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Titans vs. Studio for strictly HT... (1 Viewer)

ArthurJ

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This may sound stupid at first, but just hear me out.

If I was to do a setup strictly for HT, considering I'm using the exact same receiver for both. in the exact same room, which in itself is not big. Would I hear a difference between the two? I know for music, the difference is night and day. But I'm just wondering for HT. Thanks!

BTW, I'm speaking of Studio 20's!
 

John Garcia

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YES, you will hear a difference. It is not quite as significant as a comparison with music, but it will still be noticable. If you can't justify the funds, consider Mini monitors or Monitor 5s.

What receiver are we talking about? It can make a difference, as the Titans don't will do fine with less power, while 20s should have a more ample supply of juice.
 

Mike_Gr

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Why would a person think that when listening to a movie, as opposed to music, a given speakers' characteristics might suddenly change? I mean...will the speakers you adored for music suddenly lose their ability to play clean,tight bass for movies? Will they suddenly lose thier imaging characteristics? Will they suddenly fail to produce great highs? Will the soundstage suddenly diminish? Will vocal characteristics somehow change? Will all this happen because you are now listening to a movie instead of music? You get the idea.

To me it just doesn't make sense that somebody would compare two speakers and claim "speaker 'A' is a night and day improvement over speaker 'B' musically" and then end up choosing speaker B after auditioning them both for HT.
Odds are, if you find a speaker that is amazing musically (according to your own ears) then you will find it equally amazing for home theatre. I personally have never found an exception to this. (the only scenario that might not apply is somebody comparing a bookshelf and a tower...and they will not be using a sub. Maybe then I could see them sacrificing the better sounding bookshelf speaker in order to get the needed bass extension of the tower for home theatre).

Have any of you ever found an exception to this?
 

ArthurJ

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Mike, I'm still learning, but I agree with you!

The reason I'm asking is this...

I hear on here A LOT that guys who own titans and mini monitors that there indistinguishable for HT, but for music it's like night and day?
 

Ariel

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the studio20 is better than the titans even in ht. i compared these speakers before and ended up with the 20's.
 

John Garcia

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To me it just doesn't make sense that somebody would compare two speakers and claim "speaker 'A' is a night and day improvement over speaker 'B' musically" and then end up choosing speaker B after auditioning them both for HT.
This is not unilaterally true. Just because a speaker is great at music, does not mean it is great at HT. Two different demands, and the focus of each is not the same. To me, the Studios are a decent compromise at both, but they are more suited to music.

I ran the 20s I auditioned in my 2ch system with a Marantz PM7000 (honest 95wpc) and they seemed pretty happy. So much so that their owner, who brought them over to audition, was shocked. I liked them very much, but I'm not sure they are what I am looking for.
 

Mike_Gr

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I can't imagine a 'night and day difference' musically would fail to manifest itself, even slightly, during movie playback. I think its just easier for people to detect speaker differences when listening to music as opposed to HT.

My advice is to listen for yourself and judge with your own ears. You can find Paradigm almost anywhere to audition.
 

Jason GT

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Actually mike, upon futher examination, there are speakers that are great for music but don't cut it for HT.

A lot of nice speakers (some call them sweetspeakers) sacrifice dynamics for accuracy, imaging and the like.

HT requires dynamics -- therefore these oh-so-musical speakers will probably die in a HT situation.

That said, those kinds of speakers are not usually discussed here. Paradigm products are a compromise between HT and music -- they're not the most musical speaker for the buck, but they are more dynamic and have more extension than comparably priced "music" speakers.
 

Ariel

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sound is very subjective so the best thing to do is to listen for yourself. i started with paradigm performance series then the reference series and now with proacs. these are musical speakers but is still prefer them over the paradigm studio speakers in ht.
 

Mike_Gr

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home theatre requires dynamics
In the context you stated that, it seems you are implying that music is in no way dynamic. I hope that is not the case.

A good speaker shouldn't make any sacrifices. It should be accurate to the source and not 'loaded' in certain frequencies for a desired effect. I want to hear what people like Mr. Lucas intended me to hear....not Paradigm's (or whomever) interpretation of what they think I should hear.

I think some people assume a more 'musical speaker' would not be suited for home theatre because they often don't have the bass extension. However, these people need to realize that a good subwoofer can make up that difference and then some. Now, I can see your point if the main speakers were not going to be coupled with a good subwoofer and were instead going to be used as stand alones. I mean, who would expect a small bookshelf speaker to do the job for home theatre without the presence of a subwoofer? That just goes without saying.
 

Jason GT

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Maybe I'm using the wrong terminology here -- my apologies.

You're right, music needs to be dynamic. I also don't disagree with the fact that flat FR is universally desired.

What I'm trying to say by dynamics is "what is the loudest the speaker can play without sounding like dogfood". In my (limited) experience auditioning speakers, I've come across models that sounded very very very good for music at moderate levels-they imaged like champs and really gave a lively feel and groove to music.

They were much better in music, in fact, than good HT speakers that are mentioned here (PSB, Paradigm, Energy for example).

However, turning up the volume to an upper, but still reasonable level, had a dramatic and negative effect on the sound quality of these musical speakers. These nice musical speakers would not cut it for a typical HT presentation (and don't even dream about reference).
 

keir

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Jan 16, 2002
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theres a ton of music in movies... i think the difference between speakers in home theater is as big as for music. the dynamics are bigger in movies also.
 

Jamey F

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Dec 20, 2002
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Studios and don't consider the titans if you have the funds for Studios. There is a huge difference in both HT and Music. I would say I enjoyed moving from the monitor line to the Studio line more with HT because that is my emphasis. Music does sound leagues better as well, but in HT the Studios truely shine.

One guy I know said my system was "off the hook", whatever that means.;) He added, "why would you go to the movie theater?" He told a coworker when the Fellowship started running from the Balrog, he felt like taking off too.:D All comments make me glad I chose the upgrade.
 

ArthurJ

Second Unit
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Jan 29, 2003
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354
I think I will just grab the 20's for the Front L/R and the Studio CC. And then Titans for rears. What do you guys think?
 

Jamey F

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Dec 20, 2002
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If funds are tight, that is exactly what I would do. Later you could easily add a pair of Studio 60's/100's and move the 20's to the rear. If you don't have a NICE sub (pw-2200 or servo-15 in Paradigm's line but you COULD go with another brand), add that before upgrading the mains. I would probably recommend the PW-2200 since you are bigger into HT. It is generally accepted as a close alternative to the Servo-15 as far as power, and performs close enough to the Servo-15 to not justify the extra money unless you want to really pay for that last half octave or musicality.
 

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