Which surround for pleasant movie experience

[sandeeprawat]

I am looking to extend my Audio setup by adding surround speakers and looking for advice from fellow audiophile.

My existing setup is Pioneer VSX823 + Zensor 5 and I like the system. Now want to add 2 surrounds to enjoy 5.1 movies.

Budget: Would like to spend no more than 20-25K (lower the better as I don't watch that many movies)

No brand preferences. I believe Zensor 1 would pair well with existing set but I am not really sure if it would be a VFM.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Don't mind good condition used speakers either.

Thanks for the help

 

[Naturelover]

You will definitely need a centre channel which should be the Zensor. That would be a little above 20k I believe. Surrounds should ideally be the Zensor 1 but you could very well go for something cheaper though preferably of similar driver size and construction.

 

[rainmaker]

Ideally all 5 should be the same speakers which may not look great to many. Atleast get the front channels all the same, the rears can be cheaper ones. Most of the time, your center channel is the one who does the heavy lifting. Do you already have a subwoofer? If not get a sub rather than surrounds. That will give you more bang for the buck in terms of sound improvement

 

[RajithKumar]

In my opinion better to go with Dali zensor 1 & centre so that it gels good...

 

[AKT]

Sandeep, I have traveled through similar continuum a couple of years ago. I started with B&W 685 fronts. Added B&W HTM62 center channel few months later and almost immediately a Cambridge Soundworks P300HD sub-woofer. I was completely tapped out of cash by now and still no surrounds!

I was dabbling between di/bi polar speakers vs B&W recommended 686. Here is my learning.

1. If the requirement is mostly music (up to 80%), I had already over-spent by now. Do NOT buy no surrounds!

2. If the movie watching area does not have a wall at least 2' behind the last row of seating furniture, DO NOT buy di/bi poles. The polar speakers should go on a wall directly behind you at a little above your ear level. My setup is open at the rear and culminates into an open kitchen

3. If an angel investor is not funding the setup; Do NOT go for book-shelves on the rear. They however sound very good for multi-channel music and that was the reason B&W was suggesting 686s to me.

4. Now with the process of elimination, I was left with satellites. I went with a bass heavy satellite - Def Tech Promonitor 1000 pair (it sports bass radiators) and have been quite satisfied.

 

[spandan414]

I have a pair of Polk OWM3s. They work really well as surrounds and have a relatively small footprint compared to bookshelfs. PM me, if you are interested.

 

[rainmaker]

4. Now with the process of elimination, I was left with satellites. I went with a bass heavy satellite - Def Tech Promonitor 1000 pair (it sports bass radiators) and have been quite satisfied.

While i agree to most of your other points, this one does not make sense. For surrounds, You are only going to listen to signals >150hz - 200hz so why do you need a bass heavy satellite? It will be an overkill, if you ask me. Any cheap ones will do.

 

[AKT]

While i agree to most of your other points, this one does not make sense. For surrounds, You are only going to listen to signals >150hz - 200hz so why do you need a bass heavy satellite? It will be an overkill, if you ask me. Any cheap ones will do.

Well it was the closest compromise. Call me penny wise pound foolish - I cringe at rear speakers, but buy an Oppo BDP 105 and never play a single SACD or music DVD, save for the first month.

I see you have Def Tech yourself..

 

[dheerajin]

in the said budget , IMO dont think of matching the brands , there is a sale for center and surround speaker in your city for 6k+8k and be done with.

Remaining budget you can add sonodyne sub

http://www.hifivision.com/sale-owner/62486-marantz-nr1402-hk-3490-few-speakers.html

cheers

 

[rainmaker]

Well it was the closest compromise. Call me penny wise pound foolish - I cringe at rear speakers, but buy an Oppo BDP 105 and never play a single SACD or music DVD, save for the first month.

I see you have Def Tech yourself..

The def techs got demoted from being FR/FL The dipoles were always my rears though, they don't go down much.

By the way do you see the PQ on the Oppo being significantly superior? Do you have the 105D or the normal one? I've always been on the fence on buying a 103D(big fan of darbee). I currently have way too many BD players(PS3/4, Xbox1, Panasonic DMP-BDT500P) to justify buying another one.

 

[sunilkm]

3. If an angel investor is not funding the setup; Do NOT go for book-shelves on the rear. They however sound very good for multi-channel music and that was the reason B&W was suggesting 686s to me.

Please throw some details why NO for bookshelf surrounds.
Isn't it easy to do the placement compared to dipoles/bipoles etc?

I am in the same situation and planning for bookshelf surrounds.

 

[rainmaker]

Please throw some details why NO for bookshelf surrounds.
Isn't it easy to do the placement compared to dipoles/bipoles etc?

I am in the same situation and planning for bookshelf surrounds.

Nothing much wrong in getting bookshelves for surrounds. Ideally all your speakers should be the same What he probably meant is that you should save money and get something cheaper as it may not make much difference in a HT setup.

One thing to note: Most bookshelves are very directional which will make the user localise the source of sound easily, which kind of beats the purpose of the surround channel. A speaker with a wider dispersion pattern is more preferable because of this (dipole/bipoles etc)

 

[AKT]

By the way do you see the PQ on the Oppo being significantly superior? Do you have the 105D or the normal one? I've always been on the fence on buying a 103D(big fan of darbee). I currently have way too many BD players(PS3/4, Xbox1, Panasonic DMP-BDT500P) to justify buying another one.

Due respect to the thread and sorry for hijacking it. I would keep it short.
You would see a significant difference in picture quality moving from your existing players to Oppo (assuming you have a good TV/projector). This becomes more apparent when up-scaling from a lower resolution source. However, in your case do not buy 103. If you must, go for 105.
If you need elaboration, pl PM me or put me on another relevant thread. Will be happy to share my experience.

 

[sandeeprawat]

Sandeep, I have traveled through similar continuum a couple of years ago. I started with B&W 685 fronts. Added B&W HTM62 center channel few months later and almost immediately a Cambridge Soundworks P300HD sub-woofer. I was completely tapped out of cash by now and still no surrounds!

I was dabbling between di/bi polar speakers vs B&W recommended 686. Here is my learning.

1. If the requirement is mostly music (up to 80%), I had already over-spent by now. Do NOT buy no surrounds!

2. If the movie watching area does not have a wall at least 2' behind the last row of seating furniture, DO NOT buy di/bi poles. The polar speakers should go on a wall directly behind you at a little above your ear level. My setup is open at the rear and culminates into an open kitchen

3. If an angel investor is not funding the setup; Do NOT go for book-shelves on the rear. They however sound very good for multi-channel music and that was the reason B&W was suggesting 686s to me.

4. Now with the process of elimination, I was left with satellites. I went with a bass heavy satellite - Def Tech Promonitor 1000 pair (it sports bass radiators) and have been quite satisfied.

As always, it only gets more confusing

There is almost no space behind seating position. And Front towers are 8-9 Feet in front. Any ideas if polar or BS gonna be helpful in this position or should I should simply skip 4.0 and instead get a sub and be content with 2.1 (for now).
I could be wrong but I dont' really see much use of center at least for now.

 

[manoj.p]

Sandeep,

Keep it simple. Use smaller bookshelf (4" to 6" drivers) for surround duty and those are actually preferred compared to dipole or satellite speakers. Closer they sound to fronts, better is the surround sound experience.

 

[efernand1]

Hi Sandeep,

If there is no space after the seating area...possibly a BS or polar may not do ample justice.. This means then you may have to mount them at the sides of the listening area....

Another option would be to use Cube type speakers which you can angle to the seating area possibly close to ear level to enjoy the surround experience...

Options (Bose Cubes, Boston Soundware, Telome Cubes, other available brands..)

 

[manoj.p]

The surround speakers are intended to be on the side. It's not a compromise.

Dolby: 5.1 Speaker Setup Guide
THX: Surround Sound Speaker Set Up

 

[sandeeprawat]

Anyone tried wharfedale 220 (210)? Any idea if it will pair fine with my Z5/VSX823?

 

[rainmaker]

Surrounds need not necessarily timbre match with your front 3. you should be fine.