Thinking about Diving In....

[Jicbulk]

I have a 12' x 20' room that I need to fill with sound....Used mostly for watching movies/tv along with a projector.

Considering CBM170s as the mains and CMT340C as the Center (mounted above the screen).

For the rears, I've got plenty of room and the CBM170s would be fine. For the surrounds the 170s might be a bit big so I'm leaning towards the HTM200s.

I'm planning on adding a Sub as well (Hsu STF-2).

Does this make sense? Should all of the surrounds match? How far from the walls should all of these speakers ideally be placed?

First post - thanks in advance for the assistance! Great Forum!

[GaryB]

It's generally recommended to match all the surrounds if possible. If your listening is mostly TV/movies, I think you would be more than happy with HTM-200s for all 4 surrounds. You would gain virtually nothing by upgrading to CBM-170s for the rear surrounds only, since the side surrounds are more important anyway.

If your listening includes a substantial amount of high-res multichannel music, then upgrading to CBM-170s for the side surrounds, or both sides and rears, is generally considered worthwhile if you have the space. The HTMs can be mounted right against the wall, if desired, while I believe the CBMs require at least 3" clearance for proper port functioning.

[BGHD]

I have the opposite situation. Using 170 sides and 200 rears with 340LCR, mainly because of space constraints in rear area. Works fine since I like multichannel SACD/DVDA, so the 200s really only fill in when using certain surround modes for movies. Aesthetically though, it'd be nice if all four matched. Would imagine the soundstage would be even more seemless, although I haven't noticed any problems w/ my setup. If >90% movies/TV, 4x 200s would work fine and look better too, IMO.

[Jicbulk]

Just placed my order for:
170SE for L/R
340SEc Center
170 Classics for Rear/Surrounds

Get here before the Super Bowl...Get here before the Super Bowl...Get here before...

[curtis]

Get here before the Super Bowl...Get here before the Super Bowl...Get here before...

Watching any sports broadcast in high definition and DD5.1 is a real kick.

[tamuct]

Watching any sports broadcast in high definition and DD5.1 is a real kick.

For the most part the only stuff you get on the rear channels in the sporting events are the network sound effects and crowd noise. I was watching a NFL game the other day and my wife says to me, where's that cow bell coming from? I had to explain that it was from one of the fans at the game.

[curtis]

Every once in a while an "bad word" comes through the surrounds and cracks me up.

[cjcwctl]

Just placed my order for:
170SE for L/R
340SEc Center
170 Classics for Rear/Surrounds

Get here before the Super Bowl...Get here before the Super Bowl...Get here before...

I am getting ready to make the dive myself, going for 5.1 setup. I am curious as to the reason for choosing the classics for the surrounds as opposed to going with the SE's all around...money?

[Jicbulk]

I am getting ready to make the dive myself, going for 5.1 setup. I am curious as to the reason for choosing the classics for the surrounds as opposed to going with the SE's all around...money?

Pretty much. I called and discussed all of my options with James. He was very helpful. SEs all around would obviously be the most preferred option, but Classics and B-Stock Classics are still available, and for Surround duty (and to a greater extent, Rear-Channel Surround duty), the Classics will be more than capable, with the SEs offering (IMHO) an almost impossible-to-notice upgrade for movie sound schemes.

Now, if you're planning on listening to a lot of multi-channel music, the SEs might be the better choice for you.

Also, I needed 7 speakers...you only need five. The cost difference probably isn't enough to go with Classics - just go for the SEs....

[schellhase]

I have a 340C and 170-L/R SEs on order along with two HTM200s for surrounds. Yesterday my Salamander stand was delivered for my Sony 40" LCD. The TV is mounted to a center post on the Salamander - it really looks great floating above the stand.

My problem is that I had planned to lay the 340 sideways on the cabinet surface below the TV and there isn't as much space there as I thought there would be. I currently have a HTM-200 there as a temporary center and it fits fine but the deeper 340 will not. The above the TV mount for the 340 has been vetoed by my wife.

I guess it would be possible to use the HTM-200 as a center with 170s for mains, but if I did that would it make any sense to wait for the SEs or would classics work just as well?

I am really aprehensious about having a small center. The system will be 94% DVDs and TV and I really like a dominate center speaker. It's in a small room (12' x13') so maybe 6-HTM200s would be adequate.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

Larry