How Many Speakers Are Too Many?

[NorthStar]

Feb 8, 2011 16:25:05 GMT -5 @theresa said:

Feb 6, 2011 23:22:59 GMT -5 wizardofoz said:

I was reading this as more of a how many speakers you should own rather than use at any one time for the same source.

I have about 6 pairs that I use from time to time in the same space depending on what amps I using, and what source material I am listening to. My wife says I have too many but many of them cost me nothing and some are quite collectable or they just sound too good to get rid of....I hate to sell of gear

I would like to have two pairs of front speakers. For different types of music but using the same amp since I am not wealthy enough to afford to have a separate tube amp. But speakers, I love speakers, I love speakers that do what I put them together to do, and having selectable fronts would be fun.

The Onkyo TX-NR905 and TX-NR-906 receivers have two sets of front speakers (A & B) for this exact purpose (Speakers A for 2-channel high end Stereo Music, and Speakers B for Multichannel Movie soundtracks). And you can separately adjust them! Like with a sub or not, and automatically set your preferred audio mode for each! ...A very cool feature!
{But Onkyo abandoned that feature in the 5007 & 5008: they went for DSX.}
~ By the way Theresa, the Denon AVR-4810CI receiver has fifteen (15) sets of speaker binding posts!
- And the Denon POA-A1HDCI multichannel power amplifier has twenty (20) of them (for bi-wiring).
>>>Tomorrow, our A/V Receivers will have at least two dozens of speaker binding posts, and only 8 HDMI jacks! That's it! ;D
...Yeah, an Ethernet port, two USB ports, and an i-Pod port as well.
...But I don't think they will be Portable, like our laptops though!

_____________

* In my own main system I do have two pairs of front L & R tower speakers, side by side; and I alternate between them sometimes.
- On my back wall I have two back surround speakers, but I can also easily switch them for a single Center channel speaker (just for the fun experiment of it)!
- I have two pairs of Side surround speakers (one pair is on custom made stands, and the other one on the side walls); and I also sometimes alternate between them.
- On the front, I got an additional pair of 'Width & Height' speakers, a la Yamaha style (Front Presence or Front Effects).
- And my two subwoofers are also on the front of my room, near the two corners.
- And of course my Center channel speaker (below my screen, but another one that can be easily set on top).

So here you go! Thirteen Satellite speakers already installed, with the two subs, plus two other speakers (alternates for both the Front & Rear center) that are ready anytime to be switch over from another room.
Total = 15 (not including the 2 subs)! {But only true 7.2-channel running at once.}
-> I did have three subs in the past though in that same room.

I wish my room was big enough to have eight (8) subwoofers like N8DOGG! ;D

________________________

Heck, some people have few hundreds of speakers installed all over their mansions! Two dozens+ of screen displays, and all that Jazz & Blues that goes with it!...
The only limit is the size of your castle and bank account! ;D

[Erwin.BE]

In theory, one can never have to many speakers. Some of you will remember my reference to Eden Project in Cornwall, UK. These are huge green houses, bubbles if you like. The skin of the bubble is made from hexagon plastic panels. Imagine each hexagon to be a membrane speaker. So, except for the floor, each surface is a speaker. Just like in the African Savane in the Rift Valley where our species evolved 100,000+ years ago (rather than being formed by God out of clay only 7,000 years ago, like some folks delusionally choose to believe, but that's another subject all together), where sound could come from anywhere in the hemisphere but our hearing got biassed to sounds coming from the front to enable us to throw our spears at preys or attackers...

www.edenproject.com/index.php

To me and in practice, 12 main channels would be ideal. I am still tweaking my 11.2 multipurpose HT design. I have the feeling 2 Height speakers are not enough. You need 2 more in the back. I suggest positioning them like the DSX Front Heights: 45° angle from back (so 135° from front) and 45° up. You notice that the total is now 13, not 12. IMO, if such Rear Heights are present, only 1 Back Surround (@ 180°) is needed since the Rear Heights would fill the gap just fine between Side Surrounds (ideally @ 90°) and single Back Surround! This way, you'd have all the enveloping you'd want ànd, with 5 surround/rear speakers, also all the directional options you want.

PS, I'd attach a floor plan, but this thread does not allow for that or what?

[NorthStar]

Erwin, I'd say you are right on tracks man!

Of course this thread allows for that! We're talking speakers here, and lots of them, and the more the better; like anything else in life!

[Erwin.BE]

Feb 9, 2011 6:30:30 GMT -5 NorthStar said:

Erwin, I'd say you are right on tracks man!

Of course this thread allows for that! We're talking speakers here, and lots of them, and the more the better; like anything else in life!

No, I don't get it at all. In this thread, the "attach files" button is not where it normally is.

But I posted again in a another thread, #42:
emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=ht&thread=16077&page=3

[NorthStar]

Oh, my mistake Erwin, I just get it now!

I'm not sure Erwin; every site is different in how you can dowload links, PDF files, pictures from various sources and resolutions, and all that Jazz. I ain't much an expert on that.
And for a person like you that lives overseas you are accustomed to other variables as well...

I like the Lounge for [youtube] videos, animated avatars, but I don't even know yet how to download the pictures of my own camera (never took the time to learn either lol).

>>> For "attached files" you first click on [Post Reply] at the bottom left page; that's the only way you can access the downloading of files! Did you do that first?
Then the box for the "attached files" is right there! On top!

EDIT: NO IT AIN'T! It's not there anymore!
Someone stole it! What the ...!

Somethin' ain't normal right now! We'll have to put a man on this!

[NorthStar]

I just went to another thread and there it was, the box for the "attachment"!

* But here in this thread, somehow it ain't here!!! Beats me man!

[Deleted]

Not iPod port but Android port. I already have too many speaker cables. All the active crossovers each driving its own amp. Thank goodness setup is done on a computer otherwise I could not have dealt with it. Setting it up was a sort of game anyway, a challenge to myself of something I didn't think I could do. I really enjoyed that, more than anything since grad school.
But yes a "a/b" switch for two pairs of speakers. A pair of ScanSpeak's would really be great for orchestral works although my Etons seem to be breaking in nicely and have improved to the point of sounding brilliant especially in the uppor octaves.

[NorthStar]

Hey Erwin, this for you:

@ www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=19976432&postcount=36218

[rachel]

jk

Attachments:

[Erwin.BE]

Feb 9, 2011 10:49:34 GMT -5 NorthStar said:

Hey Erwin, this for you:

@ www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=19976432&postcount=36218

Tsk! So now you see replies to my posts even before I see them myself?

[NorthStar]

Feb 9, 2011 14:13:03 GMT -5 Erwin.BE said:

Feb 9, 2011 10:49:34 GMT -5 NorthStar said:

Hey Erwin, this for you:

@ www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=19976432&postcount=36218

Tsk! So now you see replies to my posts even before I see them myself?

Sorry mate, I thought the Lounge took precedence!

[Deleted]

LATCH HOOKING, use a hook to tie small pieces of yarn together, like those cute rugs with a cat pictured.

[NorthStar]

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooking

2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooking_(ice_hockey)

3.

[Bulletdodger]

I'm with Bob on this one. Thought Hooking was something completly different....

[moookie1051]

L/R: 7.2, BR#1: 6.1, BR#2: 6.1, BR#3: 2.0, Basement: 6.2, Garage: 8.1, Back Deck: 2.0

Total: 37.7

[gerbilaudio]

I guess too many speakers may mean if you are speaker collector like I am. try a loudspeaker the size of a wall, my ACOUSTAT SPECTRA 33 W/SPL subwoofer. the spectras are 68x38x3 HXWXD since they are electrostats and requires lots of amp power. I have carver and sunfire amps to drive those. OHM walsh 300 mk 2, walsh 4x0, 2x0, pro 200, ESS HEIL AMT 1D, ESS AMT 10B, eminent technology lft 8a, magnepan mg 2.5r, mglrs-1, srslabs klayman signature, optimus linaeum LX 5, 55, sunfire crm-2, klipsch rb 51, sls HTR 8R, sls , BIC acoustech H100/FH 56, Janszen Z-130 electrostat add on, bic soundspan TPR 100, advent heritage, sls ht 6.5s, svs pc 12, dcm 1515, and many more.
The new acquirement of emotiva xpa 5, usp-1 and erc 2 will be matched with some of these speaker designs and the rest, my carver/sunfire, pioneer elite systems. Still trying to decide which system emotiva or sunfire to use for my gyrodec turntable and opera consonance lp 6.1 turntables. Having a grant fidelity cd 427 4 tube hdcd player, an oppo bdp 95 and the newly acquired emotiva erc-2 gives me the best of both world. I use my highly modified NAD C-542 hdcd player by R.A.M as a reference to hear just how good the emotiva erc-2 and the oppo bdp 95 sounds! I wish EMOTIVA designs TUBE preamps and amps, that would be awesome!

[Deleted]

You are a collector of exotic speakers! How do the Walsh speakers sound? I've been curious about them. I had a Janszen ES add on for a while but it was non-functional. I am sort of collecting conventional speakers, but of my own construction. My comfort zone is 7" midwoofers and 1" tweeters with miniDSP crossovers. Most recently put together ScanSpeak Revelator midwoofers with Eton Ceramic/magnesium 1" tweeters. Eton makes a AMT tweeter but I've heard it has a very severe resonance at 500Hz. If I had the room for them I would be using Magnepan's but then I'd miss out on my speaker building creativity.

[Deleted]

Ambiophonics does 360 continuous degrees with just four speakers. The only real drawback is the speakers must be closer together than with a standard 4.1 channel setup. miniAmbio, of miniDSP fame, makes adapters for it.

[Nemesis.ie]

Feb 9, 2011 15:00:31 GMT -5 @theresa said:

LATCH HOOKING, use a hook to tie small pieces of yarn together, like those cute rugs with a cat pictured.

I was thinking it was another word for crochet.

[gerbilaudio]

I have way too many. I just keep collecting them. It's called speaker addiction. Those of us here with speaker addiction, we should register at emotiva's SPEAKER ADDICTION ANONYMOUS which I think the staff at emotiva should create. I have anything from dynamic design to electrostats. a few samples, acoustat, magnepan, ohm's, SLS, sunfire, klipsch, bic, eminent tech, svs, dcm, ess heil, janszens, linaeum, wharfedale, audio pro, rca and growing! I like the build of the emotiva's but I do not like the high frequency drivers or tweeters used. Ribbons or electrostats, horns and bullet designs are a far superior than those outdated domes. The only thing domes are more advanced in are the old piezo electric designs. The only exceptions to domes are those that have a kevlar or similar treated materials and in a LINE ARRAY. Unless the domes are of good quality and in a line array configuration, a single dome is very inferior in sound dispersment having in adequate frequency response in the higher octaves. electrostats, ribbons and horns are the way to go in speaker designs