed speaker.

I'm not personally familiar with Niles speakers, so can't really provide any further suggestions.

Let us know how yiou make out.

Joe

 

[antivirus6613]

I Looked around there site and can't seem to find any good centers. I don't need an inwall center, any will do. The only center that I could find was a single speaker center, which looks like garbage to me.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Really? I found this speaker, which is identical to one of their in-wall models, after about 3 clicks on the site.



There's no way to tell if it is a good match for your speakers, though, which is one reason why I recommended writing down any identifying information from the in-walls and then callling Niles to see if they can recommend a good matching speaker.

Regards,

Joe

 

[antivirus6613]

I saw that one but it says left center and right in one or something. I will give niles a call tomorrow, once noting the model numbers