stereo vs. surround

[jellyfish420 10+ year member]

i've been hearing that stereo>mono>surround.

why is that. i've been wanting to do something cool for the house but i don't know what to do. i used to have a dvd player w/ surround built in. $100 walmart special. well it just crapped out. so i was wondering what a good "stereo" setup would consist of that would be better than surround. i'm kinda cheap and i like to do stuff myself so it'll be DIY. i already know i need a nice sub and amp for the sub. but what would the front be? 4's, 2's, 6.5's??? i hope you get what i'm saying..... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

Click to read more...

 

[Beat_Dominator 5,000+ posts]

Stereo is only better for listening to Stereo sources like CD or LP's.

Surround is nice to have for SACD, DVDA, DVD, HD-cable, etc.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

It depends on what you want to do.

You can get a very holographic and fluid soundstage out of a two-channel setup, but some people like a true 5.1 or 7.1 channel setup for movies or DVD audio.

I like two-channel playback for simple audio because that's how the artist intended - you sit in front of the performer and the sound comes at you from in front. You'd be very surprised what two loudspeakers can do for a soundstage - rear loaded designs placed in room corners can cause the width of the stage to "bloom" out in front of you and provide very good instrument localization.

As far as speakers go...that really depends on what you're doing. There are literally thousands of different combinations out there, and each of them has its benefits and drawbacks.

 

[jellyfish420 10+ year member]

It depends on what you want to do.
You can get a very holographic and fluid soundstage out of a two-channel setup, but some people like a true 5.1 or 7.1 channel setup for movies or DVD audio.

I like two-channel playback for simple audio because that's how the artist intended - you sit in front of the performer and the sound comes at you from in front. You'd be very surprised what two loudspeakers can do for a soundstage - rear loaded designs placed in room corners can cause the width of the stage to "bloom" out in front of you and provide very good instrument localization.

As far as speakers go...that really depends on what you're doing. There are literally thousands of different combinations out there, and each of them has its benefits and drawbacks.

i wanna try the rear loaded horns. i've been reading all about them and its about time i try something...what would you suggest for a decent, cheap setup?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

A single Fostex 4.5" or 6" driver, in a published horn design...consult the manufacturer's specs and http://www.diyaudio.com for help building one.

The cheapest pre-built commercial variety I know of costs $500...crazy when you can assemble them for a fraction of that.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

As a bonus, if you go the full range driver route, you don't need to worry about building crossovers for them //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Just a direct connection to your amp.

 

[jellyfish420 10+ year member]

i know you said full range...but what is the actual range? will i still need a tweet? i know i still need a sub, but would it extend low enough to sound good w/o one?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

...but what is the actual range? will i still need a tweet?

You don't need a tweet, no //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Hence "full range"...

My bass reflex cabinets will have a maximum low end extension of around 60Hz...that's with a tuning of ~71Hz. Horns will have better bass response, but expect to need a sub to really provide low end support - after all, these are drivers with a few mm at most of Xmax. A sub would be very useful to get the bottom two octaves.

 

[jellyfish420 10+ year member]

so what your saying is i can get a nice, say 6.5, put it in a nice rear loaded horn, and thats it?

60Hz all the way to 20kHz? it'd sound better to get a tweet and run 2way though, wouldn't it?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

60Hz all the way to 20kHz? it'd sound better to get a tweet and run 2way though, wouldn't it?

Depends on whether you like that or not. A single-driver setup has a slightly different sonic character - after all, it's a true "point source" where all the sound is coming at you from one place. Having no crossover tends to make a difference as well - the impedance curves are relatively flat throughout the frequency range.

 

[jellyfish420 10+ year member]

you got any links to a decent pair of mids and tweets that you would suggest?

preferably under $100

when looking at drivers...what specs should i look for that would work well in a rear loaded horn?

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

a good stereo setup should "surround" you more than multiple speakers