Comments on: Can I build a home theater surround-sound systems with “unmatched” speakers?

By: Grumpy Mac

Grumpy Mac — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:48:06 +0000

You can use it – but it wont sound as good as using all speakers from the same company.

Look – a cheap set of 5 tone matched speakers will actually do a better job than 5 expensive speakers from different companies. The goal is to create a ’soundfield’ where the tone does not change as sounds swirl around.

And Mirage are actually well respected speakers.

So my advice is to stick with the matched set of Nanosats.

Try and mount them so the tweeters are all at the same height – ideally your ear height when sitting down. Then level adjust with an SPL meter, then … enjoy.

By: Dr Hook.

Dr Hook. — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:48:06 +0000

Yep that’s no problem at all, use ur brothers B&W and enjoy your 6.1

By: HVS

HVS — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:48:06 +0000

If you have a receiver that do auto-calibration to each of the speakers, then you can. If you don’t, you can do it manually by using a Radioshack SPL meter.

I have mix/match my speakers and no problem for me.

By: Ben E

Ben E — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:48:06 +0000

Is your system a true 6.1 system or does it have a&b main speakers. If it has a&b main speakers it will not be true 6.1 or 7.1, but you can have a 5.1 setup with an extra two speakers for a wide configuration sound setup. If your system has something different than a&b main speakers, another one of these answers would be more helpful.
Hope I helped.

By: AudioGMan

AudioGMan — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:48:06 +0000

If you have a 5.1 speaker system, 5 are your satellites for main left, center, main right, left surround, and right surround. The .1 is the subwoofer. Am I missing something here? A center channel speaker doesn’t have to have the typical 3-driver layout with a tweeter in the center between two mids. The reason this is common practice is because when two identical drivers are placed side by side in horizontal fashion as in the case of the two mids, the soundwaves radiating from both drivers combine and radiate more laterally. Therefore helping to anchor the dialogue and action that is happening onscreen instead of spreading it out. Also the speaker can at the same time be made wide and short so that it fits nicely on top of the tv. There’s usually only one tweeter because high frequencies are very directional. The reason one should always use matched satellite speakers is because they are all sonically identical in timbre. Using a speaker that has a different timbre than the rest will cause a clash in the sound unless it can be equalized to sound identical as the rest. But why bother? Just use all identical speakers. The sub can be a different brand because it is for low frequencies that are omnidirectional. Speaker placement is key. Hope this helps. Good luck.