Crtitique my home cinema plans...

[Ultraviolet]

Hello

I'm planning an upgrade to the audio on my home cinema, and was hoping for some critical advice on the idea...

I've a couple of Wharfedale Active Diamond 8.2 speakers sitting directly under a 40" Samsung TV and a decent amp (Marantz NR1602).
Playback is Sky+ HD, X-Box, Apple TV.

I now want to add the other surround channels, ideally with as little bulk as possible to keep SWMBO sweet.

So the plan is to output L+R and Sub from the NR1602 into a mixer, and put the sub, L and R channels into the Wharfedales.
I've found a decent mixer, a KRAMER 100MX which looks like it will do the job.
High L and High R will be Anthony Gallo Micro Ti, as will the centre which will sit under the TV, slightly above and in the middle of the Wharfedales.

I'll probably also configure the amp to take some of the bass out of the centre channel (depending on the performance of the Micro Ti) and push it through the sub. This will then end up (via the mixer) in the Wharfedales, keeping the bass and upper levels of the centre close together. So, in essence, the Wharfedales will carry L, R, Sub and the lower registers of the Centre channels.

This will enable me to avoid a sub (I don't need gut churning bass, and the two 8" bass drivers on the Wharfedales should do the job) and allow me do keep the existing speakers and add only smaller satellite units.

What do you think? In particular, are the sub and L+R channels coming from the Marantz different impedences, and will this cause any problems when using the mixer (and if so, what would I need to do)? Also, should I? look at converting the mixer output to balanced, then send to the balanced output to the Wharfedales?

Any thoughts, especially on those last two questions, much appreciated.

cheers, UV

[OldSkoolRS]

Sounds like you're making it far more complicated than it need be for a start. Secondly, having two front speakers with an 8" driver, then having a tiny centre speaker will sound awful (IMHO): There will be such a difference in the sound/timbre of the speakers as sounds pass across the front also. I'd be looking at getting a centre to match your fronts or otherwise I would use a 'Phantom centre' setup in preference to mixed sizes and brands across the front. Having different surround speakers doesn't seem quite so critical (I have PMC fronts and M&K Tripole/Monopole side and back surrounds myself). Otherwise I would suggest buying matching Galio speakers all round and buy a sub: You don't have to set a sub up so that it sounds like a Chav's Corsa. Having all the speakers the same will give a great soundfield that will really make the most of the surround effects too.

Set up properly your existing AV amp should be able to redirect any bass to the larger front speakers if they are set to 'Large' (which something needs to be if you have no sub). The surrounds would then be set to 'small' and any signal below the crossover (80/90/100Hz or higher) will not be sent to them, but to the sub or in your case the 'large' front speakers.

I hope this helps, I always hate the way PH doesn't show the existing posts when replying so I may have missed some other points, apart from one final comment: It isn't a 'Home cinema' it's a big telly with speakers. It's only a 'Home cinema' if you have a projector IMHO.

Edited by OldSkoolRS on Saturday 11th August 13:45

[rhinochopig]

I have the Gallo Ti speakers - courtesy of Plotloss (give him a PM I'm sure he'll do you a deal - and they are superb little speakers, punching way above their weight, BUT they sound ste when mixed with bigger speakers. It kills the balance. I experimented with some Wharfedale 9.1s in L+R purely out of curiosity as I had a pair lying about.

For home cinema I'd stick with matched speakers unless you have the budget or a friendly enough local shop to let you experiment. All in IMO etc.