Appreciate anyones advise!! I have a pair of B&W 804 speakers and want to set up a surround sound system but dont have the room or a wife who is open to more bulky speakers.
I was thinking of the B&W FPM5 as a center and the M1s for the rear suround (wall mounded)...i know that he HTM4s or the HTM2 are correct match but need an non-obtrusive alternative. Question is whether they will sound (match) good together?
Nope, they won't. Even though they're made by B&W, the huge difference in quality will be a dead giveaway and make for a pretty awful soundscape overall. Stick with B&W since you need them to match timbrally, but look at things like the new XTC which is a very smart centre speaker.
As for the surrounds, is there no way you can convince her to allow the DS7 or DS8s models? They're very effective and will match your 804s well. Well, the DS8s are meant for the 804s. They can be placed further up on the wall than many because they're full range and can act as dipoles which gives them a more diffuse sound. The DS7s are a bit narrower than the 8's - perhaps that would be enough?
Let me help. At all costs, match the L/R/C channels, worry about the surrounds later. This is regardless of hi or low end audio. Most of the centers responsibility is dialogue, BUT there is also singing, music, cars, trains, etc. that travel from speaker to speaker and a "better" center channel that does not match the mains will turn out to be a weak link. No debate, just a helpful tip.
I have been dealing in midrange to high end HiFi for over 10 years as a part-time dealer. In my experience, it is far easier to get it wrong when building a system rather than getting it right. Manufacturers tend to voice their products in similar ways, partly because of design philosophies and partly because that's the way they like kit to sound. Given the myriad number of materials, design philosophies and production methods, you can understand that no two manufacturers make interchangeable products.
Therefore it is far safer to stay within a brand name when building a surround speaker system. It's not unheard of to mix brands but it is far more difficult to get it right. Martin Logan makes very distinctively voiced speakers. Their Centre speaker would produce some absolutely fantastic dialogue, no doubt about that. However, it is such a different presentation that the soundscape would become an artificial sounding space because of the obvious change in character as sounds sweep across the front and even simply because the quality of the centre speaker would stand out a mile.
I appreciate that mixing and matching brands can obtain a better result in some circumstances, but in this instance, you are much more likely to get an adverse result than a complementary one. After all, you'd hardly choose a stereo system and go for different left and right speakers just because you had the opportunity to do so. You'd know instinctively that the chance of making a believable stereo system woould be slim and eventually you'd have to match up the second speaker. Doing this with 5 speakers could prove expensive...
Emmanuel, I hope you understand that this is not a personal attack, merely a rationalisation of the dangers of mixing speaker brands in a surround scenario.
Yes, well said Frank. I have had mixed speakers in my 5.1 system and while it was okay, having the same speakers all around made the world of difference. And especially so with hi-res surround music.
I would stick to an equivalent B&W center model that would be compatible with the mains. i think you should ask B&W's the company which model line that you can afford would be a good match. I do like the drivers use on those B&W'S and the cabinet design. looks like a robot. wilson is another company that makes some interesting robotic looking high performance loudspeakers. I only heard these brands on a showroom at a high end store. i can only imagine them in a home setting with proper acoustic material padding and structure.
Hey where did Emmanuel's posts go? He wasn't offensive or anything.
If he asked to have his posts removed because of the reaction to them, I'm sorry he felt this way. It was good that the points were made and my posts look a touch odd now...
Emmanuel, if you're reading, my apologies for any offence.
You must have missed what followed over the past few days. Mr Cruz proved to be quite a nasty, racist, lunatic and forum members aked for him to be removed.
It must be remembered that a center speaker carries a lot of information and mixing it with 804's means you'll need a center of some substance. I cannot recommend another brand that will be close in timbre and give a seamless sound. Whatever you try, hopefully you can get some sort of return agreement.
But would you recommend within the B&W Family? I did follow the site the past couple of days and some of the messages were crazzy...all over speakers!!
Yes one fellow seemed to have had a brain phart and has been taken off the forum. I do recommend sticking with B&W, but then I am biased toward the brand even if I do own only the humble 602S3's (2 front 2 rears) with an LCR600 center.
Prior to this setup, I had 2 JBLXTi60's in front, 2 JBL S36's in the rear and a B&W6S2 for center. While this worked okay it wasn't great as it is now (for the money). While I recommend staying with the brand, you may be lucky to find another brand for your center that will match closely - what I don't know. But it is always good to be able to audition in your home if possible and return if not suitable. A good dealer should understand the difficulty in what you are trying to achieve.
karim, what about the HT M7 which is the smaller center and next model below from the one that is recommended for the newer model I think of your mains which is HT M4S for the 805S. Unless you want to go on a couple of lower models with the LCR600 S3...from what I have searched on the B&w site!