Surround speakers the same size - question

Archived from groups: rec.audio.opinion,rec.audio.tech (More info?)

I read a few years back that surround speakers had to be the same
brand and the same size for true surround sound effect.
I see now that some surround sound speakers are of the same brand but
in mixed sizes such as fall standing speakers for the left front and
right front speakers with book self speakers as the rear speakers and
a different shaped center speakers.
I'd be interested in knowing if there are any real advantages in
having speakers of the same size (eg satellite speakers)?
If the fronr pair of speakers were of a different brand (and better
quality) than the rest of the speakers can this cause any problems in
a surround sound speaker set up?

Regards Brian

Archived from groups: rec.audio.opinion,rec.audio.tech (More info?)

"Brian" <bclark@es.co.nz> wrote in message
news:m96751tgi6pphqpved7huqduoq596qu3vj@4ax.com...
> I read a few years back that surround speakers had to be the same
> brand and the same size for true surround sound effect.
> I see now that some surround sound speakers are of the same brand but
> in mixed sizes such as fall standing speakers for the left front and
> right front speakers with book self speakers as the rear speakers and
> a different shaped center speakers.
> I'd be interested in knowing if there are any real advantages in
> having speakers of the same size (eg satellite speakers)?
> If the fronr pair of speakers were of a different brand (and better
> quality) than the rest of the speakers can this cause any problems in
> a surround sound speaker set up?
>
> Regards Brian
>
Size has something to do with it, but a more precise way of looking at it is
this:
Every model of speaker has a "sonic signature" that is mostly a matter of
the midrange, to a lesser extent the treble, and even less so, the bass.

A completely identical set of speakers provides the best surround effect,
but unless you have room for a whole bunch of large speakers, there is a
sacrifice of tonal quality, because large speakers tend to sound better than
small ones.

One solution is to maintain a set of small, identical speakers for surround
listening, and a larger stereo pair for music.
Another is to use speakers of different sizes, but from a manufacturer's
particular series. Such series tend to be engineered to have similar sonic
signatures.

One thing NOT to do: Don't mix assorted brands of speakers just because they
have similar external dimensions. There are no advantages to such a setup.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.opinion,rec.audio.tech (More info?)

On Wed, 06 Apr 2005 06:50:52 -0400, ren <ren@ren.ren> wrote:

>I'm using a small two way up front with a sub. The two way is rated at
>70 to 20k +/- 1dB I run them full range and roll the sub up into them.
>I'm using a large three way for the rear. They are rated at 42 - 20k
>+/- 3dB now yes their sonic signature is different BUT they are a high
>quality set of speakers AND in the real world reverberation etc. is not
>going to be the same as the original waveform EXACTLY so I don't feel
>it's a compromise at all.

It is a compromise to the extent that you are effecting a change in
the timbre of the ambient sound and/or reverberation. If you regard
that change as minimal or unimportant, you have accepted that
compromise.

> By definition surround sound is not CRITICAL
>listening.

Nonsense.

>CL can only be done with the same set of monitor speakers
>used by the mixer in the same size room, all else is automatically a
>compromise.

Same applies to stereo or mono or headphones or, indeed, to any
listening paradigm.

Kal

Archived from groups: rec.audio.opinion,rec.audio.tech (More info?)

In <m96751tgi6pphqpved7huqduoq596qu3vj@4ax.com>, on 04/06/05
at 08:17 PM, Brian <bclark@es.co.nz> said:


>I read a few years back that surround speakers had to be the same
>brand and the same size for true surround sound effect. I see now that
>some surround sound speakers are of the same brand but in mixed sizes
>such as fall standing speakers for the left front and right front
>speakers with book self speakers as the rear speakers and a different
>shaped center speakers.
>I'd be interested in knowing if there are any real advantages in
>having speakers of the same size (eg satellite speakers)? If the fronr
>pair of speakers were of a different brand (and better quality) than
>the rest of the speakers can this cause any problems in a surround
>sound speaker set up?

Ideally, all the speakers should sound the same. Another poster
expressed it as "voice" (I'll call it "timbre" to avoid confusion). If
your speakers don't all have the same timbre, then a speaking actor's
voice will change as he or she moves from speaker to speaker.

Obviously, it's a complex problem because the timbre of your room may
not consistent or the physical arrangement of your room may not make
identical speakers a practical proposition. Some of us are willing to
rearrange, possibly restructure the room for surround sound, some of us
are not.

As a practical matter, relatively little of the current music or films
are using all of the speakers as fully as they could. Artists and
producers are still learning the new rules. I suspect that we'll have
to wait for a new generation of music, films, and listeners to develop
before we will even know what should be done. In the early days of
stereo we (briefly) enjoyed "ping pong" records where half of the
orchestra would be separated by a curtain or seated in another room
during the recording. Bits and pieces of sound would fly between the
speakers. This was probably a necessary step in our development, but we
don't often do that any more. At the moment, while there is some very
nice surround work out there (mostly film -- relatively little music),
we are at the ping pong stage in our surround development or we are
rehashing older, pre-surround stuff.

That said, it can be a lot of fun.

Unless you have enough money and willpower to structure your room for
"perfect" surround listening, concentrate on similar timbre across the
left, center, and right speakers. For most untrained listeners, voices
are where timbre clashes will be noticed. Since voices are usually
concentrated in the front, timbre mismatches in the rear are less
important.

In the future, and I don't know exactly when surround sound will
mature, we will want to pay more attention to timbre matching, but that
will probably come with your next system.

I strongly suggest that you have your speakers symmetrically placed
with respect to you and the video source.

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