Affordable 5.1 to 7.1 conversion

[admin_exported]

Hi

I've recently purchased a Marantz SR6003 and very very happy with the product i am. What i want to do now is move from my current 5.1 system to a 7.1 without breaking the bank further.

I currently have Quad 11L fronts and rears with the Quad L Centre (all original L series) and i want to add a set of affordable rear effedts speakers. What i am thinking of is purchasing a set of Tannoy Mercury F1 Custom's for the rear effects do you think that the Tannoy are fit for purpose of should i been waiting untill i can afford to spend a little more? My new understnding of the Audyssey EQ calibration sysytem will balance the different speakers as much as possible

 

[Andrew Everard]

I think the Tannoys may dominate things. I'd wait until you can afford an extra pair of Tannoy L speakers

 

[Tom Moreno]

Hi Vance,

The Audessey system does EQ your system to better match speakers as the sound moves around the room, but it's still best to try and keep to the same speaker family as different speakers have different tonal characteristics which are usually common within a speaker range. The Audessey EQ will probably help with major differences in the speakers but the ultimate difference in tonal character will prevent the seamless movement of audio between channels and would negate the rear channel placement accuracy that you are looking to achieve by moving to a 7.1 setup.

 

[Anonymous]

There's my main problem. The Quad L series i own has been supperseded by the L2 series, i realise the same drives are used but reviews suggest there is a tonal difference.

I want the keep my existing Quads as i love the overal sound

 

[Andrew Everard]

I think the tonal differences, which are fairly small IMHO, won't be apparent if you use the extra pair for the rear surround channels

 

[Anonymous]

OK i'll take your advice and wait TY

 

[Sorreltiger]

I started with a Quad L-ite system, purchased when there were great deals about 18 months ago. Soon afterwards, I bought some 12L2s for the front pair and finally swapped the L-ite centre for an L2 centre. The original front pair of L-ites are now the rears in a 7.1 configuration. Whilst there aren't many movies in 7.1 yet, I was setting up a dedicated room and it seemed silly not to put in the wiring with the likelihood of this becoming a more common format in the future.

I see you have a Sky HD box - in fact, the 4 surround speakers come into their own most when watching Sky Sports, using PLIIx processing, which I leave on all the time. In movies, the rears combine well with the left and right to create an immersive surround effect. I wouldn't have thought that minor differences (L range to L2 range) would be noticeable at all, but sticking to Quad would be wise - and aesthetically pleasing!

One thought - there are generally quite a few Quad speakers in good nick available via a certain auction site! I obtained my new centre (in perfect condition) that way. There seems to be a bit of a dearth at present, although these seem to be an imminent bargain for somebody!

[http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Brand-New-Black-Quad-Lite-Stereo-Speakers_W0QQitemZ220460257145QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_AudioVideoElectronics_HomeAudioHiFi_HiFiSpeakers?hash=item3354748f79&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_559wt_1167]