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Speaker & Subwoofer Advice (1 Viewer)

cbanks52

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I could use some help with a decision on speakers and a sub. This will be for 90% movies/tv.

Which one - Option 1, Option 2, Neither? Recommendations / advice will be appreciated.


5.1 Option 1:

• JBL Studio 530 x4 (Front left/right, Surround left/right)

• JBL Studio 520C x1 (Center)

• SVS PB1000 (Sub)


5.1 Option 2:

• PSA MT-110 x2 (Front left/right)

• PSA MT-110C x1 (Center)

• JBL Studio 210 x1 (Surround left/right)

• SVS PB1000 (Sub)


Thank you
 

cbanks52

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schan1269 said:
Why mix brands in opt 2?
I would mix brands in option 2 because I cannot put up another $1150 on speakers in good conscience. Maybe down the line later on I may give in, but I think getting two more mt-110's as surrounds would be overkill.

•How much of a difference does it make having all five speakers match?
•Would there be a significant difference in having the ones listed as the surrounds?
•Should I look for an option 3 made up of different brands?

Thank you
 

Al.Anderson

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I think your choice of mains comes down to personal preference.


In the abstract, it's better to have the surround match; but most of us would agree that having different surrounds is not a big deal (Sam excluded, but he'd only use towers for surrounds anyway).


I couldn't find the low-end roll-off for the JBLs (and their lack of documentation would already be pushing me to opt-2 or removing them the configuration entirely) but if the low end performance of your surrounds is radically different than the mains you might consider a receiver that supports a different corssover for the surround/rears.
 

cbanks52

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Al.Anderson said:
I think your choice of mains comes down to personal preference.


In the abstract, it's better to have the surround match; but most of us would agree that having different surrounds is not a big deal (Sam excluded, but he'd only use towers for surrounds anyway).


I couldn't find the low-end roll-off for the JBLs (and their lack of documentation would already be pushing me to opt-2 or removing them the configuration entirely) but if the low end performance of your surrounds is radically different than the mains you might consider a receiver that supports a different corssover for the surround/rears.
I have never looked into HT systems in much detail before, so I apologize for my lack of understanding. Could you please explain the part that I have marked in red? Does that mean that the surrounds in option 2 are not good enough for the main speakers? Does that mean I should look for an entirely different setup?


Again, sorry for my lack of understanding. The last time I bought, it was a HTIB from Best Buy.. no research or questions, just paid for it and called it a day.


Thank you in advance.
 

schan1269

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The reason I don't like the JBL Studio range for HT...

Ridiculously inefficient. Have no idea how JBL managed to produce a horn loaded speaker at 86db(530).

The 210, supposedly, reaches 60Hz. I don't even believe that with the Pio AJ bookshelf.

The PSA 110 is 95db efficient.

Meaning...

Pairing PSA with JBL Studio would be a set up nightmare.

The Studio would require 10x the power.

So 1watt each front, rears need 10.
5 watts front, rears need 50.
100 watts front, rears need 1000.
 

cbanks52

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schan1269 said:
The reason I don't like the JBL Studio range for HT...

Ridiculously inefficient. Have no idea how JBL managed to produce a horn loaded speaker at 86db(530).

The 210, supposedly, reaches 60Hz. I don't even believe that with the Pio AJ bookshelf.

The PSA 110 is 95db efficient.

Meaning...

Pairing PSA with JBL Studio would be a set up nightmare.

The Studio would require 10x the power.

So 1watt each front, rears need 10.
5 watts front, rears need 50.
100 watts front, rears need 1000.
Thank you - the 10x power explanation makes sense. So I would need to find more efficient speakers If I went with the PSA ones, or If not, then find a new setup because the JBL Studios are not efficient?
 

schan1269

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You might try contacting Tom(he's a member here).

If you swap out the SVS to a PSA(which I would) he might give you package deal.

Emphasis on...

Might.

And yes, I know PSA starts at $800 for the sun. But if you buy 6 speakers...he might make a deal...
 

Al.Anderson

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I have never looked into HT systems in much detail before, so I apologize for my lack of understanding. Could you please explain the part that I have marked in red? Does that mean that the surrounds in option 2 are not good enough for the main speakers? Does that mean I should look for an entirely different setup?

It doesn't necessarily mean that the surrounds are not good or as good, just something to consider, and maybe address in the receiver.


To explain, all speakers have a frequency range where they operate at full capacity; outside that range they're not as good. The frequency range depends on a few things, but mostly the size of the speaker's driver. Towers have the widest range, say 50Hz to 20kHz, bookshelfs might be 80Hz-20 kHz, and satellites might be 110 Hz-20kHz. And then there's sub, which handles the low end, let's say 20Hz-120Hz. As you can see there's overlap between the regular speakers and the sub. Receivers have a crossover setting, which could be from say 60-120Hz. If you set your receiver to an 800Hz crossover, anything below that is sent to the sub, anything above to the speakers.


But lets say you have main speakers that are good down to 70Hz, but surrounds that are only good down to 100Hz. If you set the crossover to 100, then you aren't using the full range of the mains; but if you set the crossover to 80, you're stressing your surrounds, that can't readily produce that frequency.


The simplest way around that is to get the same speakers all around. But almost as easy is to get a receiver that has sepate crossover setting for the mains and the surrounds, then the mains can be set to 80Hz and the surrounds to 100Hz.
 

cbanks52

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schan1269 said:
You might try contacting Tom(he's a member here).

If you swap out the SVS to a PSA(which I would) he might give you package deal.

Emphasis on...

Might.

And yes, I know PSA starts at $800 for the sun. But if you buy 6 speakers...he might make a deal...
Ehh the reason for the SVS is because we already have it it... a buddy didn't use it anymore so I took it.


I would rather not have to buy a sub if it is not necessary, but if I were to get a new sub, it would make sense to get PSA... assuming I went with the speakers as well. On the topic of subs, how are JL Audio subs for home theater? When I was younger I had JL subs in the car, I thought they were great.
 

cbanks52

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Al.Anderson said:
It doesn't necessarily mean that the surrounds are not good or as good, just something to consider, and maybe address in the receiver.


To explain, all speakers have a frequency range where they operate at full capacity; outside that range they're not as good. The frequency range depends on a few things, but mostly the size of the speaker's driver. Towers have the widest range, say 50Hz to 20kHz, bookshelfs might be 80Hz-20 kHz, and satellites might be 110 Hz-20kHz. And then there's sub, which handles the low end, let's say 20Hz-120Hz. As you can see there's overlap between the regular speakers and the sub. Receivers have a crossover setting, which could be from say 60-120Hz. If you set your receiver to an 800Hz crossover, anything below that is sent to the sub, anything above to the speakers.


But lets say you have main speakers that are good down to 70Hz, but surrounds that are only good down to 100Hz. If you set the crossover to 100, then you aren't using the full range of the mains; but if you set the crossover to 80, you're stressing your surrounds, that can't readily produce that frequency.


The simplest way around that is to get the same speakers all around. But almost as easy is to get a receiver that has sepate crossover setting for the mains and the surrounds, then the mains can be set to 80Hz and the surrounds to 100Hz.
Thank you for explaining. I am learning a lot, and am definitely glad that I did not rush my purchase.
 

Robert_J

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cbanks52 said:
Ehh the reason for the SVS is because we already have it it... a buddy didn't use it anymore so I took it.


I would rather not have to buy a sub if it is not necessary, but if I were to get a new sub, it would make sense to get PSA... assuming I went with the speakers as well. On the topic of subs, how are JL Audio subs for home theater? When I was younger I had JL subs in the car, I thought they were great.
JL makes some awesome subs. You can get the same performance for much less money though from other manufacturers. There is nothing special about their speakers. In fact if you look at the construction, they are pretty plain, even the 7 series. Yes, they have that neat feature where the surround can come up and the mounting screws are hidden. They use a generic motor with average excursion for the price.


I'm a DIY guy and drivers from Stereo Integrity offer the best bang for the buck right now. 1/3 to 1/4 the price of raw drivers from JL and they add features like inductance rings to keep distortion down. Plus they are the only company on the market right now with a 24" driver. If I was going to build an ultimate sound quality sub I'd use drivers from Acoustic Elegance. They have been OEMing drivers for the extreme high end for the last few years. They make the woofers in speakers that cost upwards of $50,000 each. Their raw drivers are more expensive than SI, but still reasonable compared to JL. I'd even take Dayon drivers from Parts Express over having to pay for JL.


Even with all of the low distortion, high end stuff you still need to properly set up your sub and sometimes they require an EQ. My current subs are from TC Sounds - https://web.archive.org/web/20070623145031/http://www.tcsounds.com/tc3000.htm%C2 and they were brutal when I first installed them. I could easily recreate car audio bass with my 800w going to each 15. I measured the frequency response of the subs from 120hz to 15hz, entered that information into a specialized Excel spreadsheet and simulated adding a parametric EQ. I flattened the response to almost ruler flat. After the EQ, I am + or - 3db from 120hz to 17hz with usable output to 12hz.
 

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