# Advice on Rear Speakers for 40% Audio, 40% Blu/DVD, & 20% Surround Music?



## IronWaffle (Mar 28, 2013)

Folks, I am in need of sound advice/a soundboard to bounce ideas off of and this feels like a good place. Thanks in advance for any words of constructive wisdom...

[Edit: I tried posting links to the speakers but I have insufficient privileges; sorry]

I'm interested in upgrading my rear speakers. I'd say it's about for 40% listening to stereo CDs/ALAC files (in Expanded Stereo mode, where the left channel is played through front left and back left, ditto right channel), 40% Blu-ray/DVD and 20% surround SACD/DVD-A/Blu-ray Audio.

My local shop is having a 35% sale on PSB for the next few days -- strictly on what they have in stock.

My front stage is 
- PSB Imagine T-2
- PSB C center

The two options I keep going back to are:

1) A second set of PSB T-2. I'm guessing this is overkill, but at this price ($1140 each) it is very tempting since I listen to so much 2-channel in Expanded Stereo.

2) A pair of PSB Imagine T towers, which have one less woofer and no midrange ($715 each)


Tomorrow I'm going back for a third listen, this time they're setting up the PSB Tower beside the T-2 so I can A/B.

My gut is that two more T-2 are overkill for surround video and probably for surround audio too but maybe not for spreading my 2-channel listening through four speakers. I'm sure that goes against audiophile grain, but it's what my ear enjoys. And on that front, I'm concerned whether the rear stage will sound anemic with the T (which I doubt since they're a large step up from the Imagine S surrounds I'd been considering until this sale. Since those are out of stock, they're off the table and -- frankly -- with this sale I prefer the tower options.


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Well reading what "expanded stereo" does in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mixing_(recorded_music)

I would say the rears are not being played full range so there is not need for the expense of adding speakers equivalent to the front mains. An Imagine B or even the Imagine mini should be enough depending on your volume levels.

Considering their size you should ask if you can test them both in your room to see if they perform as you like


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## IronWaffle (Mar 28, 2013)

Andre said:


> I would say the rears are not being played full range so there is not need for the expense of adding speakers equivalent to the front mains. An Imagine B or even the Imagine mini should be enough depending on your volume levels.
> 
> Considering their size you should ask if you can test them both in your room to see if they perform as you like


Thanks for the sensible advice and the Wiki link. Bear with me while I think "out loud."

When I was there a few days ago, I listened to the B bookshelves and A/B'd with the T towers. Obviously I heard a significant difference but it's hard for me to guess if they'd feel so lackluster in CONJUNCTION with my T-2s instead of in place of them (if that makes sense). During this sale, the go for $715 a pair (exactly half the T towers), so that's the happiest wallet-wise. Volume-wise, I crank it a lot (at least for me: between -10 and -6 dB, from memory). One reason I'm tempted to "go big" in the back is so that my large, awkward room could be filled more evenly at a lower volume. That may be faulty and expensive logic.

I'm beginning to think my best option (if I'm still undecided after listening in-store again) is to purchase a pair of and the Tower's (or an in-between if they have) and auditioning them at home (after telling them that's the plan) and keep whichever feels right, returning the others. The shame is that the sale is only until Saturday so I only have a few days to evaluate without the option to evaluate something else afterwards without paying full price.

Re: Expanded Stereo, that's an interesting read. Not *sure* it's the same thing (way out of my pay grade!) since the processing is done by my receiver, a Pioneer SC-1522 (the non-Elite equivalent of the Pioneer SC-63) does some of its own processing to create the effect. Since I'm currently using very low power old HTiB Klipshes for the rear I can't gauge how much information is really being sent to the back. I'd like to think it's strictly the MCACC'd audio, but hard to tell. I do know that it also sends the lowest frequencies to my sub, but that's got more to do with setting all my speakers to "small," if I recall. Yeah, I'm outta my depth!

/ramble.


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## gdstupak (Jul 13, 2010)

In your situation I would want all sound quality to be equal which could only happen using the the exact same speakers all around. Even if the rear speakers are not getting a full range signal, you still want the upper bass, mid, and high frequencies to sound exactly the same as the fronts. 
In my opinion, the only reason to choose a different model speaker for surrounds, is because of setup/cost restraints. If there are no setup/cost restraints, all speakers in a system should be the exact same model.
A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.


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## IronWaffle (Mar 28, 2013)

gdstupak said:


> In your situation I would want all sound quality to be equal which could only happen using the the exact same speakers all around. Even if the rear speakers are not getting a full range signal, you still want the upper bass, mid, and high frequencies to sound exactly the same as the fronts.
> In my opinion, the only reason to choose a different model speaker for surrounds, is because of setup/cost restraints. If there are no setup/cost restraints, all speakers in a system should be the exact same model.
> A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.


That philosophy is definitely also in my head. I'm fortunate that I can afford to *budget* it, though money is always an object in this arena and I personally file this under "want" not "need." I won't be upgrading again until some point when I may buy a new home (with better listening conditions than my decidedly un-audiophile living room!) so I don't want to "under-buy" and feel compelled to upgrade again. 

My original plan last April, when I finally built this system, was to eventually buy the S surrounds, which cost the same as the Ts and, from what little I've read have comparable sound, but can also be used for 7.1 sound. That's an appealing bonus. I just needed time to absorb the cost and be sure I like the front stage. Sadly, the S is not part of the sale due to inventory.

I'm going in today and will try the T2, T and B. If I still feel this unsure then I will probably go the middle road with the T, set it up tonight and home audition heavily tomorrow (using floor models that should have some hours on them already). While far less than ideal, if they feel too weak for 2.0 expanded then on Saturday I may swap for the T-2. If it more than meets my goal, i may consider the B instead (but that's unlikely(. Either way, I'll have seven days to return my final choice and, when another sale opportunity arises (maybe in a year) I'll already know what I want and will enter as a more educated consumer. In the meantime, there are other uses for that money (whether maybe adding an amp or, say, spending a bit more on our vacation).


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