Hey everyone, this is the case: I've got a receiver Marantz SR5500 with a RelQ150e subwoofer and a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze B2 as front speakers and a B central as central speaker.
I need two more speakers, for the surround positions... what should I do? SHould I buy a new pair of B2 for that or it is best to acheive a pair of B1..
i'm not familiar with all of monitor audio's models.
if they have a dipole surround that's designed to match your B2s, then that would be your best option to get a larger and more diffused surround, but your next best option is to just use the same exact model as your mains for perfect tonal matching.
the absolute worse thing in the world to do would be to use surrounds that sound very different from your mains eg. 2 different sizes from two different brands.
when a sound moves from front to back, it shouldn't change it's tone or volume. front to back imaging is pretty much the same thing as left to right imaging, only in back, sounds shouldn't be as easy to pinpoint.
that's controversial though. i've seen one or two members here that absolutely hate dipole surrounds and will only use point source (regular) speakers.
i call them "flanking speakers" as they're distinct left/right sounds where dipoles spread the sounds out more front to back.
if monitor audio has a pair of dipole surrounds designed to match your B2s, get those, if not... get a 2nd pair of the same.
if you don't listen to a lot of SACD/DVD-A multichannel music I would spend as little as possible on surrounds, they do maybe 10% of the work for most movies.
BTW Hugo, when I said "as little as possible" what I meant was $50/pair for Polk R15s at Circuit City or Fry's, and $100/pair for Athena B1s at audioadvisor.com
Gotta disagree, try to buy timbre or voice matched speakers for the rear. The days when the rears only do 10% of the work in movies is just about done. Most movies have musical sountracks and effects that pan and you don't want to hear a discontinuity while listening. It can be distracting. I agree with chris go with the B1's.
my surround system sounds terrible with mission M71s or those radioshack aluminum 2 ways (yes... i have a pair LOL) but sounds perfectly matched with the second pair of zeros.
it's true that most films have very little surround info, but if you ever hear a sound panned from front to back like a jet flying overhead, it would sound terrible when it changes tone.
even when actors talk in the background, it sounds wrong when the speakers aren't matched. matched speakers greatly improve the surround illusion. when your surrounds are matched... sounds between your mains and rears will float better.
i took one of my original superzeros apart and pulled the stuffing out when i considered upgrading my crossovers. when i put the stuffing back in, i couldn't get it to fluff as well as it did before. it threw the tonal balance off slightly and degraded imaging.
when i got the second pair, i moved them to the rears and my mains' center image tightened back up. from front to back, surrounds are really just 2nd and 3rd left to right images. properly matched speakers will improve imagess between the speakers.
you should also give your surrounds equal power too.