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chupacabra
05-17-2008, 05:38 PM
Hi all,

Wondering if I could get some recommendations for a new living room setup. My wife has decided that we need a great big 'ol entertainment center with enclosures for the left and right channels so that the speakers can "be seen and not heard". I tried to reason with her and state that this sort of setup never really sounds good, but she's made up her mind.

I can't seem to get a working link to the entertainment center, but it's on ethanallen.com, under the Products/Home Entertainment/HT Series 600 category.

I'm lucky enough to have a separate dedicated HT room, so this will primarily be used for watching TV and playing with the Nintendo Wii.

The living room setup is driven by a Yamaha 663 and has a pair of Triad Bronze in-ceiling speakers for surround duty with one AV123 MFW-15 for sub duties. Does anybody have suggestions for a left/center/right that might sound decent?

My first thought is to use a CMT-340 SE center and a pair of HTM-200 SEs for mains. Might this be the best option, or would some other combination do the trick?

Thanks a bunch!

Mike^S
05-17-2008, 08:12 PM
Do you mean, "heard and not seen"?

I have not listened to the HTM-200SE but I think that 170SE might be a better match to the 340SE center just because of the size and identical woofer.

chupacabra
05-17-2008, 10:45 PM
Hi Mike,

Yes, heard & not seen. My dyslexia tends to get the better of me.

Anyway, I appreciate your feedback. Would the 170s work as good as/better than the 200s in an enclosed environment?

I guess that would be the crux of my dilemma.

Mike^S
05-17-2008, 11:01 PM
Would the 340SE also be enclosed? You might be able to plug the ports on the 170SE. Although I'm not exactly sure how that would affect performance.

chupacabra
05-17-2008, 11:06 PM
Hi Mike,

If my math (and Ethan Allen) is correct, there should be about 1-2" behind the back of the CC speaker. Not entirely enclosed, but certainly not "ideal". Might three HTM-200s be the best fit?

Sam AV
05-18-2008, 07:03 AM
Are you planning on using a sub in the room? If so, you can likely get away with much less clearance behind the speakers.

Also, it might help to mount some acoustic foam/panels inside the enclosures to reduce unwanted reflections.

DougMac
05-19-2008, 06:20 AM
I vote for the 200's, especially since you'll be using a sub. They're really nice little speakers and since they're sealed, the rear port won't be an issue.

Doug

davef
05-19-2008, 11:41 PM
Hi chupacabra,

Please let us know if you plan on using a subwoofer. If yes, you have many options available to you since you will be able to run the speakers on small, thereby greatly reducing the bass output of the speakers resulting in a dramatic reduction of air-flow in and out of the rear port...

Take care!

chupacabra
05-20-2008, 08:05 AM
Hi Doug, thanks for the comments. I think I am leaning towards the sealed HTM-200s.

Dave, I am indeed using an AV123 MFW-15 sub in that room, so crossing over at 80+ Hz shouldn't be a problem.

I do like Sam's idea of putting acoustic foam on the back (and possibly sides) of the left & right speaker enclosures.

However I'm still not quite dead-set on what center would work best. The CMT-340 SE center would have about 1-2" to the back of the center channel cabinet. Might this be okay, or would an HTM-200 sound better?

:)

davef
05-20-2008, 11:19 PM
Dave, I am indeed using an AV123 MFW-15 sub in that room, so crossing over at 80+ Hz shouldn't be a problem.

The higher the crossover point, the less effect the rear port will have. I would say that with a 100Hz crossover, you are OK with only 1-2" of clearance behind a 340 SE center. Tough choice either way, but you do have options here.

Hope this helps!

chupacabra
05-21-2008, 06:24 AM
Excellent! Thanks very much for your help, Dave.