Advise needed for mixing HT speaker.

Hi All master, need some advise b4 getting my HT speakers.

My question,

Q1. Is it a must of having the whole set of 5.0 with same series or same brand.manufacturer? (Sub will be purchase later due to limited fund).

Q2. Is it true that at least the Front Left, Center & Front Right at least from same company but prefer it from the same series/range?

Q3. Can i mix the brand? i.e. Front Left, Center & Front Right from company A & surround from Company B & eventually sub woofer from company C

Q4. If answer from Q3 is yes then is it alright to mix higher range/more expensive Front Left, Center & Front Right with cheaper/really cheap surround speaker? i.e SF Toy Tower (FLR) & Center with MS 903i for surround or Dali Ikon 6 & Vokal 2 with wharfedale Diamond 10.1 as surround.

Any feedback or opinion are welcome. Thanks in advance. Cheers.

bro ambg,

if posible try to use same model for all the speaker to get same balance frequency...

Q3 - can also there is nothing wrong actually..

for movie lover subwoofer is a must laa but its depending also ur room size,how bout buy front+sub 1st..

same brand only for timbre matching but not a must. also good to look at la when all same brand. center speaker is very important for ht. 60% output will be here. if u r to buy in order get front, then center, add sub and finally surround.

i have a friend who's using psb imagine for front, focus audio fcc2 for center, velodyne for sub and donno what crap for surround. it still sounded balance coz that u can fine tune from avr.

Thanks for both fizi & arremie comment & feedback so it is safe to mix higher end front LR & center with lower end sourround (aroud or sub 1K in price).


Will onkyo working well with Dali/SF/Paradigm (either front LR & center) and wharfedale/MS surround? or prefer others brand AVR with those been mentioned. TQ.

what if its differents impedance? like center is 8ohm, L/R is 6ohm together with rear? or vice versa?

No prob as long as your AVR can handle 4-8 ohm but do consult your manual. Some low end AVR can only run 4 ohm front speakers only if other channels not in use.

bro ambg..r u wanna set up at living hall or inside a room...for movie onkyo should be the best and the price not sky hi (depend on the model also)...for movie+music marantz can be consider...for the same performance wise denon will a bit expensive from the 2 brands..

r u going to set full HD system or just play normal DVD..

bro ambg...if got litle xtra budget y not to consider european AVR..

fulamak, racun harman kardon akan berlangsung sebentar lagi

azri wrote:fulamak, racun harman kardon akan berlangsung sebentar lagi

harmon kardon x macam dulu,,sekarang lebih mantap!...heheheehehe...if bro ambg only enjoy normal dvd try to look 4 ARCAM AVR...

arcam avr....the price make me tag tail n run

arremie wrote:arcam avr....the price make me tag tail n run

try look for used or display set or NOS...hehheheehe

my AVR200 blow up denon 3 series , marantz 7 series n onkyo 7 series....
once europe never turn back to japan...but who ever like new gadgets can go for japan avr very cun lor...

bro azri point do make sense, will check on the going to
purchase AVR compatibility (impendence /ohm) requirement on
various speaker usage (coz might use it for 2.0 while
listening to CD).

Also thanks for arremie & fizi feedback, just to make it clearer (as per asked by bro fizi) the setup will be used in my living hall for the going to be moved in house (currently still in plan submission stage, coz got some reno to be done) i think will only be able to move in after 4
months ++ from now. Exact size need to go home check the plan
first.

My current aim is eyeing at Onkyo 608 (due to its price &
feature + 3D ready though own non of the 3D TV nor Blu-ray
palyer yet). The others options in mind is Yamaha maybe 667
series (not avaiable in bolehland yet). Marantz seems to be
out of my budget (based on similar spec/feature offered) so
don't even mentioned Arcam/NAD (european AVR).Is Denon
comparable to Yamaha especially in stereo CD/Music
reproduction (direct mode)?

My current sources are those mkv (movie & series), mt2n (movie & concert) & some RMVB (HK series) via PC & Pioneer HTiB to HD ready Panny 42" PV80.

The planning to be HT system is aim for Full HD setup
eventually that's why i'm trying to build with AVR + 5.0 and new 50" FHD plasma for the new home and that's why no more
fund for the Sub-woofer for the time being.

Going back to the original question, is it o.k to spend more (i.e : 10 : 1 ratio on Front Left/Righ Centre with surround speaker)?

Also the matching of speaker manufacturer/brand, for instant (based on those in mind),
Front : Dali Ikon tower or Paradigm Monitor Tower or SF Toy Tower
Center : Dali Vokal 2, Paradigm Monitor Center, SF Toy Center
Surround : MS903i or wharfy Diamond 10.1 (sub 1K surround).

It is hard to try out that combination (compatibility) as i
don't think those Front/Centre & surround brand i mentioned
can be audition under one roof (with same interconnect &
speaker cable).

Still bugging me with, will any of these work?
Dali with MS or Wharfy
Paradigm with MS or Wharfy
SF Toy series with MS or Wharfy
......

bro, i prefer u buy onkyo or harman kardon....if ur living hall is big better look for floor stand for front speaker n subwoofer is a must...
why u crack ur head bout the dali,toy,ms or warfe....

for 1 time investment...i really like the mirage omni series 350/550 (front) C150 (center)....really enjoy the sound very much..try to audition during hifi show @ desa home theater booth...good luck

also can consider mordaunt short mezzo series...the best subwoofer for me is still velodyne...

ur mix and match speaker set up quite expensive also..sonus toy series also expensive lor...

anyway is ur pocket laa...

p/s-most of the av seller will set up same speaker model in the showroom..

Just get yourself whole set of Klipsch Ref IV. What model you want depends on your budget and listening area. If you have a weak heart don't watch creepy movie with this speakers haha. The details is amazing

arremie, you own Klipsch? How it perform on music, stereo (beside of Movie)? TQ.

BTW where i can audition Monitor Audio, the RX series, mind to share?

Also can bro fizi, azri & arremie pm your usual "shopping" location/shop and the person to look for? and normally what options/bands they carry coz first timer afraid of being "Slaughter" if approach wrong sale person.......

Klipsch not bad with music. I'm still using RF62 solely for my stereo music being a high db speaker very easy to drive even with a 12wpc tube amp. Excellent high (horn tweeter), very good bass, good enough for mid. RF63 will be excellent all around but the price will be doubled haha.

My regular shop is A&L Amcorp Mall. You go there and find Hew. Tell him Remy sent you and he will give you 50% discount hahaha

Just kidding but with him you won't get slaughtered. You can audition Dali there. They got Yamaha and Marantz AVR also. For Klipsch you can contact htkaki from this forum.

encik ambg, to me, front speaker must be floorstander, center must be off good quality like kef Q & such. Surround can be small bookshelf like usher or even the expensive one off course bose double cube, but not sure if can get bi polar effects with those. if not, than gale or jamo bi polar can be use as well.

if you asked me i would rather go for different makers as i prefer different looks but almost same appearance & color/theme like black gloss paint & such. i would prefer single driver floorstander for main, as twin or triple drivers will kill the subs low freq. at least twin mid driver like focal or triple drivers for center like kef iQ6, if you have a dedicated rooms pls place this on a stand & it will look so cool. ELAC pun cun. as for surround theres not much hassle because theres heaps of small bookshelf with 4" drivers that can be use. last but not least the sub.. now this is subjectives as i dont have any specific design to suggest.

my shop ? Ebay lorrrrr

azri wrote:i would prefer single driver floorstander for main, as twin or triple drivers will kill the subs low freq

Actually twin or triple driver better when listening to stereo music and you don't want to use sub. As for movie this is where low frequency crossover come into picture by sending low frequency below certain value (for example 80hz) to sub so speakers will only receive 80hz and above.

music lain setup maaa.. but its up to owners coz i dont mix them..

u org kaya can have multiple system

org marjerin or peanut butter oso can

forgot to mention mr ambg, for you information, HT setups are now moving towards in-wall speakers. many of users tend to sell their precious surround system & stuff in all the speakers in the wall & looks like cinema setup. at least thats the trends over here & hi fidelity speaker makers have options on this as well.. wonder how will that be possible in bolehland as its wooden wall over here & brick wall in malaysia. fyi

Can't affort to get another set for music coz already running on a pair of Chario Ssilhouette 200, old Yamaha RXV590RDS as amp, Technics SLPG580A as source.(may be few months to a year time down the road coz next in line will be the sub woofer).

That's why currently looking on HT setup with Musical capability and try to get mixture from both world....(60% of Movie, 20% of Concert & 20% of CD/Stereo) thus leaning towards spending more on FrontLR & Center & less emphasis on surround (& sub woofer).

Will skip the in wall speaker coz might not my cup of tea......... but thanks for suggestion anyway...

Q1. Is it a must of having the whole set of 5.0 with same series or same brand.manufacturer? (Sub will be purchase later due to limited fund).

- Ideally, yes to get the perfect seamless panning effect from any of these speakers since the timbre matching will be exact.

Q2. Is it true that at least the Front Left, Center & Front Right at least from same company but prefer it from the same series/range?

- Yes, preferably in this way to get timbre matching. You would want a sound that travels from right to center then to left channel with a sudden distinct tonal difference.

Q3. Can i mix the brand? i.e. Front Left, Center & Front Right from company A & surround from Company B & eventually sub woofer from company C

- Subwoofer is less of a problem as pointed out by arremie. The rest as per my above answers. Since it is doing the LFE, it should be able to blend well unless it is being set up incorrectly.

Here, I would like to highlight that subwoofer placement is not as easy as it seems. You need to get the best spot to maximize its potential. Put it in somewhere that potentially cause a null at your seating position, then you get lack of bass.

Subwoofer crawl is the best 'remedy' to get the best placement.

Phase setting is also important to get blends in with the rest of the loudspeakers.


Q4. If answer from Q3 is yes then is it alright to mix higher range/more expensive Front Left, Center & Front Right with cheaper/really cheap surround speaker? i.e SF Toy Tower (FLR) & Center with MS 903i for surround or Dali Ikon 6 & Vokal 2 with wharfedale Diamond 10.1 as surround.

- Depending on your preference. I personally prefer the SF for its audio quality especially for music. Btw, these minute speakers can go really loud.

Dali Ikon is a bit bright and not not as musical as SF. However, it is quite power efficient.

In wall speaker is still not that popular here. You need to hack the brick walls to install them or you need to a stud wall to house them. By doing so, the cost is not cheap over here. It may look tidy and cool but at a cost.

Secondly, quite a number of people like to see their loudspeakers in their HT / Living area. Some people prefers to have some 'flexibility' in a sense of maximizing the loudspeakers by experimenting with placement. In-wall does not allow you to do that.

Then, there are people who buy it partly as 'decorative' furniture to show to their peers.

Anyway, it all boils down to personal's taste or preference. I prefer to have the loudspeakers in the 'traditional enclosure'. Can move it around and when I want to upgrade, I need not have headache with the dimension. In-wall, you need to think or probably hack the wall again.