quote:
Originally posted by Nathan
It's better to mix and match. If you hear these and then compare them to someone else's equivalent system with their own speaker choice then you will see what I mean.
Actually I wouldn't do that if you want proper sound, unless you know what you're doing.
Sometimes certain speakers need a special driver to get the most out of them. Mix-n-matching will work in such cases, you will hear sound, but you will have better sound if you stay with the brand and, even better, with the devices which are compatible with eachother.
Of course, it all depends on what brands you want, what types of speakers, etc, etc... Some can be mix-n-matched without any problem, but some not, so read the specs before you buy something to 'match' in your 'mix'...
Also, it is certainly not so that all complete systems (amp/reciever + speakers) are cheaply build. In fact, I wouldn't know any complete system like that. I mean, cheaply build in such a way that it breaks in no time, or is just rubbish. Especially if you're talking about the well established home brands like Sony, Philips, etc. and the higher range brands like Bose, etc...
But also note that many brands outsource their stuff (inlcuding well established names). So actually it doesn't realy matter what well known brand you pick. Audio is a very very matured technology and most stuff is already 'good' (for the home user), even in the lower budget brands.
If you find a nice complete system to your likings I would buy it instead of mix-n-matching.
But go hear it in action, preferable in a similar room as yours(!), otherwise in the store... This is very important! And pay special attention to the lower and higher frequencies at high volumes, and to normal speech (because the human ear can very easly detect if some speech is/sounds live or if it is recorded); the sound should be played without any distortion or without sounding strange or off.
Especially if you want something budget-friendly system, but still some quality...
If you don't find anything to your (hearing) taste or the decent speakers you want are too expensive, then you could go for a slightly cheaper system and buy a graphic equalizer with it. With that you can shape the sound like you want. Of course you can't make quality sound out of poor sound, but you can change the sound curve like you want which is quite often all you need for a home setup.
If you go mix-n-matching then make absolute sure that you buy speakers with an impedance which matches the impedance of the output channels of your amplifier/reciever.
eg: if your amp output is rated 8 ohm, you must use speakers which are also 8 ohm, thus:
1 speaker of 8 ohm per channel, or
2 speakers of 4 ohm in series per channel, or
2 speakers of 16 ohm in parallel per channel.
Also pay attention that you connect to plus with the plus and the minus with the minus, both on your speakers as on your amp!
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Also something about wireless: don't... really... please... DON'T
Not only _will_ it interfear with stuff, other stuff _will_ also interfear with the system. This is something for certain! It might not happen directly, but it will sooner or later. eg: even your lights in the room can interfear with it.
And another ("insiders") note: be carefull with _anything_ you buy these days which is wireless. The world of wireless devices is majorly going to change in a few years (around the entire world) and a lot of stuff which will work now, will stop working in a few years time (starting in 2009) when a lot of the frequencies used in todays devices are going to change. (if not all, since all those things work on permit-free frequencies on the UHF and VHF bands, and it are those which are going to change mostly).....
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quote:
Originally posted by ipab
The other thing you have to consider is: does your house have the right spacing to experience 5.1.
Actually, that is a very good point. It is of no use to buy a surround sound system if you do not have the room for it.
Remember that, in order to experience good surround sound, you need to have certain distances between your speakers and you need to sit in the middle.
If you can't do that, then it is better do invest in some decent 'normal' speakers (thus stereo) and a good amplifier/reciever and graphic equalizer.
quote:
Originally posted by ipab
if you have ever watched a movie in true 5.1, you'll realize that the back 2 speakers are pretty much there for extra sound effects and such, nothing too major.
Then you haven't much watch decent movies with utalize all channels properly. The rear ones aren't just to fill up the soundscape. In good surround sound movies they do a lot more and are used a lot more. Most movies which indicate 5.1 are quite often not realy mastered for surround but just tuned up and mixed a bit so they use the different channels a bit more, but that's it.
Unfortunatly there isn't a label or something which indicates "this movie uses the back channels properly to let you experience a stampede of bizons behind your left side, or a guy shouting in your back passing from right to left, or a car running you over", or whatever.
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... I will update when I get home though 
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