Good centre and surrounds to match Castle Howard S2 fronts?

[Finguz]

As the title suggests, I'm looking for some advice to point me towards a few makes/models of centres and small/ish surrounds to match ( as closely as possible ) my much loved Castle Howard S2 front speakers. Then I can go and audition them and make a decision.

I have been trying to find an original Castle keep or similiar for the last few months, and nothing is available. I can find more modern Castle offerings, but after having a listen I'm not keen on the sound, so I feel it's time to settle for some alternatives.

I currently have an Oppo 203, LG55B6V and a Denon AVR-X3400H

I will also want to add some front ATMOS speakers shortly ( not ceiling mounted, the Mrs would have a fit ) so any advice on those would be great too.

Thanks.

 

[Finguz]

Nobody has a suggestion?

 

[Leeps]

It's a tough ask, which is why you may not have received too many replies. With surround sound, integration across the front three speakers especially is really important to generate a convincing soundfield.

You obviously feel quite attached to your Castles, so so this informs the reason for my response: I'd be inclined to add a dedicated subwoofer/satellite system to discreetly (maybe even wall-mount) add your front three, surround & Atmos speakers, then drive your Castles with a separate stereo amp. I can heartily recommend Monitor Audio Radius - and depending on your budget, there are plenty of used examples available at reasonable prices. Something like R90 (or the older R90HD) front & rear, R200 centre. You could even use a couple of R90's wall-mounted near the ceiling for your height channels and add a R370HD or R380/390 sub. The R90's are very discreet, the entire system would integrate very well indeed. There are choices of black, white and wood finishes to help be as inconspicuous as possible.

Then just have a separate stereo amp for driving your Castles with your music sources.

The only alternatives to the above seem to be;

a) Sell the Castles and buy a new (or used) set of speakers that are designed from the outset to work together, but by the sound of your original post, that's not an option for you.

b) Randomly buy and sell centre speakers from Ebay by trial and error until you find something that voices similarly to the Castles.

 

[macdiddy]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castle-Acoustics-Centre-speaker-in-black-Ash-/122744537599?hash=item1c942501ff:g:T1gAAOSwAXhZ2g7Q

seems to be similar to one of the items you are looking for, I think if you really want a matching Castle centre spk then maybe your going to have to compromise a bit, after all you said yourself that you have been looking for months without much success.

*unknw*

 

[Finguz]

It's a tough ask....

Thanks Leeps, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. We ( The Mrs and I ) had already discussed buying a seperate system, leaving the castles in place and using them solely for music.

We're going to go and audition some 5.1 systems tomorrow, and we'll make sure to try the models you suggested.

Thanks again, and I'll let you know how things turn out, if you're interested of course

maybe your going to have to compromise a bit, after all you said yourself that you have been looking for months without much success.

Yeah, we're going to have to.

 

[spiny norman]

Given that the Denon has both Audyssey MultEQ and access to the Audyssey Editor app, isn't is possible to use this to adjust the tona balance of a different brand of centre and surrounds to match that of your Castle L/R speakers?

I mean I know the mantra is 'same brand all round', but if you have this capability in the receiver it seems strange not to be exploring its potential. ​

 

[Finguz]

Given that the Denon has both Audyssey MultEQ and access to the Audyssey Editor app, isn't is possible to use this to adjust the tona balance of a different brand of centre and surrounds to match that of your Castle L/R speakers?

I mean I know the mantra is 'same brand all round', but if you have this capability in the receiver it seems strange not to be exploring its potential. ​

The 3400H is not supported by the app, and adjustment is limited on the receiver. I have tried lots of speakers and everything else I, several friends and staff in various shops can think of.

 

[macdiddy]

regarding the compatibity between your amp and the app because according to this page on Denon's website your amp is listed as one of the few models being able to use the app with:

https://www.denon.co.uk/uk/product/homecinema/avreceiver/audysseymulteqeditorapp

*music2*

 

[Samd]

regarding the compatibity between your amp and the app because according to this page on Denon's website your amp is listed as one of the few models being able to use the app with:

https://www.denon.co.uk/uk/product/homecinema/avreceiver/audysseymulteqeditorapp

*music2*

..and if you look on Google play to download the app, it confirms what you say.

 

[Series1boy]

I use the DeRemote from the apple store on my iPad and iPhone for my X6200W. You can do loads of adjustments on the fly.. I use it to change the Centre channel volume when watching Netflix, sky and BD because the sound is always different on these inputs.. it’s good for changing the atmos volume on the speakers without going into the settings via the normal remote, and continue watching your film

its a really good app!

 

[Finguz]

regarding the compatibity between your amp and the app because according to this page on Denon's website your amp is listed as one of the few models being able to use the app with:

https://www.denon.co.uk/uk/product/homecinema/avreceiver/audysseymulteqeditorapp

*music2*

Yes, if you follow the link you supplied and scroll to the bottom of the page it lists the compatible amps, and the 3400H is not on the list. There is a list on the app's page on the Google play store too, and it's not on that one either.

The amp has developed a fault anyway, so I'm going to return it for a refund next week and start shopping for an amp and 5.1 bundle.