Hi all, I've just upgraded to a Panasonic th-42pz70 TV, selling both my old Sony crt and a pioneer 5.1 all-in-one system. We only really used the all-in-one when watching DVD's etc and relied upon the TV speakers for regular viewing. The sound from the pz70 internal speakers is much less acceptable even with broadcasts and so now I want to upgrade the audio to match the fantastic picture. I would like to use a 4.0 system if possible, something along the lines of:- Tannoy Mercury F3 fronts - Tannoy Mercury FR rears - Onkyo SR605 or Sony DG910 amps - room 15'x13' - Hopefully, unless this is a really stupid question, some of you will be using a 4 or 5.0 systems an so can anyone comment if this will work well please?. Will I be loosing too much with not having a dedicated centre and sub channel? Also getting a little technical, most all-in-one system have the sub frequency response from 40Hz, so can I expect similar performance from the F3's (rated from 35Hz) to that I got from the old pioneer system with its’ sub? Any comments will be appreciated.
4.0, 5.0 or must it be at least 5.1 to be worth the effort?
- Thread starter blackledge
- Start date
[quote user="blackledge"]Will I be loosing too much with not having a dedicated centre and sub channel?[/quote]
In a word, yes. The centre channel mainly handles dialogue, and the subwoofer the bass feed (ie the .1 in a 5.1 system), so if you're running an excellent amp like the Onkyo SR605 you'll be missing out on two significant parts of the surround sound experience.
As there are so many great 5.1 speaker packages available, why not go the whole hog? Something like the Tannoy Mercury F1 package (£800) would work a treat with the Onkyo.
In a word, yes. The centre channel mainly handles dialogue, and the subwoofer the bass feed (ie the .1 in a 5.1 system), so if you're running an excellent amp like the Onkyo SR605 you'll be missing out on two significant parts of the surround sound experience.
As there are so many great 5.1 speaker packages available, why not go the whole hog? Something like the Tannoy Mercury F1 package (£800) would work a treat with the Onkyo.
You could run 4.0 if your speakers have sufficent bass response - which it seems they do - and give a good enough stereo image.
The latter is vital as, without a centre speaker, the Onkyo (or indeed the Sony) will split the dialogue channel between the front L/R speakers, so it needs those front L/R speakers to image well enough to create the impression that the dialogue is coming from the screen, which will be located between them.
From experience of the Mercury F3s, you should have few problems in this respect, but a bit of toe-in will help firm up that centre image.
The latter is vital as, without a centre speaker, the Onkyo (or indeed the Sony) will split the dialogue channel between the front L/R speakers, so it needs those front L/R speakers to image well enough to create the impression that the dialogue is coming from the screen, which will be located between them.
From experience of the Mercury F3s, you should have few problems in this respect, but a bit of toe-in will help firm up that centre image.
Thanks for the advice guys.
It seems like the centre could be quite important so I'll try and accomodate that from the start and I'll leave the sub as an upgrade option for later.
I'll update you on how I get on. Thanks again.
It seems like the centre could be quite important so I'll try and accomodate that from the start and I'll leave the sub as an upgrade option for later.
I'll update you on how I get on. Thanks again.
[quote user="blackledge"]It seems like the centre could be quite important so I'll try and accomodate that from the start[/quote]
You really don't need to - when the receiver detects there's no centre speaker, it'll reassign the dialogue to the front left and right speakers, and it'll still seem to be coming from the screen. The centre is good to have, but by no means essential.
You really don't need to - when the receiver detects there's no centre speaker, it'll reassign the dialogue to the front left and right speakers, and it'll still seem to be coming from the screen. The centre is good to have, but by no means essential.
Hi all,
Just though i'd give an update. i've got the Onkyo SR605 driving the Tannoy F3's, Frc's and a FCc (5.0) and i'm very happy. I'm having to keep the foam bungs in the F3's just to keep the bass under control and keep the mid/top end tight, so i'm sure that i'll not be needing the sub any time soon.
I'm using the PS3 to play blurays and DVD's and i'm suitably impressed, it's given new life to my DVDs, i've even watched TopGun again HaHa..
One other thing is that the Tv can control the amp volume, so my SKY/V+ remote can control the amp volume (very wife freindly). One niggle though is that the TV is too impatient at waiting for a AV signal and defaults back to DVB when switching hdmi sources on the amp. This then causes the amp to auto swtich to DVB audio input, so it means you have to repeat the request for the other hdmi input again. No big deal really but the amp is just a little too slow switching between the HDMI inputs, and the TV too keen to show any picture!!
Once my new shelves arrive and the kit finds is permanemt position i'll try the auto calibration features and then the tweaking will commence......
Just though i'd give an update. i've got the Onkyo SR605 driving the Tannoy F3's, Frc's and a FCc (5.0) and i'm very happy. I'm having to keep the foam bungs in the F3's just to keep the bass under control and keep the mid/top end tight, so i'm sure that i'll not be needing the sub any time soon.
I'm using the PS3 to play blurays and DVD's and i'm suitably impressed, it's given new life to my DVDs, i've even watched TopGun again HaHa..
One other thing is that the Tv can control the amp volume, so my SKY/V+ remote can control the amp volume (very wife freindly). One niggle though is that the TV is too impatient at waiting for a AV signal and defaults back to DVB when switching hdmi sources on the amp. This then causes the amp to auto swtich to DVB audio input, so it means you have to repeat the request for the other hdmi input again. No big deal really but the amp is just a little too slow switching between the HDMI inputs, and the TV too keen to show any picture!!
Once my new shelves arrive and the kit finds is permanemt position i'll try the auto calibration features and then the tweaking will commence......
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