As Randy said it’s very much a matter of opinion and as Jay said it’s also a matter of circumstances. First off what size is your room and how far is the seating going to be from the various speakers?
My room is 13x21x8-12 (vaulted) my closest seating is 12’ from the front 8’ from the back and 3’ from the sides to the nearest seat.
L/R - IMO would best be M80/M60/M22 but nothing smaller. Because of distance and preferring 2ch music w/o a sub I went with the M80s. The M60 would also work and according to some who have them are a little less forward than the M80s. I’ve also tried the M22s up front with a sub but IMO at this distance/room size they start sounding a little thin but in a smaller room sitting closer I‘d be hard press to tell them apart from the M80s when crossed over to a sub.
C - IMO an identical center to the L/R is ideal. An M22 is also a very good match for the M80s. My preference is for vertical centers especially the farther away I sit. Up close the center soundstage can collapse to the center speaker for some multi-channel material. With PLII/Neo:6 there’s a setting to spread out the center channel to the mains preventing this. I most prefer a vertical center for music as I feel it gives better imaging if you have the room for proper placement. OTOH a horizontal center like the VP150/100 can work better especially for movies and when sitting up close by spreding out the center of the soundstage making the whole front soundstage more seamless. IMO what to use is very much a matter of what you can fit, planned uses and personal preferences. Best way to find out is to order and audition sever candidates and just keep the winner.
Side L/R - QS8s or QS4s depending on room size. I’ve never liked direct radiators on the sides since I’ve heard the QS8s as they IMO better diffuse the side soundstage blending it between the front and rear. Mind you the farthest I’ve every had my side surrounds from the nearest seat is about 5’.
Back L/R - QS8s/QS4s or M22/M3/M2. As Jay says this depends a lot on distance for me. At the current 8’ I actually prefer direct radiators but thing the M22s are overkill and plan to order a couple M2s. The only time I would prefer the M22 in the back is if I needed to go with a lower crossover to avoid localizing bass sent to the rears with the subwoofer but IMO there’s just not enough low bass in the rear channels to warrant that right now. Also with QS8 side surrounds I’ve found in my 2 smaller rooms the back speakers added nothing and didn’t even use them.
Wide L/R - something closely matching the L/R mains but one step smaller. The M22s are a perfect match for the M80s and I suspect the M60s. I imagine the M2s would be a perfect match for the M22s.
Height L/R - QS8s or QS4. I know DSX recommends direct radiators here (and even as surrounds) but my experience is that the height channel is 100% ambient and perfect for the QS design. IMO the QS8 is overkill for this roll and the less expensive QS 4 would blend with anything just as good.
I know there’s a little more than you asked for but others might be reading this and also by thinking about what various speakers you might want in the future say as height or wide which IMO both add more the back speakers you might better be able to buy now with an upgrade path in mind. Nothing wrong with buying M22s as mains + center then upgrading to M80 mains later and moving the M22s to the wide position. Other purchase w/upgrade options are possible depending on you’re need/recourses.
Cheers,
Dean
P.S. Put your money in a save investment like a money market fund and at least earn interest off it. I deffered buying a better projector and some other equipment a year ago and put the money in stocks. I now have 30% more then a year ago. Though I’d call stocks iffy right now should you need to use the money soon, but at least you could make a little bit in a safe investment.
Last edited by grunt; 03/04/10 08:08 PM.
