Ideal 5.1 Speaker Configuration?

Sorry if I have missed this in other threads...but:D

I am interested in what the community thinks the best 5.x setup is?

"x" because the subs aren't going to be Ascend's.

But I do love my 2's (w/RAALs), currently Main L/R...

But about to be able to reconfigure, including the option of towers for L/R...

Do I "relegate" the 2's to surround duty and get Ascend Towers for L/R? Should I upgrade my 2/s to the "EX" and keep as main L/R?

Of course, I realize how arbitrary this situation is, but welcome opinions.

What is your max budget if you "relegate" the 2's to surround duty? Do you currently have a center channel speaker?

About $5k (L/R/C/Sub) but could go a little higher. I do have center channel, but want to upgrade. Probably the Horizon center.

Ratio of movies to music?

I just moved to towers w/ RAAL for L&R, and waiting on the Luna Duo to arrive for center (moving from an S2). S2's moved to surround duty. Rythmik E15HP (single as of now ;-))

If not a Rythmik (Ascend is the distributor), what sub are you looking at, out of curiosity?

I would make the decision on output needed, more than anything else. If you are sitting only 10 to 12 feet away from them, or less, and you only listen at modest volume levels (not at or close to reference volume while watching blockbuster Hollywood movies), then maybe lean towards upgrading the Sierra 2's to EX's. On the other hand, if you do like to listen close to reference volume, or are sitting more than 12 feet away from your speakers then upgrade to the towers.

I will echo what others have said about looking at Rythmik subs, if you don't already have one. My current subwoofer can't keep up with my Sierra 2s in terms of transient response, unless I lower the crossover to 40 to 50 Hz, where it doesn't become noticeable. My primary use for my system is for movies, so this is not a good solution, sending high output bass to the Sierra 2s. A crossover of 80 is much more ideal, but then on certain content, the bass becomes sloppy or sluggish to the bass in the Sierra 2s. I know that the problem is not positioning, since I've went through the effort of locating the sub, where in my main seat there is minimal standing waves. In fact, when I listen to sweeps I don't hear any unevenness at all. So an upgrade to a Rythmik sub is hopefully coming in the near future to fix this issue.

Currently have an older Energy S/W and really leaning towards upgrade to a Rythmik...lots of good information about them, and it says something that Ascend distributes them.

I have a fairly large great room, I'm amazed at the ability of the 2's to fill the space with sound but think that towers is probably the way to go. Often sitting 15 feet away from the speakers, "critical" listening (and viewing) is about 9-feet.

I'd say 60/40 Movies/Music.

Curious of choice of ported or sealed subs in both cases? My current sub is sealed 12", not ideally placed because of furniture constraints (large wall unit) but that should be modified soon with some ability to more ideally place all of the speakers including the sub.

Thanks for the info and input!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by esnewtunemakers

Currently have an older Energy S/W and really leaning towards upgrade to a Rythmik...lots of good information about them, and it says something that Ascend distributes them.

I have a fairly large great room, I'm amazed at the ability of the 2's to fill the space with sound but think that towers is probably the way to go. Often sitting 15 feet away from the speakers, "critical" listening (and viewing) is about 9-feet.

I'd say 60/40 Movies/Music.

Curious of choice of ported or sealed subs in both cases? My current sub is sealed 12", not ideally placed because of furniture constraints (large wall unit) but that should be modified soon with some ability to more ideally place all of the speakers including the sub.

Thanks for the info and input!

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Depends on room size (volume) and how loud you like to listen. Per Rythmik's site, general recommendation is ported for primarily HT, sealed for primarily music, 15" sealed for combined.

You could always ask Dave/Dina for their recommendation or Brian/Enrico at Rythmik.


http://www.rythmikaudio.com/

When it's about time to pull the trigger, I'll definitely be in contact with Dave and/or Dina for recommendations.