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Surround Channel Speaker Recommendations

I have recently added HT to my audio system, and I have a question regarding surround channel speaker recommendations. My mains are Thiel CS3.6's, and my center channel is a Thiel SCS3. For surrounds, I have two older AR bookshelf speakers available, either TSW 110's or the satellites from the SAT 660 trio. While these sound great on their own, they don't match up well sonically to the Thiel's. Should I even worry about this in a surround setting? Most of my critical listening is done in 2-channel stereo, and quite honestly, I haven't noticed a whole lot going on in the movies that I have listened to which would require top notch performance out of the surrounds. However, I did pick up the Led Zepplin DVD, and that was the first time that I really noticed that my surrounds weren't blending with the mains very well.

Ideally, a pair of SCS3's, or Thiel PCS would be ideal, but I don't have the funds to go that route just yet. Floor standing speakers are not an option in this room. Should I try a decent, lower priced speaker, like the Paradigm Titan or PSB Alpha, or should I save up for a pair of SCS3's? Also, are their any recommendations of DVDs out there that really show off the surround channels that I should check out?

Thanks, Tom.
tombowlus
6 responses Add your response
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
For movies you can probably make just about anything work. However if you are interested in high quality multichannel music, identical speakers/amps are important for best results.

The official multichannel party line is that dipole speakers are a no-no, but my personal experience does not support this.
tombowlus OP
416 posts
 
Man, I hadn't even thought about the dipole issue. I may need to do some more research. Any thoughts on dipoles that would match well with Thiels?

Thanks, Tom.
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tdaudio
201 posts
 
I agree with Rsuminsby. Matching surrounds is very nice but may not be manditory. Consider that most movie sound tracks do not tax the surrounds much. BUT, you may consentrate on the material that does. I watch a lot of drama with the spouse; surrounds are not so important. It will be a bit different with music material and action movies.

Another consideration is seating. I have a large room with multiple seating areas. Dipole surrounds work better since I dont have one or two seating positions.

BTW I use fairly high end JBL dipole surrounds (two way, 4 drivers, horns no less) with Dunlavys SC4As and SMG center.
Works good for HT. But I listen to music via 2 channel.

TD
rsuminsby's avatar
rsuminsby
152 posts
 
I'll take some exeption to the previous post...I use Atlantic Tech 454 surrounds with my Thiel 2.3/MCS1 system, and while the timbre match isn't perfect, I still get a very satisfying HT experience. Sure, I'd like to have Powerpoints some day, but I'm happy for now.

I'd suggest hawking the 'gon for an inexpensive pair of dipole surrounds and trying those out (some people swear by monopole, others insist on dipole...to each his own.)
kennyt's avatar
kennyt
1,226 posts
 
Stick with the Thiels, wait if you must to buy the matching speakers to what you have. Surrounds ARE important in HT, and using different speakers will cause balance shifts that can get really annoying during movies. I've heard the powerr points and they do quite nicely.
restonrex
3 posts
 
Another center channel option you might want to thing about is the Magnepan CC3. I've got Thiel 2.3's up front, Thiel 2.0's in rear and the Magnepan CC3 in the center and have been please with the sound for both movies and 5 channel SACD.
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