Home Theater Gurus...

Is it okay to use surround speakers as your front left/right speakers or vice versa? Are they tuned differently or something?

I'm asking because one of my surround speakers is shot. I was looking at buying this http://www.ebay.com/itm/290641385363?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649. I've read many good reviews on it and the price is right. I wanna use the surround speakers as my front left/right and my old front speakers as my surrounds. Is there any harm in doing this?

I already tried one of my fronts in place of my surround speaker and I couldn't hear any difference. Could it harm my receiver in any way?

Thoughts?

 

It depends on your system. Mine as far as I know the speakers are the same but the ones labeled for the front are magnetically shielded to protect the tv screens from the magnets. If they look the same this would be my guess on them.

As far as your link, I'm not a big fan of Sony for audio. Video equipment is great, just not sure about the audio. But that's my opinion.

 

it all depends on your setup my four speakers are all identical and interchangeable

 

No difference in surrounds. They can be used for fronts.

Typically a front "main" speaker will have the ability to play lower than a surround speaker. The reason for this is that there isn't much (if any) content that comes out of the surround speakers in most media. They don't really have to play that loud or low to accomplish what's thrown at them.

However, front speakers have to get loud and fairly low to produce a convincing sound stage.

 

Not a problem in any way.

 

Shielding is something that was important back when we still had CRT TV's but with plasma, LCD and LED it's a non issue now.

 

Cool, thanks for your input guys. Just wanted to make sure.

I know Sony is not the best when it comes to audio, but i'm not trying to build a state of the art system either. Just want something that sounds decent. Unless, you guys know of something better for around the same price. $80 is pretty much my limit.

 

Wasn't sure about the newer tv's, but how old the speakers are could still put them in this category though. Not sure if mine have the shielding but they are labeled front and rear.

 

My receiver lets me adjust each speaker individually. It has so many adjustments that I don't even mess with most of them. It's a Sony, also.

 

AVS forum is an awesome site. Check em out.

But as stated you will be fine. Just be sure that all three front speakers are timbre matched. Usually meaning that they are all the same brand and product line. The package you linked us to will be just fine for you it seems. Obviously youre not looking for incredibly high sound levels and ultra-fine clarity.

I myself am a fan of Sony Home theater electronics. They certainly are no where near the best for clarity, but for the price, theyre damn good. I am using all Sony speakers in my current setup, connected to a Yamaha RX-V765 receiver.

Larger Front speakers are neccesary for a convincing front sound stage. After all, thats where about 90% of the sound is coming from when watching a movie. In a lot of cases, center channels are the largest. The center channel is arguably, the most important speaker in your entire theater. It handles the direct dialogue and the sound effects that are meant to be right in front of you.

Now my question to you: What kind of setup are you running? 3.0, 3.1, 5.1, 7+??

 

^ 5.1. Haven't steped up to the big leagues yet (7.1). That's further down the road.

 

5.1 is fine. Thats all im doing too at the moment. 7.1 someday though.

Whats your subwoofer situation?

 

I was wondering the same thing. Just about any speaker will run down to 100hz so if you have a decent sub to fill in below that he should be golden. Might not be optimal but it should work fine.