Best match? 4x804S /or/ 2x804S + 2x805S OK

[misterdoggy]

I am currently running 2 804S' in the front and 2 805S' for surrounds. I find listening to CD's with the Halo C1 and a pair of Krell 3250 +2250 better overall in Pro Logic II Music than normal Stereo. I have a good Sub ASW 825 and center HTM3S which helps.

So the question is, Does the 805S' "blend" (or you might say match) in with the main sounds coming from wall of 804S-Htm3S or because its not exactly the same configuration (number of speakers etc) is it affecting the sound from the wall. If the answer was "neutral affect" then I would leave the system as is because they are just surrounds, but since I'm using all the speakers for CD playback, maybe they should all be identical 804S'.

PS obviously 4 x 804S' is ideal, but will it change greatly.

One more question: The 804S' profit having a Sub like the ASW825, If one was using 803S' or 803D's does one need a sub. And if you have 802D's in a home cinema, you would forget all the Pro logic stuff and run pure stereo I imagine with just the Pair of Fronts. Would the same be true for 803D + 803S ?

The reason I ask is I am considering returning the pair of 805S's while they are new and using either 803 D or S for the fronts and the 804S for the surrounds. But maybe thats "overkill" for surrounds. I wouldn't need to Pro Logic II music with maybe a pair of 803's in the Front.

[junior77blue]

For HT use...the 805s would be more than adequate, you will be hard pressed to hear the difference while watching movies.

For multi-channel stereo, it is highly recommended to have the SAME speaker all around, because you WILL then notice the difference between the speakers.

The 804s will most definately profit from having a good subwoofer. Including the 803 & 802....these are all great speakers but they do lack in deep bass which all HT will need to provide a FULL sound.

IMHO....the best speaker could never replace having multiple speakers. But I have questioned that myself lately....since I have 802N upfront with an HTM2 center, why bother with a center channel of lesser quality?? Why not just do a 4.1 setup and remove the center channel??

[misterdoggy]

So in your opinion you prefer "multiple" speakers like I do. I mean there are lot's of speakers coming out with sounds rather than just 2 in pure stereo.

I listen to classical music (100% CD digital, not SACD), but most of the time its Satellite or Dvd's.

What about 803S' or 803D's as fronts with the 804S' as surrounds or do they have to be matched "exactly. Or "don't worry be happy" with an already outstanding setup.

[csuzor]

My short answer is, until you get into true multi-channel music (sacd or dvd-a), small surrounds are fine.

I prefer DTS Neo over DPLII for almost all CD, and for music with vocals DPLII puts vocals in the surrounds as well but DTS doesn't, so it sounds more real. But neither puts enough music into the surrounds to care between small or full speakers.

However, I just upgraded to full size surrounds, and the impact on multi-channel music is impressive, I was really missing a lot of information with small surrounds.

It is my opinion that DTS Neo is almost always more enjoyable, more involving, than just stereo, but I have never tried really big speakers. But DTS Neo never gets close to true multi-channel, and there is plenty of choice in classic music.

[misterdoggy]

I've been listening lately to Piano pieces by the "old masters" Rubinstein and Horowitz and many times its just piano with orchestra. These are either older recording remastered or good recordings from the late 90's but not SACD's. The sound quality is still fantastic. Its my next step to concentrate on buying some good classical SACDs as I have a Pioneer DV868avi which is not too bad a quality SACD player. I will try your DTS Neo and see how that works out. I like DPLII Music so far, and don't like Stereo at all.

For HT you think everything is good. What do you think about the difference between 804S ' and the 803S'. Or 803 for fronts and 804 for surrounds. I've got the 804S set to 80 hz and am thinking about going down to 60 hz for the LFE sub setting.

I noticed you are in France. I am in Annecy. Where are you ?