FS + AVR enough?

[jack7]

Hi folks,

I'm a newbie here and I keep running through recommendations for low budget HTS, don't go for soundbars or HTib's but buy a good AVR and two Front speakers (preferably floor standing) and slowly add the reaming components to them.

My question is, I've heard that 70% of a movies vocals comes out of the centre speakers, wouldn't you miss all that if you just had a left and right? Or are people telling you to configure you're speakers to channel the centre speakers to the left/right speakers too?

Sorry for being ignorant, I'm just warming myself for a purchase sooner or later and thought I'll educate myself before I jump.

 

[corElement]

In this day and age with the advent of dts MA and dolby true hd, film makers take advantage of technology to provide a more dynamic and versatile home theatre experience.

They are able to assign complete channel information in an uncompressed format vs compressed format as one would find with dolby pro logic and dolby digital plus.

In regards to your question regarding what if you had just a left and a right, in the past with dolby pro logic this would get blended to the front left and right channels, however with present day HD formats it's all data instead of analog signal. So the blending of the center to the front left and right with a dolby true hd or dts MA yields much higher quality sound as compared to the signal getting forcibly separated and sliced to front left and right.

I would say you should just go ahead and buy yourself the best budget home theatre available in India - the onkyo ht - s3500 for around 25k and don't look back. You will not regret it.

However if MUSIC is on your mind, that's an entirely different ball game.

Stereo is very very different from home theatre and takes a different mindset to understand and accept the nature of stereo vs the wall of sound all around as one finds in a home theatre.

 

[Santy]

My question is, I've heard that 70% of a movies vocals comes out of the centre speakers, wouldn't you miss all that if you just had a left and right? Or are people telling you to configure you're speakers to channel the centre speakers to the left/right speakers too?

Sorry for being ignorant, I'm just warming myself for a purchase sooner or later and thought I'll educate myself before I jump.

It is very much possible to watch movies with multi-channel audio in it, with just two speakers, without losing any sound. But if you ask me, its a BIG compromise. People who say I enjoy movies with two speakers either have not heard a good surround sound system or they don't have money to build a good HT. Sorry for being harsh but that's the truth.:indifferent14:

Yes, to begin with, FS+ AVR is the right step as many would follow. You can still watch movies with all audio channels downmixed by the AVR into two speakers. It may perform decently for music too. Once that is in place, you can later go for the centre, then either the sub or surrounds depending on your preference.

Coming to your question, don't worry you will not miss any sound in such a setup. The surround sound is downmixed by the AVR automatically (or manually) when the other speakers are not connected ie centre/sub/surround. The dialogues may not be as crisp as it would be with a dedicated centre but I am sure you won't miss the action. Hope it clarifies.

 

[jack7]

thanks guys for your inputs. Going through the other threads around, I'm now thinking a complete 5.1 system should be the right way to go.

 

[sarge_in]

The main difference in having a center vs not having it is localization of dialog from seating points that are not almost in the middle of left and right speakers. Center speaker carries most of the dialog in movies and having the center speaker 'centers' that dialog to the screen so it feels like dialog is coming from where you see the person on the screen. If seating positions are only in the approximate middle of left and right speakers, this can give a pretty decent effect similar to having a center channel (depending on how good the speakers are). This effect gets increasingly compromised as the seating position is moved away from the center of the speakers. So if you have people sitting off-center, it is strongly recommended to have the center speaker to maintain the visualization of sound coming from the screen.

Having said that, it is a personal decision to invest all money at once in slightly cheaper 5.1 at the outset, or to invest over time in better quality speakers starting with L and R. Ultimate goal for HT is to have 5.1 that will provide all the sound effects as intended.

 

[prosenjit]

when I play hd audio(say star movies hd) in my htib and real surround is in action....just after that i play 2 channel pcm(from my mrdia player who outputs only 2 channel stereo and cant bitstream) and the avr outputs only into left and right front(centre and sw and surrounds remain silent)....I really really miss the previous case..
so for movies a 5.1 channel is a must.
but yes as the budget allows u can go for 2 fs and avr first and upgrade later.
and as mentioned in the prvs posts if u are into stereo music set up thats a diffrent case.....

 

[Audio_Freek]

thanks guys for your inputs. Going through the other threads around, I'm now thinking a complete 5.1 system should be the right way to go.

Jack,

Going directly to 5.1 set-up would cost you more than wat you planned.Get a best receiver for your Room size with a FS or BS initially and enjoy for sometime, once you feel for upgrade then just purchase a center and Rear speakers according to the receiver.

You may miss the accurate Movie feel in Stereo, but this is only for some category of films Like, Adventures, thriller,action type not for Drama or comedy or Romance or documentary films..

So enjoy these type movies along with your Music collection until u ready with full HT set-up

In short- If you like to make HT- make best; its not matter on one time purchase or Upgrade


All the best