Mixed vintage speakers for HT use?

[gogofast]

First time posting in this section of the forum, I think.

I'm trying to put together a HT system, but before I go out there and buy all in one box for ridiculous amount of $$$, let me ask you guys this:

1. What is the main difference between HT speakers and stereo speakers, if there's any?
2. Is it OK to use different sets of vintage speakers (exp: KEF, Spendor/Rogers, KLH, and etc.) with different impedance to fill the HT channels? Currently, I have about 5 sets of speakers not being used.
3. Recommendations for a mid to mid-high level blue ray or other disc players?
4. Any other suggestions for a HT newbie?

Thanks.

 

[JoeESP9]

1. Actually, not much if any.
2. Yes. Although timbre matched (same manufacturer/same line) speakers are preferred. A lot depends on the AV receiver that you have. Many of them are not rated to drive 4 Ohm loads.
3. I prefer Sony Blu-ray players as the better ones also play SACD's. That's important to me.
4. Let us know what gear you already have and/or plan to use.

 

[Spiceman50]

In my case I custom made a surround system using ADS speakers. My mains are ADS L1230's and Custom Center/Surrounds were made from the L810 which uses the very same speaker parts. Woofers Mids and Tweeters match the L1230. Everything is balanced and matched as close as you can get from a custom vintage Set up. I'm happy. Very happy. I am no longer turning down the sound when it gets too loud and no longer turning it up to hear when the sound is low. I may have broken a few rules along the way? ... Smaller Center, Smaller Surrounds??? I'm happy as I can be. Best results in my case from my experience is when you can match the speakers with the mains as much as you can.

 

[gogofast]

1. Actually, not much if any.
2. Yes. Although timbre matched (same manufacturer/same line) speakers are preferred. A lot depends on the AV receiver that you have. Many of them are not rated to drive 4 Ohm loads.
3. I prefer Sony Blu-ray players as the better ones also play SACD's. That's important to me.
4. Let us know what gear you already have and/or plan to use.

I'm currently shopping for a 5.1 receiver/amp along with a blu ray player. I have sacd players so if considering only the blu ray function, is there much difference between Oppo and Sony as an example? Why are Oppo players so much expensive? Is it just the build quality?

Best results in my case from my experience is when you can match the speakers with the mains as much as you can.

I see.

 

[SpruceMoose]

I’m running three double Advents across the front and four Bose 601s around the sides and back. Sounds wonderful! Try to match the three in the front if possible.

 

[gogofast]

I’m running three double Advents across the front and four Bose 601s around the sides and back. Sounds wonderful! Try to match the three in the front if possible.

Nice, thanks for the advice.

 

[jcamero]

When I bought my, "Home Theater in a Box", the reviews all said keep the subwoofer, dump the satellite speakers. I found a set of JBL FLIX surround speakers, and use them for rear L/R, and center. My front L/R are Altec Capri's. I've also used B&W DM5's for the front L/R. Sound's good to me.

 

[Bodyblue]

Use your best speaker as the center channel. Most sound from 5.1 encoded material comes from the center channel.

 

[gogofast]

Use your best speaker as the center channel. Most sound from 5.1 encoded material comes from the center channel.

Oh, that I didn't know. Thanks.

 

[Bodyblue]

Oh, that I didn't know. Thanks.

It sounds strange but its true. More than just dialog comes through it.

 

[Duane]

The OPPO Blu-ray players were pretty much the benchmark for years. The last ones made were the BDP-103 and 105. I have the 103 and it has served me well. It plays pretty much all discs and is solid. This player comes up on Ebay quite often for around $300 +. New they were $500.

 

[isotopesope]

The OPPO Blu-ray players were pretty much the benchmark for years. The last ones made were the BDP-103 and 105. I have the 103 and it has served me well. It plays pretty much all discs and is solid. This player comes up on Ebay quite often for around $300 +. New they were $500.

their latest blu-ray players were the 203 and 205. however, in April this year Oppo announced they will stop manufacturing new products.

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

 

[cartop]

I have the Oppo BDP-95 and it is built like a tank. Plays anything I throw at it and it has for years. I love that when I turn it on if there is new firmware available it downloads it and is quick at it to. Also even though they not making new product they are still supporting their products with warranties and tech support.

 

[Duane]

their latest blu-ray players were the 203 and 205. however, in April this year Oppo announced they will stop manufacturing new products.

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

True, but those 2 are UHD players and try finding one under $1k.

 

[SpinninAgain]

I put my surround setup together a few years ago. To me it sounds great.

I went on line and researched the whole concept of 5.1/7.1 and decided the space wasn't big enough for 7.1.

I didn't want to spend a tone of $$$ on it so I looked to the discontinued/bargain web sites. Again I did some research on all the speakers and receivers that caught my eye. I tried to match them up as best as I could sound/frequency/input-output wise.

I finally decided on a Denon receiver, 2 Boston Acoustic bookshelf and 1 center channel. For the rear i went with BIC America indoor/outdoor speakers(don't laugh, they got very good reviews). For the sub I went with Acoustech PL-200. 12 INCHES OF "RATTLE THE PLATES IN THE KITCHEN" GOODNESS!

All wires are run through the wall/attic except the sub and the 4 front/rear speakers are mounted up high pointing down slightly to the center of the room.

After tweaking the volumes in all speakers it sounds very nice. After all this time, I still find myself looking around to see who is behind me sometimes.

It took some time to put it all together but it was well worth the effort.

 

[twiiii]

Vintage speakers for HT. JBL, Altec, Klipsch, That way. you don't have to buy big amps. I should have said efficient JBL models. They build models from less than 90 db to over 100db. The more the better. Of course they will have to be rather large to reach 30 HZ. Another Choice Urei model 813 or 815. If I weren't going to use Subs I would want 4435 or Model 19's. L300's will be a good choice. Klispch Cornwalls. Chorus II, CF- 3&4. Forte II. EV-6 was a great speaker, all you would need is 50 watts. Frazier made some interesting speakers. Altec and JBL made so many speakers for the professional market in utility cabinets and then made the identical speaker in furniture cabinets. I didn't like JBL's bullet shaped ring radiator. The later ones were more linear. EV and Klipsch used the same tweeters for years. If you buy Klipsch make sure you choose the later series one models that handle significantly more power. The model II's have much superior tweeters and the mid were being updated, too. Good luck.

 

[PianotunerNJ]

Ok, so this is my exact wheelhouse. After several systems over last 25 years, I would say the #1 most important thing is matched speakers. Not cross brand, not cross series, and only sometimes cross model. I use vintage Sony APM speakers, but not 5 of the same. My stereo mains are one step up in size from my center and surrounds, but they’re all big speakers with the same driver technology and very very similar in terms of acoustical characteristics. The best situation would include 5 identical speakers. Reason for this is so as sounds move around the room, they don’t change. Without a really good match, the surround effect looses its believability.

I find this is most important for surround music, movies not so much.

Also, I disagree that your center needs to be your best speaker, unless it’s a match for your front stereo pair. I use my surround system for music more than movies so having very competent full range speakers all around is key, not tiny satellites. Also, I use a sub but my speakers are cut off at 50hz since all my speakers are strong till below that. Sub doing 50 and below (about 20hz with my SVS).

For surround music, generally the front stereo pair shoulder the bulk of the load, the center channel is probably the least used. Many mixes are quad and exclude the center altogether. For movies and TV the center gets leaned on more, so don’t go tiny for a center. There was a time when I had mixed speakers, but after I matched them up it was much better. Modern receivers also do a pretty good job of balancing levels and eq with the room correction systems the have built in, and that can offset a degree of variety in your speakers but I’d still want matching speakers to give it the best chance. Vintage ok, different speakers not so much.

 

[Grenadeslio]

If planning on listening to music in multi-channel then matching the speakers is more important, for just movie watching etc then not so much.

 

[galactus2]

Ok, so this is my exact wheelhouse. After several systems over last 25 years, I would say the #1 most important thing is matched speakers. Not cross brand, not cross series, and only sometimes cross model. I use vintage Sony APM speakers, but not 5 of the same. My stereo mains are one step up in size from my center and surrounds, but they’re all big speakers with the same driver technology and very very similar in terms of acoustical characteristics. The best situation would include 5 identical speakers. Reason for this is so as sounds move around the room, they don’t change. Without a really good match, the surround effect looses its believability.

You nailed it quite well.

Let me try and help the OP with his questions, based on my own experience. When setting up my 5.1 system last year, I tried using my vintage JBL L-26 2-ways in the front, and vintage Klipsch 3.2 2-ways in the back. Bad mix. The Klipsch were so efficient, and the JBL's so inefficient, that it was a futile attempt. Even moving the Klipsch to the front, and the JBL's to the rear, did not help much.

The better move, that I'm still happy with, was to step up to some Wharfedale Diamonds (towers) in the front, with Wharfedale Diamonds (bookshelf) in the rear. And a Wharfedale center, too. Huge difference.

So, OP, you can indeed use vintage speakers in a 5.1 setup, but learn from others' experiences here and make sure you have matching set(s). And let us know what you end up with, and how it has all worked out.

 

[gogofast]

Very helpful posts. Thank you all. So, I'm getting a feeling that one of the most important is the matching efficiency of the speakers.