2.1 vs 3.1

[admin_exported]

Hello everyone,

I was originally going to go ahead with a 'conventional' 5.1 Cinema System, but due to the wife not wanting rear speakers, we agreed together that we will go ahead with a 2.1 or 3.1 home cinema system.

I had this particular amplifier/reciever in mind: Yamaha RX-V3900 here is the link to the Yamaha website: http://tinyurl.com/Yamaha-RX-V3900

It looks like this amplifier/reciever has excellent capability to expand to 5.1 or maybe even 7.1 in the future, I have hardly any technical knowledge so you guys would know better... I just think Yamaha is a reputable company.

So my question is 2.1 or 3.1 home cinema?

 

[chudleighpaul]

Could you not pursuade to have small satellite speakers at the back? It would sound much better.

You wont go wrong with a Yamaha amp.

 

[WishTree]

Wow.. That is a very serious AVR and it would be a pity to see it not performing in 5.1 mode. If the choice is between 2.1 or 3.1 then my recommendation is 3.1

I have moved from 2 -> 2.1 -> 3.1 -> 5.1 and the biggest difference I have seen is in the last two upgrades. Though you have not mentioned the speakers that you are interested in, make sure you chose a Center which is in the same league as your other speakers. I had a B&W CC3 for some time before upgrading to B&W LCR600S3 and the difference is night and day! Center really changes the dimension of the Home Cinema and you can individually increase the volume of the center to get voice more pronounced, if required.

 

[bigrich55]

Looks like I am not the only one my big fish friend ... I took a trip to Best Buy at Lakeside this week (well worth a trip) and listened to several combinations and convinced myself that 3.1 would be ok ... albeit not perfect. Personally I liked the Denon 1910 and Q Acoustics 2020 package combination (might buy the full 5.1 set and use the extra 2020's for separate upgarade to music system). That said the 1911 is probably what I will get primarily as it will give me the ability to add i pod through usb slot rather than have to buy separate unit.

If I could afford it I would probably go with the B&W 685 set .... but not sure that twice the price gives twice the benefit in sound terms

Good luck with your search.

 

[bigrich55]

Forgot to say that 3.1 knocked spots off 2.1 ... the centre added so much more

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replys,

Have a read of this taken off an another forum.

Just a quicky about centre speakers. With a good 2 channel stereo set
up, you get an even spread of sound between the speakers. There is no
"hole" in the middle. With a multi channel surround set up, providing
you place the front left and right so that they are evenly spaced either
side of the screen and at the same height as the centre of the screen,
and set the amp for 4 channels, then the centre channel info will be
handle by the front pair and will sound spot on.

If the front speakers are spaced too far apart, then yes, there would be
a "hole" which a centre speaker will fill (but it would sound odd to
awful with 2 channel stereo).

Regarding the amplifier I am considering the RXV-1065 with a pair of B&W 685's

Also something I read somewhere really intrigued me

I upscale everything through my 1065 and get great results, even the Sky
HD up to 1080p

Is this really true, and what do you think regarding the speaker - amplifier combo ?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Barracuda: Have a read of this taken off an another forum.

Just a quicky about centre speakers. With a good 2 channel stereo set up, you get an even spread of sound between the speakers. There is no "hole" in the middle. With a multi channel surround set up, providing you place the front left and right so that they are evenly spaced either side of the screen and at the same height as the centre of the screen, and set the amp for 4 channels, then the centre channel info will be handle by the front pair and will sound spot on.

If the front speakers are spaced too far apart, then yes, there would be a "hole" which a centre speaker will fill (but it would sound odd to awful with 2 channel stereo).

The above would be true of you were sitting in the sweet spot. But like most AV set ups, 2 or 3 people can't sit in the same place. In a 2.1 setup, whichever speaker you sit nearer to (if you sit off centre), you'll hear that speaker more than the one further away from you. That gets annoying when someone on the screen is talking and their voice is coming from somewhere else. This will be the case with ANY 2 channel setup, regardless of how good it is.

Granted you'll generally get better quality from a good hi-fi ystem over an AV setup, but if you're using an AV amp you may as well use the centre channel too.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Frank,

Just one small confusion at the moment: "Granted you'll generally get better quality from a good hi-fi system over an AV setup" do you mind going into more detail on this one or are you refering to this for 2.1 systems only?

Also regarding the centre channel I might as well go ahead with it what do you think of this combo ?

Yamaha RX-V1065
B&W 685's or B&W CM5's if the CM5's are twice as good for the given price.

Edit: B&W HTM61 for the center

Thanks in advance

 

[Frank Harvey]

What I mean is that if you compared a 2 channel hi-fi setup to an AV setup being used in 3.1 mode, the hi-fi setup will be better quality, but the hi-fi setup wouldn't be able to produce a soundfield which could be listened to convincingly by more than one person in the same room.

If you're looking at the CM series, you'll need a better amplifier than the 1065. You'd ideally be looking at a DSPZ7 for the CM series.

Whichever speakers you go for, go for the matching centre.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Barracuda: Thanks Frank,

David

 

[Anonymous]

First of all sorry David

Regarding the CM series the DSPZ7 sets you back a cool £1,399 and I found the CM5 for £699, thats a total of: £2098 excluding center speaker.

Compared to

Yamaha RX-V1065 which I found for £499 and the B&W 685's for £379, thats a total of £878

If you really do need a better amp than the 1065 to go ahead with the CM Series the price of the 1065 with the B&W 685's justifys the price more for me.

Would you say this is a wise choice ?

 

[Frank Harvey]

If you can, I'd try and stretch to the 2065 for the 600 series - you'll need all the control you can get!

 

[Anonymous]

Hmm... The only difference I can see between the 2065 and the 1065 is that the 2065 has 25 more watts of RMS power. I am sure this is probably a noticeable difference. Regarding the stretch of budget I can stretch as high as the RX-V3900... but which out of this three will be best suited to me?

A vital piece of information I believe I have missed out is that I live in a flat and ultimately quality is what matters to me over power!

 

[Frank Harvey]

The B&W's will be thankful of the extra power, even if you play at normal levels. The 3900 would've been an amp that I would've recommended over the 2065, but as they're discontinued, you'll have a hard job finding any. But if you can, it'll be ideal, and probably ok for the CM's too if you really want to go for them.

 

[Anonymous]

I understand, regarding the 3900 I have found them in stock in a few places but you said that they are discontinued, and I guess if they are discontinued this means usually that new ones will be out soon and knowing me I like to wait for something new that is going to come out soon

 

[Anonymous]

Hmm... you sure that the Yamaha RX-V3900 is discontinued

 

[Frank Harvey]

Yup, has been for a short while now, hence the lower prices.

 

[Anonymous]

I see...

Well David you have given me quite a few things to ponder over this bank holiday weekend... thank you sir.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Nay problem lad