Questions about component systems

I am considering building a component system but am a bit confused...

If I buy an AV receiver (that is 6.1/7.1 compatible), if I purchase a
good pair of floor standings for my R/L, what kind of speaker package
would I need to purchase to have as the other (c, rs, ls, sw) channels?

Would a decent AV receiver be able to power the floor standing speakers
without an amp?

Would I still need a seperate subwoofer with my floor standings?

wrote in message
ups.com...
I am considering building a component system but am a bit confused...

If I buy an AV receiver (that is 6.1/7.1 compatible), if I purchase a
good pair of floor standings for my R/L, what kind of speaker package
would I need to purchase to have as the other (c, rs, ls, sw) channels?

Look for speakers from the same manufacturer that are timbre-matched to the
mains. If you intend from the start to buy a surround system, choose your
mains from candidates that you know have matching center/surround speakers
available... or buy them all at once as a set. It's particularly important
that the L/R mains be timber-matched across the midrange and high
frequencies, to create a stable and consistent xoundstage across the front
of the room.

Would a decent AV receiver be able to power the floor standing speakers
without an amp?

It depends on the speakers and the size of the room, as well as your
required listening levels. Low-end receivers put out a lot less real power
than they appear to from the specs. You may not need a separate amp, but you
will want to pay careful attention to how much dynamic headroom a receiver
can actually deliver. Better receivers from companies like Denon and HK
usually have a lot more headroom than similarly-rated low end units from
companies like Sony and Kenwood.

Would I still need a seperate subwoofer with my floor standings?

Don't confuse "woofers" with "sub-woofers" (as is so common these days).
Most sub-$1k "sub/sat" systems don't really have subwoofers; they have
detached woofers, where the bass drivers as simply combined into a single
separate box. A woofer should cover the audible frequencies of music, down
to 40Hz or so, and that's all most of these detached woofers can do. It's
also all most woofers in floor-standing speakers can do, except for those
that actually have a powered subwoofer built in.

RichC

Sub-woofers do what the same says: they reproduce the octave below a normal
woofer, primarily used for sound effects in music and rarely necessary for
music. (Although in many systems the sub is called upon to reproduce as many
as three octaves -- up to 120Hz -- because the satellites have no bass
capability at all.)

So to answer your question, you need a true sub if you want to reproduce the
".1 channel." This channel (also called the Low Frequency Effects, or LFE
channel) contains only sib-40Hz information, and is routed by most receivers
to its own output intended to drive a powered subwoofer. It takes a LOT of
power to produce the sort of room-shaking bass the the LFE channel is
designed for.

This is not to say a great-sounding system can't be built around good
floor-standing mains without a sub. And arguably such a system would be
better for music than any system that relies on a sub for primary bass
output in music frequencies. But for bone-rattling effects in a home
theatre, it's hard to get away without a powerful, separate subwoofer.

On 10 Dec 2006 13:30:05 -0800, wrote:

I am considering building a component system but am a bit confused...

If I buy an AV receiver (that is 6.1/7.1 compatible), if I purchase a
good pair of floor standings for my R/L, what kind of speaker package
would I need to purchase to have as the other (c, rs, ls, sw) channels?
Matching speakers from the same series of the same manufacturer. They
may be smaller but they need to match, especially the center.

Would a decent AV receiver be able to power the floor standing speakers
without an amp?
Depends on the AVR. Buy one with adequate power.

Would I still need a seperate subwoofer with my floor standings?
Yes.

Kal