can book shelves be used as surround speakers?

[designation]

hello all, my current home theater set up is got bose 301's for surround sounds, which are considered to be book shelves, its been 8 years i been using bose 301's now , so thinking of changing it to polk audio tsi 200, again a book shelf, is this better? or should i go for specified surround speakers? which would give better sound? a bi polar surrounds or a powerful book shelf? please advice.

 

[just4kix]

Yes. You can use them as surrounds. My only concern would be the size of the speakers for installing on the surround channel. They will take up more space - should not be a concern for a largish room.

 

[Audio_Freek]

What is your budget and room size, In case its small room then BS should be fine and Large once then FS is must but it can be decided only with your budget and also the AVR model which you are using

 

[koushik]

What is your budget and room size, In case its small room then BS should be fine and Large once then FS is must but it can be decided only with your budget and also the AVR model which you are using

I beg to differ. IMO Floorstander for surround speaker is kinda overkill (even in large room) for limited budget users as they hardly handle more signals than just creating ambiance. Front L&R and Center are where you like to spend more.

 

[Audio_Freek]

I beg to differ. IMO Floorstander for surround speaker is kinda overkill (even in large room) for limited budget users as they hardly handle more signals than just creating ambiance. Front L&R and Center are where you like to spend more.

IN 20*20 Room does any entry level BS can give enough Bass? for 10*10 or even 10*15 a BS should be fine, But STARTING FROM 15*15 room would prefer Entry level FS.

I reckon he has not bought Polk so hence i thought of suggesting him according to his room size.hyeah:

 

[devilwearsprada]

I beg to differ. IMO Floorstander for surround speaker is kinda overkill (even in large room) for limited budget users as they hardly handle more signals than just creating ambiance. Front L&R and Center are where you like to spend more.

True that, FS are not according to the size of the room itself, but indeed for what purpose/target are you using your HT for, it is indeed an overkill to use FS everywhere possible, Some budget Bookshelves give better Frequency response and better sound than same Price-Band FS.
And yes, Bookshelves can easily be used as surrounds, but as Kix Mentioned, take care of the size of the BS.

 

[koushik]

IN 20*20 Room does any entry level BS can give enough Bass? for 10*10 or even 10*15 a BS should be fine, But STARTING FROM 15*15 room would prefer Entry level FS.

Well, there is not much signal to be handled by the surround speakers. They create ambiance and effect of movement object and that too for a fraction of second or a bit more. Bass will be handled by Sub and not by surround speakers. If sub is not present Front L&R channel does the job not surround speakers. Believe me!

I am getting more than enough bass response using my B&W BS for music alone in a room of size 14.5 x 14.2 ft.

 

[just4kix]

Well, there is not much signal to be handled by the surround speakers. They create ambiance and effect of movement object and that too for a fraction of second or a bit more. Bass will be handled by Sub and not by surround speakers. If sub is not present Front L&R channel does the job not surround speakers. Believe me!

I am getting more than enough bass response using my B&W BS for music alone in a room of size 14.5 x 14.2 ft.

Nothing, not to believe.

In the AVR setup, there is setting for speakers:

Front (L+R): LARGE/SMALL/NONE
Center: LARGE/SMALL/NONE
Rear: LARGE/SMALL/NONE
Subwoofer: YES/NO

(*) LARGE/SMALL is not size or dimensions of the speakers. It is ability to handle low frequencies. LARGE speaker can handle very low frequencies while SMALL cannot.

If Front is set to SMALL, the center and rear default to SMALL, regardless of user setting. In some AVRs, the LARGE option is not displayed at all in this case. If Center or Rear is set to NONE or Sub-woofer is set to NO, the channels/frequescies are re-routed to Front.

 

[Audio_Freek]

If sub is not present Front L&R channel does the job not surround speakers. Believe me!

I am getting more than enough bass response using my B&W BS for music alone in a room of size 14.5 x 14.2 ft.

Point 1- At present the owner of Bose dont have Subwoofer hence he would be using the Fronts for Bass response.As of now he is thinking Polk BS to handle the fronts to handle the bass as well hence i asked to check out for Budget to own a Floor standers

Point 2- B&W BS is a one of the best brands in global market, so it will and should compromise the Money spent on same with good bass TOO.But we cant EXPECT ALL THE BS TO HANDLE THE BASS AS LIKE B&W BS does.
Am i making sense does a MS Aviano 2 can be compared with B&W 685 OR kef Q300 just all these speakers have a common sink as BS?

IMHO a good BS should give enough bass too along with mid and High, but for same we need to look for high end model.

FS normally have some extra bass compared to the same stage BS, but lack in Mid and High.

One thin i want to make clear.. STILL NOW I MENTIONING ONLY ABOUT PICKING OF FRONTS, it could be BS or FS ,but as of now the user has option to pick Polk.

 

[just4kix]

People often (mistakenly) think that because BS's are smaller in dimension than FS's, BS's cannot produce good bass or other frequency responses. This is not true. A 30K pair of bookshelf speakers can outperform a 50K pair of towers. This was proved in the recent HFV Navi Mumbai meet.

 

[Audio_Freek]

Nothing, not to believe.

In the AVR setup, there is setting for speakers:

Front (L+R): LARGE/SMALL/NONE
Center: LARGE/SMALL/NONE
Rear: LARGE/SMALL/NONE
Subwoofer: YES/NO

(*) LARGE/SMALL is not size or dimensions of the speakers. It is ability to handle low frequencies. LARGE speaker can handle very low frequencies while SMALL cannot.

If Front is set to SMALL, the center and rear default to SMALL, regardless of user setting. In some AVRs, the LARGE option is not displayed at all in this case. If Center or Rear is set to NONE or Sub-woofer is set to NO, the channels/frequescies are re-routed to Front.

Well said
Kowsik should be happy man to get all the Freq(High-low and Middle) in a small unit,which doesn't req even a sub for larger room, But its possible only by few speakers and not all BS will be deep in responding to Low frequencies

So Kowsik, Hope you never get bit by Upgrade BUG AS U OWN b&w'Shyeah:

 

[tanmayj]

hello all, my current home theater set up is got bose 301's for surround sounds, which are considered to be book shelves, its been 8 years i been using bose 301's now , so thinking of changing it to polk audio tsi 200, again a book shelf, is this better? or should i go for specified surround speakers? which would give better sound? a bi polar surrounds or a powerful book shelf? please advice.

As long as you take care of the impedance and the wattage and match them with your Bose amp/ receiver, you can use Polks.

I personally checked out the Polk TSi 100s against a Polk OWM 3. TSi 100 was miles ahead! Methinks it was because of the large cabinet that you get a nice depth to the sound.

 

[koushik]

People often (mistakenly) think that because BS's are smaller in dimension than FS's, BS's cannot produce good bass or other frequency responses. This is not true. A 30K pair of bookshelf speakers can outperform a 50K pair of towers. This was proved in the recent HFV Navi Mumbai meet.

+1 to that.

 

[koushik]

Well said
Kowsik should be happy man to get all the Freq(High-low and Middle) in a small unit,which doesn't req even a sub for larger room, But its possible only by few speakers and not all BS will be deep in responding to Low frequencies

So Kowsik, Hope you never get bit by Upgrade BUG AS U OWN b&w'Shyeah:

I wish I never get bit again, but you know what, no audiophile is immune to upgrade!

But one thing, B&W 602-S2 BS is not small unit, it has a 7" mid/bass driver and quite big compared to normal BS

 

[designation]

hello all,i'm sorry if i've caused you all any confusion, was it the question i asked that went all wrong? cause i still didnt get the right answer.anyways will repeat it in a much more detailed write up.
my home theater right now is-
1.amplifier-yamaha rxv 1400 a/v amp.
2.front speakers-wharfedale saphire 89,floor standers[200 watts rms @8 ohms].
3.center speaker-klipsch kv1.
4.surround speakers-bose 301.
5.back surrounds-bose 201
6.subwoofer-yamha yst315.
7.tv-hitachi 42 inch full hd plasma.
8.blu ray player-lg blu ray .
this is the current set up, right now i'm planning to change my surrounds that is bose 301's to polk audio tsi 200,which are book shelves, the question is should i go for dedicated surround speakers or book shelves?some one mentioned floor standers for surrounds,floor standers already in the front so why again in the surrounds? plese do give your opinions and suggestions.

 

[designation]

Yes. You can use them as surrounds. My only concern would be the size of the speakers for installing on the surround channel. They will take up more space - should not be a concern for a largish room.

bose 301's are being used now as surrounds which are book shelve size and tsi 200's are the same size as bose 301.so size is not the concern.

 

[designation]

What is your budget and room size, In case its small room then BS should be fine and Large once then FS is must but it can be decided only with your budget and also the AVR model which you are using[/QUOTE.its for surrounds not front speakers,why do you need floor standers for surrounds?

 

[Audio_Freek]

Go with Good Surrounds ,that will enhance your Movie Experience.Anyways the Bookshelf also can be used, but as you have budget go with di\bi Pole speakers

A small Quote " If you didn't commit any mistake, it means you have never tried something new".I always like to be a newbie learning things though get some tough times.


, Healthy debates and discussions are the Heart beat of such forum, Though we argue atlast will come to \agree to right decision as we all are "MUSIC fans in common"

 

[designation]

What is your budget and room size, In case its small room then BS should be fine and Large once then FS is must but it can be decided only with your budget and also the AVR model which you are using

it's for surrounds not fronts, why do you need floor standers for surrounds? i already have huge floor standers in the front [wharfedale saphire 89].

 

[Audio_Freek]

What is your budget and room size, In case its small room then BS should be fine and Large once then FS is must but it can be decided only with your budget and also the AVR model which you are using[/QUOTE.its for surrounds not front speakers,why do you need floor standers for surrounds?

My apologies for confusion.
:sad: