Home Theater Surround Sound Question

[Wasch_24]

If it weren't so expensive to ship them I would be more then willing to trade you my Boston Acoustic fronts for some smokes. They are tower speakers with each one containing an integrated powered subwoofer.

They sound great and provide more then enough ooomph to the low frequency sounds. There is just no where to put them here in the new house.

Problem is, they weigh about 35 pounds EACH.

 

[CWS]

My concern is whether 10 year old speakers are worth integrating into a new setup. :dunno:

Your concern is valid. Ten years is a lot of technology down the road. Unless you have kilpsh or definitive techs, they will not hold up if you crank it up with a decent unit. Also the sound will be muffled int he front, not as crisp as the speakers made for this function. That being said, I ran a surround sound system with old speakers for years and really enjoyed it...until I bought the Bose. When I invested in the Bose, I sold the old system immediately. We run the Bose in the cigar lounge and the NAD 2000 watt system in the living room. As I said, you can do it, its just limiting as to how much you can tune the system to perform. And no matter what you do, buy the biggest, baddest subwoofer you can. You will never regret it.

 

[MCsommerreid]

Sometimes 10 year old speakers can be far superior to modern ones unless you buy high end.

I prefer the sound for music from my dads 35 year old speakers over my theater system. However, for movies and video games my speakers tower over the older ones. The new ones have much better bass output, whereas the old ones have much better range output at their power rating.

Its my opinion that building a system yourself from components will give a better system at a better price. The boxed systems like Bose, Sony, and Panasonic sell are all well and good if you want it fast and easy. Unfortunately (especially with Bose), you pay a premium for that ease, and don't get the same amount of performance if you custom built a system.

 

[Boppa-Wasch]

:thumbsup: I still like my Pioneer 1000's...Sound is still great......even when cranked up... vibrates the neighbors windows real good....36yrs old and still going strong.:applause:

 

[MithShrike]

Speakers are an interesting subject. It's like cigars, everyone has their own preference in sound and the use each person puts them to is varied. Anyway, I'd stay away from Bose, premium price for a sound that is normally beat by lower cost items. I'm not particularly fond of a lot of the lower end new gear. I like vintage stuff more. Although I must admit there is a lot of good new stuff, just expensive.

http://intellexual.net/bose.html

That's a good article on Bose. He even provides some good alternative model numbers with the price range at the time. IIRC though, that is not including a receiver. The new HKs are pretty good, Yamaha is decent, and the Onkyos are well regarded.

 

[Jwrussell]

OK, question for all you HT gurus. Are there any good/decent true wireless rear channels out there? And as I'm talking rear channels for surround, I'm not looking to break the bank here...

 

[Wasch_24]

Affordable?

IMO, no.

 

[MCsommerreid]

Affordable and good, no. But there are "affordable" surround sound systems that run under $300, but they aren't really home theater quality.

Currently wireless doesn't have the bandwidth for audio or video, but there is a standard in development with relatively good backing behind it. Can't remember the name of the group behind it, but it's in the several dozen gigabit range and is being developed specifically for wireless video and audio at ultra high quality. If I recall its slated for initial release in 2015 or so.

 

[Jwrussell]

All I'm really looking for is rear channel speakers that are wireless so I don't have to run wires...

 

[CWS]

I just cant imagine getting the quality youll really want with wireless. I know what you mean about the wires. My next house will have monster cable in all the walls.:thumbsup:

 

[AZsteelman]

All I'm really looking for is rear channel speakers that are wireless so I don't have to run wires...

I found a skinny electrician who went up in the attic and across the inside of the ceiling and ran my wires...no wires showing, and the sound is great.

 

[MCsommerreid]

I just cant imagine getting the quality youll really want with wireless. I know what you mean about the wires. My next house will have monster cable in all the walls.:thumbsup:

You dont want monster cables in your walls. The aren't shielded enough.

 

[CWS]

:glassesgr

Mine were custom made for my system by Noel and the boys in 1989. Probably ancient technology now. NAD head with two 1000 watt NAD amps powering definitive technology towers. Never had a shielding problem. Broke a lot of glass.

 

[MCsommerreid]

You probably also has a house with romex or some such. Cales really dont seem to like the knob-and-tube that runs through these walls unless they're shielded.

Aint' nothing like over 1000 watt sound systems. Especially 1000 watt surround sound.

 

[cvm4]

I found a skinny electrician who went up in the attic and across the inside of the ceiling and ran my wires...no wires showing, and the sound is great.

That's what we did at my house. Not a bad fix either.

 

[Boppa-Wasch]

Run the wires!!! Much better sound.

 

[Wasch_24]

Yeah, I don't think the technology is here yet for compareable performance in wireless speakers...regardless of the price tag.

 

[caudio51]

You have to run wires. Sure it is a pain in the ass for a day to run them but the benefit is definitely worth the work.

 

[Greg]

Just bought an Onkyo 7.1 system (HTIB), can't wait for it to be delivered :grin:

 

[acaffey]

Just bought an Onkyo 7.1 system (HTIB), can't wait for it to be delivered :grin:

Lucky bastard. I've been shopping for 7.1 and the Onkyo systems are nice...

From what I've seen, most of the wireless systems only have wireless rear speakers anyway. My buddy has one and there is a noticeable difference in the definition and overall quality of the sound in the rears and the rest. You can't really tell when you're sitting on the couch, but definitely noticeable when you are closer to the speaker.