Question on Speaker Setup

[dmcgowan]

To try and not spend hours on 1098 setup pre-Xmas, I was hoping for some quick advice on speaker setup. I think I have this right, but would appreciate any other ideas/ tricks/ traps:

We bought a new plasma and there is no room for the current centre speaker anywhere other than next to the screen and that sounds terrible as you can easily detect the sound is off centre. Tried two bookshelf speakers instead of the single centre ( using the dual centre pre-outs from the 1098 ) and sound stage is much improved as it no longer sounds off centre.

The two centre bookshelves are going through an unused RB-1050 and the rest of the channels are using the RMB-1077 so I do need to sit down and do an SPL / delay update but on reading further thought I should fiddle with crossover in the speaker setup as well. Any thoughts on whether I should start with anything different to the following:

Left/Right B&W604 x 2
- Speaker size LARGE
- Crossover 60Hz

Centre Polk RT25 x 2
- Speaker size SMALL
- Crossover 100Hz

Surrounds Polk R50 x 2
- Speaker size SMALL
- Crossover 80Hz

Rears B&W LCR6 x 1 (The centre that no longer fits!)
- Speaker size SMALL
- Crossover 80Hz

My logic is that the new centre speakers should have as little bass as possible and the fronts can handle anything. Any other thoughts? Just trying to avoid losing too much time in the fortnight before Xmas but want to try and get the sound as good as it can be given the odd grab bag of speakers I am using at the moment.

Thanks,




Darren

[Kevin D]

All but the most extreme front speakers need to be set to small, including your 604's. Setting them to large puts the crossover setting for the fronts inactive. 60hz is a good setting to start out with though.

It's essential to have a matching front stage and using a pair of RT25's for a center is bad on several levels. They're not going to be timbre matched to your 604's plus using two speakers might center the sound again but you're introducing some strange comb effects that's going to effect your off center response. You might be better off not running a center at all.

Is the plasma in a cabinet of some sort? No way to add a shelf for the LCR6? If looks are of concern, an FPM4 or 6 from B&W will match a lot better and is wall mountable.

Hate to bring you down, but you're throwing a lot of money away in electronics for a compromised speaker setup.

Kevin D.

[dmcgowan]

I totally agree Kevin and in our new house, we will have room for the appropriate centre channel - it's only costing me time as all of these bits are sitting around at home (positive consequence of upgradeitis). The B&W centre was in use until we got the new plasma and there is no way to have the 600 series centre in the room other than about 1.5m below and 0.5m to the left or right of the screen and it sounds awful.

I will see how it sounds without the centre running at all - I think I just set centre to not there in the options don't I?

[Kevin D]

Gotcha, as long as it's not permanent. Just set the center to none and see what you think.

Kevin D.

[dmcgowan]

Based on a late night hour last night, the RT25s are a better sounding option than no centre. Don't seem to get any off centre wierdness which I was expecting based on your note and thinking about the two speakers causing wierd wave / phasing problems. Need to adjust for SPL on the weekend and see what it sounds like then - it was also late when the rest of the house was asleep so not sure difference in timbre would be apparent at low volume levels.

[Kevin D]

It really boils down to what sounds best to you. I can tell you what *should* sound best all day long, but its not really going to matter as you're the judge Might try laying the RT25's on their side and see if it improves yet again.

Have you tried running them on the 1077 as well? You've got enough channels unless you're bi-amping your fronts.

Kevin D.

[dmcgowan]

I might try that too Kevin - it would have higher WAF. Right now, it has kind of become an experiment to see what works Funnily enough, they are on their side as I thought that sounded slightly better! I am guessing the distraction of the sound coming from way off centre outweighs the fact the two speakers are nothing like the timbre of the fronts?

Mind you, another explanation could well be I was too close to the front at the Motorhead concert in October and still can't hear anything well!!!!!