[Airsculpture]

At present I have a set of Mission speakers ( centre, bi-pol rears and two bookshelves ) with no sub. I am thinking of re[placing the bookshelves with two Energy C-300s and an Energy ESW-8 sub off Kijiji.

Is there much point ?

I used to have two Mission floorstanders and got rid of them when we downsized in the UK. Now in Canada I have a large family room whoich could cope with them. It's not that I am suffering from lack of volume but I think the upgrade bug has bitten. Is there a benefit from adding a sub and/or floorstanders ?

 

[eljay]

Is there a benefit from adding a sub and/or floorstanders ?

There's a huge benefit to adding a subwoofer, especially when it comes to movies and low-frequency effects (LFE).

Subs, in general, dig deeper than can any bookshelf speakers and, in many cases (depending on the sub and the towers in question, of course), they can dig deeper than tower speakers.

If you have good bookshelf speakers that can comfortably go well below 80Hz +/-3dB (down to, say, 60Hz +/-3dB), then you don't really need towers, whose only real advantage at this point would be the lack of a need for a pair of stands. Set your crossover to 80Hz and let the sub handle all the bass below that point.

-- Edit --
Just checked the specs for your speakers. The C-300s go down to 40Hz +/-3dB; the ESW-V8 goes to 26Hz +/-3dB. With either the bookshelf speakers you currently own, or with the C-300s, you'll likely notice the extra bass from the ESW.

Additionally, for what it's worth, the ESW series is Energy's "elite" series of subwoofers. They are excellent performers.

Finally, I'd go for a bigger sub than 8" - a minimum of 10" - especially if you have a larger room. A well-rated 10" sub (such as Energy's ESW-V10 or older S10.3, or SVS' PB10-NSD) will provide excellent performance. A 12" subwoofer - lots to choose from, but I'll mention the PB12-NSD for (obvious) reasons - will be very satisfying.

 

[Airsculpture]

Thanks for the reply Eljay

 

[Airsculpture]

The guy has the floorstanders for sale at $295 and the sub for $200. Good deal ?

 

[eljay]

The price for the towers seems reasonable. The sub is not an ESW-V8, but an ESW-8 - a "lesser" series than the "ESW-V" series. I would pass on it.

-- Edit --
I just noticed that you had correctly identified the sub as an ESW-8 in your initial post. I missed that in my initial reply, in which I praised the ESW-V8. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[Airsculpture]

No sweat. Read a few reviews of the sub and it looks like it lacks oooomph.

 

[eljay]

If you're looking for something to experiment with - and assuming that a drive to Saint John isn't out of the question - do a search for "athena" on the saintjohn.k*jiji.ca site. There's a killer deal (in my opinion) available there.

Although they're not made anymore, Athena speakers were well-regarded and great value for the money "in their day". Keep what you like, sell the rest to recoup some of your cost. See what a small sub will do for you and then, when you're ready, move up to something more potent.

 

[d2e8b8]

I second the 'potent' sub. I'm living these days with a sub that doesn't perform quite as well as my previous one and I realize I miss it. Nothing like a good sub filling the low end nicely - the trick is to integrate it well so it doesn't degrade the overall experience (as in boomy etc which a smaller sub may tend to do).

 

[Airsculpture]

At present have have two bookshelf Mission 71, the centre is a Mission M7C1 and the surrounds are Mission 77DS.

Would it be workable to add the floorstanders and use the bookshelf ones as additional 7.1 rears or is this a no-no ?

 

[eljay]

Would it be workable to add the floorstanders and use the bookshelf ones as additional 7.1 rears or is this a no-no ?

Generally speaking, the only real "no-no" is using different brands or models of speakers across the front. Ideally, you want to "timbre match" the front L+R and center speakers, to ensure that audio remains constant as it pans across the front "sound field".

(In some cases, main speakers from Brand A combined with a center speaker from Brand B - or main speakers from Brand A's "Delta" line combined with a center speaker from Brand A's "Sigma" line - will provide a consistent sound across the front.)

The rule generally doesn't apply to surrounds because they are not part of the front "sound field" and they don't reproduce "primary" audio.

 

[Airsculpture]

So it sounds like it would be a no-no to mix my current Mission centre speaker with the potential floorstanders from Energy. Could the bookshelf ones be used as additional surrounds ? Must admit I don't want to shell out for a new centre so it may be that I keep the set up as is, if this won't work.

 

[eljay]

There's a (slight? significant?) risk involved, yes.

If you like how your current front three speakers sound, I'd suggest keeping them and investing in a good subwoofer to fill out the bottom end. You will notice a difference immediately.

If, later on, you want to upgrade your front three, sell the center, put the L+R into use as rear surrounds and buy a new (or mint used) pair of mains and matching center.

 

[Airsculpture]

Thanks. Not sure what to do now. Don't have the spare cash for a sub ( an acre of landscaping to do ! ) so thought if I could get the floorstanders for low $200s it would be a start. But not sure now if the centre channel would be lost.

 

[ScaryBob]

I've been the speaker stand route. Hated them. They tend to be unstable (top heavy), look ugly and sound bad. Towers take up about the same space, are more stable and sound better (within a particular speaker model line.) For surrounds I use compact wall mounted speakers. The center can sit on a shelf either under or over the TV, as location and mounting permits. As a bonus, you can getter speakers by putting the money into the speakers themselves instead of some stands.

 

[Airsculpture]

I was never looking at stands. Not sure where that discussion came from.

 

[eljay]

I was never looking at stands. Not sure where that discussion came from.

It may have been in reference to my comment in post #2:

If you have good bookshelf speakers ... then you don't really need towers, whose only real advantage at this point would be the lack of a need for a pair of stands.

(The point I was making with that comment was that if you're running a sub to handle the low end, towers wouldn't necessarily sound any better than a good pair of bookshelf speakers from 80Hz on up.)

 

[Airsculpture]

Ah I see. One last question asked but unanswered I think. Is it ok to use the existing front bookshelf speakers as back surround speakers in a 7.1 set up if I did eventually buy the Energy floorstanders ? Or do I need specialist speakers for that job ?

 

[filper]

Depending on how you position them, yes they would work.

You might get something from this thread from a few years back http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=12585&highlight=small

 

[eljay]

One last question asked but unanswered I think. Is it ok to use the existing front bookshelf speakers as back surround speakers in a 7.1 set up if I did eventually buy the Energy floorstanders ? Or do I need specialist speakers for that job ?

As indicated in filper's post, above - as well as in my earlier post (#12) - you can use your existing bookshelf speakers as rear surrounds.

See this Dolby Speaker Placement page for a guideline on placement.

 

[Airsculpture]

Thanks Eljay.