703 S2's or 704's as surround speakers

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  • RoMan
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2007
    • 212

    703 S2's or 704's as surround speakers

    Hi all,

    I would like to know what your opinions are as I'm trying to decide whether I should get the 703's or 704's as surround speakers. I'm just looking for thoughts and opinions on these two speakers only as I already have ruled out using bookshelf speakers for my surrounds. I will be buying a pair of 706's for my back surround duty as I run a 7.1 system. I currently run 702's in the front, HTM71 S2 for centre duty, CM5 S2- surrounds and CM-1 S2's for back surrounds and 2 SVS SB13 Ultra subs.

    My dealer has suggested to use the 704's as surrounds and the 706's for back surround. Would I be sacrificing sound by using smaller speakers? Is it better to go with the 703 S2's? Any thoughts on these two speakers are appreciated and welcomed. My dealer says I would save some money in buying the 704's. But if the cost difference means sacrificing quality sound then maybe hands down the 703's would be the winner. Thanks in advance. Please let me know what you would do if you were in my position.

    RoMan
  • RoMan
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2007
    • 212

    #2
    Nobody has any thoughts or comments or personal experiences with regards to using either one of these speakers for surround duty?

    RoMan.

    Comment

    • audioqueso
      Super Senior Member
      • Nov 2004
      • 1930

      #3
      It's pretty quiet in these forums now. You probably won't get much of a response.
      I've had all bookshelf 5.1, 4 towers + center, 2 towers + center + bookshelf, then in-ceiling, then in wall.
      To be honest, unless you have lots of space in your room, it's more efficient to get bookshelves for surround duty.
      With towers, you're pretty stuck at that particular height and at the mercy of the space you have available to place the tower.
      With bookshelves, you have so much more flexibility.
      I personally wouldn't bother with towers in the back anymore. Of course, a tower has a fuller range.. but if you're really enveloped in the movie, you're not going to be looking out for that extra bass from the tower in the back. Even if it's an explosion, you're more than likely going to get the majority of the effect from the subwoofer.
      I recommend bookshelves for surround duty.
      B&W 804S/Velodyne SPL-1000R/Anthem MRX720

      Comment

      • RoMan
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2007
        • 212

        #4
        Originally posted by audioqueso
        It's pretty quiet in these forums now. You probably won't get much of a response.
        I've had all bookshelf 5.1, 4 towers + center, 2 towers + center + bookshelf, then in-ceiling, then in wall.
        To be honest, unless you have lots of space in your room, it's more efficient to get bookshelves for surround duty.
        With towers, you're pretty stuck at that particular height and at the mercy of the space you have available to place the tower.
        With bookshelves, you have so much more flexibility.
        I personally wouldn't bother with towers in the back anymore. Of course, a tower has a fuller range.. but if you're really enveloped in the movie, you're not going to be looking out for that extra bass from the tower in the back. Even if it's an explosion, you're more than likely going to get the majority of the effect from the subwoofer.
        I recommend bookshelves for surround duty.
        Hi audioqueso. Thanks for your reply. I agree with you this forum and others here are really deafly quiet nowadays. Not like before, where one could get a ton of responses in no time. Guess things change and life gets busy. Nobody really has time for the forums as much as they used too. Anyways, I appreciate your recommendation for sure. Reason I am looking at towers because I do have the room for them considering my space is small but they can still blend in well. Also I like the fact that I dont have to buy speakers stands for them as well and get the added drivers as well. As I understand the tweeters are supposed to be at ear level so I dont see a problem with getting them to that height if need be.

        I know exactly what you are saying with regards to having bookshelves but I also listen to multichannel music(DVD-A, SACD, Blu ray Audio etc) and having towers I feel in my humble opinion will provide me that full range sound. My dealer recommended the 704 S2's to save me some money and since I run a 7.2 system he said I can use the 706 S2 for back surround duty which are bookshelves but thats fine. So will the 704 S2's be enough with the 5 inch driver or would the 703 S2's with the 6 inch driver be a better match with movies, multichannel music, gaming etc? Thanks audioqueso. Appreciate your feedback.

        RoMan.
        Last edited by RoMan; 16 August 2018, 21:51 Thursday. Reason: addtional info.

        Comment

        • audioqueso
          Super Senior Member
          • Nov 2004
          • 1930

          #5
          I wouldn't doubt the 5" driver from the 700 S2 series.
          I don't have the towers or bookshelves, but I did buy both centers and had them for a while. The way they utilize those drivers, they play very deep without sounding boomy at all.

          Even though I only had one HTM-71 and one HTM-72, I did test out the HTM-71 to act as a regular front speaker and compared it to my 804S. Sure, sound quality and signature was very different, but the HTM-71 really held its own against the 804 when listening to see if five HTM-71 was an option. Yes, it can hold its own as a full range speaker.
          Sure, the HTM-71 has a 6.5", not a 5". And yes, the HTM-71 did sound much more fuller than the HTM-72. The 72 sounded more like a center channel.
          But my point is that B&W did a very good job in engineering this series to make them sound a lot bigger than they really are. So if a center channel size speaker cabinet with a 6.5" driver can sound like a full tower, I would trust that the 706 sound equally good and can blend in with the bigger towers.
          With the 704, yes it's 5" driver, but it's two 5" drivers AND it's in a bigger speaker cabinet. It will sound fuller than the 706.
          Honestly, I think either speaker will sound good.
          I've learned throughout the years that we get so wrapped up and focused during the shopping period.. but once we actually purchase the item, install it, and set it up properly... if the manufacture did a good job in balancing the whole series, then once we start watching/listening to movies/music that we enjoy, it's easy to forget the size, components, and specifications.. just because it sounds so good and so balanced.
          Last edited by audioqueso; 18 August 2018, 21:47 Saturday.
          B&W 804S/Velodyne SPL-1000R/Anthem MRX720

          Comment

          • TomScrut
            Moderator Emeritus
            • Nov 2013
            • 532

            #6
            I do wonder if the lack of responses is due to nobody being familiar with the new 700 series? If it had been an 800 question I would have answered but I keep my mouth shut about things I don't know about (one of the issues with the internet is a lot of people talk about things they have no experience with as if they know what they are on about, which is worse than no answer IMO).

            I haven't been spending much time on AV forums recently, as I don't have the money to buy new gear I spend more time enjoying the gear I have, so I don't know how popular the 700s are.

            Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
            Music: Intel NUC -> Antelope Zodiac Platinum -> Classe CA-2300 -> B&W 802 Diamonds & 2x SVS SB13U

            Comment

            • Mikael
              Senior Member
              • Aug 2007
              • 379

              #7
              Why not go for 4 htm71s2 for all surround speakers. Then you will have 7 allmost identical sounding speakers.

              Comment

              • RoMan
                Senior Member
                • Jan 2007
                • 212

                #8
                Originally posted by Mikael
                Why not go for 4 htm71s2 for all surround speakers. Then you will have 7 allmost identical sounding speakers.
                Hi Mikael,

                Because I already have the 702 S2's, HTM71 S2 for my centre channel.

                Comment

                • Mikael
                  Senior Member
                  • Aug 2007
                  • 379

                  #9
                  Hi I know but I meant instead of getting 703/4 for surround duty, then get 4 htm71 ( 2 for side and 2 for rear duty)they are about the same price. Then you will have as I said 7 matching speakers. The htm71 have ample bass output.

                  Comment

                  • audioqueso
                    Super Senior Member
                    • Nov 2004
                    • 1930

                    #10
                    Have you decided on what you're going to do?
                    If you're up to it, wanna post a picture of your room and how it's set up?
                    B&W 804S/Velodyne SPL-1000R/Anthem MRX720

                    Comment

                    • RoMan
                      Senior Member
                      • Jan 2007
                      • 212

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Mikael
                      Hi I know but I meant instead of getting 703/4 for surround duty, then get 4 htm71 ( 2 for side and 2 for rear duty)they are about the same price. Then you will have as I said 7 matching speakers. The htm71 have ample bass output.
                      I hear ya Mikael. I do have my sites set on either the 703's or the 704's. I'm sure the HTM71 would sound fine but I do prefer the towers and a pair of bookshelf speakers to round out my 7.2 setup.

                      Comment

                      • RoMan
                        Senior Member
                        • Jan 2007
                        • 212

                        #12
                        Originally posted by audioqueso
                        Have you decided on what you're going to do?
                        If you're up to it, wanna post a picture of your room and how it's set up?

                        Hi audioqueso,

                        My living room dimensions are: 10 feet wide by 13 feet long. I am leaning towards the 703's at the moment and the 706's for back surround duty. I feel maybe more is better than not enough. I'm running two 13 inch subs as well which are less than 10 feet apart. Its setup quite well for a space this small and fits everything nicely. Sounds excellent too but my ultimate goal is to have everything in the 700 series.

                        RoMan

                        Comment

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