704 for rear speakers

[naive]

I've 704 for front channels. I want more bass. Is it a waste of $ if I but extra two 704 for rear channels? Or it is better to use two 705 for rear? For front channel, does it make sense to just buy one piece of 704 for front (will the dealer able to sell just one 704?)?

Thx!

[weijst]

This depends on the amp you'll be using (wether or not it is able to propperly drive four 704's). However, I'd get a pair of 705's for the back if I were you and get a decent sub to take care of the bass...

[audioqueso]

If you want it more for movies, then 705. For DVD-Audio or SACD, then 704.

[Aussie Geoff]

I've 704 for front channels. I want more bass.

If more bass is what you want, please consider..

1) Getting a matching sub like the B&W ASW750 or one of the SVS range...
2) Your speaker location (this will affect the bass a lot)
3) Do you have the foam plugs removed from...

Geoff

[Kirium]

No one on here has mentioned the DS7 for surround duty. Does anyone have these or heard them at length?? The benefit of dipole for movies when you want it and monopole for MC music when you want it. Add on a sub and you'd possibly have what you want...

I haven't heard the DS7 tho yet, but i'm considering them as part of a 700series setup with 703's when i upgrade next year or the year after.

I don't think i've seen anyone on here say they have them tho, are they crap or just not given enough credit??

[audioqueso]

He hasn't mentioned whether he wants the rear for mostly movies or music.

[csuzor]

I have 2x 704 as surrounds, and they are great. Much more bass than 705, and that helps increase the "presence" of music from the rear.

I started with 2x 704, bought and sold a HTM7, and bought 3x 703 for the L/C/R. If multi-channel music is your thing, like me, get an identical front channel, 704 or 703. You'll have to argue with your dealer to order an odd-number of speakers, it wasn't easy, but hey, B&W equip many studios with 5 speakers, and also amateurs now.

As for your need for bass, with 5 floorstanders, plenty of bass with 5.0 music, but obviously not enough for stereo.

Finally, integrating a floorstading center channel for movies is not easy, the only real solution (and the ultimate solution), is a "sonically transparent" screen and a projector. You loose 1 or 2 dB in the top end, but you can compensate for that easily.

[naive]

If you want it more for movies, then 705. For DVD-Audio or SACD, then 704.

My usage is 70% for music, 30% for movie. I use Odyssey Monoblocks power amp for stereo music and planning (within one week) to get the Rotel RMB-1075 for HT. But I'm struggling whether I should get the Odyssey HT3 to drive the center and rear, pairing with my existing monoblocks to drive the front. Or just use all 5 outputs of RMB1075 to drive the 5 channels during HT enjoyment (and switch to use my existing monoblocks amp during music enjoyment)?

If I get the Rotel 1075 to drive center and rear, pairing with my Odysessy monoblocks to drive the fronts:
1) Is there any coherent issue coz I use different amps for different channels?
2) Is the RMB-1075 strong enough to drive the each B&W704.
3) If I use 704 for all the fronts and rears, and using the HTM7 for center, will the HTM 7 too weak/small to match all 4's 704. Or I should use also 704 for my center?

Thx

[csuzor]

If you go to the trouble of getting an identical center channel, use the same amp, otherwise you may lose the coherence advantage for mch music. I use the 1075, it is fine. Maybe a better choice now is the 1077...

If you are not interested in mch music, you may just want to avoid such a center channel, and get a HTM7 or HTM4S (latter preferred). The HTM7 is fine with 705, but imo it is not well matched with 704, and it is "boxy". For my video system, I want the HTM4S, or even the HTM3S (since center channel is primary importance for movies)

[JohnAng]

i had the same dilema, i got 703's for front and 705 for rears, was considering 704's at first.
Centre i am using HTM7.
I find the HTM& is not well matched to the 703's but perfect with the 705 and i dare say the 704's also. The 703's use the FST midrange which sounds completely different to the mid in the 704,5 and HTM7

The 705's for rears on movies does a wonderfull job, no dissapointment there, the 704's ould be good also if you can stretch the budget. I am also running the ASW750 sub, so for home theatre use i just HP all my spakers at 60Hz and let the sub take care of everything below that.

Because i am planning a 7.1 setup later down the track, i am going to get another HTM7 and use them as side speakers and get a HTM3s for the centre as i think it will be better matched to the 703's. Would love to use a 703 as centre but i'm afraid it will stand to high and get in the way of the screen

I use the 1075 for centre and surrounds and a 1080 for the fronts,

[grit]

John, let me ask you... how do the 703's sound on the 1080 vs the 1075? I have your exact setup without the 1080, but was thinking of adding it to provide more power to the front speakers for music. I probably wont get to go 7ch until several years down the road.

[JohnAng]

At first i found they were a little on the bright side, but once all the equipment was run in it is a good step up, esspecialy for 2 channel. In 5.1 it didn't make a huge difference, but in 2 channel the soundstage was wider with nice depth. The other thing i noticed was the midrange and top end were slightly more detailed, bottom end is fairly much on par.
The main reason i got the 1080 was purely for 2 channel listening.

[naive]

John, you use 1075 for center and surrounds. Do you bi-amp the center or surrounds, since 1075 has 5 channels?

Right now in my mind, may be I use HTM7 for my front and 704 for my surrounds. HTM3's is out of my budget, and its FST mid-range doesn't match with my "non-FST" 704 as fronts. For 705 as surrounds, it is not my option b/c it doesn't cost me much more to get 704 (since I need to buy extra stands for 705). It looks $ wise to get 704 instead of 705+stand for surrounds, right?

[george_k]

I think if you factor in the price of a pair of quality stands, your more or less at the price of a pair of 704's

[JohnAng]

John, you use 1075 for center and surrounds. Do you bi-amp the center or surrounds, since 1075 has 5 channels?

Right now in my mind, may be I use HTM7 for my front and 704 for my surrounds. HTM3's is out of my budget, and its FST mid-range doesn't match with my "non-FST" 704 as fronts. For 705 as surrounds, it is not my option b/c it doesn't cost me much more to get 704 (since I need to buy extra stands for 705). It looks $ wise to get 704 instead of 705+stand for surrounds, right?

for us here in Aus the 704's re $3999 and the 705 with the matching stands are $3098 rrp So thats almost $1000 difference.
I am bi-amping the centre channel as my preamp has 2 centre channel outs. I did this so the power is closer to the fronts with the 1080, i am however seriously considering moving up to the HTM3 centre as the HTM7 sounds different to the 703's and isn't a good match

[csuzor]

Most of us agree, the HTM7 is not the best choice for 703 or 704 fronts. In order of audio preference (not visual):

703 fronts: 703 center, HTM1, HTM3S, 704 center, 705, HTM4S, HTM7

704 fronts: 704 center, 705, HTM4S, HTM7