Help needed!! Homecinema, speaker choice dilema

jozi

I've finally got enough money together to get the rest of my homecinema system together (sound wise).
I have the folowing speakers, Mission m71 (they'll work as rears, right?) And Gale 3040 floorstanders (fronts).
I need a amp and a centre speakers, amp will be a Marantz SR5400.
But i cant decide on centre speakers.
I would like to go mission all round and sell the gale's or should i get the matching centre from gale and mission for front and rear centre?
Just buying centres would be cheapest but will it not sound odd when sound pans front to back?
I really dont know what to do, hope some of you have advice?

Jozi

jozi

And i nearly forgot, A sub!
Was looking at a gale 3080 for just under €110, recomended or not?

Jozi

ASTRACLUB

go to www.richersounds.ie or harvey norman in swords or in dundalk
they have everything right from JBL to tanoy and everything
richersounds are cheaper then other

div

robbie1876

It's important to keep the front 3 speakers the same brand and range. So you really have to decide if you want to keep the Gales or eventually upgrade the front speakers to Mission (which I'd recommend). If the centre speaker is different tonally than the left and right speakers, you'll notice it and it's really annoying. Particularly with a good amp like the SR5400 (good choice!)

It's not quite as important to have the rear speakers the same brand, as you don't notice differences in tone panning front to rear as you do panning left to right..... hmm that wasn't the best explination ever, hope you followed me....!

Regarding the sub, imo a sub is the second most important speaker after the centre speaker in a cinema setup. A good sub should sound musical and add atmosphere to non-action sequences. Most subs just sit there and rumble a bit, with no actual definition on the frequencies, when they receive bass they just flap away and rumble. Good subs can produce clear and defined bass tones, as well as rumble when required. In my opinion the Gale sub falls into the rumble-only category, in your position I would hold off a while and pick up a better sub for around €300 to €500. Possibly one of the Mission subs like the M6 or M8 would be the way to go.

Robbie

jozi

Thanks for the replies

Lot of money for a sub!
I'll hold of on that one then.
Getting the amp of richersounds, harvey norman is going to have to wait till i'm in dublin again.
Should i go for mission speakers from the same range or can i mix old models with new one's? Would it make a difference tonnaly?
Richersound in the uk have m73 floorstanders for £100 at the moment and a mission centre speaker. wounder will they send them over here?

Jozi

robbie1876

You really have to keep the speakers in the same range. Sometimes there can be quite a big tonal difference between ranges of speakers by the same manufacturer, but now always. If you have to mix speakers, it's better to keep them from the same manufacturer I guess. Ideally you should get the matching centre speaker though, bearing in mind that about 60% of all the sound on a DVD movie track comes from the centre speaker! Don't scrimp on it.

I'm sure Richer UK will send over the speakers, but they are bulky heavy boxes and will cost a few bob to courier over. You could try Richer Sounds in Belfast, but they generally don't carry the same stock as the mainland UK branches.

Robbie

jozi

Just of the phone to richersounds belfast.
He told me they can send the missions over from the uk but that it might take awhile depending what stock they have left over. Also he said someting about all mission speakers having a same sounding voice coil or tonally sounding the same cant just remember?
Stocks on the mission m7c1 are eratic it seemson the site so no guarantee they can deliver them to me.
He also mentiond they where getting in heybrook hb3's in this week, hbc1 beeing their matching centre which is on offer now.
Have you any experience with them robbie (you seem to know a whole lot about it all) or anyone else for that matter? The hb3 got good reviews i see on-line

Jozi

robbie1876

Personally, I wouldn't touch the Heybrooks, I think they sound dull and have no dynamics, but that's just me. Be warned with Richer Sounds that they may try to steer you away from the major speaker brand names towards brands which are their own (including Heybrook). Sometimes there's nothing wrong with their own brand speakers, I just personally don't like the Heybrooks. I'd stick with the Gales, or better still go with the full Mission lineup if I were you.

I've heard speakers from Heybrook quite a few times, so I'm not just dissing them for the sake of it. I have never been impressed by a Heybrook speaker.

Robbie

jozi

Thanks for that last bit advice, was nearly going to go for them.

Anyone here selling mission floor standers!!!

Going to leave it a week i think and go up to dublin and have a look in peats and harvey norman.

Jozi

Ordering the marantz amp anyway

robbie1876

Thumbs up on ordering the amp! A top amp, in fact it's my fave amp by a long stretch in that price category.

jozi

Dont some research on them heybrook speaker, they got good reviews!

I figure if i go for missions it would be hard enough to find matching speakers from the same range and would be maybe better of holding back till i can afford the buy the whole range. I would have to sell my gale's to fund the missions if i went for it. So in the mean time i might stick with 4 speakers, missions and gale, hooked to the marantz amp. Maybe get a gale centre to.

Jozi

Velcrow

stop thinking - tanoy M10's in cherry wood finish - mmmmmmm

ZENER

robbie1876 wrote:

It's important to keep the front 3 speakers the same brand and range. So you really have to decide if you want to keep the Gales or eventually upgrade the front speakers to Mission (which I'd recommend). If the centre speaker is different tonally than the left and right speakers, you'll notice it and it's really annoying.

Good advice that unfortunately I didn't heed in my impatience to get the thing working !! Soon to be sorted !!

Regarding the sub, imo a sub is the second most important speaker after the centre speaker in a cinema setup.

Personally I would put it first but then I'm a sucker for good bass.

A good sub should sound musical and add atmosphere to non-action sequences. Most subs just sit there and rumble a bit, with no actual definition on the frequencies, when they receive bass they just flap away and rumble. Good subs can produce clear and defined bass tones, as well as rumble when required. In my opinion the Gale sub falls into the rumble-only category, in your position I would hold off a while and pick up a better sub for around €300 to €500. Possibly one of the Mission subs like the M6 or M8 would be the way to go.

Unfortunately the majority of Subs at the sub (pun ?) 200 yoyo bracket are simply boom boxes, at least any that I've heard over the past few months have been. What surprised me was that even subs in the 300 to 500 bracket were guilty of this one that sticks with me was a Yamaha sub costing 390 which sounded about as good as a Creative Inspire setup. Particularly guilty are these all in one DVD/Surround/Sub systems for €199 with free hearing aids !! Some of these are attrocious and would put most people off a decent home cinema setup.

It took a while to find one I could live with in my bracket of 250 to 350 and I settled on a Mission Ms8 which is a downfiring sub not suitable for wooden floors but works beautifully in my gaff with its concrete floors.

At the end of the day Jozi WE won't have to sit in YOUR living room listening to your hard earned cash woofing squaking and tweeting away but you will - spend some time listening to the amps speakers and components and a bit less reading spec sheets and reviews. As Robbie will tell you sound is a very subjective thing and that coupled with "you gets what you pays for" adds to the fun. Don't take a review as the be all and end all and buy purely on its say so - use them and the advice here as a starting point for your own ears, once you've done that the only reading you will need to do is the bottom line - how cheap can you buy them !!

Good luck !!

ZEN

ASTRACLUB

Lads

Richer sounds are great in delivery
I ordered Pioneer home cinema systems from them and on website it was wrritten that they will charge this item as 2 delivery. so that would have been 10x2=20 but they sent it only as one set and delivery was fantastic. i ordered on friday and got them thru DHL on following thursday. ON contacting BELfast office the guys told me that he can order from richersound uk for me as well.
a+++++++++++++++
Recommended.

DIv

aodh_rua

To maintain tonal balance across the front I'd recommend a Gale 3050. I have the 3040\3050\3060 combo and the surround sound is very smooth. The SR5400 is a good bet, although I've a friend whose been waiting for a month for his to arrive. I've an SR4400 which is grand for 5.1\6.1, although it has less power than the 5400's.