I Want to Upgrade 5.1 to 6.1 (1 Viewer)

[Ryan*Pr*]

I have an Onkyo receiver that is capable of 6.1 sound. I currently have no rear center channel and want to buy one now that I have some money.

My current speaker setup (all Paradigm):
CC: CC-170 v.3
FL/R: Titan v.3
RL/R: Titan v.3

When I bought my speaker a year ago or so the salesman said that Paradigm does not sell individual speakers. I would like to buy 1 more Titan for my center rear if possible. Can I buy them individually?

Are there any single speakers that would go well with the rest of my setup?

Other options (any of these listed as a pair would be run in series into the 1 channel):
1)(~$200) buy a new pair of Atoms or Titans
2) (~$120) buy a pair of version 1 Titans off ebay
3) (~$400) buy new ADP-170's and move existing Titans to center rear
4) (at $60 currently on ebay) 1 Atom v.2 speaker

I probably won't go with #4 because I don't have that much to spend. $200 at max for me. Any other ideas are welcome!

 

[DavidCooper]

I'm running a pair of Atoms in series off my 6th channel on my Denon and they sound really good. It is a much better option IMO then putting one speaker in the center back there.

Running a pair makes the soundfield wider instead of one speaker right behind your head.

Remember there isn't a ton of sound info that goes back there , so don't break the bank with a pair of speakers for the 7.1/6.1 purpose. Just get a decent easily mounted pair of as close to matching speakers that you can....i.e. the Atoms would work perfectly.

 

[John Garcia]

I ran a single Titan as a rear and it didn't sound that good. Another option might be to upgrade your center. I moved the 170 to the rear and upgraded the front to a CC370 (with monitor 5s) and the 170 sounded great out back with Titan surrounds.

You won't be able to tell the difference between v1 and v3 Titans soundwise, only visually. I had v1, v2 and v3s at the same time and there was no sonic difference between them at all.

 

[Blaine_M]

I just bought a paradigm SM-60R and installed in my ceiling about 3ish feet behind my main listening position. It was my only option to go to 6.1 if I wanted to. This speaker is sold individually for around $120-130ish....

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/Site...s/CS_Specs.htm

 

[Frank Lee]

I am running a 6.1 system. I have Paradigm speakers throughout the room except the rear speaker. I decided to use an old Yamaha center speaker I already had. I can't tell the difference in the timbre matching during movies. The 6.1 sounds much better then the 5.1 I had before. It adds a lot to the rear sound field, which seemed to have a large gap before. I am using the ADP370s for side surrounds. I check ebay occasionally for a smaller Paradigm center speaker to replace my Yamaha, but in the meantime this is just fine.

 

[NickScott]

I just d/led some new software for my receiver (HK avr630) and now I have tons of 6.1 features. I also run all paradigm.
11seMK3 fronts
cc-300 center
9seMK2 rears

I quickly hooked up a dumpy old speaker and placed it right behind me, and I like what I have quickly tested. So now I am wondering, should I get another center speaker for the rear center or something like my towers instead?
Also, since my receiver only has SBL and SBR speaker outputs, how would I connect the rear center? Pick one or the other, or +R and -L? Thanks.

 

[Blaine_M]

The paradigm in ceiling speaker I mention above has two tweeters and two input terminals, allowing for 'left and right' hookup.

 

[Neil McCaulley]

Hey Blaine,



This ceiling speaker is supposed to be your rear center channel? Doesn't this disrupt the listening layout since the sound is traveling down on top of you, instead of horizontally toward the back of your ears like it was intended for theatrical presentation?

I have often thought of how cool it would be to have a separate ceiling mounted channel, but the way I envisioned it was having it in the ceiling between you and your TV. Have it be used as sort of a fore and aft travel channel. Meaning it would heighten the experience for sound that is designed to travel toward you, or sound that is supposed to travel from behind you, over your head and toward the screen.

 

[Blaine_M]

No, not really. The speaker is behind my listening position about 3-4 feet or so. If I were not sitting on my couch I might not notice it as much, but you have to remember that these are the rears we are talking about. Most people want an envelope of sound, they don't want things to be directional. I think it filled in the rears nicely, connects the rear left and right so to speak. My room would not allow for anything other than the ceiling mounted speaker since there is no wall behind me.