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Floorstanders or bookshelf for surrounds?


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I wasn't under the impression that a lot of LF information was sent to rear speakers? That being the case I typically chose higher quality standmounts vs floor standers ($$$ wasted on cabinetry and extra drivers that weren't needed).

Also, the flexibility of being able to buy a stand that puts the speaker at ear height as opposed to whatever you get stuck with for a floorstander).

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The gold standard for surround music is 5 matching speakers. If you do a lot of multi channel music, then get surrounds which match the fronts.

 

There are some 4 channel music releases e.g. Chicago Quadio which will benefit from matching fronts and surrounds but there are not that many around. And sub recommended to be off.

 

For movies, I doubt getting floor standers will improve the experience.

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56 minutes ago, anewmission said:

But during movies its kind of nice have the sound of sirens or a helicopter coming from up high or just where you wouldnt expect

You do not need floor standers to achieve that.  Any decent surround and ceiling (for Atmos) speakers will do.  The key is to have a good AVR with sufficient power and good room correction software.  By the way, what are you using for an AVR?

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As I mentioned earlier,  surround floor standers may be of benefit for multi channel music. But overkill for movies.  

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14 minutes ago, anewmission said:

At the moment im just using a cheap yamaha avr/dsp pre outs into some power amps. Doesnt have atmos or dtsx

Rather than looking at whether you should use floor standers for surround use, suggest starting a new post asking for inputs on how to improve your movie experience.  I think you will get better value by improving the weakest part of your system rather than splurge on floor standing surrounds.

 

Start with what you have and what you are looking to do and what the budget is, also details of your room  Areas for improvement could be getting Atmos AVR + ceiling speakers,  get dual subs, better front and centre speakers, new player, new TV/projector etc.  Yes, it all takes money and you will need to prioritise what is important for you.

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1 minute ago, anewmission said:

Haha well u am starting to realize as a lover of both music and movies that i need two completely different systems in two seperate rooms. 

If you are serious about music, it needs dedicated 2CH components.  However, you can share the mains with a setup like this:

image.png.da2c4e66f26607202a7d736ce79905bf.png

6 minutes ago, anewmission said:

 I feel my amps sre the weakest link

Rather than provide small bits info of your set up, suggest providing a more complete picture of your system and your HT chain.  

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Pioneer kuro 60" mission front and centre speakers 2 wharfedale 10" subwoofers. Yamaha avr with pre outs to bryston power amplifiers. My surround speakers have been changing for the past few weeks. I have a pair of accusound floorstanders that i really like. I dont know if its a fluke but these things sound amazing. I got them fir $36 off ebay. Haha they literally are the so good. I wish i could find the matching centre speaker. My other system is a 2 channel analog system with an rme babyface pro dac and tidal streaming. Vinyl and tape machine

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13 minutes ago, anewmission said:

Pioneer kuro 60" mission front and centre speakers 2 wharfedale 10" subwoofers. Yamaha avr with pre outs to bryston power amplifiers. My surround speakers have been changing for the past few weeks. I have a pair of accusound floorstanders that i really like. I dont know if its a fluke but these things sound amazing. I got them fir $36 off ebay. Haha they literally are the so good. I wish i could find the matching centre speaker. My other system is a 2 channel analog system with an rme babyface pro dac and tidal streaming. Vinyl and tape machine

If you already own the floor standers and can use them as your surrounds, not sure why you started this thread?  Your ears are always the best judge.  If they sound good to you, that is all that matters.

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Floorstanders can be good in a HT, it is certainly better if the rears are brand/timbre matched to the front three (as has been pointed out), but not as critical as the front three being matched IMO.

 

Noting what you have said, is it feasible to raise the height of the floorstanders, where the drivers are higher ?? Ie potentaially build a cheap box, or even use cinder blocks or similar (even a bunch of hardback novels to trial it) to raise the height to see if you get the best of both worlds.

 

The possible negative in raising the floorstanders may be reduced bass, but it will still be a bigger sound than the bookshelf or surround speaker.

 

Potentiallyworth a try as it is cheap.

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