Deciding Between Floor Standing Speakers
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When I was shopping for speakers last time I was able to find a local AV store (50 miles away) that carried both brands: Paradigm and B&W so I could do a back-to-back comparison (though not too many stores carry the Diamond line).
If you can arrange to have both sets of speakers at your house at the same time, that would be absolutely fantastic!
If you can arrange to have both sets of speakers at your house at the same time, that would be absolutely fantastic!
I think that is where I differ from many here. I am not going to buy a movie just because it has a 7.1 soundtrack. I tire of 40 minutes of buildings falling down and head toward movies with plots I can relate to.
I would never criticize others for their tastes here. Just mentioning mine. I used to be that guy, but I guess my age is catching up with me. I had a laserdisc player the first morning they went into test marketing in Denver in 1978. Adapted old Sansui and Harmon Kardon QS matrix receivers to provide dolby surround. Built my own speakers, including a joint project for a loaded horn subwoofer. That was a monster. After awhile I noticed I had a lot of laserdiscs that were garbage I never watched, simply because they were the hot pick for sound and/or visual effects. Eventually I decided that stuff just doesn't make for long term enjoyment. I cut back and now concentrate on only buying stuff I am going to enjoy watching regularly.
Back to the subject at hand. My receiver is 7.1 capable and THX certified. I haven't bothered to hook up the last two speakers though. I have an issue with my theater. I chose to curtain off the left side, rather than build a wall. The reason was that I wanted to be able to open it up for parties for the kids. Also works well for things like Super Bowl where folks can wander in and out. However, it doesn't leave me with a place to hang a side surround. I live with 2 back speakers instead and strap the receiver in 5.1 mode. As it is, there is not enough rear action in the majority of movies to justify even 5.1, except for ambience and depth. Many have said that a small theater will not really benefit from the two additional speakers. My theater is 12.5 x 19 with 1 row of 4 recliners and a bar for the second row. I guess I could add side speakers with some carpentry, but I am not convinced it would add greatly to the experience, especially at the $1k it would cost. I've been considering adding a monitor to the bathroom, and those other 2 channels might be put to better use there. Who knows, I could change my mind tomorrow, but for now I am quite happy with the current system. If I do decide to spend a couple of $k, it would probably be for the AT screen and placing the LCR in a better location and with a much better center.
My last go to place for equipment just put up the store closing sign yesterday 
The few that are left are all custom installers and don't generally carry demo stock. No better than buying from Amazon, except the price is higher.
My son is asking for a better set of headphones. Around $200 and over the ear. Only place I found anything locally was the magnolia in one Best Buy. They just had them on the rack and nothing was set up for demo. They had the demo station, but nothing plugged in. Couldn't find anyone willing to even help us, so I left. I think we are going to end up serially buying and returning from Amazon.
The few that are left are all custom installers and don't generally carry demo stock. No better than buying from Amazon, except the price is higher.
My son is asking for a better set of headphones. Around $200 and over the ear. Only place I found anything locally was the magnolia in one Best Buy. They just had them on the rack and nothing was set up for demo. They had the demo station, but nothing plugged in. Couldn't find anyone willing to even help us, so I left. I think we are going to end up serially buying and returning from Amazon.
Yeah, I don't buy a movie just because it has 7.1, either. There are just way more than there used to be. More and more every day. Wasn't even paying attention that 3 of the ones I looked at while typing earlier also have Atmos tracks.
It is getting really hard. Outside of BB, closest shop to listen to stuff is 25 miles away.
S~
Your home theater is the only place that makes sense to do a true audition. Nobody can reasonably simulate your environment.
Multiple drivers arranged vertically isn't the issue. When you arrange them horizontally, that's where the phase cancellation comes from. Most ears are at roughly the same elevation but they're all at different different angles in the horizontal plane.
Frankly, Sir, I don't see the difference whether the interference pattern is in the horizontal or vertical plane. The problem is that 2 speakers at a certain frequency will find points at specified frequencies where the two waveforms are 180 degrees out of phase. At that point, they cancel each other out. The bigger deal is high vs low frequencies. Since low frequencies are of a longer wavelength, the distances to produce null points increase. You simply aren't going to see them from a normal 10' listening distance from elements 8" apart. Now high frequencies are another story and this is why center speakers only have 1 tweeter.
If you look that the horn arrays they use for sound reinforcement these days, they orient them vertically because it doesn't foster nodes (other than between the arrays). I was at an outdoor concert this summer where they used 12 horn chains spaced 20' apart. If these arrays were arranged horizontally, the sound would be a mess. This is how some of the sound bars and multi-driver centers are set up and you can literally hear the sound rising and dropping as you walk across the sound field. You can get a similar effect by going up and down with vertical arrays but not many experience that.
Not wanting to argue. However, The number of node cancellation points go down and the distances increase as the signal wavelength increases. If the frequency is lower (not the tweeter) and the speakers are separated by a distance much less than the wavelength of the signal, then the nodes cease to be an issue.
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/waves/ipl.cfm
http://www.physicsclassroom.com/mmedia/waves/ipl.cfm
I would like to keep this thread to speakers I am auditioning and trying to decide between. Please feel free to start a separate technical thread on this topic.
Thanks,
S~
Thanks,
S~
Let us know which brand you will end up choosing! My top three choices were B&W, Paradigm and KEF. Initially I was very impressed with B&W, but after hours of auditioning I ended up going with Paradigm. The longer I listened to them, the more I appreciated them. To me the sound seemed richer and less fatiguing. But of course this is very subjective! And my price point was significantly lower too: a 7-8K budget for the entire 7.1 set. So, I didn't spend too much time with Diamond or Signature lines - an overkill for my "man-cave" home theater.
Yeah,
I originally started with the Prestige and CM10's. I really noticed a huge difference between the Prestige and Signature lines and the CM10 and Diamonds. I've never been that fond of the CM line, although the 10s sound a lot better than the 9s. I listened to some GoldenEars today. They were not very golden to my ears. Even my dad said he preferred the Signature series. I'm going to listen to some Wharfdales and Sonus tomorrow.
S~
I originally started with the Prestige and CM10's. I really noticed a huge difference between the Prestige and Signature lines and the CM10 and Diamonds. I've never been that fond of the CM line, although the 10s sound a lot better than the 9s. I listened to some GoldenEars today. They were not very golden to my ears. Even my dad said he preferred the Signature series. I'm going to listen to some Wharfdales and Sonus tomorrow.
S~
I am a bit biased towards B&W - I have three sets. My sets are dated, but I love the 800 series.
I didn't mind the Diamond series. I just preferred, as did my half deaf Dad, the Paradigm Signatures. They were more open. Now if it were only the Paradigm Prestige vs. the B&W Diamond, that would be an easy one.
S~
S~
Listened to the Motion 60 No Wharfdales, even though they're listed on the Magnolia Design Center website.
Down to Paradigm Prestige 85 and Signature 6's. Signature line is due to be replaced mid year. Waiting on my dealer call for my pricing.
S~
Down to Paradigm Prestige 85 and Signature 6's. Signature line is due to be replaced mid year. Waiting on my dealer call for my pricing.
S~
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