The dual 500s have now been moved from the living room, where they added nothing to the actives, to the man-cave. I dropped each one next to each M100. I haven't calibrated but my initial impressions are that two 500s or one M800 are both equally good. There is no need for all three and that is for both movies and music.

The soundstage down there will be very hard to beat. It's already wide, deep and tall. I know the M100s and M5s could not do what the actives are doing in my living room. Will they be able to do the same in the man-cave? We'll have to wait until closer to Xmas to find out.

I already know a few things. The basement system is missing a lot of detail. And those M100s, crossed at 40Hz to the subs, are struggling with Poem of the Chinese Drum right around 0 on my Onk whereas the actives nearly ripped the walls from my studs with no subs. Why that is, I don't know. Is it the 1500 losing control due to the crossover? Is it my Onk's pre-amp? We'll have to wait until closer to Xmas to find out.

The dual 500s took the punishment down there like two champs. Will I even need subs and a centre down there with the actives? We'll have to wait until closer to Xmas to find out.

House of the Rising Sone
Out in the mid or far field
Dedicated mid-woofers are over-rated