timbre matching.... (1 Viewer)

[Alfie]

Hi guys.. My set up consists of mission m73i for fronts and m7c1i for center... Im currently using my wharfedale diamond 8.1 as my rear surround. They are driven by harman kardon 2550 which is powerful enough for my small room. My question is it ok for me to use the wharfs as my rears? Or should i get a mission series too? Any thoughts on this. Additional info. for music listening i just listen to 2ch (fronts) if this helps. I only go 5.1 for movies .

If I listen to multi channel using 8,1 as rears would it have an adverse effect?

 

[Jaime B]

Alfie;

The good thing about Home Theater is that it is by nature very lenient as far as timbre matching goes. With 5 speakers and a sub, there is as tendency to blend the sound easier that 2 channel, which is (of course) totally absurd to have the left speaker different from the right.

The most critical matching is in the three front speakers, and even then, of the hundreds of set-ups I've heard, including my two set-ups at home, same brand centers don't perfectly match their right/left units.

Treble wise, same brand tweeters match but the mid/bass, more often than not, varies because the drivers are in a smaller box in a horizontal D'Appolito arrangement while the mains are most often not.

If you feel your set-up blends the sound in 5.1 surround don't give it a second thought. In my downstairs HT the mains are Athena S3's with the P2 subs and the rears are tiny Rock Solid Ones in white (wife approval) and the sound is huge and homogeneous. Such is the nature of 5.1 surround sound.

JaimeB

 

[Lee-M]

Do not underestimate the importance of timbre matching your center with your mains... I went through two centers with my Klipsch Fortes (both of the previous centers were also Klipsch, but from newer series) before I was able to score the only center that is actually matched to them (Klipsch "Academy").

My complaint with the other two centers was that, not only did the center-channel content "stick out", any panning between the center and mains (i.e., a person walking from left to right, vehicles moving out of frame,etc.) was completely unrealistic, especially when the illusion depended upon sound from the center and one of the mains.

I could not disagree more with the previous respondent; I think 5.1 is very unforgiving primarily within the front soundstage . Timbre-match that center with the mains! ...unless you're deaf.

 

[Alfie]

ok .. my centers and fronts have no problem..same series m73i of mission and m7c1i.. what im concerned about are my rear surrounds..which is a pair of wharfedale 8.1s ... thanks any inputs regarding this speaker set up

 

[Jaime B]

It seems some people can read but not understand what they are reading. I said "the most critical matching is in the three front speakers".

Having had 2 channel Hi-End systems for 20 years, and HT since the early Dolby Surround days, I stand by my personal opinion that 5.1 is very forgiving of timbre matching. Room acoustics, good equipment and proper volume calibration are more important! Enough said!

JaimeB

 

[Steve_D]

Yes, it is OK.

Everything in a home theater is a matter of compromise, even in high end mega-sytems (but with a whole lot less compromises). Therefore, whether this particular compromise is worth it to you or not, only you can answer. Can you get some demo Missions and try them, and see if it makes a difference to you?

IMHO, it is worth it to get timbre matched surrounds. IMHO, I would also spend money elsewhere in the system, or even on other things, first, if money is an issue.

 

[Martice]

My surrounds don't match my front three but I have exact matching speakers in the front. I can never go back to a matching center in place of a matching speaker for the center. Not even close.