Re: is it bad...

is it bad if i don''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''t get an spl meter and balance my speakers, it is for my room, and they all kinda point to the center of my bed...so that is it...

[apcarandang]

You may use the sub/sat combo for your rear speakers but set the rear speakers to large on your receiver. smile.gif border=0

[apcarandang]

Dolby Digital and DTS are both capable of full range signals. What that means is if you have the space and can afford full range speakers that would be the ideal way to go.<p>Many receivers especially in the lower models will assume that you''re using small speakers in the front. Again because it makes sense that the lower model receiver will not be mated with expensive full range speakers.<p>But as you get up the model line the higher end models support full range speakers for all channels plus the LFE( Low Ffrequency effects channel). if you decide to add a subwoofer.<p>Hope this helps. <p>Justa sk if you have questions. We all started as newbies sometime. wink.gif border=0

[apcarandang]

Here''s a link that will help you understand speakers more<p><a href="http://www.audiovideo101.com/learn/articles/speakers/" target="_blank">http://www.audiovideo101.com/learn/articles/speakers/</a><p><br />Enjoy wink.gif border=0

[Hot_Monkey]

Shame you can''t use the sub for the rear channels (if your receiver won''t allow for "large" setting on rears)... I have on this myself, and it sounds great. There is indeed much deep bass in modern DTS/Dolby Digital soundtracks going to the rears. How about using it on your front speakers? Then you could set them to "large". And THEN you could buy a second sub for the rears, now that your receiver let''s you set rears to large! Crazy, I know. I''m sorry, I get carried away sometimes.... but running the sub on the front channels is still a valid suggestion. Once I ran a sub on every channel. And a seperate one for LFE. Then I got married. <p>To answer your question...<p>A "full range speaker" is a speaker that does not require the assistance of a subwoofer to play any of the information that is being sent to it. Because very few speakers can pull this off, we have the option to set our speaker setting to "small" on most receivers to divert the lower notes (below a fixed point... depending on the particular receiver) to the subwoofer. This ensures us that we won''t miss anything when listening to movie soundtracks, music, etc.<p>Some examples of a "full range speaker"...<p>Definitive Technology Towers (With built in powered subs) BP2002, BP2000, BP3000<br />B&W Nautilus 803, 802, 801, Signature 800<br />Wilson Grand Slamm<br />JM LAB Grand Utopia<br />Legacy Focus, Whisper<p>You see where I''m going with this... these are all very expensive and very huge refridgerator sized floorstanding speakers. There are certainly many "largish" speakers on the market that can perform well enough to pull off "large" status in a system for far less money. I just wanted to illustrate the point that a "true large speaker" is a rare breed. That being said, again there are many speakers that perform well enough to run on "large".<p>The reason why you might want to consider the difference between a "large" system vs. a "small" (sub/sat) system are pretty simple. One is cost. Small speakers cost less, although I might argue that "small" speakers require you to use a better subwoofer that is more able to handle the extra bass information that is being diverted to it from the "small" channels. Also, a good receiver that has appropriate bass management settings... in other words crossover settings that allow for the best blending of the "small" speakers and the subwoofer based on the abilities and spec''s of the particular speakers and sub that you have chosen. Small speakers are also smaller (duh) and can be mounted on walls, etc. The arguement for large speakers is that they free the subwoofer up to represent only the LFE channel, in theory (and practice as I have observed in many systems) "cleaning up" the bass and improving sub performance. Also, there can be a need for "large" speaker capability in a system where you do not (or cannot if the receiver does not allow) want to run the sub when listening to stereo music in it''s natural two channel format.<p>Sorry for long post... just thought I''d spew some thought for you. Any questions please ask away. Many fine minds on this here forum to help you out. <p>Monkey<p>PS. There was a huge debate over "large vs. small" a while back under a "THX" post. I believe myself, TV and others had a nice back and forth over the matter. It was a few monthes ago... I think under "audio" section.<p>< December 30, 2001: Message edited by: Hot Monkey ></p>

Hey Mokey, when you ran a sub on each channel, did you use the speakers line levels inputs? I think you answered this once before, but I couldnt find the post.

[Hot_Monkey]

I ran all channels on "large" and fed the speaker wire going to each speaker to a sub with speaker level in-and-outs, utilizing the crossover within each sub and tuning it based on the abilities of each particular speaker. The effect was pretty dramatic. It was a bit of a wiring mess, but the fun was worth the effort.<p>I am getting ready to duplicate at least a portion of this set-up in my revised home theater once I finish with the room rennovations. I am hoping to have enough funds left over to pick up a Lexicon MC12, which has provisions for three subs... left and right front, as well as LFE(s).<p>The whole point of the multiple sub experiment was to test for deep bass presence in each channel. What I found, in isolating each channel individually, is that there is indeed tremendous bass information being sent to the center and rear channels... something we were led to believe was not really so back in the old ProLogic days. My real intent was to "clean up" the LFE channel by removing all extra bass information that it was being sent when in "small" for rear and center channels. Since my fronts and center were near enough to "large" capacity, I ended up only keeping the rear subs and the LFE in the system, but the experiment was worth it to prove a point.<p>There is much bass information in the center and rear channels, enough that I felt that it compromised clean LFE performance, making my LFE sub a little too boomy for my liking.<p>Oh what we spend our time doing when we are single.<p>Monkey