October 27, 2014

Which speaker would you prefer for home theatre?


A - A conventional 3 way speaker with dome tweeter and 6" mid - 93 dB sensitivity on the top section,  with a pair of 8" or 10" woofers (active). A fairly slim speaker with plenty of bass extension.

B - 8" passive 2 way with compression driver, 8" waveguide and 93 dB sensitivity. More chunky with just enough extension to mate with a sub (80 Hz). Higher output than A and a more controlled dispersion pattern.

C-10" floorstander with about an extra octave bass extension over B. 94 dB sensitivity.

D - Satellite version of C, similar to B but with more output.

E - Highest output and sensitivity of all options, basically a larger version of D.

F - Second highest output of all options, cheaper than E but more chunky in appearance due to 12" driver and waveguide. Technically better waveguide but more "pro audio" in appearance.

4 comments:

  1. Considering I intend to have a AT screen in the future I think I'd go with 3 x E for LCR and 4 x D for rears and effects.....

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  2. None of these, although A is closest. I will be using an Open Baffle mains with two 15" AE Speakers dipole a side in a 3 way. I will be supplementing these with a conventional 18" subwoofer for HT use.

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  3. That would be more of a 2 channel speaker, as open baffle speakers tend to have a deeper sound stage (whether contained in the recording or not) and a lack of image focus. Vocals which are critical in movies tend to be vague in their location. The only advantage of using open baffle speakers for HT is that you can probably dispense with a centre channel. Designs B - F also have this advantage. It takes considerable front wall treatment to get sharp imaging with open baffle speakers but at that point you may find what you like about them is gone.

    So what makes these designs suitable for HT? The dispersion is well optimised for a large listening area, not just one sweet spot. They are also easy to drive with an AVR (excluding E) and very dynamic.

    You would want to be more 2 channel oriented to prefer a 3 way OB.

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