Floorstanders as Surrounds ?

[Tuhin Lavania]

Hello all..
Some time back, i bought the Marantz SR 6013 and Q Acoustics 3050i and a center speaker 3090c.
Im yet to add a subwoofer, surrounds, surround back and height speakers.
The question here i have is, is there any performance difference in using Floorstanders as surrounds ? I was thinking of adding another pair of 3050i's for surrounds.
The Room size is 18*12 if that can be helpful.
Thank you

 

[Love4sound]

Hello all..
Some time back, i bought the Marantz SR 6013 and Q Acoustics 3050i and a center speaker 3090c.
Im yet to add a subwoofer, surrounds, surround back and height speakers.
The question here i have is, is there any performance difference in using Floorstanders as surrounds ? I was thinking of adding another pair of 3050i's for surrounds.
The Room size is 18*12 if that can be helpful.
Thank you

In a movie mostly the front stage dominates. Only in few scenes the surrounds work. The surround effects doesn’t need a tower speaker. A good bookshelf speaker will be more then enough and save you some cash. That’s my take

 

[insane79]

don't bother too much about the surrounds, they are more for ambient sounds in movies & useless for music.

Front 3 speakers & subwoofer is the most important, surrounds & heights even tiny bookshelves will do, no need for floorstanders.

 

[MaSh]

For a 10% contribution to a movie by surrounds, unless you are getting speakers for over 50% discount, it makes no sense. Get the bookshelves from the same family and that should be more than enough.

MaSh

 

[elangoas]

Hello all..
Some time back, i bought the Marantz SR 6013 and Q Acoustics 3050i and a center speaker 3090c.
Im yet to add a subwoofer, surrounds, surround back and height speakers.
The question here i have is, is there any performance difference in using Floorstanders as surrounds ? I was thinking of adding another pair of 3050i's for surrounds.
The Room size is 18*12 if that can be helpful.
Thank you

If budget is not a constraint, then get another pair of 3050i's for surrounds too as you will have identical speakers for Front & Surrounds.. But, be aware that when you intend to use a FS for surrounds, it would mostly be at ear level to your sides..

If you will place the surrounds (FS) behind your listening position (room corners), then that would be fine..

 

[Tuhin Lavania]

Thank you for the replies
I have heard/read from some people that FS are effective for surrounds so i asked it here.
Budget is mostly not a constraint since i usually dont buy everything at the same time. I can wait. I believe a huge sum is going to be in subwoofer too so i will not buy it sooner ( Next year )

 

[edjamesx]

Having FS as surrounds will not be bad ... But sound stage may not be very good. You will be hearing louder sounds from rear . Having Book shelve speakers or dedicated surround speakers will be a better idea... If you have more budget you can spend in other components or invest on power amps to boost the power of front speakers.

 

[spirovious]

ldeally surrounds should be little above sitting position to get good sound field and effect.Nothing wrong with towers though.

 

[tuff]

Adding to what everyone has said, Your room size will make it difficult to position them right and unless you are the only one sitting in the sweet spot, it will be a crappy experience with speakers right next to someone's ears.

 

[Ketan]

I'm in the process of setting more or less the same setup, in terms of AVR and FSs, its sr6013 and 3050is + 3090c + 3020i for surround. I did a blunder buying Yamaha NS-8390 just a month back and not sure if I can use that for surround back pair! I have odd dimension rear wall so FS may help with the placement. I seem to have just enough distance on one side and good distance at other end. It's not going to match the soundstage due to diff timber, brands etc.. but I'm thinking of giving that a try to see if its a worth 7.1/2 setup when needed or selling Yamaha FSs will be a wise decision. Please let me know if you end up testing this. My take would be not to invest FSs for the surround but use 3010i or 3020i instead to save some, use the 3050is for a separate stereo setup if you really like.

 

[sdurani]

You will be hearing louder sounds from rear .

No. Initial calibration will set ALL speakers to the same level, irrespective of speaker type (bookshelf, floorstanding, etc).

 

[DS123]

There’s another probable combination. Towers as surrounds & atmos, and satellite as front. Theoretically possible, but why’d you do that?

As many pointed, not more than 10% of Content title would have sonic artefacts rendering out of surrounds, and much much less via Atmos.

Therefore, investing in towers as surrounds is akin to purchasing 5k worth socks for 5k worth shoes. Possible sans sense. On the contrary, route extra cash to front 3 speakers, while investing low in surrounds. It is for sane reason, per-bundled speaker combo has driver configuration as - towers, Center, surrounds, atmos (in decreasing order of configuration). Period.

Hope that makes sense!

PS: One thing to keep in mind is NOT to go for speakers with different sonic signatures, that is, front 3 by say B&W, while tears are that of much cheaper cousins. That’d create mixture of diff sonic signature.

 

[DS123]

Ketan, you can also use Satellite in place of bookshelf for surrounds. Sats have ample potency to create sound effects + give you ease of placement with their small footprints & orientation ability of your choice.

 

[Ketan]

Ketan, you can also use Satellite in place of bookshelf for surrounds. Sats have ample potency to create sound effects + give you ease of placement with their small footprints & orientation ability of your choice.

True, I thought of all possible places in my room for this pair of Yamaha NS-8390. If I sell them, I may lose a few thousands in the deal, I may decide to do so if I'm sure I can't use them in any position for even a minutes improvement in my current setup.

 

[DS123]

True, I thought of all possible places in my room for this pair of Yamaha NS-8390. If I sell them, I may lose a few thousands in the deal, I may decide to do so if I'm sure I can't use them in any position for even a minutes improvement in my current setup.

Use Yamaha. But I believe your front 3.0 are different brand signature than Yamaha. Wait till you find good deal/used Surround or Sat from same brand. Then you can sell your Yamies.
This will minimise monetary loss & maximise sonic experience.

Also, Sat are clearly under-rated. Shops push for higher configuration for obvious reasons. Notwithstanding that, Sat are really good. Try Dali Fazon or Paradigm.. For typical sized rooms in Indian home, they can blow you, unless of course one is connoisseur of sound of true audiophile stature!

 

[Ketan]

Use Yamaha. But I believe your front 3.0 are different brand signature than Yamaha. Wait till you find good deal/used Surround or Sat from same brand. Then you can sell your Yamies.
This will minimise monetary loss & maximise sonic experience.

Also, Sat are clearly under-rated. Shops push for higher configuration for obvious reasons. Notwithstanding that, Sat are really good. Try Dali Fazon or Paradigm.. For typical sized rooms in Indian home, they can blow you, unless of course one is connoisseur of sound of true audiophile stature!

Thank you. I have got Q-Acoustics on L-C-R (3050is & 3090c) and Surrounds (3020i) too. If I got by Arun's suggestion, it would be to dispose Yamaha floor standers and get the same, Q's 3020is for surround back as well, seems like a long term objective for the setup. My four height channels are coming from Onkyo, again I'm making use of my old 5.1 setup here only to take some time and avoid investing in everything at once.

 

[DS123]

As long as your 5.1 is of same signature (which in your case are Q-Acoustics), you covered 95-100% of your sound game set.

Case in point: Even Netflix/Prime etc carry 5.1 content. This essentially implies, most content source is recorded/broadcasted in at best 5.1 configuration. So you’re well covered. For remaining (and acutely minority) content in Atmos, you’re using old speakers from Onkyo. I’d call it wise & prudent!!

As for 5.1 vs 7.1, the additional 2 speakers are usually deployed in very large rooms with multiple seating rows. This, I believe, is to ensure say the middle row audience don’t miss surround effect which otherwise are at backend of the room. In nutshell, it means the 2 surrounds & back surroundings basically carries same sound signals (say both will make same explosion sound) unlike diff signals gets carried by Fronts/Centre (which would be carrying differently recorded sounds). This typically means, in typical Indian sized rooms, 7.1 is NOT needed. On the contrary, it’d rather act as two-sets of surrounds, thus amplifying (read manipulating) sound pattern against it was intended to be. Why not increase decibels of surrounds if one wants to hear louder bombs than it was designed to be?? If that makes sense!!

That said, I got 3 setups currently -

1. Marantz SR7011, Oppo BDP103D, Monitor Audio Silver 6 5.0, SVS SB1000, Benq HT3050, Tata Sky, FireStick 4K

2. Marantz SR6010, Pioneer BDP 180, Jamo S606 5.1, Sony 7500f, Tata Sky, FireStick 4K

3. Apple Mac Pro/Air, Genelec 6010 Pair (at office)

However, never thought of adding 10-11 speakers by merging 2-3 systems. Each play independent of the other (speaker wise) for precisely above reasons. At max, will add Atmos, but for that I think in-ceiling are most ideal choice - inexpensive + small footprint.

My recommendation is, merely adding speakers will not create immersive sonic experience, in more cases than not it might have opposite effect with too many sound waves criss-crossing & manipulating signals in tiny space. More speakers not only means more fin investment, but meticulous planning as well.

Rather a lil room treatment will reach far better dividends. There again random, zigzag wooden/cotton things would do than to invest in fancy/branded items. Cotton is cotton, unless of course it’s an apparel & one wants Giza cotton. Hope it makes sense!!

 

[arunkvivek]

Therefore, investing in towers as surrounds is akin to purchasing 5k worth socks for 5k worth shoes. Possible sans sense.

Great analogy!!

 

[elangoas]

As for 5.1 vs 7.1, the additional 2 speakers are usually deployed in very large rooms with multiple seating rows. This, I believe, is to ensure say the middle row audience don’t miss surround effect which otherwise are at backend of the room. In nutshell, it means the 2 surrounds & back surroundings basically carries same sound signals (say both will make same explosion sound) unlike diff signals gets carried by Fronts/Centre (which would be carrying differently recorded sounds).

I think the very purpose of having surround back is to create 360 degree of horizontal sound field.. I don't think in a 7.1 content the surrounds and surr back play the some information..

This typically means, in typical Indian sized rooms, 7.1 is NOT needed.

Even if you have few feet, some space behind your listening position, it is enough to accommodate surr back.. Do you mean the room has to be even more longer to accommodate surr back?..

 

[DS123]

@elangoas:
Theoretically you’re correct, but practically it’s far from truth. Why just 7.1, if a to sound piece is recorded in such a way, there were 10 microphones arranged in front, back, left, right & top, their best rendition would be in 10.10.20.10 config. Likewise, why 1/2 Sub, sound engineer is at complete liberty to create sound track in any configuration. BUT, these config are theoretical (read: hypothetical).

In what we practically hear though, in MOST CONTENT, it’s 5.1 (at best). For those ultra minority cases, investing in movie ticket is better choice.

Litmus year would be to place surrounds n back surrounds, record their outputs n hear. In maximum cases, it’d be SAME. Would be great to see list of soundtracks (music, movies) where they play different.

PS: As for 360 degree sound-stage, well it’s in one plane. A sound recording can be had in countless planes with countless config. Say one mic placed on road, another on tree etc. Cant go on adding speaker to deliver exact output. SOP is 5.1.. More config will take time to develop just as 4K/8K. That’s speculation of future! Hope it clarifies.