Upgrade to 3 way centre or use money for 2nd sub? (1 Viewer)

[MikWRX]

I currently have a JM labs 5 speaker setup with a SVS sb1000 pro. I am thinking of upgrading the centre (cc700) to a SVS prime 3 way. It is currently on sale. Will there be much of a sound upgrade or should I just use that money for another SVS sub? Room is 6x5m with a 4m vaulted ceiling.100% Movies and TV. Cheers

 

[JohnRice]

I would get the sub. Then we need to discuss how to best place it in the room. Opposing corners (ex: front left, back right) is often best.

 

[smithbrad]

It is generally not recommended to mix speakers brands, especially up front. If you are dissatisfied with what you are getting from your front center, you might want to ask Focal if they have anything better that will still timbre match your JM Labs. If not, maybe you should save up to replace all three of the front speakers so they all match and you get what you are looking for, since you already seem interested in the SVS line. As for the sub, do you feel you are lacking in bass output, or is this more about having some extra money and you have an itch to upgrade something? Your answer is likely in which of the two areas, Center or Sub, that you are having the most issues with and what is the best course of action to correct it.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I vote for a 2nd quality sub and save a little money for some Elac Debut F/C/L speakers.

 

[JohnRice]

To be honest, I suspect the JM Lab speakers you have now are probably at least on par with the ELAC Debut v.2. If you want to upgrade from them and go three way, I'd recommend the ELAC Uni-Fi v.2, or even the Uni-Fi Reference.

 

[Wayne_j]

I'm not convinced the SVS speaker you are looking at is better than the CC 700 you already have. Focal is a very good brand.

 

[John Dirk]

Another vote for the 2nd sub. That's definitely where you'll get the most bang for your buck in a room that size. Honestly I might even recommend selling the SB1000 Pro and moving up to at least the 2000 series or better yet the 3000, which is what SVS recommends for your setup.

 

[MikWRX]

Thanks everyone. Good stuff. I was thinking the 3 way would be better for dialogue etc than the current 2 way. The focal JM labs speakers are very nice though. I doubt I will change the towers at any time to be honest. The only problem with the pb subs are the size, the space that I use for the sub would be absolutely maxxed out with a pb1000. The sb1000 fits perfectly but I can make a few centimetres more room for a pb. The other spot for the sub cannot fit anything bigger than an sb1000.

 

[JohnRice]

Once again, I would keep the Focal/JM Lab speakers, unless as such a time that you want to do a full, significant upgrade.

I've been fighting an uphill battle for a few years now regarding sealed subs. I've gone from all ported to all sealed subs. The first try was about four years ago when I switched to an SB-2000 in a room about the size of yours. As time has passed, I've come to realize that I find it substantially better than what I had before. There's always talk about the positives of ported models, but never the negatives relative to sealed ones. I find the positives of a good sealed sub outweigh the positives of an equivalent ported one. The main down side is you can't get a good, cheap sealed sub. They need a lot of power, and currently $600 is the starting point.

If you have room for one PB-1000, then you have room for one SB-3000, which is smaller. If the extra $300 is in your budget, what I'd suggest is move the SB-1000 to the second location and get a SB-3000 for where the SB-1000 currently is.

 

[MikWRX]

Thanks everyone. I just upped the dialogue lift on the Denon receiver to medium, that has made a difference. I think I just want more pop out of the sound. Maybe a second sub is the way to get that. Cheers

 

[JohnRice]

When you want to boost the dialog, good things to do are to boost the EQ around 2KHz and just increase the level of the center speaker.

 

[John_Bilbrey]

Yep, I run my center a little "hot" because I can't hear well at all. My vote would be a 2nd sub.

 

[MikWRX]

The only way I can probably fit in a second sub would be to place it to my immediate right while in the lounge chairs. The one I have now is straight ahead to the left of the TV. Would running the subs at a right angle like this be bad? I have seen most double subs running parallel.

 

[John Dirk]

The only way I can probably fit in a second sub would be to place it to my immediate right while in the lounge chairs. The one I have now is straight ahead to the left of the TV. Would running the subs at a right angle like this be bad? I have seen most double subs running parallel.

A pic or two might help here. Your room is roughly the same size as mine and I have dual subs.

 

[JohnRice]

The only way I can probably fit in a second sub would be to place it to my immediate right while in the lounge chairs. The one I have now is straight ahead to the left of the TV. Would running the subs at a right angle like this be bad? I have seen most double subs running parallel.

To be honest, in about 98% of home theaters, subs are located badly. It's actually very complicated and can also seem counterintuitive to do it correctly. As John Dirk said above, more info would be a big help. As much info about the room, including diagrams if possible.

 

[MikWRX]

Here are some pics.

 

[JohnRice]

Is that stove used for heat?

Is the sofa up against the back wall?

If it is, my feeling is the best place for a second sub (actually your current SB-1000) would be in place of the planter to the left of the stove. It can be connected to the receiver wirelessly, but of course it still needs an output for power. Then the SB-3000 would go where the current sub is.

 

[daddyora]

Been right where you are. 5.1.2 system with Elac Debut 2.0 L/C/R. Old ears and damaged hearing so movie dialogue is my problem. Swapped out to SVS Ultra center from Elac Debut 5.2 center. Off-axis improved by quite a bit and dialogue is slightly better (maybe I imagine it ???). I don't notice any problems (my use is movies/TV only) with mixing brands. Unless you have same dialogue issues, I'd vote for 2nd sub.