Home Theater Speaker Advice

Why exactly do you think that many manufacturers "HT packages" are typically 2 floorstanders (from their music lineup), a center channel, a subwoofer and 2 rear speakers (usually bookshelf speakers also from their music lineup...but many go with dipoles)?

Oftentimes the exact same drivers are used in "cinema" speakers that are found in the same company's music lineup.

Maybe 20 years and 1000's of systems you installed can tell me exactly why most manufacturers "HT packages" often include floorstanding music speakers? ya think?!

I disagree...my 20 years and 1000's of systems under-my- belt's experience says otherwise. a good music speaker(whatever that means) doesn't necessarily sound excellent for playing back movies!...not even clost most often! Especially when you consider that you really need a specialized "cinema speaker" to do in a small room(most peoples room are acoustically small comparatively) what a larger speaker is intended to do in a large acoustic space(where movies are recorded and designed for playback. Traditional music speakers(most) are often far too laidback, colored, blured, diffuse, and un-affective to properly play back the dyanmics, focus, and unrestrained HT soundtracks out there!
NOw someone who is simply impressed by their first or second home theater project, using basic music speakers in their set up, and probably won't know any differnce!..I've seen/heard the difference!..it's not suttle.
I will conceed that traditional stereo monitors are very effective(if set up right, with good acoustical considerations) in a smaller listening environement, but you need to know what you're doing!...most don't. That said, the more specificallyl designed speakers for HT dubties(not necessarilty THX/limited music applications designs for around the house) just work better in helping you hear what the movie mixers intended you to hear!
It's all good though I guess. But the right tools for the job are always better. In this case, I beg to differ with Joew.
On the other hand I"ve found that many "cinema speakers" do extremely well for playing music around the house! STILL, this guy is mentioning his DEDICATED HOME THEATER!..not music system! Why would you recommend a music speaker system for a guy interested in speakers for his HT system!...not HT/music system? That's not logical nor practical.
I bet you LOTS that if you sent this guy's question to ANY REVIEW out there, they'd come back with recommendation and suggestions for DEDICATED HT SPEAKER PACKAGES!!!..not traditional stereo music speaker choices!...ya think?!

The reason is this: Most people end up playing music in their HT rooms. If they have a seperate music room then oftentimes they like to be able to listen to quality music in the HT room as well.

A dedicated HT speaker just doesn't sound very good playing full range music. But a music speaker sounds excellent playing HT. Just my opinion of course.

Again, I just don't get it! Why do people continually consider mostly "music speaker designs" for their "dedicated home theater rigs!?"
If you look at what the pro reviewers are using for their reference HT rigs, you'll get a better perspective as to what works, and what doesn't! Keep to their chioces, and you'll get the best results I bet you!
If it ain't broke...don't fix it.

I agree with using larger speakers for the fronts if budget permits. Just make sure the drivers match the surround speakers you select.

True, dipoles emulate a diffused soundfield, but home theater is out running real movie theaters in the multi channel department. Dolby digital and dts are already at 7.1 formats and growing. These surround arrays are designed to image like the front channels, and the best results will be achieved by using identical speakers all the way around. As your system grows, simply add more monitors i.e. rear center speaker. Only use a dipole if your space is confined or installation will not permit the use of monitors or larger speakers. Make sure you mount the speakers so the high frequency drivers are about 2'-3' above the listeners head for proper results.

Get the Studio 60's, Studio CC, Studio 20's and a PW2200 Sub in the Paradigm. Should come out about the same price and offer a MUCH better theater experience. Trust me ;)

I'll offer an alternative perspective. If you like to listen to concert DVDs, etc., where the surround channels are recorded as part of the concert, then I agree with the above recommendations for identical speakers all around. But for the vast majority of movie soundtracks, the surround information is added after-the-fact and is independent of the front channel information. The sound engineer expects a diffuse surround field - most movie theaters have close to a dozen surround speakers. This is why many (most) surround speakers are designed as dipoles.

From my experience, these dipole wall-mounted surround speakers rarely come close to being timbre matched with their corresponding front channel speakers. (the Revel Ultima system I was using in my previous theater is a good example). But the good news is that this doesn't really detract from the home theater experience for the reasons discussed above.

The acoustic energy that your surround speakers must deliver is also significantly lower than the requirements of the front speakers. While you can get away with a monitor speaker for L/R/C, I've found that a full-range speaker at least for L/R will produce a sound that has more impact and is more involving than a monitor/sub. (I still highly recommend a sub for the LFE channel).

So, I'd recommend that you spend most of your money on the L/R/C/sub speakers, and just get some decent speakers for the surround speakers, not necessarily matching the L/R/C or even from the same manufacturer. In my new theater (http://www.jaytorborg.com/home_theather_main.htm), I'm using Revel F50/C50 for L/R/C and a two pairs of inexpensive B&W speakers for the surrounds.

I'm not familiar with the Triangle speakers, but I liked what I heard from the Paradigms.

Agree with Steuspeed, forget the big main speakers and stay with identical speakers all the way around for the best sound. Let the sub or subs do the bass. In a large room like that you might even want to go with monopoles in the rear, my room is a little larger than yours and this is what worked out best for me, all speakers are at equal distance to my listening area.

Consider the best 5 identical monitors/speakers you can buy and a sub instead. My 2 cent's.