Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat ‘Budget’ AV System

Marcus, It is indeed true that some loudspeaker manufacturers, especially those whose most expensive speakers are floor standers, recommend head height. In my experience, wall mounting is better for sides and rears. Have you noticed how in commercial cinemas the surround speakers are always above head height? I am somewhat heretical. Sides and rears are for atmosphere, preferably, but are also used by directors for adding excitement (bullets, missiles, helicopters etc). Either way, I think a bit of height helps (even if you have Atmos or the like). And out and out sound quality is not terribly important because one's mind is on a story and visuals. I used to have Mission dipoles (passives) with my Meridian speakers. If I was stupid enough to stop and listen to them they were good but not as good as my other speakers, obviously, but it didn't matter at all for watching and experiencing the sound of films. The misguided purist in me went for the DSP3300s, but, actually, I have found that, really, I wasted my money as I don't notice the difference in everyday usage. But have your sides and rears up a bit. In my opinion they work better up there for their purpose.

Incidentally, I can angle the DSP3300s down to point at the listener. I don't - the effects they are reproducing just don't sound as atmospheric. Temperamentally, I rarely follow instructions without testing things for myself and without taking the trouble to understand why something should be as instructed.

Interesting. Did you arrive at the near-ceiling-height position through trial & error or was it just a gut feeling?

As an aside, I like the look of my 3100s but I find the wall brackets rather agricultural but that would be less of an issue if they were up out of the way.

Thanks for the reply.

My early trials of surround sound were in the late 80s and the speakers were at head height (on stilts) as it was not a dedicated cinema room. I didn't like the side speakers firing into my ears though the rears were more tolerable. I played with the angle of the speakers, which helped, but in my first dedicated room I implemented what I had experienced in commercial cinemas where surround sound was much more diffuse because the speakers were both higher and much further away (even in small venues). I chose dipoles because they fired past you rather than at you and I mounted them about 3 feet above head height. I liked what I heard and have carried on from there.

Thanks Nick. By the sound of your experience, my 3100s might be better placed some way above standing head height. I have 2 pairs for surround duties but our new (dedicated) room will only be 4.5 x 4m so there is the potential for them being too 'direct' I suppose but hopefully the processor will be able to make a decent fist of it.

Has the OP reached any sort of conclusion?

He’s contemplating moving house.

Well, that's a pity (obviously, not really - I wish you very well in your endeavour) as I assume it will distract you from trying a JBL/Sonifex/271 combination. I was much looking forward to your assessment.

It's a small price to pay.

The opportunity currently doesn’t exist to audition the processor. February will herald the arrival of the replacement JBL Synthesis SDP-58.

Same box, new HDMI board. About $300.00 more than SDP55 at suggested pricing.

From the posts on this thread it appears that the JBL processor appeals the most of the non-elite ones. If I were to buy one I'd be tempted by the Anthem, mainly as it's supposed to be excellent, has great room correction & is relatively cheap. Am I missing something?

I think the main appeal to using the JBL is that it has a Dante output which could keep things in the digital domain. The added complexity of the extra devices to convert the signals to the correct format for input to a 271 could be an issue for some. Also the Dante output on the JBL is limited to 48k. The Anthem is a great alternative with good sound and features but adds a analog to digital conversion in the 271.

Great; thanks for the explanation Bruce. I don't think that an extra layer of complexity (extra ADC in the 271) would put me off. If I was looking for a 'budget' processor, I think that compromise would be one worth accepting, particularly as it's likely to be a high quality ADC in the 271.