Surround Sound Speakers Upgrade

[professorhat]

Hi there,

I'm looking to upgrade the front speakers in my surround set up. Currently, I have Tannoy Mercury M3s at the front, a Mission 78c centre, Mission 78ds rears and an Acoustic REL Q150E sub. This is all driven by my Denon AVC-A1SE amplifier.

My starting point I think is my front Tannoys. They were bought well before the rest of the system and are nigh on 10 years old now! I was thinking about the KEF IQ5SE's - I've read nothing but good about them. Trouble is I live nowhere near a decent hi-fi stockist and have no car, so a demo with my set up is off the cards. Anyone any thoughts on this?

I was also thinking about the centre. I've noticed on quite a few films, the dialogue can be a little weedy compared to other background sounds and wondered if this was the cause. It's possible it's just poor encoding on the disc, but I seem to be noticing it more and more now. Anyone got any recommendations on a good centre that would match the KEF's well (or any recommendations you make other than the KEF's?!).

My rears and sub at the moment I think are doing just fine, but any recommendations that would better suit are welcome! Rears for me are an issue, due to the layout of my living room, they need to be either small or wall mountable (as the 78ds' are).

I use the system almost entirely for home cinema so musical ability isn't high on the agenda, though is obviously welcome. My living room is fairly large (approx 20' by 15') so I'm thinking floor standers for the fronts are best. My budget for the fronts and centre would be around £600-£800.

Many thanks!

Antony

 

[professorhat]

Hi,

Anyone have any comments? I'm pretty sure the KEF IQ5SE's are a good bet for my fronts, but I don't have any ideas for the centre. I could stretch to £1000 on my budget (giving me more for the centre). Or am I barking completely up the wrong tree?!

Any good back issues of WHF I can get hold of which look into separate speaker combos for surround?

Many thanks

Antony

 

[professorhat]

Ok, I'm now thinking along a different line! I've got the chance to get a KEF Reference 204c centre speaker for about £900. This seems like a great deal except, I can't find any reviews for the thing (other than one on some dodgy website saying it's "well good" which doesn't inspire me with confidence!). I can then save up some more and gradually replace my surround speakers to give my system the sound it's capable of.

I see it needs a a big amp to drive it, but I would have thought my Denon would be capable?

Has anyone any experience with the Reference series? I can't see anything in the Buyer's Guide unfortunately (unless I'm being dumb!)

Many thanks!

 

[professorhat]

Okay, forget the KEF Reference 204c - I saw its dimensions and, although I was tempted to re-arrange everything in my living room for it, I decided it was a bit over the top

Which still leaves me confused. I have no idea what centre speaker to get (or if I even need to upgrade from my existing one) as there doesn't seem to be any information I can find on buying speakers independently of one another rather than getting one manufacturer's package system

Surely someone in the WHF team can lend a few words of advice or point me to a back issue / future issue where this might be covered?

Many thanks