I am trying to put together a 5.1 system that will be used mostly for movies but I want something that is good for tunes also.
The room is appx 18x19 with 12ft ceiling. The following are some (unfortunately) very real constraints. Rear channel speakers must go in the ceiling. The front mains will be floor standers. The center channel must be pretty small. I have been leaning toward B&W 603s for the R&L with LCR600S3 for the center. I love the 700 series speakers and might be willing to up my budget to get them for the front mains but there is NO way the HTM 7 (700 series center channel) would ever fit. I know you are supposed to have your R/L/center speakers identically matched but I'm wondering how horrible it would be to have the 600 series center channel with the 704s on the sides?
Don't have a receiver yet - trying to sort through this first. I still don't have all the furniture that this will go around but will within the next week. Regardless a big center channel is not going to happen.
It's the next best option. I don't think you'll have a bad mismatch. Sonically, with the tweeter similarities, there should be little noticable variation. I have a B&W LCR6 sreies2 with XTi JBL floorsatnders that work well together, so your setup should be even better.
To stick with B&W would be the safest route to success. This is because all speaker manufacturers have a 'house' sound. This is probably because the speakers are all designed with similar philosophies and techniques. So an LCR600S is the safest bet for a good result.
The only other thing you could do would be to borrow centres until you find one which is voiced similarly and buy that. The problem is that it's very easy to be beguiled by the positive attributes of a speaker without realising that it's the very differences that are impressing you - and which detract from a uniform soundfield. In the long run, this would make it sound artificial and bug you!
As to the in-ceiling speakers, it's a tall ceiling, so try to get the best you can afford. Again, stick with B&W if possible. If you can't I'd recommend Speakercraft AIM 3 which have the adjustable crossovers to change their sound character to suit the environment. Your room is quite large - would a 7.1 solution be out of the question?
If you decide to go for the 700 series speakers at the front, please try to match them with a larger receiver of the ilk of NAD T773, Rotel 1056, Arcam AVR300 or better, and don't forget the source. If you want fidelity in the sound, you need to look at the better DVD players on the market. It's surprising how much better they sound even though you'll mainly be using it as a transport. Always surprises me!
If I do things this way I'm going to try to get B&W all around including the ceiling - but we haven't talked price on these yet. I appreciate the alternate recommendation.
I wish I could use a better rear set up but due to the arrangement of the furniture / fireplace / doorways I can think of no way to do this but ceiling speakers. 7.1 might be possible - but the additional rear channels would be in the ceiling also. Do you think it would be worth the extra $$?
I understand that the 700 series speakers will require one of the larger receivers like you recommended. If I start with the 600 series stuff will they be OK with these receivers also?
I think I looked at the Rotel 1056 and I liked it but it doesn't have a phono input. Do any of the others?
There is no problem with using 600 series with 1056 and the like. You will reap a benefit by doing this in terms of driving the speakers properly. I think most receivers don't have a phon stage in them. If you want a decent entry level phono stage I recomend the Project Phono Box which retails for just £40 here in the UK and comes in a tiny box about 3 inches square. Attach that with a half decent interconnect and you'll likely have a better result than the phon stage built into most receivers, simply because it would be an afterthought.