A beginners question about speaker suitability for HC (1 Viewer)

[Andy Z]

Hello everyone,
I'm just getting into home cinema and had a few questions about speakers for a home system.
Currently for my hi fi setup i have:
Cambridge Audio A1 MkIII amp
JBL Control 1G monitors
Arcam Alpha 7SE CD player
And for the entertainment side i have:
Pioneer DV350 DVD player
29" Sony Wega FD Trinitron 4:3 TV
XBox and Gamecube
Currently the consoles and DVD player just go into the amp through the TV so everything is in stereo. Now my CA amp is broken and i was looking for a replacement and decided to just get a DD receiver instead. I was looking at the Yamaha HTiB45 (HTR5540RDS and NSP220 speakers) but think i might just get the receiver on its own and buy seperate speakers. I had a few questions about this:
1) Would the JBL Control 1Gs be suitable in a home theatre system, and if so would they be better as fronts or backs?
2) The receiver is £210 and the HTiB45 kit is £320, is it worth bothering getting seperate speakers or should i just get the HTi kit? (i know people aren't fond of them, but its a starting system )
3) Presuming the JBLs are ok for either the fronts or rears, are there any recommendations for a centre, sub and either fronts or rears depending on what the JBLs get used for?
One last thing, i have an 8" Sony sub from an old system, it's rated at 60w at 6ohm. Could that be usable?
Thanks for any help

 

[SteveMo]

Hello,
I found this for the JBL 1 but noting about the other one.
Technical data
Biwirable: No
Caskets: Stamped
Directionality: Monopole
Enclosure materials: High-impact molded plastic
Finish: Black plastic
Down-firing: N/A
In the box: JBL Control 1x 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers (2), user's manual, warranty information
Number of speakers: 2
Powered: No
Removable speaker grilles: Yes
Speaker drivers: 2
Speaker enclosure type: Ported (front panel)
Speaker terminals: Clip-type
Speaker type: Bookshelf
Transducer type: Cone
Tweeter material: Titanium-laminate
Wall-mountable: Yes
Weather-resistant: No
THX-certified: No
Crossover points: 4000 Hz
Frequency response (+/- 3 dB): 80 to 20,000 Hz
Maximum recommended power (average): 80 watts
Minimum recommended power: 10 watts
Modulation: N/A
Nominal speaker impedance: 8 ohms
Operating frequencies (broadcast): N/A
Power consumption: N/A
RF power output: N/A
Sensitivity/efficiency (1 watt @ 1 meter): 89 dB
Speaker power (RMS): N/A
Subwoofer power (RMS): N/A
Transmission range: N/A
Tuning range (receive): N/A
Tweeter (diameter): 0.5 inches
Woofers (diameter): 4 inches
Video shielded: Yes
Speaker mounts included: No
Width: 6.06 inches
Height: 9 inches
Depth: 5.44 inches
Weight: 5.2 pounds
Warranty, parts: Speakers: 5 years; enclosure: 2 years
Warranty, labor: Speakers: 5 years; enclosure: 2 years
The frquency response is very critical and these lack alot of it. If space isn't an issue You might want to get some floor standing speakers. Most may cost a little more than 200 dollars but I have seen some for less.
Also note that most recievers use either 90 Watss per channel or more and these only handle 80 Watts.
The most important thing you should think about is what you want the rest of your setup to be. The front speakers should be designed for or included with the surrounds. The same goes if a rear speaker if applicable. This would be the same brand.
If you get a kit than you don't have to choose as much and eveything would be accousticly balanced if it's a good system.
This is what is most practical.
I have been doing HT since november last year and am still improving my setup. I need to replace my screen cover for my RPTV and have it ISFd e.t.c.
Not sure about the sub.
How much are you wanting to spend?
How much are you willing to spend?

 

[Andy Z]

Thanks for the reply.

Those are the Control 1. Mine are an updated version and are the same except they have a freq response of 50~27,000Hz and a 92db sensitivity/efficiency rating.

Hmm it doesn't really seem as if they'd be suitable in a home cinema setup.

I am spending £200 on the HTR5540-RDS receiver, so i would have about £200~£250 for speakers unless i just got the pack with the NSP220s in.

I come from an studio audio background and really have no idea which makes are any good for home cinema as the requirements are quite different!

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Andy. Welcome to HTF.

In general, "Audio is about Accuracy, but Home Theater is about Impact".

This means you can get away with less accurate (and less expensive) speakers for home theater.

And there is a good argument that a set of 5 monitor-style speakers and a external sub is the optimal setup rather than 2 good music speakers and a add-on center/rears.

One of the most important things for HT is to have the front 3 speakers be nearly identical. This is so the sound does not change as the action moves around.

The rear speakers dont need to match the fronts, (as dialog/critical sounds rarely do lots of front/back transistions), but it cannot hurt to try and make them match.

Hope this helps.

 

[Jason Wilcox]

You'd be fine using the JBL control's as rears in your setup. You'd have to set them (and all your other speakers) as small on that yamaha receiver. The sony sub will work for now but you'll probably want to upgrade at least to the sony 12" sub (saw-m40). For fronts and center you may want to check out Wharfedale.